Which Is It - Kill Your Enemy Or Love Him? (December 28, 2003)
Recently I was asked,
Why were the Old Testament Israelites commanded to slaughter their enemies but Jesus commands us to love ours?
First of all, the Israelites were not commanded to slaughter their enemies in all circumstances. Deuteronomy 20:10-15 gives the general rule for warfare - it is a kind of "Geneva Convention" protocol in which the first step was to offer peace. If the offer was accepted, then the enemy was simply subjugated without a drop of blood being shed. Only if the peace offer was refused were the Israelites allowed to go to war - and that would begin with a siege rather than a bloody assault. When it came to actual fighting, only the men (enemy combatants) were to be killed. Civilians (women and children) were spared. I defy anyone to find a more restrained rule of combat in any ancient text anywhere in the world.
The Israelites were actually told to be kind to foreigners in their midst - an oddly "modern" commandment in a world where racist suspicion was assumed. For example, Exodus 22:21: "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt." Leviticus 19:34: "The foreigner living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt.”
The command to slaughter enemies was limited to a specific time and targeted to a specific place. It concerned only those living within the borders of the Promised Land at the time the Israelites arrived. These people were not to be given an offer of peace as outlined in Deuteronomy 20:10-15. The next few verses (16-18) read:
However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them - the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites - as the Lord your God has commanded you. Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.
Why so harsh? Why kill everybody? Read the stomach-turning regulations in Leviticus 18 and it may explain a lot. That chapter forbids all kinds of perversions - like sons having sex with their mothers, brothers and sisters copulating, people violating animals, and parents sacrificing their children to the demon god Molech. The inspiration for these laws is found in verse 24: "Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled." All the nasty things in Leviticus 18 were accepted pieces of Canaanite culture.
The inhabitants of that land had become so perverse that they simply had to be eradicated. For centuries the wickedness had been building up as severely twisted people passed on their twisted natures and sick cultural norms (like incest and human sacrifice) to succeeding generations. Look - there's bad and there's hopeless. Some cancers you can treat, some you just have to cut out. Four hundred years earlier, the evil of this land was not ripe enough for judgment, as indicated in God's words to Abraham in Genesis 15:16: "In the fourth generation [here meaning 400 years] your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." There we learn of God's patience with the inhabitants of this land - they were given 400 years to repent, but they only got worse. When their culture-wide corruption reached its zenith, God said, "Enough is enough. Destroy it all."
It reminds me of a scene in a book about the Ebola virus, The Hot Zone. When a certain lab facility was thought to be infected, health authorities evacuated the building, sealed it off hermetically, and released a substance that had the power to kill everything - even those microbes that could survive a nuclear holocaust. The author wrote that after this treatment, that building was the only one in the world where there was nothing living, nothing at all. The health authorities took such measures because you do not want to mess with the Ebola virus.
Israel, rather than obediently eradicating the cultural Ebola that was Canaan, let many of its inhabitants live, and soon adopted its corrupt practices. The Old Testament's account of Israel's subsequent, relentless slide into corruption is the saddest human tragedy you'll ever read.
So there was a good reason why in this particular case the Israelites were commanded to destroy their enemies. But Jesus, when he says in Matthew 5:44, "Love your enemies," is addressing a completely different situation. The whole text in Matthew reads:
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? (Matthew 5:44-47)
Jesus is not talking about conflict on a battlefield. He is talking about personal relationships with those who mistreat us or with those who stand outside our circle of friends. He is saying, "Pray for mean people - even those who are mean to you. Do acts of kindness and say hello even to those who aren't in your group."
If you have seen Fiddler on the Roof, for example, think of the way Reb Tevye could greet and even have a respectfully cordial relationship with his "enemy," the Russian constable. While others in Tevye's group might refuse to acknowledge the constable's existence, or spit on the ground whenever the man walked by, Tevye would give the man the time of day and maybe even offer him a piece of cheese. That is not to say he would refrain from killing him if the two ever found themselves in opposing armies on a field of battle.
Sunday, December 28, 2003
Sunday, December 21, 2003
I'm Afraid Your Cynicism Is Justified (December 21, 2003)
My son Ben told me that lately he has become cynical and suspect of human nature. He has seen so much evil, and he is so tired of mean people, and he is sick to death of bad people corrupting and poisoning everything around him.
And I say, good for him. Just as "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," so a cynical appraisal of humanity is the beginning of theological maturity. Until the full force of human depravity knocks you flat on your face, you can't fully appreciate how desperately we need a Savior. Mankind failed, fails, and apart from God's grace will continue to fail till "all the thoughts of his heart are only evil all the time." That is why Jesus had to be born and live and die for us. Not because we were good enough to deserve him, but because we were bad enough to need him.
I have found that the failure to take human depravity into account results in great misery and even disillusionment with the things of God. For that reason I admonish fellow ministers to guard their words so as not to make careless prophecies about how others will respond to our goodness. Here is something I read recently from Pastor Jack Hayford: "Where people see love's vitality, worth and attractiveness, they will inquire into the truth that produces it." Really? They will? I think the best we can say is that some of them might. A multitude saw Jesus' vitality, worth and attractiveness - and crucified him. Look around, and you will see that vicious responses to goodness happen daily. This morning's Chicago Tribune tells the story of a police officer who kindly stopped to help a motorist with a disabled car, and the driver, rather than "inquiring into the truth" that produced the officer's charity, shot and killed him.
Last week I heard Chuck Swindoll on the radio tell us husbands that if we acted in a certain way, "Your wife will LOVE you." I turned off the radio in disgust, knowing that the Bible promises no such thing. I thought of the many men and women I have known who were married to beasts who responded to daily loving-kindness with relentless cruelty. In discussions with my son about the scope of depravity, I showed him a passage in a biography about Jonathan Edwards, America's greatest theologian. Edward's grandmother Elizabeth was pregnant with another man's child when she married her husband Richard in 1667. Though Richard was good to her, and forgave her (even paying the fornication fine himself!), she continued with "fits of perversity...repeated infidelities, rages, threats of violence, including the threat to cut Richard's throat while he was asleep." Later she abandoned the family. I have known too many Elizabeths (and their male counterparts) to bubble about how wonderful people will be if we just learn their "love language" and show them the kindness of Christ. That counsel simply does not acknowledge how nasty and unresponsive some people are.
I was cheered to read this bit of realism from J. R. R. Tolkien (Christian author of The Lord of the Rings) in Christianity Today : "One must face the fact: the power of Evil in the world is not finally resistible by incarnate creatures, however 'good.'" Thank you, Tolkien! That sentiment accords both with my experience and the Bible's clear teaching. Mankind is evil and needs a Restorer, powerless and needs a Savior, hell-bent and needs a Rescuer. The conquest of evil does not come from ourselves, and never can. Don’t trust man. Trust rather in Christ, God Incarnate, our only hope.
My son Ben told me that lately he has become cynical and suspect of human nature. He has seen so much evil, and he is so tired of mean people, and he is sick to death of bad people corrupting and poisoning everything around him.
And I say, good for him. Just as "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," so a cynical appraisal of humanity is the beginning of theological maturity. Until the full force of human depravity knocks you flat on your face, you can't fully appreciate how desperately we need a Savior. Mankind failed, fails, and apart from God's grace will continue to fail till "all the thoughts of his heart are only evil all the time." That is why Jesus had to be born and live and die for us. Not because we were good enough to deserve him, but because we were bad enough to need him.
I have found that the failure to take human depravity into account results in great misery and even disillusionment with the things of God. For that reason I admonish fellow ministers to guard their words so as not to make careless prophecies about how others will respond to our goodness. Here is something I read recently from Pastor Jack Hayford: "Where people see love's vitality, worth and attractiveness, they will inquire into the truth that produces it." Really? They will? I think the best we can say is that some of them might. A multitude saw Jesus' vitality, worth and attractiveness - and crucified him. Look around, and you will see that vicious responses to goodness happen daily. This morning's Chicago Tribune tells the story of a police officer who kindly stopped to help a motorist with a disabled car, and the driver, rather than "inquiring into the truth" that produced the officer's charity, shot and killed him.
Last week I heard Chuck Swindoll on the radio tell us husbands that if we acted in a certain way, "Your wife will LOVE you." I turned off the radio in disgust, knowing that the Bible promises no such thing. I thought of the many men and women I have known who were married to beasts who responded to daily loving-kindness with relentless cruelty. In discussions with my son about the scope of depravity, I showed him a passage in a biography about Jonathan Edwards, America's greatest theologian. Edward's grandmother Elizabeth was pregnant with another man's child when she married her husband Richard in 1667. Though Richard was good to her, and forgave her (even paying the fornication fine himself!), she continued with "fits of perversity...repeated infidelities, rages, threats of violence, including the threat to cut Richard's throat while he was asleep." Later she abandoned the family. I have known too many Elizabeths (and their male counterparts) to bubble about how wonderful people will be if we just learn their "love language" and show them the kindness of Christ. That counsel simply does not acknowledge how nasty and unresponsive some people are.
I was cheered to read this bit of realism from J. R. R. Tolkien (Christian author of The Lord of the Rings) in Christianity Today : "One must face the fact: the power of Evil in the world is not finally resistible by incarnate creatures, however 'good.'" Thank you, Tolkien! That sentiment accords both with my experience and the Bible's clear teaching. Mankind is evil and needs a Restorer, powerless and needs a Savior, hell-bent and needs a Rescuer. The conquest of evil does not come from ourselves, and never can. Don’t trust man. Trust rather in Christ, God Incarnate, our only hope.
Sunday, December 14, 2003
Salvation Army To The Rescue (December 14, 2003)
'Tis the season to remember the poor.
Last Saturday my son Peter and I rang bells for the Salvation Army at the Fox Valley Mall as part of a volunteer program that his school conducts. I enjoyed explaining to other volunteers what the Salvation Army meant to my mother when she was a little girl.
Back about 1934 a couple Salvation Army "lassies" began to visit my mother's home. They would play their guitars and sing, and sometimes bring a magazine for my mother (10 years old at the time) to read to her younger siblings. In an article she wrote nearly 40 years later for the now-defunct Chicago Daily News, Mom related how the Salvation Army made their Christmas that year. An excerpt:
During the Christmas season, Mom took us on a seemingly endless
streetcar ride to the big auditorium where the Army gave a party for
underprivileged children. There was a great white horse on stage who
could answer questions with a nod that was obviously a "Yes" or a
shake of his great mane that definitely meant "No." That amazingly
clever animal could even stamp out answers to simple arithmetic
problems with his great hoofs.
A glistening tree towered over a huge pile of brightly wrapped gifts;
a smiling fat Santa handed me a game from the stack and gave my
sisters each a stuffed toy. We all carried a box of hard candy home,
even Mom.
Since Dad had not worked steadily for months and we were "on relief," we knew that Christmas dinner couldn't be anything special that year. But that was the same year two tall cadets carried a bushel basket full of food between them up our long stairway. And, oh joy! One carried a large brown wrapped package under his arm that held a turkey.
The best thing those Salvation Army officers did was make Mom and her sisters promise to attend Sunday School whenever they could. A few years later, she met the man who would become my father at Moody Church's Sunday School. But that is another story.
Mom never forgot her indebtedness to the Salvation Army. It was a rule in our family growing up that we could not pass by one of their red kettles without putting some money in. I've passed that tradition to my boys and mention it to others as I have opportunity. (My oldest brother has even passed along the tradition to students he teaches in high school. One reported back to him about a shopping spree where he was confronted with a dozen kettles, and dutifully chucked in a coin each time!)
In Galatians 2:10, where Paul reports that he and Barnabas had agreed to divide evangelistic labor with James, Peter and John, the original apostles endorsed the plan with one request: "All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do."
As you spend and shop and travel and eat during this holiday season, be eager to remember the poor. Some of those recipients of your mercy, like my mother, will remember your generosity for decades, and pass it along to their children and children's children, and they will glorify God in heaven.
'Tis the season to remember the poor.
Last Saturday my son Peter and I rang bells for the Salvation Army at the Fox Valley Mall as part of a volunteer program that his school conducts. I enjoyed explaining to other volunteers what the Salvation Army meant to my mother when she was a little girl.
Back about 1934 a couple Salvation Army "lassies" began to visit my mother's home. They would play their guitars and sing, and sometimes bring a magazine for my mother (10 years old at the time) to read to her younger siblings. In an article she wrote nearly 40 years later for the now-defunct Chicago Daily News, Mom related how the Salvation Army made their Christmas that year. An excerpt:
During the Christmas season, Mom took us on a seemingly endless
streetcar ride to the big auditorium where the Army gave a party for
underprivileged children. There was a great white horse on stage who
could answer questions with a nod that was obviously a "Yes" or a
shake of his great mane that definitely meant "No." That amazingly
clever animal could even stamp out answers to simple arithmetic
problems with his great hoofs.
A glistening tree towered over a huge pile of brightly wrapped gifts;
a smiling fat Santa handed me a game from the stack and gave my
sisters each a stuffed toy. We all carried a box of hard candy home,
even Mom.
Since Dad had not worked steadily for months and we were "on relief," we knew that Christmas dinner couldn't be anything special that year. But that was the same year two tall cadets carried a bushel basket full of food between them up our long stairway. And, oh joy! One carried a large brown wrapped package under his arm that held a turkey.
The best thing those Salvation Army officers did was make Mom and her sisters promise to attend Sunday School whenever they could. A few years later, she met the man who would become my father at Moody Church's Sunday School. But that is another story.
Mom never forgot her indebtedness to the Salvation Army. It was a rule in our family growing up that we could not pass by one of their red kettles without putting some money in. I've passed that tradition to my boys and mention it to others as I have opportunity. (My oldest brother has even passed along the tradition to students he teaches in high school. One reported back to him about a shopping spree where he was confronted with a dozen kettles, and dutifully chucked in a coin each time!)
In Galatians 2:10, where Paul reports that he and Barnabas had agreed to divide evangelistic labor with James, Peter and John, the original apostles endorsed the plan with one request: "All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do."
As you spend and shop and travel and eat during this holiday season, be eager to remember the poor. Some of those recipients of your mercy, like my mother, will remember your generosity for decades, and pass it along to their children and children's children, and they will glorify God in heaven.
Sunday, December 7, 2003
Do You Like Anything? (December 7, 2003)
I am indebted to a fellow student in seminary who noted my tendency to "go negative" in my sermon illustrations. If I wanted to make a point about, say, humility, I'd refer to someone being proud and condemn that rather than someone being humble and praise that.
It was a point well taken, and it re-occurred to me as I reflected on the fact that my last two Pastor's Pages were in the attack mode, first ripping drug abuse and then venting on sloppy evangelical jargon. I meant every word I wrote - but I also want to acknowledge that there is a time to talk about things that are good and wonderful and delightful. Paul said, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (Philippians 4:8).
One of my favorite scenes in literature is in The Catcher in the Rye where Phoebe Caulfield challenges her brother Holden to say something he likes, and he has the hardest time coming up with anything. He has lived so long in a state of hate that the attempt to shift from contempt to appreciation knocks him completely off balance.
It shouldn't knock us off balance to talk about things we like. So, I am going to pretend Phoebe Caulfield has just asked me to name some things I love, and respond with a quick list.
I love watching a mature individual defuse a tense situation.
I love seeing a person of limited ability give an all-out effort.
I love hearing someone commend a worthy man or woman.
I love playing basketball with a sharp point guard who knows how to find me coming off a screen.
I love hearing a child (or someone child-like) talk about something they love.
I just asked my wife the Phoebe Caulfield question, and she had a good one:
"Chinese food."
I am indebted to a fellow student in seminary who noted my tendency to "go negative" in my sermon illustrations. If I wanted to make a point about, say, humility, I'd refer to someone being proud and condemn that rather than someone being humble and praise that.
It was a point well taken, and it re-occurred to me as I reflected on the fact that my last two Pastor's Pages were in the attack mode, first ripping drug abuse and then venting on sloppy evangelical jargon. I meant every word I wrote - but I also want to acknowledge that there is a time to talk about things that are good and wonderful and delightful. Paul said, "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (Philippians 4:8).
One of my favorite scenes in literature is in The Catcher in the Rye where Phoebe Caulfield challenges her brother Holden to say something he likes, and he has the hardest time coming up with anything. He has lived so long in a state of hate that the attempt to shift from contempt to appreciation knocks him completely off balance.
It shouldn't knock us off balance to talk about things we like. So, I am going to pretend Phoebe Caulfield has just asked me to name some things I love, and respond with a quick list.
I love watching a mature individual defuse a tense situation.
I love seeing a person of limited ability give an all-out effort.
I love hearing someone commend a worthy man or woman.
I love playing basketball with a sharp point guard who knows how to find me coming off a screen.
I love hearing a child (or someone child-like) talk about something they love.
I just asked my wife the Phoebe Caulfield question, and she had a good one:
"Chinese food."
Sunday, November 23, 2003
“Personal Relationship” - Where Does The Bible Say That? (November 23, 2003)
I received the following question; below is my response.
My brother-in-law asked me, "Where in the Bible does it say, 'A personal relationship with God'?" The preachers on Moody radio and other Christians often say this. My brother-in-law feels it is bold, arrogant and silly. I feel the same. But I feel you can have a personal way that you worship, rely on God and follow him. God does not greet me in the morning or tuck me in at night. I am not as strong on this as my brother-in-law but I do understand his feelings and anger.
God bless you both!
There are two phrases in today's evangelical jargon that I wish I could drop-kick into oblivion. One is "unconditional love" and the other is "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ." I'll save my diatribe against "unconditional love" for another Pastor's Page. (See “Unconditional Love” Is Unbiblical Nonsense - June 11, 2006).
Your brother-in-law's question makes the excellent point that the words "a personal relationship with God" (or Jesus) are not found in the Bible. That right there should give us pause about including them in our religious vocabulary. It is possible, of course, for a non-biblical word or phrase to express a biblical truth - like "trinity." But when you go outside the Bible for religious phrasing then you must be prepared to defend it consciously and constantly - as we do with "trinity." For the most part, though, it is best to stay on the safe and sturdy ground of the Bible's own words. Carelessly wielded phrases hide inaccurate thoughts and lead to inaccurate beliefs.
I have become increasingly concerned about presentations of the gospel that nudge aside biblical verbs like "believe," "love," "worship," and "obey" and replace them with the bland and vague "have a personal relationship with." Like your brother-in-law, I ask, "Where does the Bible say that?" and "What in the world does it mean?" The Bible's gospel message is consistent and clear. We must "repent and be baptized." (Acts 2:38). We must "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31). If we "confess with [our] mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in [our] hearts that God raised him from the dead, [we] will be saved." (Romans 10:9) I don't see anything there about "having a personal relationship" with him. I have, however, heard calls to receive Christ where nothing at all is said about repenting of sins, or believing in the resurrection, or declaring one's faith through baptism - just simply, "Are you ready to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?"
Bad effects result from emphasizing "personal relationship" to the exclusion of concrete things like belief and obedience. Sometimes what happens is that dear saints are frightened into believing that they were never saved in the first place. I don't know how many testimonies I have heard - even from pastors and missionaries! - that speak of years spent attending or ministering in churches even though they were "unsaved." I always want to ask, "What do you mean that you were unsaved? Were you secretly an unbeliever? Did you not believe that Jesus was the Messiah? Did you deny that God raised him from the dead? Did you sin with a reckless, unrepentant abandon that gave the lie to your profession of faith?" If the answers to these questions were yes, then I would agree with their self-diagnosis that they had been unsaved. But the testimonies I have heard are never like that. The people had always been believers, but they just lacked some experience whereby they could say that now they had a "personal relationship" with Jesus. Under close inspection, their accounts of dramatic conversion turn out to be implicit denials of the gospel message that those who believe in Jesus are saved! It is no longer faith in Christ that saves, but the experience of sensing a "personal relationship" with him. This is not scriptural.
When a "personal relationship" is elevated to saving status, and people aren't sure whether they've got such a relationship, the temptation is to conjure one up. Sometimes I fear this is exactly what well-meaning believers do. They carry on a dialogue with themselves and label one of the voices "God." By putting words into God’s mouth they may provide themselves with the illusion of a relationship with him, but in reality it brings them no closer to him.
What brings us closer to God is obedience and faith. Obedience to what is right and faith in what is true. Worry about those things - “seek first his kingdom and righteousness” - and a "relationship" of sorts with God will develop of its own. But it will be under God’s direction and sovereignty, and not because we have willed it into existence. It will be only distantly similar to the kinds of relationships we know and enjoy with one another. Remember that he is God and we are his creatures. We are not on equal footing with him. We ought to remain amazed and astounded that he should stoop to welcome us into his family, and discreet and humble about daring to speak of our "personal relationship" with him.
I received the following question; below is my response.
My brother-in-law asked me, "Where in the Bible does it say, 'A personal relationship with God'?" The preachers on Moody radio and other Christians often say this. My brother-in-law feels it is bold, arrogant and silly. I feel the same. But I feel you can have a personal way that you worship, rely on God and follow him. God does not greet me in the morning or tuck me in at night. I am not as strong on this as my brother-in-law but I do understand his feelings and anger.
God bless you both!
There are two phrases in today's evangelical jargon that I wish I could drop-kick into oblivion. One is "unconditional love" and the other is "a personal relationship with Jesus Christ." I'll save my diatribe against "unconditional love" for another Pastor's Page. (See “Unconditional Love” Is Unbiblical Nonsense - June 11, 2006).
Your brother-in-law's question makes the excellent point that the words "a personal relationship with God" (or Jesus) are not found in the Bible. That right there should give us pause about including them in our religious vocabulary. It is possible, of course, for a non-biblical word or phrase to express a biblical truth - like "trinity." But when you go outside the Bible for religious phrasing then you must be prepared to defend it consciously and constantly - as we do with "trinity." For the most part, though, it is best to stay on the safe and sturdy ground of the Bible's own words. Carelessly wielded phrases hide inaccurate thoughts and lead to inaccurate beliefs.
I have become increasingly concerned about presentations of the gospel that nudge aside biblical verbs like "believe," "love," "worship," and "obey" and replace them with the bland and vague "have a personal relationship with." Like your brother-in-law, I ask, "Where does the Bible say that?" and "What in the world does it mean?" The Bible's gospel message is consistent and clear. We must "repent and be baptized." (Acts 2:38). We must "believe on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 16:31). If we "confess with [our] mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in [our] hearts that God raised him from the dead, [we] will be saved." (Romans 10:9) I don't see anything there about "having a personal relationship" with him. I have, however, heard calls to receive Christ where nothing at all is said about repenting of sins, or believing in the resurrection, or declaring one's faith through baptism - just simply, "Are you ready to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?"
Bad effects result from emphasizing "personal relationship" to the exclusion of concrete things like belief and obedience. Sometimes what happens is that dear saints are frightened into believing that they were never saved in the first place. I don't know how many testimonies I have heard - even from pastors and missionaries! - that speak of years spent attending or ministering in churches even though they were "unsaved." I always want to ask, "What do you mean that you were unsaved? Were you secretly an unbeliever? Did you not believe that Jesus was the Messiah? Did you deny that God raised him from the dead? Did you sin with a reckless, unrepentant abandon that gave the lie to your profession of faith?" If the answers to these questions were yes, then I would agree with their self-diagnosis that they had been unsaved. But the testimonies I have heard are never like that. The people had always been believers, but they just lacked some experience whereby they could say that now they had a "personal relationship" with Jesus. Under close inspection, their accounts of dramatic conversion turn out to be implicit denials of the gospel message that those who believe in Jesus are saved! It is no longer faith in Christ that saves, but the experience of sensing a "personal relationship" with him. This is not scriptural.
When a "personal relationship" is elevated to saving status, and people aren't sure whether they've got such a relationship, the temptation is to conjure one up. Sometimes I fear this is exactly what well-meaning believers do. They carry on a dialogue with themselves and label one of the voices "God." By putting words into God’s mouth they may provide themselves with the illusion of a relationship with him, but in reality it brings them no closer to him.
What brings us closer to God is obedience and faith. Obedience to what is right and faith in what is true. Worry about those things - “seek first his kingdom and righteousness” - and a "relationship" of sorts with God will develop of its own. But it will be under God’s direction and sovereignty, and not because we have willed it into existence. It will be only distantly similar to the kinds of relationships we know and enjoy with one another. Remember that he is God and we are his creatures. We are not on equal footing with him. We ought to remain amazed and astounded that he should stoop to welcome us into his family, and discreet and humble about daring to speak of our "personal relationship" with him.
Sunday, November 16, 2003
Scary Dad (November 16, 2003)
I’ve got a couple teenage boys. I’d like to share with you my method for keeping them off drugs.
It starts with example. My boys know that in all my life I have never used any kind of drug, or even smoked a cigarette or tasted a beer. Though I am guilty of many things, when it comes to substance abuse I’m clean as new-fallen snow.
That is not to say I’m not an addict. Since the age of eight I’ve started every day with a cup of coffee, and though I don’t drink a lot (never more than 2-3 cups a day), a daily caffeine fix is part of who I am. I also bite my nails (disgusting habit!), and would probably quiver like Rain Man missing Judge Wapner if those nails ever needed biting and I tried to resist.
I suspect that I am a dry alcoholic - that is, prone by genetics or disposition to be chemically enslaved - but I’ll never find out for sure because I’ll never take a drink. I’ve told my boys that a number of times: Never take the first drink, the first pill, the first joint, the first cigarette. Never consider yourself immune to addiction - I don’t. Both my boys know people who tried their first “whatever” and
then never stopped.
My other method is intimidation. I have spelled out for them with ringing clarity what I would do if I ever found, say, marijuana in their possession. I would call the police immediately and have them arrested, and I would not bail them out. They would spend time in jail. They know this, I’ve repeated it, they know I mean it, and they know I would follow through.
I know that some would see this approach as brutal and unloving, but I see it quite the other way. My message to both my boys is, “I love you enough to tell you ahead of time so that you know with 100 percent certainty that I will abandon your carcass to jail if you ever do drugs.
“So don’t do them.”
I’ve got a couple teenage boys. I’d like to share with you my method for keeping them off drugs.
It starts with example. My boys know that in all my life I have never used any kind of drug, or even smoked a cigarette or tasted a beer. Though I am guilty of many things, when it comes to substance abuse I’m clean as new-fallen snow.
That is not to say I’m not an addict. Since the age of eight I’ve started every day with a cup of coffee, and though I don’t drink a lot (never more than 2-3 cups a day), a daily caffeine fix is part of who I am. I also bite my nails (disgusting habit!), and would probably quiver like Rain Man missing Judge Wapner if those nails ever needed biting and I tried to resist.
I suspect that I am a dry alcoholic - that is, prone by genetics or disposition to be chemically enslaved - but I’ll never find out for sure because I’ll never take a drink. I’ve told my boys that a number of times: Never take the first drink, the first pill, the first joint, the first cigarette. Never consider yourself immune to addiction - I don’t. Both my boys know people who tried their first “whatever” and
then never stopped.
My other method is intimidation. I have spelled out for them with ringing clarity what I would do if I ever found, say, marijuana in their possession. I would call the police immediately and have them arrested, and I would not bail them out. They would spend time in jail. They know this, I’ve repeated it, they know I mean it, and they know I would follow through.
I know that some would see this approach as brutal and unloving, but I see it quite the other way. My message to both my boys is, “I love you enough to tell you ahead of time so that you know with 100 percent certainty that I will abandon your carcass to jail if you ever do drugs.
“So don’t do them.”
Sunday, November 9, 2003
I’m Such A Baby That Shrek Makes Me Cry (November 9, 2003)
A reference in Sunday School to Jacob weeping out loud over meeting Rachel (Genesis 29:11) led to a discussion about what makes people cry.
Crying varies from culture to culture and person to person. In Middle Eastern cultures people cry a lot more than Westerners do, and you will find the Bible full of unabashed weepers like Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Saul, David, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Peter, John, Paul and Timothy - to name a few. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35) and over rebellious Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). The king of biblical criers has to be David, who wrote, "I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears." (Psalm 6:6)
Crying is at least partly voluntary - like a cough it can be suppressed or faked. Jewish funeral custom required that even poor families hire at least one professional wailing woman to weep and howl at a loved one's burial. Clearly such women could spout for pay for people they didn’t know. And of course, any good actor (or even a bad one like Jimmy Swaggert or Tammy Faye Baker) can cry on cue.
Western culture has traditionally shamed men for crying (as in Friar Laurence's rebuke of Romeo: "Thy tears are womanish...By my holy order, I thought thy disposition better tempered"), and that contempt has evaporated many a man's tears before they ever left the ducts. But attitudes are changing. Sportswriters point out, for example, that Hall of Fame inductees never used to cry on the lawn at Cooperstown - but now they gush buckets. Tom Hanks' comment about there being “no crying in baseball” belongs to the bygone era of Joe Dimaggio.
My own tears are a mystery to me. For some reason I don't cry at funerals, but the animated film Shrek had me rubbing huge wet drops from my cheeks when Rufus Wainwright sang,
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelu---jah
There is a time to cry. When my sister received bad news last year (following a string of other tragedies), I called my brother Dave and he responded with Malcom's words from Macbeth, "Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there weep our sad bosoms empty." God sees our tears, and bottles each one. (King David wrote, "Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll - are they not in your record?" Psalm 56:8.) But God also knows that our tears are not forever. Eric Clapton was right when he sang, "I know there'll be no more tears in heaven." Scripture promises as much in Revelation 7:17 where it says, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Though this life can be a valley of woe, the ultimate destiny of God's loved ones is joy, not sorrow; fellowship, not solitude; fulfillment, not loss; and laughter, not tears.
A reference in Sunday School to Jacob weeping out loud over meeting Rachel (Genesis 29:11) led to a discussion about what makes people cry.
Crying varies from culture to culture and person to person. In Middle Eastern cultures people cry a lot more than Westerners do, and you will find the Bible full of unabashed weepers like Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Saul, David, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Peter, John, Paul and Timothy - to name a few. Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35) and over rebellious Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). The king of biblical criers has to be David, who wrote, "I am worn out from groaning; all night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears." (Psalm 6:6)
Crying is at least partly voluntary - like a cough it can be suppressed or faked. Jewish funeral custom required that even poor families hire at least one professional wailing woman to weep and howl at a loved one's burial. Clearly such women could spout for pay for people they didn’t know. And of course, any good actor (or even a bad one like Jimmy Swaggert or Tammy Faye Baker) can cry on cue.
Western culture has traditionally shamed men for crying (as in Friar Laurence's rebuke of Romeo: "Thy tears are womanish...By my holy order, I thought thy disposition better tempered"), and that contempt has evaporated many a man's tears before they ever left the ducts. But attitudes are changing. Sportswriters point out, for example, that Hall of Fame inductees never used to cry on the lawn at Cooperstown - but now they gush buckets. Tom Hanks' comment about there being “no crying in baseball” belongs to the bygone era of Joe Dimaggio.
My own tears are a mystery to me. For some reason I don't cry at funerals, but the animated film Shrek had me rubbing huge wet drops from my cheeks when Rufus Wainwright sang,
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelu---jah
There is a time to cry. When my sister received bad news last year (following a string of other tragedies), I called my brother Dave and he responded with Malcom's words from Macbeth, "Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there weep our sad bosoms empty." God sees our tears, and bottles each one. (King David wrote, "Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll - are they not in your record?" Psalm 56:8.) But God also knows that our tears are not forever. Eric Clapton was right when he sang, "I know there'll be no more tears in heaven." Scripture promises as much in Revelation 7:17 where it says, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." Though this life can be a valley of woe, the ultimate destiny of God's loved ones is joy, not sorrow; fellowship, not solitude; fulfillment, not loss; and laughter, not tears.
Sunday, November 2, 2003
Good Men In The Service Of Evil (November 2, 2003)
The other day I chased a historical rabbit trail and discovered the story of a good man caught on the wrong side of an armed conflict.
I had long been curious about the backstory behind the Irish folk song "Grace" (sung magnificently by Anthony Kearns). The song is a first-person account of a man getting married just before his execution. The chorus goes:
Oh Grace, just hold me in your arms and let this moment linger
They'll take me out at dawn and I will die
With all my love I'll place this wedding ring upon your finger
There won't be time to share our love, for we must say good-bye.
The song is so emotionally powerful that I almost cried when first I heard it. So I looked it up and found that it referred to Joseph Plunkett, a key figure in the "Easter Uprising" of 1916 in Dublin. The uprising was a miserably ill-advised coup attempt by Irish rebels that the British easily crushed. Plunkett and 15 co-conspirators were arrested and executed. The night before facing the firing squad, Plunkett married his sweetheart, Grace Gifford, in a brief ceremony at the chapel in Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). Widowed within hours, she never remarried. Grace Gifford Plunkett became a leading voice for Irish independence as she honored (or some would say "exploited for political purposes") her husband's death, and died in 1955.
I do not know if there are any Sinn Fein sympathizers among my readers, but if there are, I will lose them right now by saying I think they are a bunch of terrorists. Their cause, methods and ideology are light-years removed from the valid struggles for independence on the part of India in the 1940s or the American colonies in the 1770s. It is not unreasonable to credit Irish nationalists with inventing the brand of terrorism that became the scourge of the latter 20th century and that now bleeds into the 21st.
The Easter Uprising of 1916 was wrong through and through, and it set the stage for the horrors that plague cities like Belfast to the present day. But - and this sets my mind reeling - Joseph Plunkett was a brave, devout Christian man. He was a fine scholar and poet, and some of his religious poetry is superb. Read this one, and note the simplicity and elegance with which Plunkett expresses the truth that Christ's glory is found in nature:
I See His Blood Upon The Rose
I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows
His tears fall from the skies.
I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice - and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.
All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined by every thorn,
His cross is every tree.
I believe that Plunkett's heart was touched by the grace of God. So, how could he have been so wrong in his choice of political alignment?
It occurred to me in mulling this over that Plunkett was not alone. Perhaps the two worthiest Christian men who fought in the Civil War were Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. (My favorite example of Lee's integrity has to do with the fact that, when offered money to write his memoirs, he refused on the grounds that he would not profit from the blood of his men. No such scruples inhibited Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell, who signed book deals for 5 and 6 million dollars each after Gulf War I.) But Lee and Jackson were on the wrong side. They did not see the war in terms of upholding the institution of slavery, but, ultimately, that is what it came to be about. Good men fought for evil.
Even Judah's best king, Josiah, fought in a bad cause. 2 Kings 23:25 says of him, "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did." But when he was just 39 Josiah foolishly went after Neco, the Pharoah of Egypt, who had gone to help Assyria against Babylon. Neco warned Josiah to stay away, saying, "I have no quarrel with you. God told me to hurry, so do not oppose God." (2 Chronicles 35:21). Neco was right; Josiah was wrong, and Josiah died needlessly in battle.
In trying to sort out a lesson from such tragedies, it seems to me that they ought to inspire humility among the people of God. The best among us can sometimes be found contending on the wrong side. Remember that, and pray always for wisdom, and know that the holiness of your character does not guarantee the rightness of your cause. And let these cases move us to obey Jesus' command to love our enemies. Some of them are very good people. And even though - in the name of duty and justice - we have to kill them sometimes, remember that we may well see them in heaven, and be able to resume our brotherhood with them there.
The other day I chased a historical rabbit trail and discovered the story of a good man caught on the wrong side of an armed conflict.
I had long been curious about the backstory behind the Irish folk song "Grace" (sung magnificently by Anthony Kearns). The song is a first-person account of a man getting married just before his execution. The chorus goes:
Oh Grace, just hold me in your arms and let this moment linger
They'll take me out at dawn and I will die
With all my love I'll place this wedding ring upon your finger
There won't be time to share our love, for we must say good-bye.
The song is so emotionally powerful that I almost cried when first I heard it. So I looked it up and found that it referred to Joseph Plunkett, a key figure in the "Easter Uprising" of 1916 in Dublin. The uprising was a miserably ill-advised coup attempt by Irish rebels that the British easily crushed. Plunkett and 15 co-conspirators were arrested and executed. The night before facing the firing squad, Plunkett married his sweetheart, Grace Gifford, in a brief ceremony at the chapel in Kilmainham Gaol (Jail). Widowed within hours, she never remarried. Grace Gifford Plunkett became a leading voice for Irish independence as she honored (or some would say "exploited for political purposes") her husband's death, and died in 1955.
I do not know if there are any Sinn Fein sympathizers among my readers, but if there are, I will lose them right now by saying I think they are a bunch of terrorists. Their cause, methods and ideology are light-years removed from the valid struggles for independence on the part of India in the 1940s or the American colonies in the 1770s. It is not unreasonable to credit Irish nationalists with inventing the brand of terrorism that became the scourge of the latter 20th century and that now bleeds into the 21st.
The Easter Uprising of 1916 was wrong through and through, and it set the stage for the horrors that plague cities like Belfast to the present day. But - and this sets my mind reeling - Joseph Plunkett was a brave, devout Christian man. He was a fine scholar and poet, and some of his religious poetry is superb. Read this one, and note the simplicity and elegance with which Plunkett expresses the truth that Christ's glory is found in nature:
I See His Blood Upon The Rose
I see his blood upon the rose
And in the stars the glory of his eyes,
His body gleams amid eternal snows
His tears fall from the skies.
I see his face in every flower;
The thunder and the singing of the birds
Are but his voice - and carven by his power
Rocks are his written words.
All pathways by his feet are worn,
His strong heart stirs the ever-beating sea,
His crown of thorns is twined by every thorn,
His cross is every tree.
I believe that Plunkett's heart was touched by the grace of God. So, how could he have been so wrong in his choice of political alignment?
It occurred to me in mulling this over that Plunkett was not alone. Perhaps the two worthiest Christian men who fought in the Civil War were Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. (My favorite example of Lee's integrity has to do with the fact that, when offered money to write his memoirs, he refused on the grounds that he would not profit from the blood of his men. No such scruples inhibited Norman Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell, who signed book deals for 5 and 6 million dollars each after Gulf War I.) But Lee and Jackson were on the wrong side. They did not see the war in terms of upholding the institution of slavery, but, ultimately, that is what it came to be about. Good men fought for evil.
Even Judah's best king, Josiah, fought in a bad cause. 2 Kings 23:25 says of him, "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did." But when he was just 39 Josiah foolishly went after Neco, the Pharoah of Egypt, who had gone to help Assyria against Babylon. Neco warned Josiah to stay away, saying, "I have no quarrel with you. God told me to hurry, so do not oppose God." (2 Chronicles 35:21). Neco was right; Josiah was wrong, and Josiah died needlessly in battle.
In trying to sort out a lesson from such tragedies, it seems to me that they ought to inspire humility among the people of God. The best among us can sometimes be found contending on the wrong side. Remember that, and pray always for wisdom, and know that the holiness of your character does not guarantee the rightness of your cause. And let these cases move us to obey Jesus' command to love our enemies. Some of them are very good people. And even though - in the name of duty and justice - we have to kill them sometimes, remember that we may well see them in heaven, and be able to resume our brotherhood with them there.
Sunday, October 26, 2003
How Do You Want To Die? (October 26, 2003)
Get a living will.
Recently I have found myself on the "wrong side" of the Terri Schiavo case, disagreeing with the vast majority of fellow conservative pro-lifers who have campaigned to restore the feeding tube that has kept her in a vegetative state for 13 years. I have always believed that it is immoral to enforce extreme measures - like a respirator for one who will never breathe, or a feeding tube for one who will never eat - upon an individual who cannot consent to them.
You may disagree with me, and I know of many fine Christian brothers and sisters who would be shocked and grieved that a pro-life minister would hold such a view. But even if Christian friends differ on whether withholding such treatment is an act of mercy or an act of murder, let's all agree on this: that we should make our own wishes known - clearly, in writing - to those who could be responsible some day for connecting or unplugging the machines that might preserve our beating hearts.
My own family knows my wishes. If I am incapacitated with no chance of recovery, then slap a “Do not THINK of Resuscitating” on my clipboard and leave me free of all respirators, feeding tubes and dialysis machines. If I can't breathe, swallow, or filter out my poisons, then for heaven's sake (literally!), for the love of God (literally!), let me go home and see my Savior.
I know plenty of people who feel the same way I do about that, but in all my life I've only met one who said she wanted every possible measure to keep her alive. Fair enough - let it be done so for her. Others are content to let their families make the decision. That's fine too, but keep in mind that (1) Families tend to argue about it - as they are doing now in the Schiavo case, and (2) Families, in my
experience, almost never pull a feeding tube. Usually they default to whatever machines will keep the heart beating.
"Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind." (Romans 14:5) Whether you want full measures, half measures, or (like me) no measures at all, do everybody a favor and make your feelings known. And if you are ever in that tough spot of having to make the life-or-afterlife decision for someone else, remember that the rule of our Lord applies: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Matthew 7:12)
Get a living will.
Recently I have found myself on the "wrong side" of the Terri Schiavo case, disagreeing with the vast majority of fellow conservative pro-lifers who have campaigned to restore the feeding tube that has kept her in a vegetative state for 13 years. I have always believed that it is immoral to enforce extreme measures - like a respirator for one who will never breathe, or a feeding tube for one who will never eat - upon an individual who cannot consent to them.
You may disagree with me, and I know of many fine Christian brothers and sisters who would be shocked and grieved that a pro-life minister would hold such a view. But even if Christian friends differ on whether withholding such treatment is an act of mercy or an act of murder, let's all agree on this: that we should make our own wishes known - clearly, in writing - to those who could be responsible some day for connecting or unplugging the machines that might preserve our beating hearts.
My own family knows my wishes. If I am incapacitated with no chance of recovery, then slap a “Do not THINK of Resuscitating” on my clipboard and leave me free of all respirators, feeding tubes and dialysis machines. If I can't breathe, swallow, or filter out my poisons, then for heaven's sake (literally!), for the love of God (literally!), let me go home and see my Savior.
I know plenty of people who feel the same way I do about that, but in all my life I've only met one who said she wanted every possible measure to keep her alive. Fair enough - let it be done so for her. Others are content to let their families make the decision. That's fine too, but keep in mind that (1) Families tend to argue about it - as they are doing now in the Schiavo case, and (2) Families, in my
experience, almost never pull a feeding tube. Usually they default to whatever machines will keep the heart beating.
"Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind." (Romans 14:5) Whether you want full measures, half measures, or (like me) no measures at all, do everybody a favor and make your feelings known. And if you are ever in that tough spot of having to make the life-or-afterlife decision for someone else, remember that the rule of our Lord applies: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." (Matthew 7:12)
Sunday, October 19, 2003
A Word For The Spiritually Discouraged (October 19, 2003)
Last week's Chicago Tribune contained an article detailing Mother Theresa's religious despair. Letters that she wrote to priests and counselors have been made public, and they reveal at times a surprisingly bleak assessment of her spiritual outlook. Some quotes:
I am told God lives in me - and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul.
I want God with all the power of my soul - and yet between us there is terrible separation. Heaven from every side is closed.
I feel just that terrible pain of loss, of God not wanting me, of God not being God, of God not really existing.
I wondered what I would say if I were the priest who received these expressions of sorrow and had to write some words of comfort to so great a soul as Mother Theresa. For what it is worth, here a few thoughts.
1) You're not alone. Read again David's laments in the Psalms. Jesus himself cried out from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" If the holy Son of God felt abandoned, why in heaven's name shouldn't you feel that way sometimes?
2) Consider the possibility that the distance you feel from God is an affliction from the devil that God permits in order to humble you. St. Paul wrote, "To keep me from becoming conceited...there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." (2 Corinthians 12:7). Many admire you, wish they could be like you, think you are a living saint. What a diabolical temptation to pride! Who could resist that temptation without the aid of a heavy load of sorrow to keep the soul from exalting itself like Lucifer?
3) Remember that the fullness of God's presence is something that we're supposed to look forward to. If you thought you could get it here you are mistaken. Even Paul said, "Now we see through a glass darkly." (1 Corinthians 13:12). If you could experience all of God now, then what is heaven for?
4) Is it possible that you are expecting a sense of God "wanting you," or approving you as a reward for all the good things you've done? If so, laugh that thought right out the window immediately. God accepts you (whether or not you feel he does) not because you are a saint but because Jesus died for your sins.
5) Some people find perverse satisfaction in deepening despair. Beware this tendency in yourself, and do not think you are immune to it. Just as anorexics will turn away from the food that would make them healthy, so some melancholics will resist joy even when it is beating hard at the door of their hearts. When the Spirit of God alights on your soul with an occasion to rejoice, indulge the joy!
God loves you.
Last week's Chicago Tribune contained an article detailing Mother Theresa's religious despair. Letters that she wrote to priests and counselors have been made public, and they reveal at times a surprisingly bleak assessment of her spiritual outlook. Some quotes:
I am told God lives in me - and yet the reality of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul.
I want God with all the power of my soul - and yet between us there is terrible separation. Heaven from every side is closed.
I feel just that terrible pain of loss, of God not wanting me, of God not being God, of God not really existing.
I wondered what I would say if I were the priest who received these expressions of sorrow and had to write some words of comfort to so great a soul as Mother Theresa. For what it is worth, here a few thoughts.
1) You're not alone. Read again David's laments in the Psalms. Jesus himself cried out from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" If the holy Son of God felt abandoned, why in heaven's name shouldn't you feel that way sometimes?
2) Consider the possibility that the distance you feel from God is an affliction from the devil that God permits in order to humble you. St. Paul wrote, "To keep me from becoming conceited...there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." (2 Corinthians 12:7). Many admire you, wish they could be like you, think you are a living saint. What a diabolical temptation to pride! Who could resist that temptation without the aid of a heavy load of sorrow to keep the soul from exalting itself like Lucifer?
3) Remember that the fullness of God's presence is something that we're supposed to look forward to. If you thought you could get it here you are mistaken. Even Paul said, "Now we see through a glass darkly." (1 Corinthians 13:12). If you could experience all of God now, then what is heaven for?
4) Is it possible that you are expecting a sense of God "wanting you," or approving you as a reward for all the good things you've done? If so, laugh that thought right out the window immediately. God accepts you (whether or not you feel he does) not because you are a saint but because Jesus died for your sins.
5) Some people find perverse satisfaction in deepening despair. Beware this tendency in yourself, and do not think you are immune to it. Just as anorexics will turn away from the food that would make them healthy, so some melancholics will resist joy even when it is beating hard at the door of their hearts. When the Spirit of God alights on your soul with an occasion to rejoice, indulge the joy!
God loves you.
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Delighting In Creation (October 12, 2003)
Go out and see some nature. It is good for you, and may draw you closer to God.
Recently I had the pleasure of talking to a visitor at church who turned out to love our national and state parks as much as I do. There is a special joy in finding a kindred spirit who agrees that Starved Rock is best when covered with ice and snow, or that the time to visit the Warren Dunes is in the off-season when you can have them all to yourself.
While the Psalmist tended to look skyward for such inspiration ("The heavens declare the glory of God!"), you can also look around you at rivers and trees and canyons and waterfalls to receive that same sense of divine majesty. God put in our hearts something that thrills to the glory of his creation, and I believe it is good to feed that thrill and let it intensify. I remember as a child seeing the mountains of
Grand Teton National Park, and being so consumed with longing that it felt like I would burst inside. It was almost as if I wanted my eyes to be bigger - like I wanted a greater capacity to take in the view and savor it as it ought to be savored.
I believe the voice of God calls to us through that longing. It certainly did for a friend of mine who now serves in youth ministry. He told me that the pivotal moment of his conversion came when he was on vacation in Alaska. There was no religious faith in his upbringing, but as he stared at the mountains one day the thought came
irresistibly to his mind: "There is a God."
There is a God, and he likes to speak his glory and refresh our souls through that which he has made. As 19th-century English minister Charles Spurgeon said to fellow pastors,
He who forgets the humming of the bees among the heather, the cooing of the wood pigeons in the forest, the song of birds in the woods, the rippling of rills among the rushes, and the sighing of the wind among the pines, need not wonder if his heart forgets to sing and his soul grows heavy. A day's breathing of fresh air upon the hills, or a few hours' ramble in the beechwoods' umbrageous calm, would sweep the cobwebs out of the brain of scores of our toiling ministers who are now but half alive. A mouthful of sea air, or a stiff walk in the wind's face, would not give grace to the soul, but it would yield oxygen to the body, which is next best.
Well, this is my day off, and I live only 80 minutes from Matthiessen State Park. Bye.
Go out and see some nature. It is good for you, and may draw you closer to God.
Recently I had the pleasure of talking to a visitor at church who turned out to love our national and state parks as much as I do. There is a special joy in finding a kindred spirit who agrees that Starved Rock is best when covered with ice and snow, or that the time to visit the Warren Dunes is in the off-season when you can have them all to yourself.
While the Psalmist tended to look skyward for such inspiration ("The heavens declare the glory of God!"), you can also look around you at rivers and trees and canyons and waterfalls to receive that same sense of divine majesty. God put in our hearts something that thrills to the glory of his creation, and I believe it is good to feed that thrill and let it intensify. I remember as a child seeing the mountains of
Grand Teton National Park, and being so consumed with longing that it felt like I would burst inside. It was almost as if I wanted my eyes to be bigger - like I wanted a greater capacity to take in the view and savor it as it ought to be savored.
I believe the voice of God calls to us through that longing. It certainly did for a friend of mine who now serves in youth ministry. He told me that the pivotal moment of his conversion came when he was on vacation in Alaska. There was no religious faith in his upbringing, but as he stared at the mountains one day the thought came
irresistibly to his mind: "There is a God."
There is a God, and he likes to speak his glory and refresh our souls through that which he has made. As 19th-century English minister Charles Spurgeon said to fellow pastors,
He who forgets the humming of the bees among the heather, the cooing of the wood pigeons in the forest, the song of birds in the woods, the rippling of rills among the rushes, and the sighing of the wind among the pines, need not wonder if his heart forgets to sing and his soul grows heavy. A day's breathing of fresh air upon the hills, or a few hours' ramble in the beechwoods' umbrageous calm, would sweep the cobwebs out of the brain of scores of our toiling ministers who are now but half alive. A mouthful of sea air, or a stiff walk in the wind's face, would not give grace to the soul, but it would yield oxygen to the body, which is next best.
Well, this is my day off, and I live only 80 minutes from Matthiessen State Park. Bye.
Sunday, October 5, 2003
The Dangers Of Corporate Forgiveness (October 5, 2003)
A question came up in Sunday School about whether we should forgive Bill Clinton (presumably for his adultery, perjury, and relentless lying that cost American taxpayers millions of dollars). The question has given me occasion to reflect on the nature of judgment and forgiveness.
It helps to understand what the Bible teaches about forgiveness if we keep in mind the biblical illustration of indebtedness. Forgiving a sin is like canceling a debt. I owe you $100, can't pay it, and you forgive me the debt so I don't owe you anything. It is as Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:12: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
But let's say that John Doe owes you $100, and, needing the money back, you remind him of it. Suppose he says, "I don't owe you anything. Paul Lundquist said I don't have to pay." You would be puzzled, perhaps indignant, and say "Paul Who? He's got nothing to do with this! You owe the money to me, not to him."
The point is that I cannot forgive someone's indebtedness to a third party because I have no jurisdiction over that debt. The only debts I can forgive are those that are owed to me, just as the only sins I can forgive are the ones where I personally have been wronged. Forgiving sins committed against another is beyond presumptuous - it is a usurpation of the authority of God. That is why the Pharisees protested when Jesus said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5). They reasoned, rightly, that only God could forgive sins. In forgiving the paralytic, Jesus claimed to be the One against Whom all the man’s sins were committed.
For that reason, it is inappropriate to speak of our forgiving Bill Clinton. My share of victimization on account of Clinton’s sins is either miniscule or nonexistent. Who in the world am I to say, "I forgive him"? That is not my call. There are many wronged parties here, and it is up to them to decide whether to forgive their sliver of the pie of Clinton's offense. Hillary appears to have "forgiven" her husband's philandering, though the more cynical among us suspect
that that has more to do with her political ambition than with her sense of charity. As for Ken Starr, Clinton unleashed the hounds on him, and as far as I know has never apologized to Starr or sought forgiveness for the misery to which he subjected him. And how do Madeline Albright and other staff members feel about having been made unwitting agents of Clinton's deception?
Each wronged party has the right to forgive, and Christians are required to forgive those who wrong us and seek our pardon. But let us be careful about employing that word "forgive" beyond its appointed boundaries. Biblical forgiveness is deep and full, but narrowly channeled. Forgiveness without accountability is simply enablement. And forgiving someone who has not wronged you comes dangerously close to playing God. If we start forgiving people without heeding these biblical constraints, we'll soon be more wicked than the unjust judge of Luke 18:1-5. At least that lazy judge eventually upheld the cause of a poor widow. But a thoughtless forgiver would say, "I have taken the high road here and granted merciful pardon to your oppressor." The widow would weep, and the oppressor would rejoice at the opportunity to go out and defraud more widows.
If we "forgive" our leaders when (1) they have not repented and (2) we had no right to forgive them in the first place, then we will have no excuse when, decades from now, ambitious villains and fiends seize on our wrong-headed mercy and rule us with a cruelty that will make Clinton's immorality look like child's play.
A question came up in Sunday School about whether we should forgive Bill Clinton (presumably for his adultery, perjury, and relentless lying that cost American taxpayers millions of dollars). The question has given me occasion to reflect on the nature of judgment and forgiveness.
It helps to understand what the Bible teaches about forgiveness if we keep in mind the biblical illustration of indebtedness. Forgiving a sin is like canceling a debt. I owe you $100, can't pay it, and you forgive me the debt so I don't owe you anything. It is as Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:12: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."
But let's say that John Doe owes you $100, and, needing the money back, you remind him of it. Suppose he says, "I don't owe you anything. Paul Lundquist said I don't have to pay." You would be puzzled, perhaps indignant, and say "Paul Who? He's got nothing to do with this! You owe the money to me, not to him."
The point is that I cannot forgive someone's indebtedness to a third party because I have no jurisdiction over that debt. The only debts I can forgive are those that are owed to me, just as the only sins I can forgive are the ones where I personally have been wronged. Forgiving sins committed against another is beyond presumptuous - it is a usurpation of the authority of God. That is why the Pharisees protested when Jesus said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5). They reasoned, rightly, that only God could forgive sins. In forgiving the paralytic, Jesus claimed to be the One against Whom all the man’s sins were committed.
For that reason, it is inappropriate to speak of our forgiving Bill Clinton. My share of victimization on account of Clinton’s sins is either miniscule or nonexistent. Who in the world am I to say, "I forgive him"? That is not my call. There are many wronged parties here, and it is up to them to decide whether to forgive their sliver of the pie of Clinton's offense. Hillary appears to have "forgiven" her husband's philandering, though the more cynical among us suspect
that that has more to do with her political ambition than with her sense of charity. As for Ken Starr, Clinton unleashed the hounds on him, and as far as I know has never apologized to Starr or sought forgiveness for the misery to which he subjected him. And how do Madeline Albright and other staff members feel about having been made unwitting agents of Clinton's deception?
Each wronged party has the right to forgive, and Christians are required to forgive those who wrong us and seek our pardon. But let us be careful about employing that word "forgive" beyond its appointed boundaries. Biblical forgiveness is deep and full, but narrowly channeled. Forgiveness without accountability is simply enablement. And forgiving someone who has not wronged you comes dangerously close to playing God. If we start forgiving people without heeding these biblical constraints, we'll soon be more wicked than the unjust judge of Luke 18:1-5. At least that lazy judge eventually upheld the cause of a poor widow. But a thoughtless forgiver would say, "I have taken the high road here and granted merciful pardon to your oppressor." The widow would weep, and the oppressor would rejoice at the opportunity to go out and defraud more widows.
If we "forgive" our leaders when (1) they have not repented and (2) we had no right to forgive them in the first place, then we will have no excuse when, decades from now, ambitious villains and fiends seize on our wrong-headed mercy and rule us with a cruelty that will make Clinton's immorality look like child's play.
Sunday, September 28, 2003
Death To Adulterers (September 28, 2003)
Should adulterers be executed?
You may have heard the news story about Amina Lawal, a 31-year-old Nigerian woman who, several months ago, was sentenced to death by a Muslim court that seeks to enforce sharia, or law based on the Koran. Had the sentence been carried out, she would have been pelted with rocks till dead. But last Thursday her conviction was overturned.
News commentators and human rights groups assailed the original decision to execute her, and everyone seems to be breathing a big sigh of relief now that she has been acquitted. I have yet to hear anyone, Christian, Muslim, or other, saying, “Too bad about that reversal. They really should have killed her.” We who are civilized know that stoning adulterers is barbaric and primitive, and we who are Christians know that we are supposed to be merciful and not judge anybody.
But wait a minute - there is a problem. God commanded the Israelites to kill adulterers. It’s as clear as can be: Leviticus 20:10: “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife - with the wife of his neighbor - both the adulterer and adulteress must be put to death.” Deuteronomy 22:22: “If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.”
If it is always evil to execute adulterers, then the Bible is false and we hold our faith in vain.
But didn’t Jesus overturn the death penalty for adulterers in that story about the woman caught in the act (John 7:53-8:11)? I don’t think so. There are several asterisks attached to that story. Look it up in any good study Bible, and you will see it bracketed or italicized because even the most conservative scholars agree that the earliest Greek manuscripts do not include it. (No Greek church father commented on the passage until the 12th century!) That does not mean the incident did not occur - I believe the story is true even though it was not originally part of John’s gospel - but we should be cautious about assuming that it has Scriptural authority.
Even assuming, however, that Jesus really did let an adulteress go free, note that he didn’t say it was because the purpose of the law concerning adulterer-execution had been fulfilled, or that men had misinterpreted it, or that he as Lawgiver was now superseding it. You can make that case (and in fact I do) about the way Jesus dealt with Sabbath law, ceremonial washings and dietary restrictions. But it does not work with adultery. Adultery is condemned in the New Testament as well as the Old.
The reason Jesus let the woman go free (with a warning not to sin again) was because her accusers were just as guilty as she. “Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone,” he said. None of the men qualified. The justice system had broken down. When righteous men enforce the law, that is pleasing to God. When adulterers stone adulterers, that is perverted farce.
In a perfect world, no one would commit adultery. In a slightly less perfect world, all adulterers would be executed quickly. I believe that would be a wonderful world to live in. The deterrent force of a death penalty administered with absolute consistency would mean that soon there would be few adulterers to execute. There would be no AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. Few children would be raised in broken homes. No one would have to endure the grief of a partner who cheated and got away with it. Within a few generations the perverse chromosomes of philanderers and rapists would be weeded out of the gene pool, and the human race would become more humane.
But we don’t live in that world. That is why the Nigerian court made the right decision in freeing Ms. Lawal, and why we ought not to seek the revival of Old Testament punishments - even though, strictly speaking, God commanded them. We’re not saying that adulterers don’t deserve to die. They do. There is nothing wrong with the law. But there is something so wrong with us and our culture that we are not good enough to enforce this punishment fairly and consistently. Don’t think for a moment that we have progressed to a point of some great moral enlightenment because we now know that it is wrong to kill adulterers. The truth is the opposite. We have rather descended to such a low moral state that we cannot righteously carry out the just punishments that God ordained.
Should adulterers be executed?
You may have heard the news story about Amina Lawal, a 31-year-old Nigerian woman who, several months ago, was sentenced to death by a Muslim court that seeks to enforce sharia, or law based on the Koran. Had the sentence been carried out, she would have been pelted with rocks till dead. But last Thursday her conviction was overturned.
News commentators and human rights groups assailed the original decision to execute her, and everyone seems to be breathing a big sigh of relief now that she has been acquitted. I have yet to hear anyone, Christian, Muslim, or other, saying, “Too bad about that reversal. They really should have killed her.” We who are civilized know that stoning adulterers is barbaric and primitive, and we who are Christians know that we are supposed to be merciful and not judge anybody.
But wait a minute - there is a problem. God commanded the Israelites to kill adulterers. It’s as clear as can be: Leviticus 20:10: “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife - with the wife of his neighbor - both the adulterer and adulteress must be put to death.” Deuteronomy 22:22: “If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.”
If it is always evil to execute adulterers, then the Bible is false and we hold our faith in vain.
But didn’t Jesus overturn the death penalty for adulterers in that story about the woman caught in the act (John 7:53-8:11)? I don’t think so. There are several asterisks attached to that story. Look it up in any good study Bible, and you will see it bracketed or italicized because even the most conservative scholars agree that the earliest Greek manuscripts do not include it. (No Greek church father commented on the passage until the 12th century!) That does not mean the incident did not occur - I believe the story is true even though it was not originally part of John’s gospel - but we should be cautious about assuming that it has Scriptural authority.
Even assuming, however, that Jesus really did let an adulteress go free, note that he didn’t say it was because the purpose of the law concerning adulterer-execution had been fulfilled, or that men had misinterpreted it, or that he as Lawgiver was now superseding it. You can make that case (and in fact I do) about the way Jesus dealt with Sabbath law, ceremonial washings and dietary restrictions. But it does not work with adultery. Adultery is condemned in the New Testament as well as the Old.
The reason Jesus let the woman go free (with a warning not to sin again) was because her accusers were just as guilty as she. “Let him who is without sin among you cast the first stone,” he said. None of the men qualified. The justice system had broken down. When righteous men enforce the law, that is pleasing to God. When adulterers stone adulterers, that is perverted farce.
In a perfect world, no one would commit adultery. In a slightly less perfect world, all adulterers would be executed quickly. I believe that would be a wonderful world to live in. The deterrent force of a death penalty administered with absolute consistency would mean that soon there would be few adulterers to execute. There would be no AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases. Few children would be raised in broken homes. No one would have to endure the grief of a partner who cheated and got away with it. Within a few generations the perverse chromosomes of philanderers and rapists would be weeded out of the gene pool, and the human race would become more humane.
But we don’t live in that world. That is why the Nigerian court made the right decision in freeing Ms. Lawal, and why we ought not to seek the revival of Old Testament punishments - even though, strictly speaking, God commanded them. We’re not saying that adulterers don’t deserve to die. They do. There is nothing wrong with the law. But there is something so wrong with us and our culture that we are not good enough to enforce this punishment fairly and consistently. Don’t think for a moment that we have progressed to a point of some great moral enlightenment because we now know that it is wrong to kill adulterers. The truth is the opposite. We have rather descended to such a low moral state that we cannot righteously carry out the just punishments that God ordained.
Sunday, September 21, 2003
Choose You This Day (September 21, 2003)
Sometimes you just have to make a decision.
In Sunday School the other day I noted that Abraham’s servant pressed Rebekah’s family for a decision about whether they would let her go marry Isaac. “Tell me one way or the other,” he said (Genesis 24:49). They said yes, but then tried to stretch it out 10 days. He refused to put up with the delay.
Challenges to make a decision occur often in Scripture. Abraham said to Lot, “Pick the land you want. If you go left, I’ll go right. If you go right, I’ll go left” (Genesis 13:9). Joshua said to the Israelites, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). Paul urged Herod Agrippa II to convert to Christ on the spot, prompting the king to say, “You want me to become a Christian now?” (Acts 26:28).
Yes, now. There is a time to pause, ponder, think, weigh, calculate - and there is a time to decide. If you will permit me to poke fun at my own church, I would say that we seem to be gifted ponderers but challenged deciders. Maybe that is why I have always felt so comfortable at Faith Bible Church - I blend in. A friend once pegged
my personality by saying, “I know someone who likes to say, ‘I don’t think - I react.’ You’re the opposite, Paul. You don’t react - you think.”
True, but at least I can make up my mind about where to eat lunch. Yesterday when Ben and I were finishing our sandwiches at Wendy’s a couple FBC families walked in, and I learned there had been another one of those group “Where are we going to eat?” discussions in the parking lot. For some reason, these discussions take a LOT longer
among us than they do among normal people. I still remember, with frank astonishment, that 2-hour discussion back in December about where to eat after the upcoming ice skating party. A “decision” was finally made - only to be overturned the night of the party!
Indecision isn’t always bad. Personal indecision is often motivated by a legitimate fear of choosing badly. Group indecision often springs from genuine courtesy - a desire to ensure that all voices are heard and that everyone’s inclinations are taken into account.
But good grief, sometimes you’ve just got to make a decision and go with it. Hesitation about where to eat lunch is trivial, but in matters like war, indecision on the part of Union Generals McClelland and Meade lengthened the Civil War by several years and cost tens of thousands of lives. And indecision about spiritual matters can bear eternal cost.
In C. S. Lewis' novel The Great Divorce, an angel tries to persuade a borderline soul to repent. The sinner wants to put off the decision. He’ll think about it, go home, and come back the first moment he can. The angel responds, “This moment contains all moments.”
If you are waiting to make a decision between sinning and not sinning, wait no longer. This moment contains all moments. Choose what is good. In murky matters that do not involve moral concerns, pray and choose as best you can as quickly as you can. Yes, you’ll make some mistakes and have some regrets. But you’ll make even more mistakes and have even more regrets if the only real choice you make is to make no
choice at all.
Sometimes you just have to make a decision.
In Sunday School the other day I noted that Abraham’s servant pressed Rebekah’s family for a decision about whether they would let her go marry Isaac. “Tell me one way or the other,” he said (Genesis 24:49). They said yes, but then tried to stretch it out 10 days. He refused to put up with the delay.
Challenges to make a decision occur often in Scripture. Abraham said to Lot, “Pick the land you want. If you go left, I’ll go right. If you go right, I’ll go left” (Genesis 13:9). Joshua said to the Israelites, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” (Joshua 24:15). Paul urged Herod Agrippa II to convert to Christ on the spot, prompting the king to say, “You want me to become a Christian now?” (Acts 26:28).
Yes, now. There is a time to pause, ponder, think, weigh, calculate - and there is a time to decide. If you will permit me to poke fun at my own church, I would say that we seem to be gifted ponderers but challenged deciders. Maybe that is why I have always felt so comfortable at Faith Bible Church - I blend in. A friend once pegged
my personality by saying, “I know someone who likes to say, ‘I don’t think - I react.’ You’re the opposite, Paul. You don’t react - you think.”
True, but at least I can make up my mind about where to eat lunch. Yesterday when Ben and I were finishing our sandwiches at Wendy’s a couple FBC families walked in, and I learned there had been another one of those group “Where are we going to eat?” discussions in the parking lot. For some reason, these discussions take a LOT longer
among us than they do among normal people. I still remember, with frank astonishment, that 2-hour discussion back in December about where to eat after the upcoming ice skating party. A “decision” was finally made - only to be overturned the night of the party!
Indecision isn’t always bad. Personal indecision is often motivated by a legitimate fear of choosing badly. Group indecision often springs from genuine courtesy - a desire to ensure that all voices are heard and that everyone’s inclinations are taken into account.
But good grief, sometimes you’ve just got to make a decision and go with it. Hesitation about where to eat lunch is trivial, but in matters like war, indecision on the part of Union Generals McClelland and Meade lengthened the Civil War by several years and cost tens of thousands of lives. And indecision about spiritual matters can bear eternal cost.
In C. S. Lewis' novel The Great Divorce, an angel tries to persuade a borderline soul to repent. The sinner wants to put off the decision. He’ll think about it, go home, and come back the first moment he can. The angel responds, “This moment contains all moments.”
If you are waiting to make a decision between sinning and not sinning, wait no longer. This moment contains all moments. Choose what is good. In murky matters that do not involve moral concerns, pray and choose as best you can as quickly as you can. Yes, you’ll make some mistakes and have some regrets. But you’ll make even more mistakes and have even more regrets if the only real choice you make is to make no
choice at all.
Sunday, September 14, 2003
Seeking The Company Of “Positive People” (September 14, 2003)
Yesterday I heard a TV preacher say that you should surround yourself with positive people. Shun people who bring you down, he said, and associate with those who encourage you.
I suppose there is something to be said for that advice. We all need a "Barnabas" sometimes (Acts 4:36), an encourager who can cheer us up and make us feel better. Often it is for lack of such support that a person falls into misery or sin.
But what troubled me about this preacher's counsel is that, unqualified, it is a command to be selfish. Surrounding yourself with positive people is contrary to the spirit of Christ, who made a point of associating with the downtrodden and lowly. When criticized for keeping company with misfits, he said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (Mark 2:17). It was the Pharisees who sought out the mutual encouragement of their own kind, who admired one another and who furthered one another’s careers. The way of Christ lies more in the path chosen by Mother Theresa, who deliberately surrounded herself with needy souls who probably gave little thought to boosting her morale.
Twice in the last couple days people new to Faith Bible Church have told me how nice people at FBC are, and I readily agreed, adding that it has been a delight for me to preach before a pleasant group week after week. To worship regularly with kind-hearted and mature people is a blessing for which I thank God.
At the same time, I know that Christian duty and charity compels us to seek out, invite and bless those who are dysfunctional, unstable, disordered and self-absorbed. They need Christ. We must not shun them even though they won't be doing anything to build us up any time soon.
A sign of growth in Christ is that you think less about how others might benefit you and more about how you might benefit them. Beware of surrounding yourself with only "positive people." Sure, they can do a lot for you, but they're probably the ones who least need your help.
Yesterday I heard a TV preacher say that you should surround yourself with positive people. Shun people who bring you down, he said, and associate with those who encourage you.
I suppose there is something to be said for that advice. We all need a "Barnabas" sometimes (Acts 4:36), an encourager who can cheer us up and make us feel better. Often it is for lack of such support that a person falls into misery or sin.
But what troubled me about this preacher's counsel is that, unqualified, it is a command to be selfish. Surrounding yourself with positive people is contrary to the spirit of Christ, who made a point of associating with the downtrodden and lowly. When criticized for keeping company with misfits, he said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (Mark 2:17). It was the Pharisees who sought out the mutual encouragement of their own kind, who admired one another and who furthered one another’s careers. The way of Christ lies more in the path chosen by Mother Theresa, who deliberately surrounded herself with needy souls who probably gave little thought to boosting her morale.
Twice in the last couple days people new to Faith Bible Church have told me how nice people at FBC are, and I readily agreed, adding that it has been a delight for me to preach before a pleasant group week after week. To worship regularly with kind-hearted and mature people is a blessing for which I thank God.
At the same time, I know that Christian duty and charity compels us to seek out, invite and bless those who are dysfunctional, unstable, disordered and self-absorbed. They need Christ. We must not shun them even though they won't be doing anything to build us up any time soon.
A sign of growth in Christ is that you think less about how others might benefit you and more about how you might benefit them. Beware of surrounding yourself with only "positive people." Sure, they can do a lot for you, but they're probably the ones who least need your help.
Sunday, September 7, 2003
Sibling Love (September 7, 2003)
In studying through Genesis it dawned on me that a recurrent theme of the book is brothers who don't get along. Sibling animosity erupts as soon as there are siblings. Cain killed Abel, Ishmael mocked Isaac, Jacob cheated Esau, and Joseph's brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery.
I think of Rodney King's simple plea, "Can't we all just get along?". But I know it is not that easy. If your brother is evil it is hard to be his friend. Read John 7:1-7 where the brothers of Jesus mocked him, telling him to go to Jerusalem if he really wanted to make it big as a prophet. Certainly they knew that people are waiting to kill him there (see verse 2), but you get the feeling that, like the brothers of Joseph, they would not have minded seeing their brother dead. Jesus responded that he was on God's timetable but they were are not, and that he was hated by the world (though they were not) because he testified against sin.
So not everyone (not even Jesus!) can have a good relationship with all his siblings. But try. Psalm 133:1 says, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" I can't tell you how grateful I am for the love that my two brothers and two sisters and I share for each other - a love that has deepened now that our parents are with the Lord and our connections are lateral rather than triangulated by a parent. I hope my sons Ben and Peter can share a love like that as they grow old and my wife and I die off. I have told them explicitly that, even if they wind up on different sides of the country, they must call each other frequently and maintain contact. They are brothers. If one needs a kidney, the other donates. I was happy to hear Ben say, "Of course!"
I'm a little self-conscious making this point as a Caucasian to my mostly Asian congregation (like I've got anything to say to the Chinese about the importance of family ties!). But maybe it is worth pointing out that, as the third generation grows up on American soil, it will be more and more tempted to reflect American values (or lack thereof). America has many strong points, but the sibling bond is not
one of them.
Unbelievable - I'm not making this up - just as I finished typing that last line I heard Ben's voice downstairs saying, "Shut UP! I'm going to smash your face!" It turns out Peter was provoking him, but not quite enough to deserve getting his face smashed. I lectured them both, and said, "Do you know what I'm writing about for the Pastor's Page right now? Right this minute?"
"Not fighting?" one of them offered.
"Close. I’m writing that siblings should get along with each other."
In studying through Genesis it dawned on me that a recurrent theme of the book is brothers who don't get along. Sibling animosity erupts as soon as there are siblings. Cain killed Abel, Ishmael mocked Isaac, Jacob cheated Esau, and Joseph's brothers faked his death and sold him into slavery.
I think of Rodney King's simple plea, "Can't we all just get along?". But I know it is not that easy. If your brother is evil it is hard to be his friend. Read John 7:1-7 where the brothers of Jesus mocked him, telling him to go to Jerusalem if he really wanted to make it big as a prophet. Certainly they knew that people are waiting to kill him there (see verse 2), but you get the feeling that, like the brothers of Joseph, they would not have minded seeing their brother dead. Jesus responded that he was on God's timetable but they were are not, and that he was hated by the world (though they were not) because he testified against sin.
So not everyone (not even Jesus!) can have a good relationship with all his siblings. But try. Psalm 133:1 says, "How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" I can't tell you how grateful I am for the love that my two brothers and two sisters and I share for each other - a love that has deepened now that our parents are with the Lord and our connections are lateral rather than triangulated by a parent. I hope my sons Ben and Peter can share a love like that as they grow old and my wife and I die off. I have told them explicitly that, even if they wind up on different sides of the country, they must call each other frequently and maintain contact. They are brothers. If one needs a kidney, the other donates. I was happy to hear Ben say, "Of course!"
I'm a little self-conscious making this point as a Caucasian to my mostly Asian congregation (like I've got anything to say to the Chinese about the importance of family ties!). But maybe it is worth pointing out that, as the third generation grows up on American soil, it will be more and more tempted to reflect American values (or lack thereof). America has many strong points, but the sibling bond is not
one of them.
Unbelievable - I'm not making this up - just as I finished typing that last line I heard Ben's voice downstairs saying, "Shut UP! I'm going to smash your face!" It turns out Peter was provoking him, but not quite enough to deserve getting his face smashed. I lectured them both, and said, "Do you know what I'm writing about for the Pastor's Page right now? Right this minute?"
"Not fighting?" one of them offered.
"Close. I’m writing that siblings should get along with each other."
Sunday, August 31, 2003
The Christian And The Politician (August 31, 2003)
Recently I saw the documentary Bowling for Columbine, where writer-director Michael Moore struggled to discover the reasons why we have so many murders in the U.S. It turns out (what a surprise!) it is because we are not liberal enough. Michael Moore hates all things conservative, and sees in every misfortune an opportunity to score political points and bash the Right. You may remember how he savaged President Bush during his acceptance speech at the Academy Awards.
Of course we see raw hatred go the other way too, as conservatives threw fits for years about the behavior of Bill Clinton. At my former church I confiscated a video somebody had planted in the foyer that claimed Vince Foster did not commit suicide - Clinton obviously had murdered him!
In the face of such hostility toward the powers that be I like to remind people that we've got it pretty good here. Last week I talked with a Haitian friend who told me about how badly his country is deteriorating under the hopelessly corrupt regime of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide is no better than renowned thug Duvalier. Also last week, with the death of Idi Amin, we were reminded of that African reign of terror where hundreds of thousands of Ugandans were killed. And “time would fail me” to tell of Pinochet and Pol Pot and Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il.
Few nations (no nations?) in history have had better leaders than we. Thank God today for our leaders - both those on the left and those on the right. And pray for them. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
For a primer on how to pray for leaders it is hard to improve on what Tertullian wrote nearly 1800 years ago: "We pray for all the emperors, that God may grant them long life, a secure government, a prosperous family, vigorous troops, a faithful senate, an obedient people; that the whole world may be in peace; and that God may grant, both to Caesar and to every man, the accomplishments of their just desires." If Tertullian could pray so graciously for emperors hostile to Christ, how much more should we pray, with grateful hearts, for all our leaders - regardless of whether they share our political convictions.
Recently I saw the documentary Bowling for Columbine, where writer-director Michael Moore struggled to discover the reasons why we have so many murders in the U.S. It turns out (what a surprise!) it is because we are not liberal enough. Michael Moore hates all things conservative, and sees in every misfortune an opportunity to score political points and bash the Right. You may remember how he savaged President Bush during his acceptance speech at the Academy Awards.
Of course we see raw hatred go the other way too, as conservatives threw fits for years about the behavior of Bill Clinton. At my former church I confiscated a video somebody had planted in the foyer that claimed Vince Foster did not commit suicide - Clinton obviously had murdered him!
In the face of such hostility toward the powers that be I like to remind people that we've got it pretty good here. Last week I talked with a Haitian friend who told me about how badly his country is deteriorating under the hopelessly corrupt regime of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide is no better than renowned thug Duvalier. Also last week, with the death of Idi Amin, we were reminded of that African reign of terror where hundreds of thousands of Ugandans were killed. And “time would fail me” to tell of Pinochet and Pol Pot and Saddam Hussein and Kim Jong Il.
Few nations (no nations?) in history have had better leaders than we. Thank God today for our leaders - both those on the left and those on the right. And pray for them. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says, “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”
For a primer on how to pray for leaders it is hard to improve on what Tertullian wrote nearly 1800 years ago: "We pray for all the emperors, that God may grant them long life, a secure government, a prosperous family, vigorous troops, a faithful senate, an obedient people; that the whole world may be in peace; and that God may grant, both to Caesar and to every man, the accomplishments of their just desires." If Tertullian could pray so graciously for emperors hostile to Christ, how much more should we pray, with grateful hearts, for all our leaders - regardless of whether they share our political convictions.
Sunday, August 24, 2003
Happy Inconveniences Versus The Joyless Pursuit Of Pleasure (August 24, 2003)
A few days ago my son Peter brought me Time Magazine's August 25 issue (about a blackout in the eastern states), and showed me a picture of more than three dozen stranded New Yorkers hitching a ride on a long flat-bed truck. Peter noted (I thought it was an inspired observation) that nearly every person in the photograph was smiling.
What were they smiling about - wasn't the blackout supposed to be a miserable inconvenience for everybody? Sure it was. But somehow even in the midst of that un-air-conditioned traffic nightmare these people found an occasion for joy. (Peter thought it had something to do with their not watching TV) I remembered something my mother used to say about working in a sweatshop for 40 cents an hour during WWII. She said there was a group of black ladies, segregated from the other employees, who were made to work in the hottest part of the factory. What amazed my mother was that these women were so happy - they laughed all day long as they enjoyed one another's company.
By contrast I think of something my brother Dave once told me about his experience aboard a riverboat casino. "Those are joyless places," he said. Rows and rows of slot machines reflected the grim faces of men and women giving away quarters like they were pieces of their souls. Snap a hundred photographs in such a place and see if even one shows as much happiness as that of stranded New Yorkers sharing a ride.
Genuine fun is nearly always a by-product of community. Though we tend to seek fun in a place (a casino or an amusement park) or before a screen (a movie or video game), it is much more likely that fun will find us if we give it a chance to materialize by spending some time together.
A few days ago my son Peter brought me Time Magazine's August 25 issue (about a blackout in the eastern states), and showed me a picture of more than three dozen stranded New Yorkers hitching a ride on a long flat-bed truck. Peter noted (I thought it was an inspired observation) that nearly every person in the photograph was smiling.
What were they smiling about - wasn't the blackout supposed to be a miserable inconvenience for everybody? Sure it was. But somehow even in the midst of that un-air-conditioned traffic nightmare these people found an occasion for joy. (Peter thought it had something to do with their not watching TV) I remembered something my mother used to say about working in a sweatshop for 40 cents an hour during WWII. She said there was a group of black ladies, segregated from the other employees, who were made to work in the hottest part of the factory. What amazed my mother was that these women were so happy - they laughed all day long as they enjoyed one another's company.
By contrast I think of something my brother Dave once told me about his experience aboard a riverboat casino. "Those are joyless places," he said. Rows and rows of slot machines reflected the grim faces of men and women giving away quarters like they were pieces of their souls. Snap a hundred photographs in such a place and see if even one shows as much happiness as that of stranded New Yorkers sharing a ride.
Genuine fun is nearly always a by-product of community. Though we tend to seek fun in a place (a casino or an amusement park) or before a screen (a movie or video game), it is much more likely that fun will find us if we give it a chance to materialize by spending some time together.
Sunday, August 17, 2003
The Sin I Never Hear About (August 17, 2003)
There are two types of sexual sin, but unless I'm missing something, there is only one type that I hear condemned from pulpits, confessed at Promise Keepers or discussed on Christian radio. That is the sin of having sex when you shouldn't. Examples include adultery, fornication, homosexual practice, rape, pedophilia and lust. (Lust - even where there is no sexual contact - is included in this list because Jesus identified sexual covetousness as "adultery of the heart" in Matthew 5:28.)
But I think the other kind of sexual sin has been getting a free pass in evangelical circles. That is the sin of not having sex when you should - the sin of withholding legitimate sexual pleasure from your married partner. When was the last time you heard a sermon condemning frigidity?
As Christians we are often ridiculed by the world because our insistence on purity is interpreted as a slam against sex. “You think sex is dirty!“ No, far from it - we don't hate sex - but I do wonder if we feed the world's contempt of us by (1) neglecting to celebrate the delights of conjugal ecstasy and (2) neglecting to condemn the sin of withholding such delight.
The Bible isn't shy about celebrating sex. Many who read the Song of Solomon for the first time respond with a "Wow! I can't believe the Bible says that!" Things also get a little heated in Proverbs 5:18-19: "May you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer - may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love."
Nor is the Bible shy about condemning the (marital) refusal of sex. 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 says, "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent..." I believe that last line is an oft-disobeyed commandment. The assumption in the minds of many is that there needs to be mutual consent to engage in sex - but this text teaches the opposite. It says that there needs to be mutual consent to refrain from sex. Marital abstinence is acceptable only if both parties agree to it. But if one party desires sex, it is wrong for the other to withhold it.
Years ago in college my roommate and I laughed out loud as an uninhibited friend told us of his desire to marry. "I have a real strong sex drive," he said. "I can't imagine being single the rest of my life. I want to have sex SO bad." Well there is nothing wrong with that. The Bible says "It is better to marry than to burn with passion" (1 Corinthians 7:9). Marriage, among many other things, is God's channel for what might otherwise be a reckless, uncontrolled torrent of passion. I haven't seen that college friend in 20 years, and I don't know how things turned out for him. But I do hope that he conscientiously confined his sexual delights to his wife, and that he was blessed to marry a woman who, as necessary, chose obedience to 1 Corinthians 7:3-5.
There are two types of sexual sin, but unless I'm missing something, there is only one type that I hear condemned from pulpits, confessed at Promise Keepers or discussed on Christian radio. That is the sin of having sex when you shouldn't. Examples include adultery, fornication, homosexual practice, rape, pedophilia and lust. (Lust - even where there is no sexual contact - is included in this list because Jesus identified sexual covetousness as "adultery of the heart" in Matthew 5:28.)
But I think the other kind of sexual sin has been getting a free pass in evangelical circles. That is the sin of not having sex when you should - the sin of withholding legitimate sexual pleasure from your married partner. When was the last time you heard a sermon condemning frigidity?
As Christians we are often ridiculed by the world because our insistence on purity is interpreted as a slam against sex. “You think sex is dirty!“ No, far from it - we don't hate sex - but I do wonder if we feed the world's contempt of us by (1) neglecting to celebrate the delights of conjugal ecstasy and (2) neglecting to condemn the sin of withholding such delight.
The Bible isn't shy about celebrating sex. Many who read the Song of Solomon for the first time respond with a "Wow! I can't believe the Bible says that!" Things also get a little heated in Proverbs 5:18-19: "May you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer - may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love."
Nor is the Bible shy about condemning the (marital) refusal of sex. 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 says, "The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent..." I believe that last line is an oft-disobeyed commandment. The assumption in the minds of many is that there needs to be mutual consent to engage in sex - but this text teaches the opposite. It says that there needs to be mutual consent to refrain from sex. Marital abstinence is acceptable only if both parties agree to it. But if one party desires sex, it is wrong for the other to withhold it.
Years ago in college my roommate and I laughed out loud as an uninhibited friend told us of his desire to marry. "I have a real strong sex drive," he said. "I can't imagine being single the rest of my life. I want to have sex SO bad." Well there is nothing wrong with that. The Bible says "It is better to marry than to burn with passion" (1 Corinthians 7:9). Marriage, among many other things, is God's channel for what might otherwise be a reckless, uncontrolled torrent of passion. I haven't seen that college friend in 20 years, and I don't know how things turned out for him. But I do hope that he conscientiously confined his sexual delights to his wife, and that he was blessed to marry a woman who, as necessary, chose obedience to 1 Corinthians 7:3-5.
Sunday, August 10, 2003
Heaven And Hell Are At Stake (August 10, 2003)
Gene Robinson is going to hell.
I've read many news reports about the newly confirmed (and actively gay) Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, and I've heard many responses both from other bishops and from church laymen. The comments run the predictable gamut from joy that the church has stepped forward to include God's gay children in leadership to dismay that such a sinner could ever be given ecclesiastical authority. And of course both sides are concerned about the political fallout and potential for schism in the Anglican/Episcopal fellowship.
What I haven't seen yet (and it is possible that I just haven't looked hard enough) is the simple, direct, brutally offensive statement:
Gene Robinson is going to hell.
So I'll say it. I'll speak the unspeakable. Not from joy, not out of a desire to see him go there, and certainly not from hatred for him. With God as my witness I do not hate the man. Though I don't know him, I do love him in the sense that I desire what is best for him. What is best for him is that he repent and trust Christ and be saved.
But he has not trusted Christ and he is not saved, and he shows that he is lost by steadfastly refusing to repent. Such behavior on the part of a religious authority is nothing new - you will see in Scripture how the Pharisees also sinned scandalously, took offense at being called evildoers, maintained their religious posts and refused to change their ways. Jesus did not say they were saved anyway - he pronounced the judgment of hellfire against them.
St. Paul pronounced that same judgment in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
To "not inherit the kingdom of God" is to be shut out of it. There are no intermediate kingdoms - there is only the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. We pick. Indulge the sins listed above with an unrepentant heart, seeking no forgiveness and desiring no change, and you will have made your choice for the kingdom of the devil.
I urge fellow Christians not to be embarrassed about what the Bible teaches on this matter, not to be bullied into silence, and not to fear being labeled “intolerant.“ The stakes are too high. What is at issue here is not denominational politics or the public perception of conservative Christians, but the eternal destiny of the souls of men.
Gene Robinson is going to hell.
I've read many news reports about the newly confirmed (and actively gay) Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, and I've heard many responses both from other bishops and from church laymen. The comments run the predictable gamut from joy that the church has stepped forward to include God's gay children in leadership to dismay that such a sinner could ever be given ecclesiastical authority. And of course both sides are concerned about the political fallout and potential for schism in the Anglican/Episcopal fellowship.
What I haven't seen yet (and it is possible that I just haven't looked hard enough) is the simple, direct, brutally offensive statement:
Gene Robinson is going to hell.
So I'll say it. I'll speak the unspeakable. Not from joy, not out of a desire to see him go there, and certainly not from hatred for him. With God as my witness I do not hate the man. Though I don't know him, I do love him in the sense that I desire what is best for him. What is best for him is that he repent and trust Christ and be saved.
But he has not trusted Christ and he is not saved, and he shows that he is lost by steadfastly refusing to repent. Such behavior on the part of a religious authority is nothing new - you will see in Scripture how the Pharisees also sinned scandalously, took offense at being called evildoers, maintained their religious posts and refused to change their ways. Jesus did not say they were saved anyway - he pronounced the judgment of hellfire against them.
St. Paul pronounced that same judgment in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
To "not inherit the kingdom of God" is to be shut out of it. There are no intermediate kingdoms - there is only the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. We pick. Indulge the sins listed above with an unrepentant heart, seeking no forgiveness and desiring no change, and you will have made your choice for the kingdom of the devil.
I urge fellow Christians not to be embarrassed about what the Bible teaches on this matter, not to be bullied into silence, and not to fear being labeled “intolerant.“ The stakes are too high. What is at issue here is not denominational politics or the public perception of conservative Christians, but the eternal destiny of the souls of men.
Sunday, August 3, 2003
My Octogenarian Hero (August 3, 2003)
Some time ago I paid a hospital visit to one of my heroes, 86-year-old Vivian Cabatari. Vivian's arms were all black and blue from the hypodermic needles that a nurse had plunged into her in vain attempts to find veins. But Vivian wasn't complaining. In fact, she told me that she felt sorry for the nurse, and after two failed attempts to draw blood Vivian said, "Third time's a charm! Try again." The nurse offered to get somebody else to do it, but Vivian said no. She told me she wanted to encourage the young woman, and "not have it go on her record that she couldn't manage a needle."
When I hear something like that I know that I am in the presence of greatness. If I ever get old, I want to be like Vivian Cabatari. I want to have grace to pity well-meaning interns 60 years my junior who can't find my veins, and utter not a word of complaint lest it make them feel bad. I want to work hard to suppress a cough at night (as Vivian did) lest it disturb the patient in the bed next to me. Long after I can no longer preach from Philippians 2:4 (“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others"), I hope to God I can live it like Vivian.
And I hope I'll be able to laugh at myself the way she does. Vivian gleefully told me how she tried to get down three pills that a nurse gave her even though she had some chewing gum in her mouth. She tucked the chewing gum behind a molar and managed to swallow two pills, but the third got lodged in the gum and dissolved into it. That pill made the gum "bitter as gall," she said, “But I chewed and chewed on it in order to get the full benefit.”
It so happens that chewing medicinal gum is a good metaphor for Vivian’s life. She has suffered some truly awful things through her eight and a half decades. But somehow she emerged from her trials not as a bitter old hag but as a winsome saint who inspires those around her to be better people. She has trusted God and calmly chewed the gall of life's heartaches in order to get full benefit from them. Praise God Almighty for delightful souls who do that as well as Vivian Cabatari.
Some time ago I paid a hospital visit to one of my heroes, 86-year-old Vivian Cabatari. Vivian's arms were all black and blue from the hypodermic needles that a nurse had plunged into her in vain attempts to find veins. But Vivian wasn't complaining. In fact, she told me that she felt sorry for the nurse, and after two failed attempts to draw blood Vivian said, "Third time's a charm! Try again." The nurse offered to get somebody else to do it, but Vivian said no. She told me she wanted to encourage the young woman, and "not have it go on her record that she couldn't manage a needle."
When I hear something like that I know that I am in the presence of greatness. If I ever get old, I want to be like Vivian Cabatari. I want to have grace to pity well-meaning interns 60 years my junior who can't find my veins, and utter not a word of complaint lest it make them feel bad. I want to work hard to suppress a cough at night (as Vivian did) lest it disturb the patient in the bed next to me. Long after I can no longer preach from Philippians 2:4 (“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others"), I hope to God I can live it like Vivian.
And I hope I'll be able to laugh at myself the way she does. Vivian gleefully told me how she tried to get down three pills that a nurse gave her even though she had some chewing gum in her mouth. She tucked the chewing gum behind a molar and managed to swallow two pills, but the third got lodged in the gum and dissolved into it. That pill made the gum "bitter as gall," she said, “But I chewed and chewed on it in order to get the full benefit.”
It so happens that chewing medicinal gum is a good metaphor for Vivian’s life. She has suffered some truly awful things through her eight and a half decades. But somehow she emerged from her trials not as a bitter old hag but as a winsome saint who inspires those around her to be better people. She has trusted God and calmly chewed the gall of life's heartaches in order to get full benefit from them. Praise God Almighty for delightful souls who do that as well as Vivian Cabatari.
Monday, July 28, 2003
The Directory Is A Prayer Guide (July 28, 2003)
Let me encourage you to use your church directory as a prayer guide. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started in praying for people about whose specific needs you may know little:
For children and young people: That they would honor and obey their parents. That they would learn to love and fear the Lord. That they would not succumb to bad influences from peers.
For husbands and fathers: That they would love their wives as Christ loved the church. That they would set good examples for their wives and children as the spiritual heads of their households. That they would remain faithful.
For the divorced and separated: That God would grant them strength and wisdom in managing a divided family, reconciliation where possible, comfort where needed, discernment in how best to proceed with their lives.
For singles: That their time and energy will be used for well for God's glory. That, if they want to marry, that God would provide them with good and godly spouses.
For wives and mothers: That they would honor their husbands and be a delight to them. That they would set good examples for their children and raise them with the right mixture of love and discipline.
For all: That they would not be led into temptation but be delivered from evil. That their lives would be a source of joy and blessing for those with whom they live and work. That they would remain faithful to the Lord. That their daily needs would be provided, and that they would give thanks to God always.
Let me encourage you to use your church directory as a prayer guide. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started in praying for people about whose specific needs you may know little:
For children and young people: That they would honor and obey their parents. That they would learn to love and fear the Lord. That they would not succumb to bad influences from peers.
For husbands and fathers: That they would love their wives as Christ loved the church. That they would set good examples for their wives and children as the spiritual heads of their households. That they would remain faithful.
For the divorced and separated: That God would grant them strength and wisdom in managing a divided family, reconciliation where possible, comfort where needed, discernment in how best to proceed with their lives.
For singles: That their time and energy will be used for well for God's glory. That, if they want to marry, that God would provide them with good and godly spouses.
For wives and mothers: That they would honor their husbands and be a delight to them. That they would set good examples for their children and raise them with the right mixture of love and discipline.
For all: That they would not be led into temptation but be delivered from evil. That their lives would be a source of joy and blessing for those with whom they live and work. That they would remain faithful to the Lord. That their daily needs would be provided, and that they would give thanks to God always.
Sunday, July 6, 2003
Spiritual Blind Spots (July 6, 2003)
Some time ago I noticed that my car's rearview mirror creates a blind spot. Though the mirror helps me see out the back, it completely blocks out a car-sized space about 20 yards ahead and a little to the right. I've learned to be careful about making left turns from side streets, because a car could suddenly "materialize" from behind that blind spot and smash into me.
The pastor under whom I served my internship warned me about moral "blind spots" - vices people have but never see, vices that afflict people who are otherwise good, vices that wreak havoc like multi-car pileups. For example:
Carl is a faithful husband and provider, a disciplined man and highly regarded Sunday School teacher. But he lies constantly. The man has no integrity.
Ed, on the other hand, is a man of resolute integrity. His business associates and fellow church board members know he would never shade the truth. But he is addicted to pornography.
Robert, however, is both honest and sexually pure. But he smokes pot and has even gotten others to join him in abusing the drug.
Fred is not addicted to anything, nor is his integrity in dispute. He is a hard-working and faithful servant of the church. But he is racist - so much so that he stares down church visitors of other ethnicities in an effort to make them go away.
Finally there is Mark. Mark is free from all the vices that plague Carl, Ed, Robert and Fred. But he is the worst of the lot! Though able-bodied, he is so lazy he refuses to work to support his family. The Bible says of him, "He has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Timothy 5:8)
The sad truth is that we a fallen people plagued with vices. We can see other people's sins well enough, and we are pretty good at condemning the sins that don’t tempt us. We even know the boost to self esteem we get when we hear of a Christian doing something bad, because we know that we ourselves would never think of doing anything so awful. And we're right, we probably wouldn’t - as long as we are only considering those sins over which we have control. Little do we know that lurking behind the mirror in which we see another's sin is a two-ton hurtling vehicle of vice that threatens to flatten us like a pancake.
Our moral blind spots are (by definition) hard to see, but a humble man can begin to make them visible by daring to think that he might just be a terrible sinner after all. If you want to be holy in all areas of your life, let me recommend a couple things. First, listen to rebuke. The criticisms you receive may be utterly unjust, but do not dismiss them out of hand. Secondly, ask God to reveal to you your secret sins. Pray as David did in Psalm 19:12, "Who can discern his errors? Cleanse me from hidden faults."
Make an effort to look up, down and around your moral blind spots. You probably have some. The good news is that God is merciful, and he is eager to expose and cleanse your hidden sins.
Some time ago I noticed that my car's rearview mirror creates a blind spot. Though the mirror helps me see out the back, it completely blocks out a car-sized space about 20 yards ahead and a little to the right. I've learned to be careful about making left turns from side streets, because a car could suddenly "materialize" from behind that blind spot and smash into me.
The pastor under whom I served my internship warned me about moral "blind spots" - vices people have but never see, vices that afflict people who are otherwise good, vices that wreak havoc like multi-car pileups. For example:
Carl is a faithful husband and provider, a disciplined man and highly regarded Sunday School teacher. But he lies constantly. The man has no integrity.
Ed, on the other hand, is a man of resolute integrity. His business associates and fellow church board members know he would never shade the truth. But he is addicted to pornography.
Robert, however, is both honest and sexually pure. But he smokes pot and has even gotten others to join him in abusing the drug.
Fred is not addicted to anything, nor is his integrity in dispute. He is a hard-working and faithful servant of the church. But he is racist - so much so that he stares down church visitors of other ethnicities in an effort to make them go away.
Finally there is Mark. Mark is free from all the vices that plague Carl, Ed, Robert and Fred. But he is the worst of the lot! Though able-bodied, he is so lazy he refuses to work to support his family. The Bible says of him, "He has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Timothy 5:8)
The sad truth is that we a fallen people plagued with vices. We can see other people's sins well enough, and we are pretty good at condemning the sins that don’t tempt us. We even know the boost to self esteem we get when we hear of a Christian doing something bad, because we know that we ourselves would never think of doing anything so awful. And we're right, we probably wouldn’t - as long as we are only considering those sins over which we have control. Little do we know that lurking behind the mirror in which we see another's sin is a two-ton hurtling vehicle of vice that threatens to flatten us like a pancake.
Our moral blind spots are (by definition) hard to see, but a humble man can begin to make them visible by daring to think that he might just be a terrible sinner after all. If you want to be holy in all areas of your life, let me recommend a couple things. First, listen to rebuke. The criticisms you receive may be utterly unjust, but do not dismiss them out of hand. Secondly, ask God to reveal to you your secret sins. Pray as David did in Psalm 19:12, "Who can discern his errors? Cleanse me from hidden faults."
Make an effort to look up, down and around your moral blind spots. You probably have some. The good news is that God is merciful, and he is eager to expose and cleanse your hidden sins.
Sunday, June 29, 2003
You Will Always Be Tempted (June 29, 2003)
A recent headline in the Chicago Tribune (June 18) read: "Baptists: Christ can make gays straight". I doubted that Baptists would express so crudely the idea that people can be delivered from homosexual sin, and indeed as I read the article the closest actual quote read, "Homosexuals can find freedom from this sinful, destructive lifestyle." That is not the same as "Christ can make gays straight", but apparently in the mind of a Tribune editor it amounted to the same thing.
It doesn't.
If "being made straight" for a homosexual means having a change in his orientation such that it becomes impossible for him to be sexually attracted to members of his own sex, then I would say that while Christ may accomplish that change for anyone, there is no guarantee that he will (and many homosexuals will testify that he hasn't) - despite conversion and prayer and tears and attempts at self-discipline.
Regrettably though, many seem to assume that if a person is permanently "inclined", "oriented" (I would say "tempted") to behave in a certain way, then that natural inclination justifies the behavior. If God wired an individual with a "gay gene", then how can it be wrong to act in accordance with it?
What this kind of thinking fails to understand is that all of us are prone to sin - not by choice, but by our fallen nature. You could say our bad genetic code inclines us to sin. Of course, our sinful orientations differ from one another. One man is predisposed to violence, another to arson, another to kleptomania, another to sloth, another to molesting children. It may well be that all these orientations are genetic and permanent, manifesting themselves when the individual is in pre-school and maintaining their gravitational pull when he is very old. But that does not mean it is o.k. to act on them.
I believe that Christians are rarely delivered completely from their chief temptations - but they can be delivered from the persistent habit of succumbing to them. The behavior is what matters. For this reason I like to say, "It is o.k. to be an alcoholic - as long as you don't drink. It is o.k. to be a kleptomaniac - as long as you don't steal. It is o.k. to be an arsonist - as long as you don’t set fires. And it is o.k. to be a homosexual - as long as you refrain from homosexual acts and from indulging in lusts that are forbidden to heterosexuals as well."
If we teach people that when they come to Christ they won't be tempted anymore, we do them a terrible disservice by creating false expectations. And if we believe that lie ourselves, we pave the way for our own spiritual failure. It is better to tell converts, "Expect to be tempted as you always were, but you cannot use that temptation as an excuse for sin. None of us can."
A recent headline in the Chicago Tribune (June 18) read: "Baptists: Christ can make gays straight". I doubted that Baptists would express so crudely the idea that people can be delivered from homosexual sin, and indeed as I read the article the closest actual quote read, "Homosexuals can find freedom from this sinful, destructive lifestyle." That is not the same as "Christ can make gays straight", but apparently in the mind of a Tribune editor it amounted to the same thing.
It doesn't.
If "being made straight" for a homosexual means having a change in his orientation such that it becomes impossible for him to be sexually attracted to members of his own sex, then I would say that while Christ may accomplish that change for anyone, there is no guarantee that he will (and many homosexuals will testify that he hasn't) - despite conversion and prayer and tears and attempts at self-discipline.
Regrettably though, many seem to assume that if a person is permanently "inclined", "oriented" (I would say "tempted") to behave in a certain way, then that natural inclination justifies the behavior. If God wired an individual with a "gay gene", then how can it be wrong to act in accordance with it?
What this kind of thinking fails to understand is that all of us are prone to sin - not by choice, but by our fallen nature. You could say our bad genetic code inclines us to sin. Of course, our sinful orientations differ from one another. One man is predisposed to violence, another to arson, another to kleptomania, another to sloth, another to molesting children. It may well be that all these orientations are genetic and permanent, manifesting themselves when the individual is in pre-school and maintaining their gravitational pull when he is very old. But that does not mean it is o.k. to act on them.
I believe that Christians are rarely delivered completely from their chief temptations - but they can be delivered from the persistent habit of succumbing to them. The behavior is what matters. For this reason I like to say, "It is o.k. to be an alcoholic - as long as you don't drink. It is o.k. to be a kleptomaniac - as long as you don't steal. It is o.k. to be an arsonist - as long as you don’t set fires. And it is o.k. to be a homosexual - as long as you refrain from homosexual acts and from indulging in lusts that are forbidden to heterosexuals as well."
If we teach people that when they come to Christ they won't be tempted anymore, we do them a terrible disservice by creating false expectations. And if we believe that lie ourselves, we pave the way for our own spiritual failure. It is better to tell converts, "Expect to be tempted as you always were, but you cannot use that temptation as an excuse for sin. None of us can."
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Food Is Good (June 15, 2003)
I've thought about food a lot lately. Last week I watched The Pianist, which has heart-wrenching scenes of starving Jews in World War II trying to get food. A man licks soup off the street. A family divides a caramel cube six ways. The fugitive pianist finds treasure in a bombed-out house - an unopened can of pickled cucumbers. Later his face registers ecstasy as he dips his finger in some fruit jam and savors the sweetest taste he has had in years.
I have never been hungry except by choice. I have never been empty, but more than once I have been too full - like at the Chinese wedding feast I went to on Saturday. Oh my goodness. When I came home I regaled my family with a course-by-course description of the single greatest meal I have ever eaten. (I thought we were done at the shark's fin soup, and was stunned to learn that we were only a third of the way through the courses!) It was a genuine sensual delight for a food-lover like me.
Listen! Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks. Cultivate an appreciation for your bounty. Here in America in the 21st century we live at the pinnacle of world food luxury. I don't feel guilty about that, but for heaven's sake I believe we should be content and thankful. At the wedding feast I had a conversation with a woman who lamented her daughter's snobbish dismissal of any restaurant food that was not super-expensive. I sympathized with the mother. I remember what a major treat it was when I was a kid and we got to go to McDonald's. Mmmm, Big Mac. Glory.
The Bible says, "Having food and clothing, let us be content" (1 Timothy 6:8). The kind of food St. Paul was talking about in that passage was just bread, a simple starch that would keep a person from starving. Having so much more food than that (and as for clothes, our closets are stuffed!) I think we ought to be super-content. Thank God for food. Don't complain, and don't let your kids complain. Rent The Pianist, and let the horrors you see there rebuke any ingratitude for the delights of food you daily enjoy.
I've thought about food a lot lately. Last week I watched The Pianist, which has heart-wrenching scenes of starving Jews in World War II trying to get food. A man licks soup off the street. A family divides a caramel cube six ways. The fugitive pianist finds treasure in a bombed-out house - an unopened can of pickled cucumbers. Later his face registers ecstasy as he dips his finger in some fruit jam and savors the sweetest taste he has had in years.
I have never been hungry except by choice. I have never been empty, but more than once I have been too full - like at the Chinese wedding feast I went to on Saturday. Oh my goodness. When I came home I regaled my family with a course-by-course description of the single greatest meal I have ever eaten. (I thought we were done at the shark's fin soup, and was stunned to learn that we were only a third of the way through the courses!) It was a genuine sensual delight for a food-lover like me.
Listen! Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks. Cultivate an appreciation for your bounty. Here in America in the 21st century we live at the pinnacle of world food luxury. I don't feel guilty about that, but for heaven's sake I believe we should be content and thankful. At the wedding feast I had a conversation with a woman who lamented her daughter's snobbish dismissal of any restaurant food that was not super-expensive. I sympathized with the mother. I remember what a major treat it was when I was a kid and we got to go to McDonald's. Mmmm, Big Mac. Glory.
The Bible says, "Having food and clothing, let us be content" (1 Timothy 6:8). The kind of food St. Paul was talking about in that passage was just bread, a simple starch that would keep a person from starving. Having so much more food than that (and as for clothes, our closets are stuffed!) I think we ought to be super-content. Thank God for food. Don't complain, and don't let your kids complain. Rent The Pianist, and let the horrors you see there rebuke any ingratitude for the delights of food you daily enjoy.
Sunday, June 8, 2003
Good Behavior Punished, Bad Behavior Rewarded (June 8, 2003)
The following stories are true. The story of “Suzanne” is told in Greg Boyd’s book God of the Possible. “Michelle” is someone I know.
Suzanne grew up in a Christian home and served the Lord faithfully. She hoped to be a missionary and to marry a man committed to the same work. She prayed daily for whoever her future husband might be.
She went to a Christian college and met a young man who shared her burden for mission service. For three years they prayed together and went to church together. When he proposed marriage she prayed about it. They both prayed and fasted, and consulted their parents, pastor and friends. Everyone confirmed they were well-matched. They married and went to missionary school.
At the school Suzanne's husband had an affair. He "repented", she forgave him, and he went back to the affair. Over the next few years he lost his Christian convictions and his desire to serve God. He became hostile, argumentative and physically abusive. He broke her cheekbone. Then he filed for divorce and moved in with his lover, leaving Suzanne alone and pregnant.
Meanwhile, Michelle was also growing up in a Christian home, but becoming a missionary or finding a godly husband was the furthest thing from her mind. She rejected her parents' values, lied to them, did drugs, got pregnant as a teenager and quickly married the child's father. She never prayed or fasted about marrying a godly man at the center of God's will.
But today her husband is a Christian, a good man, a faithful provider and excellent father.
What should we learn from stories like these?
I know a couple things we shouldn't learn. We should not conclude that God was blindsided by the behavior of Suzanne's husband. Greg Boyd, the pastor who counseled Suzanne, explained to her that since God does not know the future, he was just as surprised by her husband's behavior as she was. (Poor Suzanne - an abuser for a husband and a heretic for a pastor!) No, God knows everything. He knew the heart of Suzanne's husband as surely as he knew the heart of Judas. Remember that Jesus hand-picked his 12 disciples, knowing beforehand that one of them was a devil (John 6:70).
Nor should we conclude that prayer is worthless. True, Suzanne did not get what she prayed for, while Michelle got a worthy man she never prayed for. But we're still commanded to pray. Obedience, regardless of result, is never worthless.
What we should conclude is, as the Bible has already told us, sometimes "Righteous men get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men get what the righteous deserve." (Ecclesiastes 8:14). This happens so often that it amazes me that some people are still surprised by it. Deal with it, Christian. We should have stopped being shocked and puzzled long ago that Suzannes and Michelles often get husbands that the other deserved.
I try to be disciplined in my preaching and counseling never to guarantee, predict, or promise earthly consequences for any behavior - good or bad. Our world is one where the only perfect Man was tortured to death, while a vain, promiscuous, God-defying creep like Bertrand Russell lived comfortably till the age of 99. Just how long will it take us to learn that there is a frequent disconnect between our behavior and result it “ought“ to have?
Here is the conclusion of the matter. Obey God because it is right to obey God. Obey without regard for the consequences. The consequences of your actions may be good or bad, pleasant or miserable, but you must never let them dictate the morality of your actions. Your moral guide is the Word of God. Do as it says and God will be pleased. In heaven you will find out just how pleased. In the meantime, do not succumb to bitterness when you do well and are mistreated (Jesus was mistreated!) - or complacency when you sin and it turns out great anyway. The pleasing results that sometimes follow sin are, at best, gracious extensions of God’s favor that give you time to repent. At worst, they are devil’s traps that lull you into thinking your sin didn’t matter.
The following stories are true. The story of “Suzanne” is told in Greg Boyd’s book God of the Possible. “Michelle” is someone I know.
Suzanne grew up in a Christian home and served the Lord faithfully. She hoped to be a missionary and to marry a man committed to the same work. She prayed daily for whoever her future husband might be.
She went to a Christian college and met a young man who shared her burden for mission service. For three years they prayed together and went to church together. When he proposed marriage she prayed about it. They both prayed and fasted, and consulted their parents, pastor and friends. Everyone confirmed they were well-matched. They married and went to missionary school.
At the school Suzanne's husband had an affair. He "repented", she forgave him, and he went back to the affair. Over the next few years he lost his Christian convictions and his desire to serve God. He became hostile, argumentative and physically abusive. He broke her cheekbone. Then he filed for divorce and moved in with his lover, leaving Suzanne alone and pregnant.
Meanwhile, Michelle was also growing up in a Christian home, but becoming a missionary or finding a godly husband was the furthest thing from her mind. She rejected her parents' values, lied to them, did drugs, got pregnant as a teenager and quickly married the child's father. She never prayed or fasted about marrying a godly man at the center of God's will.
But today her husband is a Christian, a good man, a faithful provider and excellent father.
What should we learn from stories like these?
I know a couple things we shouldn't learn. We should not conclude that God was blindsided by the behavior of Suzanne's husband. Greg Boyd, the pastor who counseled Suzanne, explained to her that since God does not know the future, he was just as surprised by her husband's behavior as she was. (Poor Suzanne - an abuser for a husband and a heretic for a pastor!) No, God knows everything. He knew the heart of Suzanne's husband as surely as he knew the heart of Judas. Remember that Jesus hand-picked his 12 disciples, knowing beforehand that one of them was a devil (John 6:70).
Nor should we conclude that prayer is worthless. True, Suzanne did not get what she prayed for, while Michelle got a worthy man she never prayed for. But we're still commanded to pray. Obedience, regardless of result, is never worthless.
What we should conclude is, as the Bible has already told us, sometimes "Righteous men get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men get what the righteous deserve." (Ecclesiastes 8:14). This happens so often that it amazes me that some people are still surprised by it. Deal with it, Christian. We should have stopped being shocked and puzzled long ago that Suzannes and Michelles often get husbands that the other deserved.
I try to be disciplined in my preaching and counseling never to guarantee, predict, or promise earthly consequences for any behavior - good or bad. Our world is one where the only perfect Man was tortured to death, while a vain, promiscuous, God-defying creep like Bertrand Russell lived comfortably till the age of 99. Just how long will it take us to learn that there is a frequent disconnect between our behavior and result it “ought“ to have?
Here is the conclusion of the matter. Obey God because it is right to obey God. Obey without regard for the consequences. The consequences of your actions may be good or bad, pleasant or miserable, but you must never let them dictate the morality of your actions. Your moral guide is the Word of God. Do as it says and God will be pleased. In heaven you will find out just how pleased. In the meantime, do not succumb to bitterness when you do well and are mistreated (Jesus was mistreated!) - or complacency when you sin and it turns out great anyway. The pleasing results that sometimes follow sin are, at best, gracious extensions of God’s favor that give you time to repent. At worst, they are devil’s traps that lull you into thinking your sin didn’t matter.
Sunday, June 1, 2003
Christian Mourning (June 1, 2003)
Just an hour or so after completing the essay above about the joy of long summer days, I received news of a tragic accident involving relatives of some friends of mine. A father, mother and 12-year-old son were killed in a single-car accident in Missouri. The other son of the family, 14, survived with minor injuries. He will live with relatives. The extended family spent Memorial Day preparing for a three-casket funeral.
What sorrow, what sorrow. The words I had written about casual delights seem like such an irreverence when at that very moment dear friends were wallowing in grief.
But then again - the people of this extended family are Christians who testify to God's grace even in the midst of tragedy. The tears are abundant, but so is the assurance that their loved ones are with Christ. Several people at the wake commented that now they have been reunited with Kathryn, the grandmother (and great woman of God) whose funeral I did a couple of years ago. Kathryn was one of the saintliest people I have ever met. Blind, on kidney dialysis and wheelchair-bound, she would shine the sunniest smile whenever I visited her to serve Communion. She would pray for me and my family in her native Rumanian. She always asked about other people's needs. Her husband of 50 years, Joe, bragged to me about his wife, how she sang even when washing the dishes.
Now she sings in glory with her son and daughter-in-law and grandson.
The Bible says there is a time for everything - a time to laugh and a time to mourn. Last Monday suddenly became a day to mourn, but thank God it was Christian mourning. We who trust in Christ know that our sorrows will some day give way to joy, and so we do not "grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." (1 Thessalonians 4:13). With a future secure in Christ, we can regard the delights of this world not as things greedily to be grasped - fearful lest death snatch them away forever - but rather we can savor them gently, receive them more easily, knowing that they are foretastes of heaven's greater joys.
Just an hour or so after completing the essay above about the joy of long summer days, I received news of a tragic accident involving relatives of some friends of mine. A father, mother and 12-year-old son were killed in a single-car accident in Missouri. The other son of the family, 14, survived with minor injuries. He will live with relatives. The extended family spent Memorial Day preparing for a three-casket funeral.
What sorrow, what sorrow. The words I had written about casual delights seem like such an irreverence when at that very moment dear friends were wallowing in grief.
But then again - the people of this extended family are Christians who testify to God's grace even in the midst of tragedy. The tears are abundant, but so is the assurance that their loved ones are with Christ. Several people at the wake commented that now they have been reunited with Kathryn, the grandmother (and great woman of God) whose funeral I did a couple of years ago. Kathryn was one of the saintliest people I have ever met. Blind, on kidney dialysis and wheelchair-bound, she would shine the sunniest smile whenever I visited her to serve Communion. She would pray for me and my family in her native Rumanian. She always asked about other people's needs. Her husband of 50 years, Joe, bragged to me about his wife, how she sang even when washing the dishes.
Now she sings in glory with her son and daughter-in-law and grandson.
The Bible says there is a time for everything - a time to laugh and a time to mourn. Last Monday suddenly became a day to mourn, but thank God it was Christian mourning. We who trust in Christ know that our sorrows will some day give way to joy, and so we do not "grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." (1 Thessalonians 4:13). With a future secure in Christ, we can regard the delights of this world not as things greedily to be grasped - fearful lest death snatch them away forever - but rather we can savor them gently, receive them more easily, knowing that they are foretastes of heaven's greater joys.
Sunday, May 25, 2003
In Praise Of God’s Sunlight (May 25, 2003)
Don't you love the longer days at this time of year?
It is a genuine pleasure for me to see the sky getting light early in the morning, and to go for a walk when the sun is still shining past 8 o'clock in the evening. I just like it. I treasure a memory from my youth when I was in northwestern Montana and saw the sun set at 10 o'clock. My family knows that one of my life's ambitions is to see the midnight sun somewhere in Canada or Alaska - or Greenland for that matter - I don't care where, I just want to see the sun cast my shadow as the clock strikes 12.
I'm not alone in craving light like chocolate. I understand that research confirms what we know intuitively - that light keeps us from being sad. I once saw a picture of school kids in Canada receiving "light therapy" - basically they stood in front of a spotlight for a few minutes a day. It was supposed to keep them from getting depressed during the long dark winter months.
In the Bible God is revealed to us as light - all light. 1 John 1:5 says, "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." One of the intriguing elements of the New Jerusalem is that "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp" (Revelation 21:23). When we yield to God, the "Father of lights" (James 1:17), we are assured that we "are all sons of the light and of the day. We do not belong to the night or
the darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5:5).
Give thanks to God for the bright sun he made. Some day we will see how that sun has barely reflected the greater light of his glory, and we will understand how the pleasures of long summer days had merely hinted of the eternal joys at his right hand.
Don't you love the longer days at this time of year?
It is a genuine pleasure for me to see the sky getting light early in the morning, and to go for a walk when the sun is still shining past 8 o'clock in the evening. I just like it. I treasure a memory from my youth when I was in northwestern Montana and saw the sun set at 10 o'clock. My family knows that one of my life's ambitions is to see the midnight sun somewhere in Canada or Alaska - or Greenland for that matter - I don't care where, I just want to see the sun cast my shadow as the clock strikes 12.
I'm not alone in craving light like chocolate. I understand that research confirms what we know intuitively - that light keeps us from being sad. I once saw a picture of school kids in Canada receiving "light therapy" - basically they stood in front of a spotlight for a few minutes a day. It was supposed to keep them from getting depressed during the long dark winter months.
In the Bible God is revealed to us as light - all light. 1 John 1:5 says, "God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." One of the intriguing elements of the New Jerusalem is that "The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp" (Revelation 21:23). When we yield to God, the "Father of lights" (James 1:17), we are assured that we "are all sons of the light and of the day. We do not belong to the night or
the darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5:5).
Give thanks to God for the bright sun he made. Some day we will see how that sun has barely reflected the greater light of his glory, and we will understand how the pleasures of long summer days had merely hinted of the eternal joys at his right hand.
Sunday, May 18, 2003
May 18, 2003: Enabler Parents
Columnist John Kass ("Teen stupidity brings a lesson never forgotten" - Chicago Tribune, May 16) talks about the time in high school when he bought liquor with a fake I.D. and sped off with friends to smoke pot, drink and party. The police caught him and Kass's parents had to go bail him out.
Kass's father did not speak to him for weeks. Finally when Kass begged his dad to talk, he said, "You bought whiskey. You had pot. You want to talk?"
"Yes."
"OK. First, do something for me."
"What?"
"Take this glass."
Kass took the glass from his father.
"Now smash it to pieces. Then put it back together, all the pieces together, so it looks brand-new, so it was never broken. Then you talk to me, OK?" And he walked off.
The next day he approached his son, and at long last they talked “about deceit, about consequence, obligation and shame. About drugs and alcohol, and how they rob you of control." When they were done, Kass's father said, "I love you, boy." Kass said, "I know. I love you, Dad." The shattered glass of broken trust was restored, but "slowly, piece by piece, not by talking but by doing."
Kass contrasted his father with the Northbrook enablers who are busy filing lawsuits to overturn the suspensions from school their daughters received for a liquor-fueled hazing incident. Some of these parents are using every resource available to try to shield their daughters from the consequences of wickedness. Apparently an effort is even being made to host an “alternate prom” so that the little malefactors, barred from their school prom, can still party in style. Makes me sick.
These Northbrook parents do not love their daughters. Kass's dad, however - silent, angry, full of stern wrath - knew how to love his son. The Bible explains the difference in Proverbs 13:24: "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."
A pastor friend of mine said that when he was involved in student ministry at the University of Illinois, he noticed a recurring theme among students who had kept their virginity and sober lifestyles in the midst of an atmosphere hostile to Christian virtue. When he asked what motivated them, they tended to say things like, "How could I disappoint my parents like that?" or "My dad would kill me!" Those are good answers. If my sons are ever tempted to vice when their will is weak and their faith is foggy, I want this one thought to sound a siren-wail in their heads: "What would Dad think of me if I did that?"
Columnist John Kass ("Teen stupidity brings a lesson never forgotten" - Chicago Tribune, May 16) talks about the time in high school when he bought liquor with a fake I.D. and sped off with friends to smoke pot, drink and party. The police caught him and Kass's parents had to go bail him out.
Kass's father did not speak to him for weeks. Finally when Kass begged his dad to talk, he said, "You bought whiskey. You had pot. You want to talk?"
"Yes."
"OK. First, do something for me."
"What?"
"Take this glass."
Kass took the glass from his father.
"Now smash it to pieces. Then put it back together, all the pieces together, so it looks brand-new, so it was never broken. Then you talk to me, OK?" And he walked off.
The next day he approached his son, and at long last they talked “about deceit, about consequence, obligation and shame. About drugs and alcohol, and how they rob you of control." When they were done, Kass's father said, "I love you, boy." Kass said, "I know. I love you, Dad." The shattered glass of broken trust was restored, but "slowly, piece by piece, not by talking but by doing."
Kass contrasted his father with the Northbrook enablers who are busy filing lawsuits to overturn the suspensions from school their daughters received for a liquor-fueled hazing incident. Some of these parents are using every resource available to try to shield their daughters from the consequences of wickedness. Apparently an effort is even being made to host an “alternate prom” so that the little malefactors, barred from their school prom, can still party in style. Makes me sick.
These Northbrook parents do not love their daughters. Kass's dad, however - silent, angry, full of stern wrath - knew how to love his son. The Bible explains the difference in Proverbs 13:24: "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him."
A pastor friend of mine said that when he was involved in student ministry at the University of Illinois, he noticed a recurring theme among students who had kept their virginity and sober lifestyles in the midst of an atmosphere hostile to Christian virtue. When he asked what motivated them, they tended to say things like, "How could I disappoint my parents like that?" or "My dad would kill me!" Those are good answers. If my sons are ever tempted to vice when their will is weak and their faith is foggy, I want this one thought to sound a siren-wail in their heads: "What would Dad think of me if I did that?"
Sunday, May 11, 2003
May 11, 2003: Brute Force Obedience
At one point in C. S. Lewis' great novel The Screwtape Letters, the demon Wormwood believes that he has cause to rejoice. The new Christian whom he has been trying to tempt away from the faith is going through a period of spiritual dryness. Wormword boasts to his uncle Screwtape of his hope that "the patient's religious phase is dying away."
Screwtape writes back to rebuke Wormwood's confidence, explaining how God ("our Enemy") uses those dry periods to make a believer even stronger. He writes:
[God] leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs - to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best...Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.
“And still obeys.” Sometimes I think the best obedience is that which we offer to God when there is no love or good cheer or spiritual energy to motivate it. It is like the widow's mite in Mark 12:42 - a small sum, but noted by our Lord for its greatness because it came from poverty. Recall that Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3). A broken-hearted, consistent self-discipline has a sweetness and a power that robust zeal can never match.
Often I have counseled with people who felt that they were sunk deep in a spiritual trough. My advice to them is neither earth-shaking nor profound: sometimes you just have to trudge through it. Read your Bible even if you find that it is giving you no help, say your prayers even when they seem pointless, give thanks to God even when you would rather just complain. Maybe the day will come when you can submit to God with gladness. Till then, submit to him out of duty. As the Bible says in Galatians 6:9: "Let us not grow weary in well-doing. For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
At one point in C. S. Lewis' great novel The Screwtape Letters, the demon Wormwood believes that he has cause to rejoice. The new Christian whom he has been trying to tempt away from the faith is going through a period of spiritual dryness. Wormword boasts to his uncle Screwtape of his hope that "the patient's religious phase is dying away."
Screwtape writes back to rebuke Wormwood's confidence, explaining how God ("our Enemy") uses those dry periods to make a believer even stronger. He writes:
[God] leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs - to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best...Do not be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy's will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems to have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.
“And still obeys.” Sometimes I think the best obedience is that which we offer to God when there is no love or good cheer or spiritual energy to motivate it. It is like the widow's mite in Mark 12:42 - a small sum, but noted by our Lord for its greatness because it came from poverty. Recall that Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit" (Matthew 5:3). A broken-hearted, consistent self-discipline has a sweetness and a power that robust zeal can never match.
Often I have counseled with people who felt that they were sunk deep in a spiritual trough. My advice to them is neither earth-shaking nor profound: sometimes you just have to trudge through it. Read your Bible even if you find that it is giving you no help, say your prayers even when they seem pointless, give thanks to God even when you would rather just complain. Maybe the day will come when you can submit to God with gladness. Till then, submit to him out of duty. As the Bible says in Galatians 6:9: "Let us not grow weary in well-doing. For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
Sunday, May 4, 2003
May 4,2003: Stray Comments That Get You In Trouble
Watch what you say.
Recently a young relative of mine got fired from a job she had just started because of a nasty little coincidence. She met an acquaintance at a fast-food restaurant and they talked about work. She happened to mention that her former boss was a moron, and she was relieved not to have to work for that jerk anymore.
It just so happens that her ex-boss’s wife was standing nearby and heard everything. She told her husband, who was a client of my relative's current employer in the same industry. He called them and said he would no longer do business with them. So they fired her.
The thing about that bad-luck story is that it could happen to just about any one of us. Who is wise enough to keep from saying stupid things in unguarded moments? Even one of our heroes, Billy Graham, was deeply embarrassed last year when his voice was heard on a 30-year-old Nixon White House tape uttering comments that were perceived as anti-Semitic. Who knew that those offhand remarks would come back to haunt him?
I myself have been haunted by careless comments I have made - things too embarrassing to reveal here - words the memories of which make me wince more than 20 years later. I take some comfort in knowing that I'm not alone. Though people can learn to control their passions and emotions and appetites, hardly anyone learns how to control his own tongue. James 3:2 says, "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check."
Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt." That is a good goal. Say this prayer today: "God, help me not to say anything that is hurtful, stupid or untrue. Let my conversation be just the way the Bible says it should be, seasoned with salt and full of grace."
Watch what you say.
Recently a young relative of mine got fired from a job she had just started because of a nasty little coincidence. She met an acquaintance at a fast-food restaurant and they talked about work. She happened to mention that her former boss was a moron, and she was relieved not to have to work for that jerk anymore.
It just so happens that her ex-boss’s wife was standing nearby and heard everything. She told her husband, who was a client of my relative's current employer in the same industry. He called them and said he would no longer do business with them. So they fired her.
The thing about that bad-luck story is that it could happen to just about any one of us. Who is wise enough to keep from saying stupid things in unguarded moments? Even one of our heroes, Billy Graham, was deeply embarrassed last year when his voice was heard on a 30-year-old Nixon White House tape uttering comments that were perceived as anti-Semitic. Who knew that those offhand remarks would come back to haunt him?
I myself have been haunted by careless comments I have made - things too embarrassing to reveal here - words the memories of which make me wince more than 20 years later. I take some comfort in knowing that I'm not alone. Though people can learn to control their passions and emotions and appetites, hardly anyone learns how to control his own tongue. James 3:2 says, "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check."
Colossians 4:6 says, "Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt." That is a good goal. Say this prayer today: "God, help me not to say anything that is hurtful, stupid or untrue. Let my conversation be just the way the Bible says it should be, seasoned with salt and full of grace."
Sunday, April 27, 2003
April 27, 2003: Praying Like A Child
I think I can speak for most teachers when I say that it is a pleasure to see a child raise his hand. It means he has something to say, that he is involved enough in what is going on to want to contribute. I've had the opportunity to teach children many times, and have decided that on any day I'd rather teach mischievous kids with lots of questions than well-behaved ones who stare at you in dull silence.
Sometimes kids say things that make no sense to me. When that happens, I try to keep in mind that whatever they said, it made sense to them. When I was a child, I probably said lots of strange things that sprang from my childlike grasp of reality. But even when I could not get my point across to an adult whose attention I craved, I could still tell whether or not he was taking me seriously. Every a child knows when he is being taken seriously - or silently laughed at by an adult who thinks he is stupid.
God takes us seriously, which is stunning when you consider that the distance between his understanding and ours is so much greater than that which exists between the wisest adult and the simplest child. We know he takes us seriously because he has told us to pray. Prayer is how we come and talk to him.
We are apt to botch prayer. James warns, "You ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (James 4:3). Even a good man like Job confessed, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me" (Job 42:3).
But botching prayer is no excuse for avoiding it. God requires us to contribute our bit to the heavenly conversation that brings him glory and joy. I like to think that the pleasure I feel upon seeing a young student raise his hand is a distant echo of the divine pleasure God experiences when we approach him in prayer. In your spirit, with a child's humility, raise your hand and God will call on you and you can talk to him. He likes that. He likes it so much he has commanded it.
I think I can speak for most teachers when I say that it is a pleasure to see a child raise his hand. It means he has something to say, that he is involved enough in what is going on to want to contribute. I've had the opportunity to teach children many times, and have decided that on any day I'd rather teach mischievous kids with lots of questions than well-behaved ones who stare at you in dull silence.
Sometimes kids say things that make no sense to me. When that happens, I try to keep in mind that whatever they said, it made sense to them. When I was a child, I probably said lots of strange things that sprang from my childlike grasp of reality. But even when I could not get my point across to an adult whose attention I craved, I could still tell whether or not he was taking me seriously. Every a child knows when he is being taken seriously - or silently laughed at by an adult who thinks he is stupid.
God takes us seriously, which is stunning when you consider that the distance between his understanding and ours is so much greater than that which exists between the wisest adult and the simplest child. We know he takes us seriously because he has told us to pray. Prayer is how we come and talk to him.
We are apt to botch prayer. James warns, "You ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures" (James 4:3). Even a good man like Job confessed, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me" (Job 42:3).
But botching prayer is no excuse for avoiding it. God requires us to contribute our bit to the heavenly conversation that brings him glory and joy. I like to think that the pleasure I feel upon seeing a young student raise his hand is a distant echo of the divine pleasure God experiences when we approach him in prayer. In your spirit, with a child's humility, raise your hand and God will call on you and you can talk to him. He likes that. He likes it so much he has commanded it.
Sunday, April 20, 2003
April 20, 2003: No Cussing
While getting an oil change last week I struck up a conversation with a customer who told me (I think after she found out I was a minister) that she had given up swearing for Lent. I congratulated her. It is good not to cuss. I said something about hoping that she would be able to keep her momentum and not use bad language even after Lent was over.
Everyone benefits when people guard their tongues, because bad words pollute the air like exhaust from a diesel truck. Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up." Bad words tear people down. They degrade both speaker and hearer, but "a word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11).
Some years ago a cousin of mine met a woman who sparked his romantic interest. But the second time he met her with her he heard her use foul language, and his heart cooled on the spot. He knew that words reveal character. As Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).
If there is garbage in your heart, it will come out in what you say. The best way to clean your mouth is to change your heart. But it is also true that the cleaning can work the other way. Guard your words, and you may well find that your heart responds by becoming a bit less trashy.
While getting an oil change last week I struck up a conversation with a customer who told me (I think after she found out I was a minister) that she had given up swearing for Lent. I congratulated her. It is good not to cuss. I said something about hoping that she would be able to keep her momentum and not use bad language even after Lent was over.
Everyone benefits when people guard their tongues, because bad words pollute the air like exhaust from a diesel truck. Ephesians 4:29 says, "Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up." Bad words tear people down. They degrade both speaker and hearer, but "a word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11).
Some years ago a cousin of mine met a woman who sparked his romantic interest. But the second time he met her with her he heard her use foul language, and his heart cooled on the spot. He knew that words reveal character. As Jesus said, "Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks" (Matthew 12:34).
If there is garbage in your heart, it will come out in what you say. The best way to clean your mouth is to change your heart. But it is also true that the cleaning can work the other way. Guard your words, and you may well find that your heart responds by becoming a bit less trashy.
Sunday, April 13, 2003
April 13, 2003: Organize
My mother kept a Booker T. Washington quote taped to the door or our refrigerator that read: “But gradually, by patience and hard work we brought order out of chaos, just as will be true of any problem if we stick to it with patience and wisdom and earnest effort.”
Mom used those words to motivate herself to keep the house clean. She always wanted things neat and orderly, but was never particularly good at getting them to be or stay that way. I inherited her genetic predisposition to clutter, and have passed it on to my sons. I am finding that the trait intensifies as it marches through the generations.
There are ways to justify sloppiness. When failing to bring order out of chaos, my mother drew comfort from another quote: "The cost of productivity is mess." (I think that was on the refrigerator too!) And she delighted in her personal interpretation of Proverbs 14:4: "The stall is clean where no oxen are, but much increase comes by strength of the ox." Granted - an oxen-free stall is nice and clean, but without those messy oxen the furrows don't get plowed and the grain does not get threshed. A clean stall is just a sign of sterile inactivity!
Well, as my mother and I would have to admit, that is not exactly true. I have known lots of people who are both productive and organized, and while I don't hate them, I do admit to being so jealous of them that it becomes my spiritual duty to restrain envy. They prove to me what I'd rather not believe: that order and productivity are in direct rather than inverse proportion. The more organized you are, the more you can get done. (Partly because you don't have to spend so much time looking for things.)
Order is good. The Apostle Paul told the chaotic Corinthians, "Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way" (1 Corinthians 14:40). If you lack the knack for order, you are not excused from trying to achieve it. You'll just have to go at it with more of Booker T. Washington's "patience and wisdom and earnest effort."
I better stop here and clean my office.
My mother kept a Booker T. Washington quote taped to the door or our refrigerator that read: “But gradually, by patience and hard work we brought order out of chaos, just as will be true of any problem if we stick to it with patience and wisdom and earnest effort.”
Mom used those words to motivate herself to keep the house clean. She always wanted things neat and orderly, but was never particularly good at getting them to be or stay that way. I inherited her genetic predisposition to clutter, and have passed it on to my sons. I am finding that the trait intensifies as it marches through the generations.
There are ways to justify sloppiness. When failing to bring order out of chaos, my mother drew comfort from another quote: "The cost of productivity is mess." (I think that was on the refrigerator too!) And she delighted in her personal interpretation of Proverbs 14:4: "The stall is clean where no oxen are, but much increase comes by strength of the ox." Granted - an oxen-free stall is nice and clean, but without those messy oxen the furrows don't get plowed and the grain does not get threshed. A clean stall is just a sign of sterile inactivity!
Well, as my mother and I would have to admit, that is not exactly true. I have known lots of people who are both productive and organized, and while I don't hate them, I do admit to being so jealous of them that it becomes my spiritual duty to restrain envy. They prove to me what I'd rather not believe: that order and productivity are in direct rather than inverse proportion. The more organized you are, the more you can get done. (Partly because you don't have to spend so much time looking for things.)
Order is good. The Apostle Paul told the chaotic Corinthians, "Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way" (1 Corinthians 14:40). If you lack the knack for order, you are not excused from trying to achieve it. You'll just have to go at it with more of Booker T. Washington's "patience and wisdom and earnest effort."
I better stop here and clean my office.
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