A Foolproof Wish? (November 28, 2004)

I was intrigued by a question posed to Marilyn Vos Savant, columnist
for Parade magazine and holder of the Guinness record for "Highest IQ." A reader sent her the following poser: "In stories, a wish granted by a genie never turns out as expected. The request always backfires. Can you think of any wish that couldn't possibly go wrong?"

She responded: "One answer appears at the end of the column. But before you look at it, readers, exercise your mind and think of your own answers. The question isn't as easy as it seems. For example, you could wish for youth but find that it ruins your marriage. Or you could be granted a fortune only to see your children drop their career goals. What wish is foolproof?"

What do you think - is there such a thing as a foolproof wish?

I was surprised by Marilyn's answer - surprised, I mean, that she thought it was a good one. She said, "One could wish for happiness." This does not work at all. What if you are a serial killer, and your happiness consists of carrying out lethal desires and never getting caught? Or what if you are the kind of person who could be a perfectly contented slave trader, and the fulfillment of your wish plunged society into despicable 18th century practice with regard to Africans? You might be happy enough, but at the cost of being wicked, and at the cost of doing unspeakable harm to others.

Solomon got closer to a foolproof wish when he asked for wisdom. (The story is in 1 Kings 3:5-15.) The Lord was pleased with Solomon's request, because he had not asked for something selfish like long life or wealth or the death of his enemies (or, for that matter, happiness.) He wanted to benefit the nation that had made him king, and so asked for a gift that would help him rule well. The best wishes are like that: selfless, seeking the good of others, more concerned with how to bless than how to be blessed.

This focus on benefiting others is what guided the Apostle Paul's wish list. In 1 Corinthians 14, for example, he contrasts the gifts of tongues and prophecy and says, "I would rather have you prophesy" (verse 5). Why? Because "He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church" (verse 4). Better to build up the church (or one's family, community or world) than oneself. Even when it came to the most delightful thing that Paul could think of - enjoying the presence of Jesus - he subordinated that wish for the good of the church. While facing possible execution, he wrote, "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far" (Philippians 1:23). But he decided "it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith" (verses 24-25). He was telling his readers that he would do his best to stay alive strictly for their sakes!

No genie will ever grant you a wish, but God might grant you a few. Wish for the best things. Wish to benefit others. That is the closest you'll come to a wish you will never regret.

Invite A Friend. Do it. (November 21, 2004)

Have you invited anyone to church lately?

If you haven't, I encourage you to feel guilty about that, and let godly guilt spur you to ask someone to attend with you.

Please don't wait for a special event, or a religious holiday, or "Invite-a-Friend" Sunday. I think those are the worst times to invite a newcomer. It sends the message that a worship service is something you go to just when there is special music, or it's Christmas, or we've set aside a particular day for first- (and usually only-) time visitors. No, invite your friend for a Sunday when everything is ordinary - weekly prayer, Scripture, congregational singing, preaching of the Word. That way they'll know what to expect if they come back next week. Also, on a regular Sunday, they will be less likely to be lost in a crowd of other first-time visitors.

But do invite them. What have you lost if they say no? What might you gain if they say yes? Some people, whom you invite as a mere courtesy, or because you feel guilty, or just because your pastor asked you to, might shock you by actually showing up this Sunday. I read once that a high percentage (can't remember what) of unchurched people responded "Yes" to the poll question, "Would you visit a church if a friend invited you?" Of course, saying "Yes" to that question does not mean that they would follow through. But at least the majority did not say, "Are you kidding me?" And you never know what person has been so thoroughly prepped by the Holy Spirit that he responds with, "Funny you should ask! Just this week I was just thinking about going to church for the first time in years."

Non-Devotional Bible Reading (November 14, 2004)

As you read through the Bible, don't worry about whether you are getting anything out of it. Just keep reading.

It seems to me that some well-meaning preachers burden us unnecessarily when they insist that we discern God's special message to us in our daily Scripture reading. There may not be a special message for us - at least not right then and there. There is no need to get frustrated over that. Don't worry if the story of the Amalekites getting crushed has not touched your heart in a special way. Just read it, try to understand, and go on to the next chapter tomorrow.

I think daily Bible reading is kind of like physical exercise. If you keep exercising, it gradually transforms who you are (or maintains who you are, if you are already in good shape.) This happens even if the exercise session itself is neither ecstatic nor pleasant. I jog (believe it or not). I don't like to. But I like the long-term effects of lower blood pressure, lower heart rate, higher energy, etc. Now the thing to notice is that these effects take time to manifest, and they certainly are not part of the exercise experience. Your heart rate and blood pressure actually go up when you exercise, and your energy level goes down (way down, in my case, and fast). Does that mean that my jogging is a failure, that I'm doing something wrong? Of course not. The whole idea is to pant and feel miserable during exercise so that you won't pant and feel miserable when you're just walking up stairs.

Read the Bible, and if you feel that on any particular day you have learned nothing, accomplished nothing, drawn no closer to God, felt no touch of his Spirit - do not fret about that. And for heaven's sake don't let such feelings discourage you from regular study of the Word. Sometimes we can no more discern what God is teaching us than we can detect precisely that moment when diligent exercise has dissolved a bit of artery gludge. Ultimately, of course, we will learn if we read (as we will be healthier if we jog), but to expect that the process itself be uplifting and the payoff immediate is too much to hope for. Be released from that spiritual burden.

Ministering Out Of Weakness (November 7, 2004)

I saw a video clip the other day of an Oklahoma Sooners football player giving a loud and raucous pep talk to his teammates who were gathered in a tight circle around him. After he finished, the other players left but the camera stayed fixed on him as he stood alone for a few seconds. Then he began to wobble like a hypoglycemic who has stood up too fast. He collapsed in a faint so sudden I don't think he had time to buckle his legs.

It was pretty funny. It turned out he was all right, and he even went back into the game later and made a big play.

The fainting defensive tackle struck me as a metaphor of many good Christian servants. These saints do not always look like warriors animated by our Lord's holy energy. Sometimes they look more like sick goofs lying flat on their backs with their eyes rolling back in their heads.

I suppose John Wesley looked that way when a friend came to visit him and found the great evangelist's bad wife dragging him across the floor by his hair. Mother Theresa did not look so strong when she confided to her priest that she doubted her faith and felt no connection to God. In his youth, C. S. Lewis was subjected to impulses which, though not homoerotic, were clearly perverse. The two greatest preachers of the 19th century, Charles Spurgeon and Alexander Maclaren, trudged through crippling psychological depressions - Maclaren even had to leave the pulpit for a year.

My favorite pastor in Colombia was Hernando Cubillos, a quiet man of real depth and humble good cheer. Once when a guest speaker did not show up at church Hernando took the pulpit and spontaneously gave his testimony. He said that he had been fired from his missionary job some years before because he was scared and had not been getting anything done. His supervisor said, "He's useless! Get rid of him!" Hernando told us that that firing "todavia deja sus huellas" - it still leaves its marks (on me).

But, thanks be to God, Hernando was restored. Like the football player who fainted and returned to the game, Hernando came back to the ministry. His role model was John Mark, a missionary who was also fired for just cause (Acts 15:37-38; see 12:13) but who later proved useful to the very apostle who fired him (2 Timothy 4:11).

Listen, any of you who are discouraged. Let us say you are divorced. Or you've spent time in a psych ward. You thought you taught your children well but they treat you and your faith with contempt. The pep talk you gave that so encouraged others has had no such effect on yourself. Spiritually, psychologically or even physically you are lying flat on your back and feeling a mixture of shame, embarrassment and hopelessness.

You may need to lie there for a while to get your bearings. That happens to just about everybody who has tried something hard. But you will get up in due time and continue. Take as your own the great words of 16th century Scottish naval captain Sir Andrew Barton, immortalized in ballad:

"Fight on my men," says Sir Andrew Barton,
"I am hurt, but I am not slain;
I'll lay me down and bleed a while,
And then I'll rise and fight again."