The Things In The World
December 3rd, 2011 § 1 Comment
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. - 1 John 2:15-17 ESV
Today I was reading through my daily Bible reading and these verses were part of one of my scheduled readings. I was struck by how they contrasted with what this time of year has become. Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all the Christmas shopping excess seems to run completely counter to John’s instructions.
It’s also an important warning for me to make sure that I focus on what really matters, and not on what is fleeting.
Living Out Matthew 5:40
November 30th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Today I saw this in a story over at NPR:
But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.
He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.
“He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, ‘Here you go,’” Diaz says.
As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, “Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you’re going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm.”
via A Victim Treats His Mugger Right : NPR.
It’s not too often you hear of someone really living out the verses in Matthew 5 where Jesus says:
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. – Matthew 5:38-42 ESV
I don’t know if Julio Diaz is a Christian or not. However, offering the kid who just mugged you your coat, then taking him to dinner really is living out the words of Jesus.
When we think of courage and apply it to a situation like the one Diaz faced, we probably think of something out of a Dirty Harry movie. Yet, who really is more courageous, the one who fights the mugger, or the one who feeds his mugger?
Politicians And Religious Tribalism
November 7th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
USA Today had an interesting commentary by David Gushee recently about the role of religion, specifically Christianity in politics. The whole piece was worth reading but in it they had this that I thought was worth noting:
This version of Christian politics is inherently corrupting to Christian faith, ethics and witness. It encourages politicians to take God’s name in vain, and to do so routinely. (That would be a violation of the Ten Commandments, if Christians still cared about such things.) It tempts church leaders to abuse their offices and abandon their core vocations as they entangle themselves with politics. It confuses the message of Christianity with that of the politician of the moment. It damages the moral witness of Christians in culture. It makes it harder for millions to even consider the claims of historic Christian faith. It drives many away from God altogether.
This kind of Christian politics is also corrupting of American politics. When a significant minority of the body politic votes mainly on the basis of what amounts to religious tribalism, it encourages everyone else to do the same thing. But tribal politics is toxic. It has destroyed nations from Yugoslavia to Lebanon. And it does nothing to bring to office leaders with the skills to actually solve our everyday problems. We need effective leaders, not religious symbols.
What may prove to be interesting this year is the fact that one of the leading GOP candidates for president is someone from a religion that many evangelical Christians consider to be heretical. What if he is the best qualified to lead, should Christians support someone less qualified but who might more closely align with their religious tribe?
This dovetails nicely with a comment my Pastor Dave Jefferys made at the Vista Community Church this Sunday when he said that government/politics was “not the answer to all our problems”. Government does have an important God ordained role in society. But history is rife with examples of thoroughly un-Biblical governments and political leaders that were used to further God’s purpose.
Maybe we need to keep in mind Jesus’ admonishment to
“Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” – Luke 20:25 ESV
The Social Consequences Of Reading The Bible
July 18th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
The Huffington Post had an interesting bit that looked at a study from a researcher at Baylor University. The study found that people’s attitudes towards social justice is more favorable the more time they spend reading the Bible.
The likelihood of Christians saying it is important to actively seek social and economic justice to be a good person increased 39 percent with each jump up the ladder of the frequency of reading Scripture, from reading the Bible less than once a year to no more than once a month to about weekly to several times a week or more
Maybe there is some hope for us yet.
For Man Does Not Know His Time
July 16th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. For man does not know his time. Like fish that are taken in an evil net, and like birds that are caught in a snare, so the children of man are snared at an evil time, when it suddenly falls upon them. – Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 ESV
Make the most of your time.
Christian Tribalism A Threat To The Church
July 7th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Mickey Maudlin is a Senior VP at Harper One which published Rob Bell’s controversial book, Love Wins. Over at News & Pews, the Harper One blog, he writes about the controversy surrounding Bell’s book and his post had this bit I thought was interesting:
As a young evangelical, I was socialized to see the biggest threat to the church as theological liberalism. But now I think the biggest threat is Christian tribalism, where God’s interests are reduced to and measured by those sharing your history, tradition, and beliefs, and where one needs an “enemy” in order for you to feel “right with God.” Such is the challenge facing the church today and what the reaction to Love Wins reveals. So the success of Love Wins fills me with both hope and fear. But it has also made me thankful that I work for a publisher that is independent of these church wars and allows us to concentrate on books that offer hope and light. Because, with Rob, I really do believe that love wins.
I am ashamed to admit, but as a young evangelical I got sucked into the Christian tribal wars. Eventually, my outlook matured and I realized just how destructive it was to carry the banner of pseudo-orthodoxy and wage wars of words on my Christian brothers and sisters. Dissatisfaction with that tribalism nearly led me to lose my faith entirely.
I can only imagine how a non-Christian must view our bickering. I also wonder how grieved God must be to watch his children fight each other instead of following his command to show love to a world that so needs it.
Francis Chan: Jesus Was Pretty Hardcore
July 6th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Christianity Today interviewed pastor and author Francis Chan on his new book Erasing Hell which answers some of the questions raised by Rob Bell in his book Love Wins. One of Chan’s quotes I thought was interesting was this:
Because we in America read certain passages over and over to the neglect of others, we start to believe that Jesus had a friendly tone all the time. And that there isn’t any wrath or anger or judgment. When you read it all like you are reading it for the first time, you walk away going, “Wow, he was pretty hardcore.”
In spite of the fact that we may not like the idea of hell and a God of wrath, we can’t ignore the picture that we see in the Bible. Mark Driscoll puts it this way.
Hardcore indeed.
What’s In A Life Verse?
July 4th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
In Christian circles you sometimes hear people talk about their “life verse“. I’m not exactly sure how you go about getting one of these, whether there is an official ceremony for these kinds of things, someone important gives one to you or if a meteorite crashes through the roof of your house, buries itself in your Bible stopping at the page containing your life verse.
Today as I was reading my Bible I came to this passage in my daily reading:
There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? – Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 ESV
I guess if I have to have a “life verse” this one sounds pretty good. Especially today on July 4th as later today my daughter and I will grill hamburgers for the family. The menu tonight will be burgers, tater tots, and salad. I’ll also enjoy one of my favorite beers, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
Come to think of it, there isn’t much better than to eat good food, drink a good beer and enjoy the fruits of one’s labors. Thank you God.
What Is Required Of You
June 28th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Well Duh!
August 12th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
There’s a story making the rounds about a former Ohio police officer who suing his former employer. Seems like the officer claims he was harrassed and suffered a hostile working environment by his fellow employees making comments about his wife posing for Playboy magazine. The harrassment included things like fellow officers asking for autographs and copies of the magazine.
I made the mistake of googling her name without selecting the option to turn off images in the search and I can ashamedly say that she is indeed naked on the Internet. A link to a story (This one is safe for work, no naughty pictures.) can be found here. From the story:
“It just became unbearable for the officer. He was repeatedly asked for the issue of Playboy. Ever since his wife posed for Playboy, it’s just been an unbearable environment for him to be in,“ Sherrod said. Source: NBC4i.com
This just begs the question: What did they think was going to happen? Isn’t that the whole point of posing naked in a magazine is to draw attention to one’s naughty bits? If your wife posed in her birthday suit, wouldn’t you expect people, from complete strangers to your co-workers to have an unusual or even a lewd interest in her and her now public “private parts”? Why do you think they are called “private parts”?
This doesn’t excuse the lecherous behavior of his co-workers but there is an old principle that our actions have consequences. That’s the main reason we see certain principles taught in scripture like this one:
“…women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control” 1 Timothy 2:9 ESV
BTW, The Greek word translated here as “modesty” means just that “modest”. It’s pretty safe to say that the Apostle Paul used the word because he felt it was the opposite of naked as a jaybird.
I don’t mean to say all this to pile on this poor guy and his clothing impaired wife, it sounds like this whole thing is turning out not to be the good idea they thought it was at first. But see, that’s the problem with sin. Many times it seems like a good idea at first, only to turn out to be something less so, or even downright horrible later on. God doesn’t give us the prohibitions in the Bible because he’s a cosmic killjoy. He does so because he loves us and knows that some things just aren’t a good idea.
Shalom,
Scott D
