Thinking-Christianly

These days it’s impossible to watch television or listen to the radio without running into commercials for gold and silver. These precious metals are portrayed as insurance against hard financial times. If we possess them, we are told, we can sleep well at night. They will deliver us from economic peril. They will rescue us from some of dire consequences of an unstable economy. They are the assets that will safeguard our labors against inflation or other threats. Owning them will make a huge difference in our future and produce peace of mind in uncertain times.

The tendency to secure the future by obtaining precious metals goes back thousands of years. About 600 B.C. affluent Jews were doing the same thing in order to build a hedge against the perils of their day. Like many in our time, they had little use for God and were determined to go their own way. The idea of securing their future by obeying his commands and conforming to his expectations was not something they wanted to consider. They would behave as they felt best and rely on their financial planning to safeguard them from tough times.

Anything that we set up as a savior in difficult times is false security compared to God himself. And God usually finds a way to demonstrate that he alone is our deliverer. God reveals a picture of national suffering to Ezekiel. It will come about because the people stubbornly refuse to follow God’s truth and choose to live autonomously instead. Ezekiel writes, “They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be an unclean thing. Their silver and gold will not be able to save them in the day of the Lord’s wrath. They will not satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it, for it has made them stumble into sin.” (See Ezekiel 7:19.)

God is not opposed to saving and planning. But the minute we transfer our trust to something other than God, we erect an idol that he hates. He will find creative ways to demonstrate that our alternate savior cannot rescue us from the hardships we fear.

He is the only one who can deliver us from life’s threats. That’s why the psalmist celebrates that God is his rock, his deliverer. Psalm 18:2 states, “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” This is more than poetry. It is the reality that God calls us to embrace in order to approach life wisely. Real security in uncertain times is not found in any particular kind of human asset. It is found only in a dynamic, personal relationship with the living God.

The nonstop world of television and radio news gives the public thousands of words an hour assessing the people who serve as leaders—in fields from politics to business to sports to entertainment. Behind this endless critique is the assumption that some kinds of leadership are better than others. If it were all a matter of style, the viewers would largely tune out the debates as pointless. It would be like arguing that it’s better to play checkers with red pieces than black ones.

The character and values of leaders do make a difference. In Jeremiah’s day the Lord addresses the nation that he has forsaken because of their indifference and disloyalty to him. In describing their sorry state, he uses the familiar biblical analogy of people acting like sheep and their leaders taking the role of shepherds. Jeremiah 50:6 states, “My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place.”

Though the individuals are culpable, responsibility lies with the leaders as well. In the metaphor, they have been shepherds who have led others astray. What might that mean? In scripture it can include such actions as substituting human wisdom for God’s revealed will; blending authentic worship with pagan customs (syncretism); or ignoring God’s primary directives while focusing on subsidiary issues. (See Micah 6:8.)

God declares that as a result of this kind of inadequate leadership, the people wandered and “forgot their own resting place.” When leaders pick their own destination, they take people away from the place where real rest and security is found. They take people away from Christ and all that he has to offer. And after a while we forget the one who is to be at the center of our lives.

Though we cannot blame our poor choices on those who lead us spiritually, they do make a difference. Those of us who are in that role must be diligent to pursue Jesus. It’s the safest course we can take on behalf of those we seek to lead.

What incentive would it take for someone to persuade you to dress in weird clothing, yell and scream like an idiot, and be seen by millions of people at the same time? For some, all it takes is the possibility of some loot—anything from an assortment of towels to a vacation to a mystery place.

The other day I was working at home and my wife was channel surfing. She flipped to a program I thought was extinct, but one that has somehow survived in the world of daytime television. It was “Let’s Make a Deal.” I was amazed at the audience. Most were wearing outlandish, colorful, and creative outfits. They were more animated and vocal than hometown parents cheering for their high school football team. All this visual and emotional frenzy was part of an effort to get the attention of the game show host or whoever selected the contestants who would get a chance to earn the “big prize” of the day.

One of the oddest realities of this game show is that the contestants don’t even know what they are competing for. All they know is that it is worth thousands of dollars (before taxes). They may wind up with something they would never buy for themselves, or an experience they would not personally enjoy. Someone living in an apartment might win a pool table. Someone on a restricted diet might walk away with a year’s supply of Spam. A homemaker who hates to cook gets enough pots and pans to open a restaurant. In the episode I saw one contestant won a trip to Lake Tahoe. If the contestant was from southern California, that destination might be a place they’ve been to several times. No big deal.

The game show reminded me of the appeal of the world to us all. It promises us the hope of ‘loot’ if we will play by its rules. If we agree with the values of the culture and expend considerable energy, then we may qualify to walk away with the goodies that it has to offer. But exactly what those are is a bit of a mystery. We’ll accumulate things that have dollar value. We’ll taste experiences that are supposed to be memorable. But there is no fixed and certain promise to those who strive. The message is that we are to devote our lives to the culturally expected pursuits and then promised that to some vague measure we’ll get our share of the things it deems valuable.

Like game show contestants, we are invited to be consumers of life. We may not know what we’re chasing. That’s secondary to the call to get whatever is behind door number 1, 2, or 3. We’re supposed to overlook the fact that this pursuit may cost us health and broken relationships. It may leave us addicted, disillusioned, lonely, and hungry for some kind of security and peace that we can’t even name.

Contrast that with God’s offer in Acts 26:18. Paul is recounting the moment when God took him away from his pursuit of religious perfection through legalism. God intercepts his socially acceptable but self-destructive course and redirects this passionate Pharisee. Paul describes his new mission from Christ this way, “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” (NASB)

Note the four transitions. The first is from darkness to light. The second is from living under the authority, oversight, or dominion of Satan to that of God. The third is from the burden of unforgiven sin to the certainty of forgiveness. The fourth is from those without an eternal inheritance to those who have one.

None of these are found behind the door of a game show stage—or behind any of the doors that the culture offers us. No human culture can show you how to live in the light of truth, beauty, holiness, of mind and soul. No society can show you an earthly escape from the deceit, compromises, distorted thinking, and misplaced values that have been part of human history since Satan’s first enticement of Adam and Eve. No social agenda can grant you perfect and total forgiveness that combines love and justice. No social philosophy or institution has an inheritance that will outlast this life.

When the video tape has been fully edited and the last commercial has been aired, the contestants of the typical game show return back to their normal lives still hungry for something they may not be able to define. The only way for any of our race to gain that which is of lasting value is to see through the empty promises of our world’s system, refuse to play the role of contestant or consumer, and make our pursuit of Christ paramount.

The other day the growth group I’m part of examined the qualities that Galatians 5:19-21 describe as the “acts of the sinful nature.” This text is a catalogue of consequences that flow from our rebellion against God. It describes the kinds of moral compromise we descend to when we live our lives indifferent to God and independent of his grace and holiness.

One of the words in the list is seldom used today. It’s the word debauchery. The NIV translation often uses the word sensuality to describe the word in other places in the New Testament, but it seems to have a connotation broader than an appetite for the sensual. It includes an attitude that flaunts its choices. Not only is it impervious to social restraint, it’s the spirit that celebrates behavior that is regarded as impure or immoral. It takes an in-your-face approach that flaunts itself. It has no regard for self-respect or the rights and feelings of others. It celebrates the cutting edge of immorality as being a pioneering spirit in rejecting virtue and godly behavior.

There is an impudence, a hubris that flows from our fallen hearts when we reject God and his ways. To defy him and walk in blatant disobedience is one thing. To parade our moral rebellion before mankind, indifferent to the impact of our choices on friends, relatives, and children in the next generation is another. Initial forays into sin often bring us internal conflict because we feel true moral guilt. It’s not pleasant. If we choose to disregard the tension and continue to sin, we desensitize our conscience (See 1 Timothy 4:2) and the conflict becomes less intense. The third stage is to delight in the practice of vice and flaunt it before others as a sign of our independence and our autonomy.

Signs of this kind of behavior in the public square are alarming, because it is at this place where God often abandoned the nation of Israel to its godless future. Those of us who believe that God shapes the fate of men and nations in relationship to our trust in him can be somewhat alarmed at the triumphant display of abandoned virtue that marks our media and our entertainment. The call to live and speak for God is the only antidote to the moral slide that will take us to a place of increased pain and turmoil as a culture.

Exasperated parents sometimes find themselves mediating conflict between their children in ways that make little sense. It’s usually on a day filled with stress and busyness. Life is in a whirl and the last thing the father or mother need is to have one of their offspring acting in an unusually nasty way toward their sibling. But that’s often the time when one child will come to the parent bawling because they were struck or offended by the meanness or selfishness of their brother or sister. You’ve likely seen or experienced a situation where, for example, a brother hauled off and slugged his older sister, who comes running to you or their parent. (I’m assuming we’re the parent in the following scenario.)

Full of frustration and fatigue, you yell for the offender to come. They walk in slowly, head down, avoiding eye contact. “I want you to apologize for hitting your brother and I want you do it right now!” you demand.

“Sorry,” your son mumbles in a barely audible voice.

“I didn’t hear you!” you insist.

He looks up at you, but just for a second, then back. You can tell from his expression he just wants to get this ordeal over with so he can return to his life without your interference. “I’m sorry,” he says in a louder voice.

“Do you really mean it?” you ask. You doubt that he does, but for some strange reason you figure that if he says “yes” you’ve won some kind of moral victory.

“Yeah,” he responds without any serious emotion.

“OK, then,” you add. “I want you both to play nice with each other. I don’t want to have this conversation again! Understood?” Both nod their heads and go off to play apart from one another until the threat of retribution lessens. There is no real resolution, just the appearance of it.

God is not interested in phony repentance. He doesn’t play those kinds of games that frustrated parents can sometimes slip into. In Jeremiah chapter 3 God speaks to the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The northern kingdom of Israel defied God and embraced pagan ways much more readily than did the southern kingdom if Judah. God summons both nations to abandon their folly and return to him. One of the nations seems to, but the other stubbornly does not. Which pleases God more? You may be surprised in God’s reaction.

God describes the northern kingdom’s defiance this way in Jeremiah 3:9, “Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.” The nation readily dumped worship of the invisible God for the idols of the surrounding nations. God brought drought and economic stress on the nation as a result, but the southern kingdom did not learn from this experience of their sister nation. God adds in verse 10, “In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return tome with all her heart, but only in pretense.”

Like the family scenario pictured earlier, Judah said she was sorry for what she had done, but without conviction. It was a paper apology that meant nothing.

God adds in verse 11. “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah.” God gives greater credit to the northern kingdom that admits they prefer their rebellion than to the southern kingdom that pretends to dislike it but continues on as before.

Sometimes we can slip into patterns where our misbehavior and independence from God run smack into his truth. We realize in that moment that we are fighting God, opposing his expressed moral will. And our awareness of our wrong can prompt us to apologize. But when the apology is in words only, it does not impress God in the least.

When public officials who break trust through financial or sexual misdeeds apologize on camera, their constituents look for some kind of attitude and behavior change. If none takes place, they assumed that they’ve been lied to one more time, and their distrust for the official only grows.

God is not fooled by fake repentance. When our remorse leads only to words, we might as well keep them to ourselves. We cannot build a healthy relationship with God my muttering, “I’m sorry” on occasion. He wants us to disengage with the rotten things we sometimes find appealing and engage with him in the pursuit of righteousness. Real reconciliation is always available, but it requires the painful step of changing our attitude toward some of the destructive things we tend to love and jumping over to God’s side in living righteously. Anything short of that is a vain attempt to deceive God and ourselves.

It’s easy to assume that the greatest battles for the truth Christ gave to the church are external. Many of the challenges the modern church faces do come from the materialistic and secular mindsets that permeate the classrooms, halls of government, and other institutions that have power and influence in our society.

Christ-followers must be careful to guard against internal challenges as well. If we are not carefully grounded in a clear understanding of the revelation of God in the Bible, we can find ourselves passionately preaching a ‘gospel’ that is different from the one Jesus entrusted to the disciples. The believers in the church in Galatia had fallen into this error. Paul emphatically denied the possibility of competing sets of core truth within the church. He states, “As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (See Galatians 1:9.)

Paul is not advocating the establishment of a thought police designed to enforce conformity on secondary and tertiary issues. Legalistic Christians try to demand absolute agreement on all kinds of issues, both biblical and cultural, in order to preserve their flavor of Christianity. What Paul does argue for is conformity on the central doctrines of the scripture related to the person and work of Christ, his mission, the character of God, and the principles of living in the kingdom in obedience to Jesus. These are non-negotiable.

If our understanding of the Bible is vague and fragmented, we will not be able to distinguish between our own spiritual preferences and the eternal truth of God. We our biblical illiteracy may lead us to unwittingly abandon central teaching or embrace as absolute ideas that are not prescribed or taught in scripture.

In Acts 20 Paul meets with the Ephesian elders for the last time on his way to Jerusalem. The church in Ephesus was a joy to him, a place of great growth and spiritual transformation among many. But even that church is not exempt from the temptation to drift from the truth. The leaders in the church are to be watchful about the message. Paul predicts, “Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” (See Acts 20:30.) In a similar vein he warned Timothy to “guard the gospel.”

What does this mean for us? It reminds us that we must saturate ourselves with the scriptures so that we can clearly understand the timeless revelation of God. We must battle the trend toward sound-bite theology and study to learn the symphony of the Bible, in both its major and minor keys. No ripping verses from context. No proof-texting. No deconstruction of the text. No converting the direct teaching of the Bible into psychological reflections of inner struggles of the soul of the writer. No creation of doctrine from the white spaces between the lines. No neglect of the principles of sound hermeneutics and clear thinking.

Throughout history, those churches that have lost their appetite for truth as found in scripture have drifted into the foggy swamps of uselessness. No fellowship, denomination or movement we can name today is safe from that fate. As Christ-followers commit themselves to learning and teaching the Bible, they chart a healthier path for their churches and themselves. Devotion to the word is not an option—it is essential.

Shirley is in her early 60′s. She tragically lost her father at the age of 17. He was shot in a dispute between himself and another farmer that presumably had something to do with several cows. A grand jury did not bring charges against her dad’s alleged assailant. Shirley went on to obtain advanced degrees and become an influential voice for justice for the oppressed. About ten months ago Shirley took on a new job with the federal government. A federal official misunderstood something she said about her past and promptly fired her.

The airwaves have been hot with this story because the supervisor is Tom Vilsack, head of the Department of Agriculture. And commentators from many perspectives have sought to leverage the events to fuel their own brand of political and social commentary.

Underneath all the rhetoric is the reality that we don’t respond to unfairness well—whether the issue involves a dispute with a third grade student and your daughter, a wrong price on an item at the supermarket, or an unreasonable termination in a government bureaucracy. Our first response is often characterized by bitterness, anger, and recrimination. We threaten, we name call, we play the victim card, we speak of legal action, we slander, we vilify, and we bemoan how something evil can happen to someone as perfect as ourselves.

God hates injustice of all kinds. His prophets foretold the doom of his own nation because of such things. Amos decreed, “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back my wrath. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.” (See Amos 2:6.) He calls his followers to fight for justice and to live righteously themselves. It’s the second challenge—living righteously—that we often struggle with when unfairness touches our lives.

When God is absent or at the margin of our thinking, we can easily respond with the kind of bitterness and acrimony that you can see in a near miss at a parking lot or in a dispute about tee time at a golf course. We convince ourselves that we’re fighting for justice. But often the real issue is that we’ve come to expect perfect treatment from others, and someone will pay dearly any time that expectation is not met. The consumer mentality that puts me in the center of the universe breeds zero tolerance for anything I would deem unfair treatment of me.

To fight against evil while cultivating a spirit of grace when issues are personal is a massive challenge. It’s impossible on our own strength. It’s the last thing we tend to do. It’s easier to vocalize our resentment and our outrage. It’s more natural to complain and threaten those who treat us unfairly. But grace is one of the qualities that Jesus wants to build into the hearts of his disciples. It’s not a call to moral passivity. It’s a call to character in the fight.

Grace embraces the truth of 1 Thessalonians 5:15, where God instructs us, “Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” This unnatural response does not fit in a secular culture. It never will because it requires a trust and confidence in God that are alien to a materialistic society. But it reflects the same kind of grace that God shows us daily when our choices, values, priorities, and attitudes fall short of his perfection. Christ followers have the opportunity to choose the uncommon response as we deal with unfairness. In doing so, we point to one who endured all kinds of evil so he could offer eternal life to those who would surrender to his rule.

Sometimes our natural instincts can get us into trouble. An impulsive spirit can bring adventure to life. But it can also tempt a driver to push it once too often at a yellow light, resulting in a ticket or a collision. A cautious spirit, on the other hand, can bring us a feeling of safety. But it can produce a life that is very small and guarded. A joyous spirit can bring laughter and lightheartedness to others. But if it is not tempered, it can feel superficial, afraid to deal with grief and other harsh realities of life.

Each of us has unique components of our personalities that become assets when we listen to the wisdom of friends. The advice of others can help us avoid the problems that come when our natural tendencies (good or bad) go unchecked. This even happened for a man as mature in his walk with Christ as Paul.

In Acts 19 Paul is discipling members of the new church in Ephesus. The impact of the message about Christ transforms many lives, and is the talk of the town. Many lives are transformed as the old values of many in the culture are abandoned out of loyalty to Jesus. This positive development threatens one local industry—the silversmiths and others who made idols for the shines in the region. One leader, Demetrius, attempts to preserve his business. He calls together those in his guild. (See Acts 19:25.) Then he and his fellow craftsmen instigate a riot. They don’t articulate their primary concern, which is income. Instead, they put forward baseless charges that the traveling companions of Paul have attacked the local deities directly. The message is that these foreigners are trying to mess with our culture and we won’t stand for it.

Paul desires to speak to the crowd and inform them of the truth. He’s eager to expose the propaganda and falsehoods that fuel the false rumors swirling around in the crowd. Two things prevented Paul from acting on his desires. In Acts 19:30-31 Luke records, “but the disciples would not let him.” They uniformly resisted his inclination to insert himself in the mob and change minds. Luke adds that some of his friends who were officials send a message “begging him not to venture into the theater.” God used the love and compassion of a host of people to dissuade Paul from doing what he instinctively would do in such situations. He could have sent an angel with a message, but in this case he spoke through two groups of mature, caring people.

The Christ-follower who always dismisses the counsel of others is in a dangerous place. He or she forgets that God sometimes shows us wisdom through the words of mature, loving, and courageous friends. Pride can easily masquerade and spiritual insight, so we must be prudent like Paul and be willing to listen in those times when our natural tendencies need to be tempered with an outside perspective.

Many religions offer power in the proper use and pronunciation of special words. The words can be special words that are personalized for the worshipper. Find your word and use it and you will be powerful. Or it can be a mantra that is chanted that helps you connect with the invisible forces that can purify your soul and link you to Nirvana. Old Testament Jews had certain prayers constructed from texts in the Pentateuch that males were expected to pray morning and evening. In the traditional branch of the Roman Catholic Church there are words and phrases that the faithful are sometimes expected to repeat that aid in forgiveness for sin or other spiritual endeavors. Protestants sometimes recite the Lord’s Prayer or a confession of faith as part of a formula for what they consider to be orthodox worship.

Sometimes Christians assume that certain words or phrases have power in themselves—in the very syllables that make up the words. In the early church some men discovered that this assumption was false. In Acts 19:14 we are introduced to the sons of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva. He has seven sons living in the region around Ephesus. God empowered Paul to both preach the gospel and do occasional miracles. Paul’s reputation grew and became the talk of the town. These sons wanted to get in on the action, so at one point they tried to mimic Paul in exorcising a demon. They sought to evict the demon “by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” On this particular occasion, the possessed person replied, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” He proceeded to beat them and drive them from the house. (See verse 16.)

Their mistake was assuming that using the syllables that comprise the word “Jesus” was all that was needed. They thought there was magic in the name. They believed that if their incantation was right, everything would work out. We can find ourselves smiling at their approach. But modern Christianity sometimes uses the word “Jesus” almost like an incantation. We can toss it around without reverence, like they did, and assume that our language will honor God. But when “Jesus” appears on pencils, refrigerator magnets, and bumper stickers, one wonders if we haven’t simply taken those five English letters and changed them into something they were never meant to be.

Sceva’s sons forgot that the power that God gave Paul flowed from the relationship he had with his risen Lord. It was not simply the byproduct of a phrase or a catchword that Paul had learned to skillfully use. Paul was not the master of incantations. He was mastered by his relationship with the risen Christ.

Those of us who take up the name of Christ in our skeptical age need the empowerment of God’s Spirit to live holy, humble, and winsome lives. This comes not from our use of Christian language, but from the depth of our relationship with the one we call savior and Lord.

News over this past weekend included reports of the capture of Colton Harris-Moore, who was dubbed the “Barefoot Bandit”. He had been on the run since escaping from a Washington state halfway house in 2008. In the interim, he is accused and suspected of multiple crimes, often restoring to burglary and theft of transportation—including cars and a plane.

One of the news outlets captured a clip from Colton’s mother. She was bragging about his intelligence, comparing his IQ to Einstein. Even in the wake of his criminal record, flight, and capture, she seemed oddly proud of his intellect.

Intelligence is a wonderful thing. But without character, intelligence counts for nothing. There are many who have fallen victim to the intelligence of self-centered, unscrupulous individuals who have used their natural abilities to deceive, outsmart, and manipulate others. Intelligence is a tool men and women can use to seduce partners of the opposite sex, take what they want from them, and toss them away when they are finished. Intelligent business, religious, academic and political leaders can fool followers into giving them money and power to fulfill promises they have no intention of keeping. Though the con-artist with the smile, featured in Catch Me If You Can or The Music Man makes good entertainment, the reality is different for those victimized by another’s sharp thinking.

It takes intellectual ability to create programs that can exploit security weakness in personal computers and steal the identity of unsuspecting people. It requires thought to con a retiree out of their life savings. Bernard Madoff used careful thought to develop a Ponzi scheme that would sidestep regulators and take $65 billion from investors.

God speaks of the value of righteousness in the hearts of leaders. In 2 Samuel 23:3-4 he says, “When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.” But as Psalm 143:2 laments, no one is righteous by nature. Though each of us can do morally good things, we are universally plagued with a moral brokenness that can corrupt us in small and large ways.

The training of the intellect of a nation is useless unless there is growth in virtue—and an empowerment to want to be good. Christianity teaches that the desire to use our intelligence for righteous ends and the ability to do so is best found in a dynamic relationship with Christ. We are so prone to deception that we cannot consistently overcome our inner moral failure apart from that relationship with Christ.

A world of relativism and values clarification is unduly optimistic about our human potential. Both history and the daily news remind us that there has to be more to progress than knowledge and IQ. Without a transcendent perspective and loyalty to a higher purpose, those abilities that we can take pride in can be used for great evil as well as great good. And without God’s help we have no sure way of even determining which is which.