The “No Matter What” Part of Wisdom

For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him.  Ecclesiastes 8:6.

 

In the place misery and hardship hit us the hardest and longest is where wisdom’s rubber meets the road.  It’s easy to be “wise” when we live in isolation (wise man or woman on a mountain somewhere in the Himalayas) or life is going so good with no disasters in sight; it’s quite another when tragedy strikes.  Wisdom often isn’t necessarily a given for those who have life going their way, rather its biggest impact is for the time when everything seems to be against us and we’re floundering.

The above text speaks to a person who sticks with a king though the decisions this leader makes create a bad atmosphere or go against all wisdom.  While a person is going through heartache or misery, they still have to live and cope with the world as they find it.  Not every situation allows for either a quick solution or any kind of mutually beneficial resolution.  What we know in retrospect is not what we know without experience.  Even the idea that somehow we should be able to know what only the experience of the now will teach is a fool’s paradise.  Hindsight always plays “what if” no matter what the circumstances faced.  The guilt we all feel when we can’t control the outcome may be palpable and real, yet unrealistic in the grand scheme of things.

Solomon points out that a king’s word is supreme (see why in my previous post) so fighting such power does no good.  Timing based on wisdom becomes the key here to knowing when to act and when to wait.  Yet this isn’t as easy as it sounds.  In my own lifetime I’ve seen bad decisions bring profit, flying in the face of history and all conventional logic.  And, if the truth be known, it wasn’t the decisions themselves which brought the profit but the luck of the draw—that old time and chance philosophy.  The scariest part, of course, is that those involved in the bad decision(s) declare the outcome as justification for continued bad choices, again defying all commonsense.

Some decisions, unfortunately, take a generation or so to see any returns on the investment.  Like in the case of Hezekiah with the Babylonian envoys who came to the Jerusalem to understand why their clocks (sundials) went backwards (read this story in Isaiah 38, 39).  His decision to show off his wealth instead of declaring God’s bounty and grace resulted in his country being a target for the Babylonian armies a few generations later.  What’s so disheartening about this story is his attitude of “at least it won’t happen in my lifetime.”

With this idea firmly in mind, it’s no wonder we see some pretty bad behavior from his successor and son, Manasseh, who is reputed to be one of the most wicked kings in Jewish history.  (His story is remarkable in that later he repented and turned back to God who restored him to the throne.)

We humans love to kick the can of consequences down the road for our immediate gratification.  For instance, no one in their right mind would declare the cars of yesteryear clean burning and non-polluting, which simply means what we are not able to breath and makes us sick if we take in too much of it (carbon monoxide) can’t be good our world.  Yet we hear people arguing that it hasn’t really affected the atmosphere.  Now I’m not a doomsday prophet or anything of that sort, I just believe in commonsense.  If we can’t stand behind a vehicle and breathe normally without getting either nauseous or passing out, then having a 100,000,000 of these things our roads going 24/7 has to do something.  Not to mention all the fuel burning in our fireplaces or keeping our electricity on.

I’m not in any way defending or decrying global warming fanatics, what I am saying is we can’t abuse our world without consequences of some sort.  I don’t know what effect all this pollution has on our planet, but it can’t be good.  Denying the harm is both silly and dangerous.  It takes thoughtful people to invent things like this, granted, but it also takes thoughtful people to build devices and machinery which operate safely and with environmental wisdom.  The wind farms all over the place displace wildlife and hurt birds; coal has already shown its toxic side; solar is awesome but it takes acres and acres of panels to equal just a small portion of what coal and water dams do easily.

Fiscally our country is kicking the can down the road, which will create a huge disaster for our children or theirs.  You can’t overspend and over borrow then expect to get off with a free pass.  And by saying this I’m definitely not defending the Republican viewpoint of the world nor will I condemn it.  In this matter of spiritual truth their view is fairly immaterial.

Jesus said, “Wisdom is justified by her deeds.”  And His wisdom is being proved out in the real world constantly.  A man who loves will continue to do without or without the permission of his king, family, friends or any other entity which holds power over his life.  And make no mistake, other people hold power over us whether we admit it or not.  Anyone in business can tell you how hard it is to get a start up off the ground.  The sacrifices are tremendous, the advantages very few in the beginning, and the pay off costly even in the long run.  If no one comes to a market to buy, the market will cease to exist, thus proving we cannot survive without one another.

A king is simply a man trusted to rule over the people he serves.  That last word is vital to understanding the best way to see power of any sort:  those in charge do so to serve others not themselves.  Unfortunately, too often those in power either live to please themselves or believe in some god-awful philosophy or ethic which makes them force their “good” down the throats of all—much of the time at the pain of death or confiscation of the “opposition’s” property.

Daniel advised Nebuchadnezzar; Joseph served under Pharaoh; Esther became the wife of the king of Persia…Time and again wisdom has been served by those who would not back away from the unpleasant, though it cost them dearly.  Those mentioned here are but a fraction of the biblical heroes and heroines who served God despite all odds.  They influenced Hebrew history because they stuck with their place instead of running away from the awful circumstances they found themselves in.  The message here is clear:  We cannot desert our nation, work, family or friends just because we find sinners there.

We are the salt of the earth.  What does salt do?  It flavors and preserves.  Wars have been fought over rights to salt; whole nations have been destroyed by other nations coveting their salt sources.  Jesus used this parable as an illustration to tell us how valuable we are and to stress that we are the flavor of God in the world set not only to make it palatable but to preserve it.  If the world loses the flavor of His love (which is the essence of His holiness), it will be destroyed as too evil to exist.  I believe this truth is one of the reasons holding back the winds of strife right now.  Many Christians somehow have come to believe they must create heaven on earth through earthly government but the fact is our very lives are salt which preserve the people of earth’s life.

So do not be in a hurry to leave the presence of those on earth, for according to our Master we are the reason it hasn’t been destroyed.  Don’t be in a hurry to leave an unpleasant situation for God can use us anywhere.  Be a light in a dark place.  It’s a waste of time to turn on a light in a well lighted room.  It’s much better to shine where the light will do more good.

Approaching God

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.

Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God.  God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.  As a dream comes when there are man cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.  Ecclesiastes 5:1-3.

 

We humans talk too much.  I know plenty of people who talk wa-a-a-ay less than me, of course, because I’m a wordy fellow, yet I also know that when it comes to prayer silence is not as popular as pouring out our hearts.  This is pretty natural since we don’t dialogue with God very much at all.  Still, though we live in a new dispensation and paradigm, listening is always better than talking.

Confession time:

I talk to God all day long.  I’m always telling Him things I am thinking or discussing the next move at work.  I know it might sound silly to some of you, but I can’t stop the flow (at least at this stage) because words are how I connect.  Oddly enough, I know I listen—even through all the profuse one-sided conversations we seem to have.  How I know I listen is that when thoughts squeeze their way in between the cracks of my profundity, I stop to chew.

I have a long way to go before I’ll be able to use my ears and mouth in proportion.  Thank God for grace to grow!

Yet the point of Solomon’s exhortation isn’t lost even on a person like me.  The main issue is to gain an understanding God’s place in the universe as well as our hearts.  He’s big, bigger than anything or anyone, yet able to inhabit my heart.  The phenomenon of a God who holds all of creation in the palm of His hand being in my heart—or even interested in my life—is amazing enough.  Yet size only matters to those who use it as a means of power over others (or get their value from it.

We talk about God running and sustaining everything yet sometimes just don’t recognize what that means.  Sure He takes care of all the big stuff like planets, nation building and certain people’s careers, but these things are the more obvious things.  Where it really gets interesting for me is that each cell has a power pack inside it that scientists are still trying to unravel.  Why do these amazing organisms continue to operate sometimes long after their host dies?  What supplies them with the life force necessary to keep performing their function?

I believe God’s life force permeates everything and everyone.  This same power emanates from a being who is not only sentient but intimately personal.  He created one of the most person acts we humans experience then compared it to His own relationship with the Godhead and us.  I know a lot of people who are weird-ed out by God’s claim to be spiritually “sexual” with us, but their problem stems from their lack of understanding not the act itself.  Sex is intimacy not just pleasure; it’s pleasure not just intimacy.  The two go together on purpose for God illustrates through this one act what is in His heart for us.  Now we, on the other hand, have so many issues around sex and intimacy that some (probably many) experience real difficulty when this subject comes up.  The problem isn’t with God, it’s with us.

We pervert the works of God then blame Him for the outcomes.  We twist our natures around pleasure, power, wealth and selfish ambition then resent Him for being bigger than all of us.  All of us struggle to look at pretty much every faucet of life without the cataracts of sin.  It isn’t God’s fault that we’ve perverted intimacy into something narcissistic.  So why can’t we grasp His goals for personal contact with us?  Our twisted POV prevents us from being healthy enough to experience the fullness of God.

Can you picture God’s presence as both overwhelmingly awe-inspiring as well as pleasurable?  The orgasm becomes a mere simile for experiencing God.  The more I know God in His purity, and thus realize my own perversity, the more I know everything within His context is clean, clear, beyond my imagination to experience and full of deep spiritual meaning.  We must get beyond our perverted twists on God’s creation; for if we don’t, we end up with nothing more than Victorianism disguised as piety or going after something for merely the pleasure of it.  Human rules will never prevent the sinful nature from expressing itself nor will we ever find satisfaction in just pleasure.

Jesus changed all the rules of coming to God when He became human.  It’s weird that at first we’re told to be careful when we approach God, then have Him call us friends.  “I have called you friends…I no longer call you servants because a servant doesn’t know his master’s business.  Instead I have called you friends.”  Why?  Because He let us in on God’s mind and plans, that why!  He shared the heart of God rather than just the rules of a boss or king.  Jesus got intimate with humanity to demonstrate the desire of God’s heart—a reconciled friendship with us.

Why did He do this?  Because He wants to be intimate with us!  He shared His very soul in coming to earth by being born, living and breathing as a human.  He experienced everything a man can experience besides marriage.  That should tell us something about the nature of God in relation to humanity.  It should enlighten our dark understanding of the divine and set us on a course for greater pleasure in the presence of the Source of pleasure.  We use the word “joy” to replace happiness because we fear God isn’t concerned with our happiness; yet it was He who created our ability to be happy.  We wouldn’t know the word or emotion if He hadn’t invented it.  We need to get over our perverse self-denial so that we can practice it in the context of heaven’s gift in Christ.

Does it strike you as weird that God invented pleasure?  Then chew on this:  He created foods of all stripes then gave humans taste buds in order to enjoy them.  He created flowers, scented plants and animals then gave humans olfactory glands to appreciate them.  He created colors with so many hues we cannot invent enough combinations to encompass them all, then gave us eyes with brains encoded to be overwhelmed by a sunset or whatever.  He gave us a reproduction apparatus then made it a pleasure to procreate.  He gave us ears and made voices sing, birds warble, lions roar and mountains rumble.

Our God “dwells” in unapproachable light, yet loves us so much in a purely intimate way He sent His own to be one of us.  Yes, we need to be in awe.  Yes, we should be reverent.  Yes, we should be overwhelmed.  Yes we ought to seek intimacy and be pleasured by His presence.

That is just utterly amazing.

The Pleasure Principle

I thought in my heart, “Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good.”  But that also proved to be meaningless.  “Laughter,” I said,  “is foolish.  And what does pleasure accomplish?”  Ecclesiastes 2: 1, 2.

 

Laughter is healing.

Solomon also collected the sayings in Proverbs, so we know he wasn’t knocking laughter completely.  The only fault he found with it was when it was simply sought for its own sake.  Laughter that grows naturally out of friendship and a sense of happiness is one thing, but remember he’s testing himself with pleasure to find out what is good.

 

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.  Proverbs 17:22.

 

Studies have been done on which cancer patients respond the best to treatment, pretty much across the board the ones who survived the most often were those who kept a positive attitude.  Now this doesn’t suggest they laughed all the time, but it does mean they continued to be happy, cheerful and find laughter in things despite the circumstances.

I get Solomon’s not so subtle warning, though, those who seek laughter through foolishness (“fool” in this context is one devoid of a moral compass) in the end find emptiness for no one can sustain such a state without solid life behind them to back it up.  In other words, foolish living brings on destruction of the body and mind to the point that there is no substance to the person’s cheer.  Without a reason to be cheerful, people eventually devolve into bitterness (or apathy), which then turns into a form of humor derived from cynicism and a dark view of everything.

Remember, Solomon is exploring what is worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.  His purpose is to discover what works and what doesn’t in order to find a reason to continue accomplishing “great” things.  As he parties like it’s 1999, he comes to the conclusion that a party without a reason to celebrate is chasing after the winds of happiness and meaning without any solid reason to inspire them.  Pleasure seekers eventually kill themselves with pleasure because every pleasure over indulged plateaus at the level sustained to become the norm.  Once they reach this plateau, to feel something more they must indulge the source of their pleasure in greater quantities or measures in order to notice any difference.

In the case of alcohol or drugs, it doesn’t take a scientist to see the trend in those who party all the time.  A guy who smokes pot once a day will eventually have to either increase his daily hit or make it twice a day; but once he does this his body will begin to metabolize at the twice a day and that will not feel different anymore.  Soon he has to increase it more and more just to feel anything.

But this doesn’t just happen with drugs or alcohol.

I heard a story about J. Paul Getty which has stuck with me over the years.  I don’t know if it’s urban myth or fact, but parable of it is certainly true.  On his deathbed, Getty was asked how much money was enough.  He replied,  “One dollar more…”

I have a hard time calling greed an addiction.  I have a hard time with calling most things an addiction, to be honest, because addiction can mean a certain suspension of responsibility for the individual.  We generally excuse a person who’s addicted because they can’t help the craving their body demands.  It’s hard to condemn someone who has become, for all intents and purposes, tied to a certain behavior through desperate need.  Yet these individuals for the most part didn’t get to this state by being addicted.  They began it by getting high, stoned or whatever term they liked to call their altered state.  At first they would only do it on weekends or at parties; then it became a way to tweak the noses of those in authority—like in school, where smoking in the bathroom seemed daring.  Eventually, however, one person grows up and realizes this lifestyle can’t be sustained forever.  It’s nice to do it once in a while, but to do it all the time becomes boring.  The other person decides they want (or deserve) to be high and feel good all the time, so they seek nothing but pleasure—or the next high.

I have family members who have killed themselves for drug highs.  I have a nephew somewhere now who can’t have sex except with extreme twists in it.  I’ve watched as some of my friends ended up on the street desperate for the next hit, fix or liaison.  What turns into an addiction for the body began as an obsession of the mind.  If we believe “really living” is about the pleasures, then all we will do is strive for those highs.  If we believe life is about stuff, then all we will do is strive for stuff.  If we believe life is about beating the competition, then all we will do is work to beat our competitors and worry ourselves into an early grave about losing.

Pleasure without a reason to support it dissolves into a chasing after the wind—running in circles in pursuit of the fickle impossibilities.

Solomon didn’t stop with wine or sex in his pursuit of happiness or pleasure.  No, he undertook the pleasures of wealth by building gardens and palaces, owning slaves, wealth itself and generally having more of everything.  When he got more than anyone else, he looked around and realized it was empty because “more” didn’t equal quality nor did it give him a sense of lasting purpose or meaning.  He wasn’t lazy about his pleasure seeking either, but industrious and determined, yet it all came down to nothing because there wasn’t any purpose to it but the thing itself.  The thing itself held no meaning except in acquiring it and once that was done, the high was over.

Now there’s absolutely nothing wrong with pleasure.  We have taste buds, a sense of smell, the joy of touch, see color and experience emotions for a reason.  God created the orgasm, which means He wanted to communicate something more than mere pleasure.  We are made in His image, so the orgasm itself speaks to an attribute of God and to understand what it’s saying we must get to know Him.  I’m not talking religious piety in the sense of monastic discovery of these truths, rather I believe that in practicing them we find something true about God’s nature.  Knowing who He is deepens our appreciation of the pleasure we experience.

Look at our bodies’ diverse function for a minute to get what I mean about understanding God’s nature.

Our mouths taste the food we intake to sustain our bodies, which in turn gives us energy and ability to do a host other things with it.  The digestive process produces waste which we eliminate out of two orifices designed for this function.  The waste is said by farmers to be the best fertilizer on earth for the food we consume.  We call it “waste” but really what it is, by God’s design, is the means to feeding ourselves again.  Our bodies break it down into a form the plants can use to feed themselves and produce food for us to do it all over again and thus a cycle of blessing occurs.

So, the mouth tastes and chews and we swallow.  In this process several things happen at once:  The joy of taste in whatever variety the dish, fruit and vegetable or meat supplies. Next, we begin the digestive process by grinding the food to pulp and combining it with saliva in order to swallow it.  Unfortunately, some of us eat our food so fast we barely taste it before it’s swallowed.  The whole effort is there to make the provision of nutrient fuel an enjoyable experience.  The impatient (hey, I’m learning to eat slower) are anxious to get to the next bite for that burst of flavor without savoring the experience and all the tastes available.

This is just one example of what God created for our pleasure.  Yet we know it has been twisted to the point of producing what we call “gluttony” and those who practice it to excess grow obese.  In America, we call obesity a disease, but in reality it is a condition brought on by over indulgence of one of our senses.  Alcoholism is called a disease, but it isn’t technically such because it is a condition produced by excess intake of an alcoholic substance.  A disease is produced by a parasite or organism not chemicals.  A disease produces sickness without our help or interference.  Addictions such as drugs or alcohol only become so when we over indulge them.

Solomon explored every pleasure available in his era and found all of them devoid of meaning or purpose.  This doesn’t mean what God made is meaningless, just that pursuing them without Him at the helm of their purpose produces futility.  For those who over indulge a thing—or many things—repetition becomes hateful and dissolves into the death of pleasure.  For those who take everything in its time, the joy remains.  The gain of the latter is preserving the enjoyment and pleasure promised; the bitterness of the latter is the insatiable state of their appetites.

The Right Kind of Justice

Whatever is right, whatever is pure…

 

Now once we mention truth you’d think the spectrum of stuff covered would be met, but Paul goes on to expand that thought to things that are right and pure.  Doesn’t pointing to truth cover everything pure and right?

Yes.  Yet at the same time truth includes things that are evil as well, for there are impure truths we face daily.  Truth points to whatever is rather than the myth or story we build up around it.  For example we might not want to admit we feel covetous of  someone’s property so we decide to build up a justification for our greed and explain away our desire to make ourselves believe the lie (if that’s possible) and fool others into buying our story.  Our rationalization doesn’t make our motives pure nor does it make them right, but they are still true.

The word used for right in the NIV is translated just in the KJV.  I don’t believe it’s any accident these words are related to each other, for whatever is just is also what is considered right as well.  The confusion with these ideals grows out of the fact that we compartmentalize our lives so much we forget the relationship between them, forgetting they are intertwined.  The Greek word denotes the state of being right or right conduct as interpreted by Vine’s.  Yet it isn’t about self-righteousness, a world-based comparison or confidence; rather our state of being right is judged by the standard created by God.

This state of rightness goes hand in hand with that of purity, which by any definition usually means uncontaminated by another element.  For instance, the purity of gold is measured by itself; for gold to be pure all other matter must be removed.  In order for our Christian walk to be pure all other rational ideals must be purged from our operating manual.  Not that we aren’t supposed to be aware or educated in the other ethics, far from it, but our modus operandi must not be based on them.  The measure we use as believers comes from Christ alone, and through His lens we interpret what we know as true.  In other words, what we call “evil” gets its designation from what Jesus calls evil.  Any deviation from His Word is evil by this standard of measurement.

Grace becomes incredibly necessary here because none of us are untainted by the world and therefore our interpretation of truth will be skewed by our sin.  I’ve watched the church flounder with how to live a right-eous life untainted by the world.  The church I grew up in believed and taught that we were to have very little association with the world around us to the point that even childhood friendships were restricted to other kids within the body.  My folks weren’t this strict and seemed to see no sense in that attitude, but no matter, the prevailing practice still influenced the way I thought and acted.

The first inkling I had that something was amiss was when I read 1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  My take on this text is no matter what we strive for in Christ, our understanding of right will be somewhat skewed by our sinful nature.  I’m not saying we can’t find truth or grasp the fact/reality of righteousness, but we must practice what we discover with a humble realization we may not have a clear picture of the truth.  Over the years I’ve relearned many truths taught in the Bible over and over again.  Just when I think a truth is clear and no more can be learned from it I’ll read another text that sheds a greater light on it.  If Paul proclaimed without shame that he hadn’t arrived just yet (and this declaration was made towards the end of his life), then I see no reason for any shame on my part for lacking a full understanding either.

 

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.  2 Corinthians 3:18.

 

It’s interesting Paul words it this way for it fits right in with the point I’m trying to make here.  Our ability to see through the eyes of the Spirit comes from taking off the veil of the old covenant’s glory.  The Jews of Moses’ day wanted to block the sight of God from their vision because it not only hurt their eyes and stunned their minds but it convicted them of their sinful/separated condition.  I’ve heard quite a few sermons using this passage in Corinthians to lambaste the reaction of Israel at Mt. Sinai for their fear and revulsion (?) of God’s displayed power.  And maybe the preachers who call them down for it should.  At the same time, I just see us holding onto and teaching the basic elements of grace without any desire to go to a deeper understanding of what it means to experience such a wonder.  Dietrich Bonhoffer declared such a grasp of grace as “cheap” because it never led to greater obedience or sacrifice on our part.

My point is human nature hasn’t changed all that much since those freed slaves turned away from the glory reflected on Moses’ face.  Think about it a minute:  they couldn’t take the glory of God reflected on a human face—a fallen, recovering sinner like Moses—which was barely a minute fraction of the full force of it.  Whenever I begin talking about the things of God as I’m learning them, I’m amazed and disappointed by the lack of enthusiasm or interest within the church at large.  It seems the general populace of the body of Christ wants only so much truth and then feels content to hang out there.

That attitude doesn’t fly with God.  Though many of these juvenile believers will be saved on the Day, they won’t be commended for their disinterest in spiritual depth or growth.  I’ve received plenty of rebukes from even pastors who think I’m too heavy with what I tell people…and granted some of what these people say is true…But I know that anyone who hungers for the presence of the Holy Spirit and the Word of Truth will get weird looks and/or shunned for their enthusiasm.  I had a couple of pastors I’ve served under tell me pointblank, “You’re no preacher, Jon,” in an effort to humble me, I guess.  I don’t know why they felt the need to make this point since I’ve never pursued being in that profession for Christ nor do I attempt to preach at all.  Instead I testify to what I’ve seen and heard; if anything, I consider myself merely a witness to for Jesus.

In my somewhat myopic opinion of these preachers’ expressed views, they said this to me because of some threat they felt with my status as a musician in their church.  Each time I agreed with them, then told them what I’ve written here—in different words, of course, but the message was the same.  I’m not writing this to express my frustration with these men, instead I’m pointing out their need to put me in my place is a sign of competition and immature spirituality.  Those who strive to know God, understand the need to testify about Him.  I’m no preacher, and probably not even a teacher for that matter, I am, however, a seeker of truth and believe that Jesus is the Way to that end.  As a part time worship leader, I stand on a platform where I can say anything I want pretty much.  That gives me power for the few minutes I’m on stage directing musical traffic.  An immature Christian takes this kind of opportunity and uses it to address their pet subjects or peeves, while those growing from glory to glory learn the platform is a place to declare the reputation of God—or, put another way, His work in their lives.

Every place Jesus healed someone just about, they were told to testify to what God had done for them.  A preacher needs to be careful not to squelch this—while at the same time reigning in those like me who might be longwinded.  It’s a delicate balancing act, I know, for I needed rebuke for my unconscious (and thereby inconsiderate) use of time in the worship.  What should have been encouraged was the technique of speaking up for God.  Instead they sought to squelch any expression other than worship through song.  But praise and worship is not just about singing, it also includes declarations of God’s work in our lives and during this time we should  be calling on the body of Christ to speak out what God has done for them.  As a leader in worship, it’s my job to give them permission through my example.  Otherwise it becomes a preacher/worship leader dictatorship and one sided praise from the pulpit where the congregation just becomes a bucket we pour into.  They might join in through singing, but generally it boils down to spiritual entertainment rather than a corporate worship.

Purity is the state of being untainted by selfish ambition, pride of place or need for being center stage.  A person truly seeking God will shun the spotlight of human glory for that of God’s.  In other words, they will use the platform they’re given to reflect His glory and not their own.

I confess I am not pure.  I’m not even sure I’m right.  Where I can say with confidence that I’m on the right path to these truths in Christ is when I rightly divide the Word of Truth.  I desire that ever increasing glory which inspires a hunger for more.  That is growing pure and right.  The just shall live by faith; those who desire purity seek justice; being right means being pure; being pure means being just.

How about you?

The Pattern

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the patter we gave you.  For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.  Their mind is on earthly things.  But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.

Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!  Philippians 3:17-4:1.

Two phrases stand out as fulcrum points here.  First, we have Paul encouraging his readers to follow his example and the believers who adhere to the pattern he and his partners gave them.  Second, he makes it clear the pattern is the method by which they should stand firm in the Lord.

I would love to know exactly what that pattern looked like lived out according to Paul and Associates.  Words are not meaningless but they don’t convey many of the nuances which would clear up some of the debate 2000 spiritual rabbit trails bring up.  Actually, I think Paul does a good job describing the pattern to the Philippians, but I’m curious to know how it applies in specific situations he doesn’t address.

Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile the principle of remembering our citizenship is in heaven while making a living and coping with the earthly realities.  Since I’ve read many of his other letters with similar instructions but more practical guidelines, I don’t believe he is telling us stop living in the world or making a place here.  I do think he’s warning us not to get too attached to our “stuff” here because it’s a temporary situation.

It’s not hard to picture the type of people who live as enemies of the cross, although I’d still not like to be the one to name them very often.  Making a judgment call about anyone’s spiritual status is dangerous at best and down right detrimental at worst.  Still, we must understand this truth in Christ so that we are not the ones living as His enemies; for as Paul says elsewhere:  all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial; all things are permissible, but I will not be ruled by anything.  If we call Jesus our “Master,” then our lives must demonstrate the truth of this.

Paul called himself a slave of Christ; and it’s only within this context that we can read any statement in which he calls Jesus “Lord” or “Master”.  Unless we get this concept, we will misunderstand where we stand in the general mix.  If we get off on one little point, it can mean being off in a big way later on.  Anyone who knows basic Algebra or Geometry understands that even a small degree of deviation from the line means separation from it pretty quickly.  The smallest deviations are hardest to detect, however, since they move seemingly parallel for such a long time.  Give this deviation a few years to travel and we end up with a pretty big space between the original line and where we end up.

It’s one of the reasons I believe in humility where the Bible is concerned.  Everybody struggles so much to grasp even the simplest concepts Scripture poses for our instruction that I believe we need to stop worrying about how far we or anyone else might be from the truth.  It’s safe to just assume we are off in several ways and the different perspectives within the body of Christ forces us out of a complacent acceptance of our own spiritual superiority.

Again, in another place, Paul claims we live as aliens in this world.  In his POV “alien” would mean someone from another country not probing egg-headed beings from space; to the Philippians he makes the argument for their citizenship in heaven.  Anyone whose god is their stomach would find this truth a little disturbing, since a person would be known by their tribal or national affiliation.  So much of a person’s identity in Paul’s era wrapped itself up in national or tribal associations that someone without a country, tribe or family was either looked down upon or ostracized all together.  Anyone who claimed no loyalty to a group would be seen with more suspicion than someone from an enemy nation because mainly outcasts or criminals claimed such status.

Where we get our identity from tells those around us who we are.  No matter what anyone wants to believe about our job title, marriage status or whatever else people ask about at parties, our identity derives directly from our affiliations.  Who we are connected to sometimes matters more than what we do.  For instance, say a man is related to the president of the United States as a nephew or cousin but works as a janitor, he will get respect from not only his peers but anyone who finds out about it just because of this connection.  It doesn’t matter that he’s probably not well off or traveling in powerful circles; just the fact he’s related to someone that powerful gives him a certain amount of notoriety.

Our citizenship is in heaven, so our identity comes from there.  If we are preoccupied with “earthly” things, we misrepresent our country of origin.  When I go visit another country, I am an American still.  My accent, relationships and a host of other verbal and non-verbal cues tell everyone where I come from and to whom I belong.  But when I begin to blend into the population, take on their mannerisms, speak their language, support their economy and generally become nationalized, I am no longer strictly an American but something of an expatriate.  I can still do all this without betraying my country; however, the moment I do anything that goes against my country of origin’s interests, I become a traitor.  Even if I don’t renounce my American citizenship formally, going against its policies, traditions, or interests in that place betrays my claims to belong.

Now there are many who set up a host of rules and regulations for belonging to the Christian faith, and I’m not sure I want to argue for or against all these.  Let’s just suffice it to say, the Bible makes it really simple to be a member.  1 John 2:3-6 makes it abundantly clear what it means to belong to Christ:  We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands.  The man who says,  “I know Him,”  but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in him.  This is how we know we are in Him:  Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.  Simple, eh?

No, I guess it’s not, because we have 2500+ denominations out there to prove how many ways we can interpret what it means to “obey His commands” as well as a host of arguments and discussions over which commands we must obey.

Yet I do believe there is a simple rule for us to follow:  Imitate Jesus.  That might sound confusing, but really it takes away a lot of backwash from the water of life.  When Jesus says (as Matthew 18:15-20 records it) to confront sin a certain way, then we do it that way.  If in the same context He tells us to treat a brother or sister who will not be reconciled like a pagan or tax collector, then we must look first at how He treated these people instead of imitating the world around us—even the religious world to which we belong gets this wrong.  If Jesus associated with tax collectors and sinners by going to their houses and eating their food, then I doubt He means for us to cut them off completely from our lives.

Do you see the difference?  The world accepts others based on sameness, agreement or capitulation; the Body of Christ accepts others based on the cross.  To live as an enemy of the cross is not only to be a glutton or sinner, but to continue in the world’s values.  If while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, then how should we demonstrate our citizenship to the young believers and those outside the body of Christ?  If Jesus demonstrated His love for us by dying for us before we even belonged to Him, then how should we treat those around us?

There are limits to this, of course, like I won’t attend an orgy of gluttony and/or sex just to show an unbeliever I care about him/her.  But I will come to his/her house at a time which is mutually benign because we are friends.  At the same time, those who betray the faith by continuing in unrepentant sin (and this knowingly), I am to have nothing to do with till they repent.  I know that sounds harsh, yet I can’t help but believe this was Jesus’ way of supporting the idea of refusing to enable someone’s destructive habits rather than punishing them.  In psychology denying someone support for their destructive lifestyle is considered wise.  Cutting them off completely is not good, though refusing to bring them into the inner circle where they might infect others with their bad habits is considered wisdom.

This is, of course, just a few examples of where the pattern comes into play.  As our understanding of the pattern grows, so does our practice of it.  God doesn’t hold against us when we can’t grow all at once.  If He did, none of us would be make the grade, quite frankly.  So if He doesn’t expect such an instantaneous change, neither should we.

The pattern Paul gave to the churches he established in Jesus’ name follows firm moral boundaries which include mercy, grace, rebuke, gentleness and a host of other positive traits.  We stick to morals not just because they are right (which they are) but because they are the essential ingredients to love.  We marry one person not because the Bible forbids multiple sexual partners but because this is the essence of love—it’s how we’re designed.  Understanding the reason for something strengthens the resolve of those who follow a teaching.  When we do so out of legalism, our moral stance becomes cold, calculated and harsh; when we do so out of love, our morals uplift, glorify and minister healing (minister here meaning “serve”).

Paul makes it abundantly clear only those who follow this pattern will stand in the end.

Without Complaining or Arguing

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.  Philippians 2:14-16.

Now that is one heavy instruction and darn near impossible to accomplish.  Imagine the church doing everything without complaining or arguing, where is Paul from Pluto?

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, put ten theologians in a room discussing a subject and you’ll get an argument from nearly all ten points of view.  When a person is working with information in the dark, it’s pretty obvious some of the details will get misrepresented.

There’s an ancient story from the Orient about seven blindfolded monks being asked to describe an elephant from one touch from as single given position around the animal.  The conclusion of the story should be pretty clear:  7 different descriptions about what the object or animal might be from their various perspectives.

What I get out of this story, of course, is that it takes all of our perspectives to arrive at even a partially clear picture of God.  Sure, there will be those who give such a forceful one-sided view of Him that we’re tempted to reject their conclusion outright, but without careful consideration our reaction would be foolish.  For one thing, these single-minded types might have a valid point along with the ax they grind, so rejecting their truth based on their attitude is just as wrong as the superior approach they practice.  It sucks that we have to accept them as possibly valid but that’s the way it is.  Just because the feet and armpits stink and certain parts of the body emit methane doesn’t mean they aren’t a part of the body.  Those areas speak to the rest of the body loud and clear of the need to bathe or what’s happening in our digestive track, right?  Ignoring the smell just makes the problem worse and eventually causes everyone around to be standoffish.

The best way to conquer an enemy is to divide them.  Get all the factions fighting over either the minutiae of the gospel message or rules of conduct and you have an entity which becomes ineffective and basically preoccupied with itself.  I’m thinking about the over two-thousand denominations which exist today despite Jesus’ explicit command to love each and be one.  While I don’t object to the diverse viewpoints represented by these various factions within the Christian ethic, I do find it sad that our message is one of preference over substance.

There’s an old saying I believe is attributed to Martin Luther which goes,  “On essentials, unity; on non-essentials, liberality; in all things, charity.”  The reality, however, is one of infighting and quarrels so sharp or vehement denominations form and wars break out.  What this type of behavior says to the world around us is that our message of love and unity is bogus.

Paul gives one reason (among many) for this unity and love, though, by including what such an attitude produces:  light.  Those who imitate the Master without complaining or arguing shine like stars in the darkness of night.  We may not be as bright as the sun/Son, but we do reflect His light and that’s enough.  How can these people help but shine?  They contrast the rest of Christendom so drastically they stand out.  The only sad truth about their light is that like stars they are small lights relative to the darkness in which they stand out so brightly.  Yet all is not hopeless for a good navigator will be able to find the way by using such lights, as any good sailor will tell you.

The wording of the first sentence strikes me as especially significant.  The way to becoming blameless and pure is to avoid complaining or arguing…or, at least, this is the first step to such a state of mind.

Why would complaining or arguing cause our light to dim or be tainted?

Despite all the miracles God performed on their behalf, the Children of Israel continued in their faithlessness and complaining to the point that a whole generation of them died before they could enter the Promised Land.  All the way through the history of Israel the majority continued with a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” attitude.  The human species without God in charge find themselves always at an impasse when they reach the crossroads of trust or apostasy.

Later in history the Jews held the repository of God’s message in their Torah yet either missed or rejected the Messiah when He arrived.  Does this reveal something about human nature to you?  We are so contrary in our pursuit of being little gods we cut our noses off to spite our faces.  What is it that drives us to be obnoxious about our beliefs?  I hear so many Christians criticize or outright condemn the Muslim faith yet many of them ignore the wars the so called “Christians” in our past started in the name of spreading the gospel.  If I remember my history right, however, most of this crusader spirit usually devolved into a grab of wealth in the form of land or gold.  Even in recent history we can read examples of people supposedly going by the name of Jesus declaring violent war on those who held a different POV.

To be innocent of evil and shine like stars in the universe we have to live in contrast to everything the world represents.  In all our dealings with the body of Christ, first, then the world at large we have to be different in every aspect which Jesus instructed us.

Paul called the age in which he lived wicked and depraved not as a derogatory comment because his goal had nothing to do with superiority or setting himself above anyone.  No, his comment referred to the nature of Christ as it stood out in contrast to the world.  Another passage we just studied referred to Jesus as not seeking God-status or to advance Himself in the eyes of anyone preferring instead to be thought of as nothing over acclaim, beauty or any kind of advantage over others.  Who He was stood out so brightly His own people tried to put out His light because it hurt their eyes.  We cannot hope to shine like Him without His presence permeating every part of our being, but if we do in just a minute way, we will experience the same reactions.

Complaining and arguing is about either getting what we think we deserve by griping or fighting for it with words—or at worse weapons of death.  In other words, we fight for what we think our rights are or what we think we deserve rather than being like Jesus.  Instead of becoming like the heart of God we seek to change our circumstances or environment.  Those who follow Jesus change both by default as they choose to be like the Master.  If Jesus refused to let anyone have power over Him because He knew human nature (John 2:23-25), what should our choice be?

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Now that is one heavy instruction and darn near impossible to accomplish.  Imagine the church doing everything without complaining or arguing, where is Paul from Pluto?

I’ve said it before and it bears repeating, put ten theologians in a room discussing a subject and you’ll get an argument from nearly all ten points of view.  When a person is working with information in the dark, it’s pretty obvious some of the details will get misrepresented.

There’s an ancient story from the Orient about seven blindfolded monks being asked to describe an elephant from one touch from as single given position around the animal.  The conclusion of the story should be pretty clear:  7 different descriptions about what the object or animal might be from their various perspectives.

What I get out of this story, of course, is that it takes all of our perspectives to arrive at even a partially clear picture of God.  Sure, there will be those who give such a forceful one-sided view of Him that we’re tempted to reject their conclusion outright, but without careful consideration our reaction would be foolish.  For one thing, these single-minded types might have a valid point along with the ax they grind, so rejecting their truth based on their attitude is just as wrong as the superior approach they practice.  It sucks that we have to accept them as possibly valid but that’s the way it is.  Just because the feet and armpits stink and certain parts of the body emit methane doesn’t mean they aren’t a part of the body.  Those areas speak to the rest of the body loud and clear of the need to bathe or what’s happening in our digestive track, right?  Ignoring the smell just makes the problem worse and eventually causes everyone around to be standoffish.

The best way to conquer an enemy is to divide them.  Get all the factions fighting over either the minutiae of the gospel message or rules of conduct and you have an entity which becomes ineffective and basically preoccupied with itself.  I’m thinking about the over two-thousand denominations which exist today despite Jesus’ explicit command to love each and be one.  While I don’t object to the diverse viewpoints represented by these various factions within the Christian ethic, I do find it sad that our message is one of preference over substance.

There’s an old saying I believe is attributed to Martin Luther which goes,  “On essentials, unity; on non-essentials, liberality; in all things, charity.”  The reality, however, is one of infighting and quarrels so sharp or vehement denominations form and wars break out.  What this type of behavior says to the world around us is that our message of love and unity is bogus.

Paul gives one reason (among many) for this unity and love, though, by including what such an attitude produces:  light.  Those who imitate the Master without complaining or arguing shine like stars in the darkness of night.  We may not be as bright as the sun/Son, but we do reflect His light and that’s enough.  How can these people help but shine?  They contrast the rest of Christendom so drastically they stand out.  The only sad truth about their light is that like stars they are small lights relative to the darkness in which they stand out so brightly.  Yet all is not hopeless for a good navigator will be able to find the way by using such lights, as any good sailor will tell you.

The wording of the first sentence strikes me as especially significant.  The way to becoming blameless and pure is to avoid complaining or arguing…or, at least, this is the first step to such a state of mind.

Why would complaining or arguing cause our light to dim or be tainted?

Despite all the miracles God performed on their behalf, the Children of Israel continued in their faithlessness and complaining to the point that a whole generation of them died before they could enter the Promised Land.  All the way through the history of Israel the majority continued with a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” attitude.  The human species without God in charge find themselves always at an impasse when they reach the crossroads of trust or apostasy.

Later in history the Jews held the repository of God’s message in their Torah yet either missed or rejected the Messiah when He arrived.  Does this reveal something about human nature to you?  We are so contrary in our pursuit of being little gods we cut our noses off to spite our faces.  What is it that drives us to be obnoxious about our beliefs?  I hear so many Christians criticize or outright condemn the Muslim faith yet many of them ignore the wars the so called “Christians” in our past started in the name of spreading the gospel.  If I remember my history right, however, most of this crusader spirit usually devolved into a grab of wealth in the form of land or gold.  Even in recent history we can read examples of people supposedly going by the name of Jesus declaring violent war on those who held a different POV.

To be innocent of evil and shine like stars in the universe we have to live in contrast to everything the world represents.  In all our dealings with the body of Christ, first, then the world at large we have to be different in every aspect which Jesus instructed us.

Paul called the age in which he lived wicked and depraved not as a derogatory comment because his goal had nothing to do with superiority or setting himself above anyone.  No, his comment referred to the nature of Christ as it stood out in contrast to the world.  Another passage we just studied referred to Jesus as not seeking God-status or to advance Himself in the eyes of anyone preferring instead to be thought of as nothing over acclaim, beauty or any kind of advantage over others.  Who He was stood out so brightly His own people tried to put out His light because it hurt their eyes.  We cannot hope to shine like Him without His presence permeating every part of our being, but if we do in just a minute way, we will experience the same reactions.

Complaining and arguing is about either getting what we think we deserve by griping or fighting for it with words—or at worse weapons of death.  In other words, we fight for what we think our rights are or what we think we deserve rather than being like Jesus.  Instead of becoming like the heart of God we seek to change our circumstances or environment.  Those who follow Jesus change both by default as they choose to be like the Master.  If Jesus refused to let anyone have power over Him because He knew human nature (John 2:23-25), what should our choice be?

Thinking Alike

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Philippians 2:1, 2.

Like minded…

Being like Jesus is conditional.  After all, if we want to be “married” to our job or wife or children in the metaphorical sense, we have to spend the greater portion of our time with them, otherwise it’s just a word we use to describe how we feel about them.  With Christ it’s no different, for the basis of any relationship is the “relating” part where interaction happens.

I fall down on the relating part in almost every single one of my relationships because I don’t interact very well.  O, I’ve improved over the years and grown more socially adept, but in the end I don’t communicate very well.  Seems odd for a guy who writes a couple of blog entries a week to be saying, right?  Not at all, since processing things out loud is how I do it best, writing things down makes that process even better.

Let’s take apart this text a little…which means in my “language”: a lot—if you’re trying to relate to me. 

Paul begins each statement with the word if.  If you have any encouragement…if any comfort from His love…etc.  So we need to deal with that preposition first.  If is a conditional word setting up what comes next as contingent on an action or whatever that comes later.  When someone says,  “If you pick up the dry cleaning, I’ll get the groceries” they are really making a deal with the other person.  Yet in that case it’s not conditional necessarily, rather the efficiency depends on both parties fulfilling these separate jobs.  The person making the deal is probably thinking about a supper deadline, which means in order for them to get supper done in a timely manner they can’t pick up the dry cleaning and buy groceries.

Every one of these relationship benefits are contingent on being connected with Christ in an intimate way.  Anyone “in” a building is inside it; anyone wanting to be “in” a relationship has to be on inside it.  Each benefit named above comes as a result of being “in” Jesus, for the Greek word used here is ei which means to go into.  How the translators got from this word to united is contextual, since the last phrase uses being one for the body of Christ.  In order for us to be one with each other in Christ, we have to be united with Him as well.

The only way to find encouragement is to be in Jesus.  Where will we find comfort?  From His love.  How do we fellowship with the Spirit?  By being united with Christ.  How do we develop tenderness and compassion?  Through our unity with Jesus then, as a result of that connection, unity with one another.

Using like-minded to describe the church can be misconstrued to mean we agree on everything.  Later on in this very book Paul debunks that POV, which is something we’ll study more about when we reach chapter 3.  No, the scars on the right hand won’t be the same as the left if we are right handed.  I use my right hand more than my left, so my left hand has been bruised by hammers and cut by sharp things far more often than my right.  The experience of the left hand has been quite different from the right, since it has been on the receiving end of many of the bad aiming mistakes my right has made.  (Those aiming “mistakes” are due to concentration and focus, for the most part, which involve wandering mind.)  Yet no matter what the differences are in the two hands’ experiences, they are united by and work for the goal of one body—mine.

Paul wants the Philippians, and so us, to have the same love while being like-minded.  How can such a disparate bunch of people have the same love, be like-minded and united in spirit and purpose?  They would have to take on the mind, spirit and purpose of Christ.  There’s no other way for us to be one in spirit, since the only spirit we have in common is the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit gives us the mind of Christ, which in turn unites us into one purpose and love, for the mind we submit to is His; the purpose we take on is His; the love we know and express is His.

The moment we step outside of Jesus being the source of all these things is the moment fissures in the body of Christ begin to happen.  Paul uses the rewards of His presence in our lives to inspire us to unity.  If we have any encouragement from being one with Christ, and through this connection we find fellowship, comfort from His love, compassion and tenderness, our next step by default is to be united with other people who follow Him in the same way.  Jesus might be the Truth, the Way, the Life, but He is a being not a philosophy or religion.  If the word “religion” means something we practice in a committed and wholly dedicated way, then our relationship to God can be called a religious experience.  You can’t have a religious relationship with someone without being with them all the time.

The encouragement we experience is from the presence of Jesus in our hearts.  The friendship with God comes through opening our hearts to the Spirit.  Once we open up we find comfort in His love, for we realize He loved us before we were willing to be open.  The fruit of such a connection grows out of the spirit of love we find there and inspires us to be loving, compassionate and tender with one another.

If we are submitted to the love of Christ, then we have the same love.  That love will bring with it a natural tendency to comfort those who share in His mind.  We will grow more loving, tender and compassionate toward everyone because of our connection with Jesus and His body of believers.

I will make a bold statement here:  If people are growing colder in their religion, harder in their judgment, less pliable in their POV and generally exclusive in their relationships, from the words of Paul I gather they have cut themselves off from the mind of Christ.  To be like Christ one sacrifices for the sake of others.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Philippians 2:3, 4.

Notice the wording in that last sentence doesn’t subtract having personal interests or negate pursuing them, rather it includes the interests of others as being as important as “my” own.  If this is the case, the only way to this kind of mindset is through having the same mind, and the only mind in existence which thinks like this is Christ’s.

What is in Man

Now while He was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs He was doing and believed in His name.  But Jesus would not entrust Himself to them, for He knew all men.  He did not need man’s testimony about man, for He knew what was in a man.  John 2:23-25.

I sometimes forget this passage and what it signifies for those who believe in the Name of Jesus.  It’s easy to get sidetracked by people’s opinions and begin to trust them too much; to get so blinded by the praise or criticism of those who have no heart or love for God—and even those who do.

The good or bad opinion of someone given over to belief in us because of something we’ve done for them or in front of them is not all that trustworthy really.  Three years after Jesus began His ministry, thousands rejected Him outright.  If He judged Himself according to their fickle opinion of Him, He would be one very confused man/God.

But He didn’t.

I went to Vine’s Expository Dictionary and found the word which in the NIV is rendered “entrust” and in the KJV, “commit” to find the word meant “to be entrusted with” or “to commit to one’s trust.”  Young’s Concordance gives another word “confide” to expand our grasp of what is being said here.  In other words, Jesus wouldn’t trust the flaky, transient nature of human good will for He knew how volatile and inconsistent it could be.  He had the Father’s testimony so human perspective meant nothing as far as what He knew or thought of Himself.

At the same time, everyone has to trust someone else sometime as far as perspective is concerned, otherwise no one would ever take advice or become wise.  The difference between what John is saying here and the human experience is this:  Jesus didn’t believe His own press.  In fact, I doubt He really listened to it much, if at all—unless, like in Nicodemus’ case, He couldn’t escape the comments.  But if we read that story in the very next few verses of John 3, we see Jesus deflecting Nicodemus’ praise or “testimony” about Him by redirecting him immediately into truth.  It’s almost as if He says non-verbally,  “Yeah, yeah, thanks.  You’re impressed but not convinced or committed, what good is that?”

Nicodemus happened to be a very influential man who’s support could garner Jesus much goodwill in powerful circles, yet Jesus wasn’t impressed by this man’s connections or good opinion of Him; which is very disturbing when you’re the one handing out the compliments or praise.  I doubt Nic was used to anyone not stopping to listen when he chose to criticize or praise because the rich and powerful get used to being deferred to automatically by the rest of the world.  Even people who disagree with a powerful person react to them out of a knowledge of the place they hold in society.  A vehement over-reaction to a leader’s words or deeds usually tells the tale of the powerless screwing up their courage to confront or counter whatever that person in power represents at the time.

Jesus didn’t do anything but redirect Nic’s attention to truth.  He wasn’t interested in the man’s opinion of Him nor impressed by his status in the world for what He wanted from Nicodemus was beyond him at the time.  Jesus works on the heart before anything else.  A person’s actions might change to adjust to society’s demands for a public peace all the while harboring deep seated brokenness behind the smooth words or facades of social decorum.  True change, however, always begins in the heart of a person’s being.  Anyway, the only change worth anything at all is one where the thoughts precede the action taken.

We’ve been warned by the Master in several places to beware of the praise from fellow humans.  When one thing is true, the other side of the coin is too:  Beware of the criticism of others as well.  The good or bad opinion is meaningless without a healthy relationship to go along with it.  Anyone who praises us declares their authority to do so, which means they are giving us their opinion based on what they think it’s worth to us to hear their praise.  If we look at praise in this way, we can see John’s slant a bit clearer.  A man who accepts another man as good does so with a sort of socially accepted authority to do it, which in turn testifies to society’s right to give or take a person’s worth.

Jesus didn’t need man’s testimony about man because He already knew us to be broken, fallen and blinded by sin’s effects.  To gain the good opinion of the masses is like having the river smooth out for a time because eventually we know there will be rapids and they will test our ability to survive.  A crowd of people can turn ugly on quickly if what they want is thwarted and Jesus knew the good will of those who “believed in Him” didn’t spring up from deep roots.  Public opinion goes with the miraculous and celebrates the facades.  However, when we get too powerful, those who watch those of us who reach the pinnacle of human wealth and power will celebrate our downfall just as much.  The good will of the people in Jesus’ POV was too fickle to depend on for His identity or work.  He refused to even ride the river of human opinion about Him—good or bad.

And here is where we meet the lesson we need to take away from this text.

We cannot depend on the praise or criticism of anyone but must check and balance these against God’s Word.  It is not enough for a brother or sister in Christ to confront someone else about their sin, for they must be willing to continue the journey to wholeness if they take this step.  If anyone one of us feel the call to confront another about their life or brokenness, it means we are being called to journey with them as they heal, grow and step away from what is dragging them down.  The call to “make disciples” is one which signifies teaching the disciplines of Christ, not merely bringing someone to God’s Word and letting them run amok or flounder.  The discipline of Christ is to be wise toward God, and this takes time and input from someone with knowledgeable experience to guide.

Yet here’s where we make our mistake the most often:  If the praise of other humans makes us feel good about ourselves, we will be devastated by their criticism.  In other words, the moment we accept their praise as valid and authoritative, we open up our hearts to receive the criticism the same way.  The moment we put value on someone’s good opinion of us is the same moment they hold sway over our self-worth.

I don’t think Jesus was conceited or self-absorbed, which is another danger to navigate in these tricky waters of self-perception.  This is precisely why I believe both the gospels and the apostles commanded us to find our worth through the eyes of God via the cross.  Our worth to God is infinite and should be calculated by the price He was willing to pay for us—His Son.  Jesus’ Father declared at His baptism,  “This is my Son, I love and I’m pleased with Him!” Deciding His worth based on the tide of human feelings would have put God’s opinion on par with man’s.  With God as His witness, Jesus already had all the praise He needed to be confident in His worth.

And so do we.

Great Expectations

Author’s note:  I wrote this for a friend of mine, Susan, who’s blog TLC4Women published it the first time.  I’ve done a little editing to tweak it up a bit.

Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4.

Mom used to always say about the girls I dated,  “Watch how they treat their dads and you’ll know how they will treat you.”

Consistency is one of the hardest truths to live out.  We expect it from others but rarely require it of ourselves.

So what kind of woman do most men want anyway?

That’s like asking what a man’s favorite car is or which football team he likes best.  The answer is as varied as you should expect.  Yet when it comes to the heart of a spiritual man, though we know the variations in taste will remain the same, there’s one large caveat:  They’ll want a woman who loves and obeys God.

Sounds simple enough, right?

I’m gonna’ give you two of  my easy rules for finding a mate:  Be in the flow and middle of God’s will for your life and base your decision on character.

It’s actually not all that hard to tell what God’s will or purpose is for our lives, because the imprint of it is on our hearts and personalities.  Once we know what our tastes and preferences come down to (how He made us specifically), we can then look for the person who demonstrates Jesus in their lives. 

A woman’s taste in men is on par with her taste in soap, deodorant or anything else they might prefer–it is personal and sacrosanct to the one doing the choosing.  I know many women will object to this comparison, but I ask them to look at it without romantic blinders on for a minute:  Some like tall men, others like guys with a little belly on them.  I’ve been told countless times women like bald guys (though no one’s beating down my door).  These are issues of taste so should be left to the individuals involved.

The same for men.  I know women think all guys just want a skinny little waif who looks like she’s barely 16, but that doesn’t really cover the truth about men’s preferences.  One of my best friends likes curves on his woman and is actually going to marry one who doesn’t fit the popular bill.  Advertising may glorify certain types of bodies, but this should tell you something right there:  a few trying to dictate to the many never works.  A man is as complex as a woman in this aspect of their psyche.  A man of God, however, is far more simple, honest and caring about his partner.

The need for character, however, is universal for it is the stamp of God’s nature on the person, therefore I’m gonna’ concentrate on this for the rest of our time.

Once we figure out our tastes, the only thing we have left to do is be transformed and we got it in the bag.  What does Romans 12:1, 2 say?    Therefore, I urge you, brothers (and sisters), in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual act of worship.  Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing and perfect will.

Our problem as humans is we have it all ass-backwards–or as my dad used to say,  “The cart before the horse.”  We think we have to find a spouse before we can be happy, when the truth is inverse of that thought.  Before we find the type of person God created us for, we have to be the type of person God created us to be for them.  Look, it’s not rocket science but godly wisdom.  To know God’s will, we have to know God; and to know God we have to know what He says; and to know what He says we have to spend time reading His words.

Jesus said,  “As you would have men do to you, do also to them.”  Most people, however, base their relationship expectations on what the other person can do for them.  Marriage is a partnership, nothing more, nothing less.

Christians carry one piece of baggage, however, which trumps their reasoning power:  We’re all hopeless romantics.

O, I’m not just talking about the Cinderella or Snow White style of romance, but we look for a happy ending to our story and history of mankind.  So this permeates everything we do and think in such a great measure many of us struggle to get the real point of our hope:  to live a full life now and not wait till then–whenever “then” is.  The adventure of a lifetime is waiting for most of us but we would rather dream about it than actually live it.  It’s strange how many times I hear someone wish to be married but fail to do the work to be in the way of God’s purpose for their lives.  They wait on the sidelines of life expecting love to just jump into their laps miraculously when God commands us to go out and live to the full.  It’s not for nothing Jesus told His disciples,  “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” 

Where is God’s will?  In service of His people, His world.

Take a moment to think about how we would like to be treated, then turn that thought upside down to the other side of the coin to think about how the other person would like to be treated.  Do you see how easy it is to apply the principles of God?  We don’t need any other formula to find our mate.  All we need to do is find someone who shows respect to everyone, is industrious, kind, thoughtful of others, loves from a heart filled with the Spirit of God and gives of their means freely as unto the Lord, and we find the person we fit with like a puzzle piece.  That is, we find them if we are such people too.

You see we cannot have great expectations for a spouse if we don’t hold the same standard up for ourselves.  If you want to attract honey bees, you need to be a flower.  Hopelessly romantic isn’t bad, it just usually isn’t based on reality–even a spiritual reality.  God will only give us the desires of our hearts when our desires match His.

There’s one more aspect to this we need to address which is quite unpopular even with men:  Marriage is as much a business arrangement as it is a romantic adventure.

If any of us enter into marriage thinking we’re going to just fly all the time, we’re in for a rude awakening–and some pretty rough unhappy times.  When Paul told the Corinthians not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, he wasn’t making a suggestion just for marriages but also business men.  Entering into a business arrangement with someone who doesn’t share our mores and values on the subject of eternity affects how we do business.  A person in business tied to earthly profit operates differently than one tied to eternal investments.  May be some of you who read this are too tied to earthly security for the Christian spouse you long for, then I would suggest you untie or cut that bond.  A person tied to earth’s security is no good to God’s kingdom, for their entire lives are spent in pursuit of their own happiness and dreams.  A person tied to the kingdom of God lives in such a way as to invest on earth what will bring a profit for God.  Another way of saying it is:  Live to please God not yourselves.

Is that too heavenly minded for some of you?  If you worry more about what most people call the “bottom line” here on earth yet forget the spiritual bottom line, you’ve missed God’s will for your life–and, quite sadly, for your future spouse as well.  Unless we become the workmanship of God, we cannot enter His kingdom to come or where it starts here on earth.

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied,  “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say,  ‘Here it is,’ or  ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”  Luke 17:20, 21.

That passage might sound off topic to some of you, but for me it is the crux of the whole message.  The kingdom of heaven starts right now where we live, work and believe.  We are the kingdom of God not some specific country or government.  His government is demonstrated within our hearts and minds for the sake of being lived out in the world around us.  This attracts those looking for light.

It also attracts those who look for light in order to take advantage of others.  You know, those people who are always looking for a new angle to make a profit of some kind.

Who should we keep our eyes open to?  Jesus. 

Who should we be looking for as a spouse?  Those with the kingdom of God already building inside.

How long will it take to find them?  As long as it takes to get to know another person’s witness for the Lord.

Remember what my mother used to say:  “How a girl treats her dad will be how she treats her husband.”  It goes well here for us too, for how we respond to God’s Spirit living within us is how we will respond to those around us who are of the spiritual kingdom.  Don’t be deceived by packaging.  I know a lot of men who have nearly shipwrecked their faith because they involved themselves with a beautiful un-spiritual woman.  I know many a woman who has been trapped by her vows because she went for the bad boy over that guy who was not quite so exciting but a lot nicer.  A carnal man is strong in worldly wisdom, worldly passion and their idea of love; a spiritual man is strong in spiritual passion, truth and God’s love.  If you’re attracted to that bad boy over the nice guy, there’s something wrong with your connection to reality not that nice guy.  Make no mistake God’s reality is the only reality there is, everything else is illusion.  Guy’s who pursue the beautiful “dangerous” woman, will get what they are chasing:  Dangerous beauty which turns pretty ugly fast.

How a man treats the women in his life will be how he will treat you.  How a man responds to God will tell you how he will respond to you.

Do you want to find a spiritual man?  Be a spiritual woman.  Do you want to find a spiritual woman?  Be a spiritual man.

Do you want to know God’s will for you as it relates to marriage?  Live in the middle of the stream of His purpose for kingdom people and you’ll run into the man who is also living in the middle of God’s flow.

Do you want passion, romance and the love of a lifetime?  Get to know the Source of passion, romance and love, for only in the plan and purpose of God will our hearts be satisfied.

Having Loved

It was just before the Passover Feast.  Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father.  Having loved His own who were in the world, He now showed them the full extent of His love.  John 13:1.

That whole idea of having loved His own caught my attention and sent me into a new direction.  I grew up in a church body that practiced foot washing as a part of the Last Supper celebration, and never did it mean much beyond humility and service.  Jesus, however, uses this method to show the disciples the full extent of His love for them.

What does this say about God who rules all?  Here we have God incarnate playing the role of a slave, for only they touched the dusty, smelly feet of anyone.  So much is lost in translation, for sure, but much is also lost in the changing of the cultures.  To put into context Peter’s horror at what Jesus was about to do for him, we have to understand the Eastern mindset about feet. 

In the OT to put your foot on the neck of your enemies was to place the dirtiest, lowest part of one’s body on the pivotal part of someone else’s body, indicating total power.  To throw a sandal or shoe at someone could start a war for it is a dire insult.  To bring it home even harder, I have a friend who was a missionary in Jordan, I believe, practicing as an xray technician for a clinic there.  One day a pregnant woman came in with her husband having a sprained or broken ankle that needed to be xrayed.  For about 20 minutes my friend tried unsuccessfully to elevate the foot and block it off with lead bags to take the pictures but the husband kept chastising his wife and making her put her foot down.  Finally, the tech got an interpreter who told him the husband apologized for the insult his wife kept giving him and asked his forgiveness.

It took them a little while to explain to the husband there was no insult taken and that it was part of the job to elevate the foot so they could see if and where the break was.  The husband explained that in his culture one never pointed a foot at someone else unless one was insulting the other person.

This goes a long way to shed some light on Peter’s vehement objection to Christ washing his feet.  He could not bear to watch his Master lower Himself to the position of a slave.  Yet Jesus was unconcerned because He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  Becoming human in a sinful world would already have been quite step down for the Maker of the universe.  We seem to forget (or not notice) our world is in a tenuous state of chaos or waiting chaos.  In fact, the only time we acknowledge the uncertainty of our existence is when bad things happen—like earthquakes or disasters in the financial world.  What’s actually ironic about this acknowledgement is that we act like these things are uncommon when in reality they happen constantly and we just ignore them.

No, taking on the likeness of sinful man Jesus stooped as low as a God could without being dung.  So going the one small step further into service as a slave would be no big step for Him.  He understood the nature of God in a way we have yet to fathom, I reckon, because we still think of God’s glory only in the realm of unapproachable light instead of a manger or towel wrapped around His waste.  But Jesus’ glory was in the humblest of acts for by performing the duties of a servant, He demonstrated the very nature of God, thus displaying the essence of the Creator’s intent for creation.  All things were designed to serve everything and everyone else.  Nothing lives in a vacuum or autonomously by God’s desire or design.

In serving the disciples by washing their feet, Jesus showed them the nature of God and what it truly meant to be great in the kingdom of heaven.  Following this logic to its “logical” conclusion we have to come to the realization that to be like God we must serve others, knowing that we are never more like God than when we serve one another.