DEAR ABBY: My question is very simple, Abby. Who determines right or wrong in your life, your opinions, your column? This will tell me all I need to know about your wisdom or advice. -- RON IN MICHIGAN
DEAR RON: Actually, I think your question is anything but "simple," and the answer is: I do.
Let me first say that I can empathize with the sentiment expressed by Ron: you want to know the information you're getting is legit, especially when you're dealing with morality. Even in our post-modern, relativistic society, I think we can all agree that not all moralities are equal: Adolf Hitler's morality will never be equal to Mahatma Gandhi's morality.
I deliberately chose 2 non-Christians to prove a point.
As a follower of Jesus, there are certain things that I readily acknowledge, among them being the existence of moral absolutes:
There are things in this world that are simply wrong. The reason we know that they're wrong is because of our conscience:
Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. ~ Romans 2:14-15
However, our conscience can become "seared" or numbed to right and wrong:
Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead (read: seared). ~ 1 Timothy 4:1-2
Those verses are referring to those within Christianity, but those outside the church can have the same "searing" of their consciences that will fail to convict them of right and wrong.
So back to "Ron."
I understand that he wants to make sure that what he's reading is morally sound.
I really do.
However, having read Dear Abby for over a decade, I can say that, although the advice she offers is not always biblically sound, she has a lot of knowledge about etiquette and manners to offer. (This can be especially important if you're in a situation that calls for a particular set of cultural customs to be followed.) There have been occasions where Abby has offered advice that I don't agree with, sure. I'm grateful for realizing those times because it reminds me of what I believe (because I look to her for advice, not truth). However, there have been times where she has mentioned something that I wouldn't have thought of that has changed my way of thinking.
"Eat the meat and throw away the bones," as the saying goes.
I'm not saying you should deliberately eat "bones." Not by a long shot.
But I also know that interacting with people that have different beliefs that I do can strengthen my beliefs because I remind myself of what is absolutely true. It forces me to think about what I believe and why.
As to Ron's attitude, I've seen it before in those in my life, as well as in myself.
As I've previously written, I've allowed God to open up my mind to teach me from those I would've otherwise dismissed.
But I've heard others mention that there are entire groups of people that they refuse to open up to because they don't want to "taint" their beliefs. This has the effect as coming across as arrogant and prideful, and communicates the attitude, "Those people have nothing to teach me."
At its best, it's a refusal to listen to people's experience; at its worst, it's a refusal to open up fully to God and allow him to lead you wherever, whenever, to whomever.
And I know for a fact that some of those authors who have opened my eyes to new ways of looking at the world -- even non-Christians -- would have a profound effect on how these other people perceive their life if they would but open their eyes and ears.
But I also recognize that not everyone is called to everything. My favorite author, John Eldredge, apparently enjoys reading Dallas Willard (Eldredge has referenced several of Willard's books). Personally, I can't stand reading Willard because I find him to be too dry. That is, however, my personal opinion and something I had discover through personal experience; if you enjoy reading him, then go for it.
However, too often people avoid/dismiss others based on prejudice and stereotypes, not on personal experience (or, much less, following the Holy Spirit).
All this to say that you must take care when espousing viewpoints of absolutism. I mean, you don't want to come across as a Sith lord:
This doesn't mean that we shouldn't believe in absolute truth, because truth is absolutely necessary to keep your bearings in a world so adrift when it comes to morality and evil:
But humility and compassion are "absolute" musts; "the greatest of these is love," as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:13. Without following the greatest commandment to love God with every fiber of our being and to show his fervent love to ourselves and our neighbors, the followers of Christ will represent him as judging and austere (I'm pointing fingers at you, Westboro Baptist Church!).
Contrast that with this:
"Do you think that I like to see wicked people die?" says the Sovereign Lord. "Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live." ~ Ezekiel 18:23
So all that to get to this:
If you're going to turn down something, manners matter! "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger" (Proverbs 15:1).
Learning to be a loving person is the loftiest goal anyone can aspire to:
To be unloving is to fail at the very thing we were created for. It is a rejection of the essence of our existence, a rejection of the Love that made us... I think you can fairly easily sort out the people who have come to this epiphany from those who have not. There is something different about their approach to life -- what upsets them, what makes them laugh, and especially the way they handle people. ~ Love & War, "Learning to Love"
There are some who would seek to dismiss love as an inefficient limitation, as if a bird had chosen to remind grounded and give up their aeronautical ways.
As The Shack notes,
"Love is not the limitation; love is the flying."
This does not mean that you can't tell others that they're wrong; Jesus walked perfectly in love and let the Pharisees have it, for sure -- but his ire was usually directed toward the overly-religious, not those outside the church or honestly seeking God.
Love can be fierce as well as tender. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you when each is needed (Luke 12:12).
Dedicate yourself to God, ask him to love you, and you will become a more loving person who will handle others with care.
There's simply too much brokenness in this world to not pursue love above all else.
So my church is going through this series called “Conquer.”
It’s about sexual bondage, and it’s really good. Yesterday was session 4 (out
of 5).
One of the things that struck me during the video was this
statement:
A man without a
future will always go back to his past.
I can’t even begin to count how many times that has been me,
going back because of unresolved issues in my past. As the saying goes,
As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.
(Proverbs 26:11)
It also brings to mind another profound quote:
A man with nothing to
die for has even less for which to live.
(Doing some perusal on the internet, this quote is closely
related to some similar statements made by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but
that’s off-topic.)
(In other words, to what
are you so sold out that you would be willing to die for it? As the short film, Ticker, puts it, “What would
you fall on your sword for?”)
During the group time afterward, I mentioned that I heard a
podcast or teaching where God asked this man what he was looking forward to in
life -- and that I don’t really have anything that I’m looking forward to.
Someone mentioned that they have always had a dream of owning
a small ranch with an orchard (he lives in the suburbs).
This is a middle-aged man who has a family, so it’s not like
he can just up and move.
But it got me thinking about someone who has dreams that go
unfulfilled in this life: they aren’t as attached to their present reality.
To use this man as an example: because he has dreams that’s
he’s looking forward to (owning a ranch), he’s not overly attached to his present
reality (living in the suburbs) -- because it’s not what, deep down in his
heart, he truly wants.
I also thought it was quite timely that the Ransomed Heart
Daily Reading for that day was “Risk Dreaming.”
Even though the passage is from a book targeted at young women, some of the
concepts spoke to me:
I encourage you to risk dreaming
and writing your dreams down. Once you get started, you’ll find there are
things you want. And if you can’t get started, another approach is simply to
begin listing the things you like. What do you like? From the fragrance of
lilacs to a comforter before a fire to laughing with friends, it’s nourishing
simply to become aware of what you enjoy and to write it down.
It’s good to sit with God in the
quiet and ask him, What do I want? And ask him, What
do you want for me?(One
of the things I was advised to do after sharing that I don’t really have any
dreams of my own was to ask God for some. I re-shaped that into asking God for
the dreams that he has for me. You can see how the meeting and this daily
reading are lining up in my life.)
Awakening and owning the dreams
that God has placed in our hearts isn’t about getting stuff or attaining
something. It’s about embracing who we are and who he has created us to be.
In him. He is our dream come true and the one true love of our life. But we
can’t love him with our whole hearts when our hearts are asleep. To love Jesus
means to risk coming awake, to risk wanting and desiring.
This is easily extrapolated into eternity because someone
who is eternally minded will not be overly attached to their possessions in
this life. This is because they know that everything will pass away, and that something
better that they will never lose is also on the horizon.
As the missionary Jim Elliot said -- who was killed by the
very people he was evangelizing --
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot
lose.
As followers of Christ, we’re called to renew our minds with
this mindset, anyway:
If in this life only we have
hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. (1 Corinthians 15:19)
The fact that if we believed that the only hope in Christ
that we have would be in this life makes us pitiable leads me to believe that we
should also have hope in the next life.
Why?
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor
[has it] entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for
those who love Him. (1 Corinthians 2:9)
The reason we should hope in the next life is because we can’t
even begin to imagine what God has in store for us:
Now I saw a new heaven and a new Earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no
more sea. (Revelation 21:1)
A new heaven and a new Earth.
That bit about there being no more sea?
The reason we have so much water covering the Earth is
because of the Flood -- which was a judgment of man similar to what Peter prophesies
that is in store for the end of the world:
For this [the world] willfully [forgets],
that by the word of God the heavens were [created], and the Earth standing out
of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished,
being flooded with water. But the heavens and the Earth which are now preserved by the
same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men. (2 Peter 3:5-7)
Because the world will be burned, God must restore it
(Revelation 21:1).
BUT WHAT ABOUT
THIS LIFE?
That’s all find and dandy, hoping in the life to come. It’s
easier said than done, that’s for sure.
But how do we apply it?
Therefore gird up the loins of
your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to
be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:13)
“Gird up the loins of your mind”? Here’s a great explanation
from Art
of Manliness:
Back in the days of the ancient
Near East, both men and women wore flowing tunics. Around the tunic, they’d
wear a belt or girdle. While tunics were comfortable and breezy, the hem of
the tunic would often get in the way when a man was fighting or performing hard
labor. So when ancient Hebrew men had to battle the Philistines, the men
would lift the hem of their tunic up and tuck it into their girdle or tie it in
a knot to keep it off the ground. The effect basically created a pair of shorts
that provided more freedom of movement. Thus to tell someone to “gird up
their loins” was to tell them to get ready for hard work or battle.
To gird up the loins of your mind is to prepare to think
differently about how you approach life -- because let’s face it, life is hard:
“I have told you all this so that
you may have peace (of mind) in me (because of the hope you have). Here on Earth,
you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have
overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
“But take heart…”
In order words: Hold on to hope. It's going to be a battle, and it's going to be hard, but it's possible.
TRIALS AND
SORROWS
Therefore, since we have been
made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God
because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our
faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we
now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s
glory. (Romans 5:1-2)
The first thing that should give us peace of mind is that we
have been made right with God through Jesus Christ. This leads us to the hope
of sharing an unending life with him after this present age passes away.
I recall hearing about a woman in Asia who ministers to
women caught up in sex trafficking. Unfortunately, she’s not able to rescue
them from their circumstances because they will be hunted down and murdered.
Because of this, she can’t use the “Jesus has a plan for your life” model that
is so prevalent in Western church culture.
This requires her to present the gospel in light of its full
context: that this world was created perfectly, man fell, and that God will
restore all things in due time.
The gospel she
presents does not focus on this life, but on the life to come.
Which leads me to the next part of Romans 5:
We can rejoice, too, when we run
into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.And
endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens
our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to
disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has
given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:3-5)
Let’s work backwards from this one:
God has given us the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Holy
Spirit fills our hearts with the love that God has for us (Romans 5:5).
Knowing that God
loves you will bring more peace and hope than you can imagine.
God’s love gives us the ability to bear our problems and
trials well; this develops longsuffering (“having or showing patience in spite
of troubles, especially those caused by other people”). Longsuffering enables endurance,
and is part of the “strength of character” that develops within us. His love
will also sustain us, which is the hope that will not disappoint.
HAGAR
This is how Hagar was able to go back to serve Sarai (she
wasn’t “Sarah” at this point). You see, Sarai wasn’t able to have children, so
she gave her servant girl, Hagar, to her husband, Abram, so that they could
have children that way (Genesis 16:1-3). But when Hagar became pregnant from
Abram, she treated her mistress with contempt, and so Sarai mistreated her to
the point where she finally ran away (Genesis 16:4-6).
As she was running away, an angel found her and told her
that she was to return to serving her mistress. However, he also let her know
that her cries of distress had been heard by God, and that she was to name her
son “Ishmael,” which means “God hears” (Genesis 16:9, 11). Her son -- who was
given to her by a man who slept with her, likely against her will -- was to be
a continual reminder that God heard her cries.
Thereafter, Hagar used another name
to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God
who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13)
Despite the fact that she returned to serving the man who forced
himself on her and the woman who hated her, she had peace from God to endure
her “trials and sorrows” (John 16:33).
BUT WHAT IF
YOU CAN’T SEE IT?
It’s most certainly easier to hold on to hope if God is
moving in your heart and the Holy Spirit is speaking love to you.
But what about those times when you’re dry? The times that
you’re in the desert and feeling alone?
God has already planned for those times:
For whatever things were written
before were written for our learning, that we, through the patience and
comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
“…patience and comfort of the scriptures”?
There will most certainly be times in life when you’re in a
fog or your head is spinning from the difficulty of your circumstances. Your
subjective reality is murky and you’re having trouble seeing clearly (or at
all).
This is why the scriptures are so important: they ground us
in an objective truth that we’re not able to see at all times, to remind us of
a deeper reality beyond what we’re currently experiencing.
Knowing this, we are able to patiently endure our “trials
and sorrows”:
For we were saved in this hope, but
hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But
if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
(Romans 8:24-25)
This is why it’s so important to allow the Holy Spirit to
pour out God’s love for you in your heart, because love “bears all things,
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1
Corinthians 13:7).
This is also why Paul urges us to “rejoice in our confident
hope; be patient in trouble, and keep on praying,” that “the God of hope (would)
fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by
the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 12:12, 15:13).
WRAPPING IT UP
What I “hope” you are seeing at this point is:
in this world, you will have trials and sorrows (John
16:33),
which means that we need to “gird up the loins of our mind”
and change how we think and approach our life (1 Peter 1:13);
that the Holy Spirit pours out God’s love to us (Romans
5:5),
that this love gives us the ability to patiently endure “trials
and sorrows” (Romans 15:13),
that this patient endurance develops character in us (Romans
5:3),
that the development of character strengthens our hope
(Romans 5:4),
that, even during times when we don’t feel God’s presence,
we can re-ground ourselves in the truth of the scriptures (Romans 15:4),
that God will make a new heaven and Earth that we can’t even
begin to imagine how good it will be (Revelation 21:1, 1 Corinthians 2:9),
that we can hold on to the hope that God will make all
things right because we are in right standing with him (Romans 5:1-2),
that those who approach God believe he exists and that he
gives generously to those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6, James 1:5).
If this speaks to you, some other resources I would
encourage you to check out Sacred Romance and/or Desire by John Eldredge (you can also download & listen to the Sacred Romance & Desire conference sessions). There are a couple series of podcasts from Ransomed Heart as well (downloadable from MediaFire):
And don't forget to ask God what he has in store for you. It may be more than you could ask or imagine.
“This is my command -- be strong and courageous! Do not be
afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me.
Here on Earth, you will have many
trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
(Joshua 1:9, John 16:33)
For anyone who doesn't know, I attend Celebrate Recovery meetings. A guy came in last week for the first time and bared his soul to a room of strangers.
I was blown away by his humility.
First, it takes humbling yourself to even show up; then it's another thing entirely to open up and speak those things which you secretly wish no one would ever find out.
It takes incredible humility to come to terms with and admit that you're terribly broken.
This thought crossed my mind that night:
Transparency, vulnerability, and surrender are among the most humble of actions available to the human heart.
You can't be transparent without being vulnerable:
I didn't upload the video, but it is, by far, one of my favorite movie scenes of all time: there is a part of me that would love to do what Stu does, to come clean and admit all my wrongs, to be completely transparent, to stop hiding.
But I'm not sure people will like what's underneath, and I desperately want to be accepted of them.
Having pastors tell you from the pulpit that they don't have any tolerance for those who struggle doesn't exactly help, either.
But back to humility: you can't surrender without making yourself vulnerable, either.
Jesus certainly modeled this when he humbled himself and was surrendered to his Father's will, to die on a cross (Luke 22:42, Philippians 2:8).
I also realized during this meeting that if I could've healed myself, I would've already.
But my wounds are beyond my skill to heal (if I even have any).
And because I'm wounded, I act in ways that hurt others. As the saying goes, "Hurt people hurt people."
This doesn't make me a jerk; it just means that I'm broken.
In my mind, I know that what's required is to humble myself and surrender to God, allow myself to be vulnerable and to let him in, to allow his love to transform me from the inside, out.
In my heart, it's another story. Oh, how many things there are to vie for our attention these days...
My heart has made agreements with where it believes it will find life, and so it goes looking for what it believes is "life" in things that aren't healthy (Proverbs 14:12, anyone?).
I know that my mind can keep my heart in check...
...but given a choice between chocolate and vegetables, in the moment I choose chocolate, but 20 minutes later when I'm sick to my stomach, I'll wish that I had chosen the veggies.
To quote C.S. Lewis,
The heart never takes the place of the [mind]: but it can, and should, obey it.
Even though we're emotional creatures, we have the ability to be rational as well; we just have to separate ourselves from our emotions in the moment. Not always -- or ever -- an easy thing to do, but we become the men/women that we want through the choosing in the little moments.
So here's to choosing God when it matters: when our hearts desperately need him, even though we may, in the moment, want something else more than him...
Most
people who go to church either categorize themselves as Catholic or Protestant
-- or a Protestant (non)-denomination.
For
me, when I became a follower of Christ in college, the only experience I really
had was when my family had gone to an Assembly of God church when I was in
ninth grade. So I pretty much became a Protestant by default.
My
steadfast Protestantism grew as I learned things about Catholicism that I didn’t
agree with, such as Scripture and
tradition being sufficient for spiritual authority (see Mark 7:8), or transubstantiation.
As I grew
in my knowledge about different beliefs within Protestantism, I identified
myself more particularly: at first it was Assembly of God, then
non-denominational, then Adventist. At the moment, I currently go to a Foursquare
church (even though I hold to certain beliefs that conflict with the official doctrines of that denomination).
But I no
longer identify myself by any of these labels.
I’ve
known for a while that I’m a spiritual “mutt” -- my particular belief system is
a hodgepodge of several schools of thought (the strongest one -- and the only
one I truly identify myself as being as evidenced by the title of my blog -- is
Ransomed Heart).
Then --
through one of the members of Ransomed Heart -- I learned about a book on
contemplative spirituality called Open Mind, Open Heart.
Contemplative
spirituality is something I’ve kinda identified myself with since taking the You’ve Got Style quiz
from North Point Community Church. Based on the quiz -- which is derived from
the book Sacred
Pathways -- contemplatives “draw near to God through personal adoration and
heartfelt devotion” (I also scored high on “ascetic” and “intellectual,” if you
really want to know).
So I was
curious to learn more about what it meant to really be contemplative --
especially since other contemplative-ish sources (such as Dan Millman’s book, Way
of the Peaceful Warrior) were also life-changing to me.
But I was
also hesitant.
You see,
the book is written by Thomas Keating, a Cistercian monk of St. Benedict’s
Monastery.
Catholic.
But
the book was recommended from someone that has helped shape how I view the
world (in a positive way), and so I went ahead and read it.
*Insert
breath of fresh air.*
This
was, at the time, the only Catholic book that I had. There were a couple Catholic
references in it that I disregarded (“eat the meat and throw away the bones,”
as the saying goes), but on the whole, the book resonated with me profoundly.
I recall
one time going rock climbing with a friend and his kids, which involved driving
down by the river,* then walking along a trail in order to get to the (outdoor)
wall. Part of me was freaking out about being away from “civilization” unexpectedly:
no computers, no bathrooms, etc. (This is different when you go camping since
you plan the trip out; this particular excursion caught me off-guard.)
* No,
we didn’t go in a van, and no, he didn’t have any government cheese.
Once I
was out there, however, it was great and a welcome escape from the technology-infused
environment I so often find myself in.
Of
course, the concept of the physical realm being important to masculinity intrigued me, and while I was looking at Shop Class as Soul Craft on Amazon, I saw
that it was “paired” with a similar book called Zen
and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Consequently,
both went on my Amazon Wish List.
So when
I’m in Barnes & Noble last week, imagine my elation when I see Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
on one of the tables!
But Jesus
is cunning and promptly pulled a bait-and-switch on me, because I then noticed
the book next to it, which was The
Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything.
Jesuits
are Catholic, so they have been somewhat off-limits for me, but they also have
a reputation for being intellectually fierce (remember, one of my “pathways” is
intellectual). As Pat Conroy tells of
his experience at a Jesuit high school, Gonzaga, in My Losing
Season,
Throughout
my nun-spooked, Catholic school life, I had heard and digested the urban legend
of the Jesuits, the rottweilers of a Catholic boy’s education. The order had a
reputation for intellectual ferocity... They were a warrior caste of the
intellect, famous for the rigor of both their training and their teaching.
Founded by St. Ingatius Loyola as militant advocates of the Pope, the Jesuits
have always prided themselves on their fierce reputations as cunning foot
soldiers of the far-ranging, free-thinking Catholic mind. Astuteness, acumen,
and razor-sharp perceptions were virtues in the high precincts of the Jesuit
world...
A
dark sensuality and a celebration of the masculine virtues as tribal rites inhabited
each corner and room of that beleaguered, ghetto-encircled school. Everything
was tough about Gonzaga, including its neighbors. The Jesuits possessed a
genius at making learning itself seem like a martial art... At Gonzaga, I always
felt as if I should be wearing a coat of armor instead of a coat and tie.
Curious as a cat,
I picked up the Guide and randomly opened to a page:
Sadness
is something else that some people feel reluctant to share with God. Someone
once told me of the experience of going to a movie with a close friend. Because
the subject material intersected with his life, he began to sob at the end of
the movie and was embarrassed. Later on, as the two sat together in a car in
the parking lot, his friend sat silently and simply let him cry.
His
friend wasn’t the only one showing love. The person weeping allowed another to
enter into his life, giving the gift of intimacy. Can you share with God the
intimate gift of your true self, your true emotions, even when you are
grieving?
Hook.
Line. And sinker.
Not
just because of this one passage -- for I could’ve snapped a pic of the page
with my phone -- but because the passage reveals an underlying belief on how to approach God -- a perspective
that rang true with my heart.
LABELS
Back
to my “not being a Protestant.”
I don’t
consider myself a Protestant any more.
No, I’m
not becoming Catholic.
No, it’s
not just because I bought a second
Catholic book.
It’s
because buying the Jesuit book made me realize that there are others out there
who have walked this journey of faith -- specifically the particular paths that
I want to travel -- even though they may come from belief systems I may not
whole-heartedly agree with.
And that,
when I label myself as something other than simply a follower of Christ, I unintentionally
“box” myself -- and God -- into only being able to operate or relate in a
certain way.
So I encourage you, reader -- especially those of you who were raised in church -- examine what you believe based on your experiences with God and your reading of Scripture and other sources. Don't just passively accept what your church or your family believes. In the end, your beliefs are the only ones that matter, anyway (Ezekiel 18:20).
For those who
don’t know, Matthew 25 contains 3 major sections:
Parable of the Ten
(Wise & Foolish) Virgins (1-13)
Parable of the
Talents (14-30)
Final Judgment /
Sheep & Goats (31-46)
All, in one way or
another, deal with the final judgment and the end of time.
Taking a look at
the parable of the talents, one servant in particular is given more attention
than the others, and that’s the one who doesn’t do what he’s supposed to (and
is apparently punished accordingly).
This teaching has
been, in the past, used to manipulate people into performance-based activity versus a substance-based faith that revolves around a relationship with
our Creator and Redeemer.
The relationship
will inevitably lead to action as we open up and allow the Spirit of God to
transform us, but actions don’t automatically lead to a relationship (Matthew
7:21-23). As Ellen White wrote in Steps to Christ,
There are those who profess
to serve God while they rely upon their own efforts to obey His law, to form a
right character, and secure salvation. Their hearts are not moved by any deep
sense of the love of Christ,* but they seek to perform the duties of the
Christian life as that which God requires of them in order to gain heaven. Such
religion is worth nothing.
When Christ dwells in the
heart, the soul will be so filled with His love -- with the joy of communion
with Him -- that it will cleave to Him; and in the contemplation of Him, self
will be forgotten. Love to Christ will be the spring of action. Those who feel
the constraining love of God do not ask how little may be given to meet the
requirements of God; they do not ask for the lowest standard, but aim at perfect
conformity to the will of their Redeemer. With earnest desire they yield all
and manifest an interest proportionate to the value of the object which they
seek.
A profession of Christ
without this deep love is mere talk, dry formality, and heavy drudgery.
* Recall that the two most important commandments -- loving God and loving others -- both revolve around love (Mark 12:29-31).
In verse 24, the
master is described (by the servant) as harsh and a gatherer of fruit he didn't
plant (NLT); as having high standards, hating careless ways, demanding the best,
and making no allowances for error (MSG); a hard man and reaping where he has
not sown (NKJV).
The thing that’s
tossed around about this is that it’s understood that God is fair and just, but
harsh and a cheat? He can seem like he's not making the best decision on our
behalf, but that's just about always because we're not seeing things from the
Larger Story (biblical perspective) point of view. The Message has its merits,
but not so much when it says “making no allowances for error” – because,
obviously, that's not true.
So the thing on
this is that most people get how God is a master on the relational scale (since
we are the servants), but they don’t usually see how this captures his true
nature in relating to us long-term.
When I spoke at my
church last year about the Beautiful OutlawCast – a simulcast that addressed
the personality of Jesus – the scripture that the Holy Spirit brought to my
mind the night before was Luke 19:21-22. This is when the servant who believed
that his master was an “austere” man gives an account. He was fearful of his
master; the Greek word (Strong's #G5399) means when someone is put to flight because of being terrified (reminds
me of Adam hiding from God in the Garden, “I was naked – read: vulnerable – and I was afraid because
of my vulnerability, which is why I hid”).
The servant didn’t
really know the master, and so the
master is, in a way, being portrayed as something he is not. And to be honest,
I can’t really blame how the master acted, being falsely accused – and by a
subordinate at that! No one likes to be misunderstood, and God is no exception
to that rule (Jeremiah 9:23-24).
Yes, there are
some things that we get to question and prod to find out answers to:
More important than what you ask, though, is how you ask. However, there are other
things that you simply don’t
get to question God about:
“Woe to the one
who quarrels with his Maker – an earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth!
Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are
making say, ‘He has no hands’?” ~ Isaiah 45:9
We humans have a
tendency to get too big for our britches,
as the saying goes. In other words, we forget our place in life and demand too
much of those who, in reality, owe us nothing (*cough* God *cough*):
Then we come to
Matthew 25:26, where the master – who we can easily infer is symbolic of God –
calls the servant wicked and lazy...
Most people get
that that might be the truth in being lazy and acting out of wickedness for some people (e.g., the wicked at the final judgment), but when it's used in
comparison to how God views us (those who have professed faith in Christ) and
what we're primarily used for? That's
a bit sketchy. From that point of view, it's basically teaching that that's how
God sees us when we mess up and that we don't get second chances.
This is why we
learn self-fulfilling prophecy in
psychology: you believe something, and then you behave in a way that makes it
come true, thus (further) confirming your beliefs. Case in point, check out the
following clip (0:00-0:46):
The master was not
austere; he was generous according to their abilities. This 1-talent servant
freaked out with only 1 talent; how do you think he would’ve responded if his
master had given him 10?! His master would’ve been ten times as pissed for the misuse
of ten times the ability, so giving this servant only
a little was actually a compassionate – read: loving – action because he had less
to be judged for. The master was fully aware of what the servant could handle
and didn’t give any him more than he could bear.
Matthew 25:19 says
that it was “a long time” before the master returned. Fear wasn’t just a
one-time response for this servant; it
was a way of life, and the fearful do not inherit the kingdom.
I didn’t
realize that particular point until John Eldredge pointed
it out in Revelation 21:8 -- and notice who gets mentioned first! (Hint: it’s the
fearful.)
I had a bumper
sticker one time that said, “God sends no one to hell; those who ignore Jesus
send themselves there.” Keep in mind that the master was generous to those who
were loyal to him (2 Chronicles 16:9a); the servant who was loyal to his fear elicited that particular reaction from his master. The master didn’t want to be like that, just like a father
doesn’t want to have to discipline
his children, but sometimes it has to happen because of the love the father has
for his children. And for a God who is
Love, every action of his is always
founded on his nature, which is love:
The story is
almost told from the perspective of each servant. The fearful servant also
didn’t truly know his lord because “perfect
love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18). Again, this whole thing is about relationship, not just obedience (reference Matthew 7:21-23).
This is one of the
things I’ve really appreciated about the TV show, Once
Upon A Time, because you can see how transformative love is in people’s lives:
Rumplestiltskin opens up to Belle in order to express himself in a moment of emotional vulnerability;
Charming defends
Ruby (the werewolf) in the midst of an insurrection lead by his former enemy;
Emma realizes how
much her parents cared for her by sending her away when she sees the nursery
that they had set up for her and the broken dreams that it represented;
Regina (the evil queen), out of
love for Henry, is able to get along with the husband of her long-time enemy and, out of love for Daniel, finally
lets him go because you can’t force a
true relationship (reference Proverbs 18:19).
This servant
didn’t let the love and grace of God open up and transform him, and so he never
established a relationship with his Maker that had any substance to it –
meaning that he didn’t truly know his
master, which is what God wants from us, anyway (John 17:3).
Okay, so, some
people understand that we have certain things we need to take care of and are
appointed to do as followers of God. But what does this teach when we're basing
that idea on a “one time does it” mentality kinda story like this? I mean,
this is talking about the final judgment. So, yes, God is fair, but how does
this capture his heart if it's taught with such a binding “works” mentality?
I’ll reference the
point I made above about the fact that this
servant had made a lifestyle out of living by fear. “Contempt” is one of
the responses that are given to the wicked (Daniel 12:2). The Hebrew word
(Strong's #H1860) is used twice in the Old Testament and translated “abhorring” or “contempt,” both of which
imply something that is repulsive (“lukewarm” comes to mind, Revelation
3:15-16). Contempt is an emotion felt toward
someone, and although God will invariably love
every single person who has ever lived, who could blame him for being
broken-hearted toward those who have continually spurned his wooing heart?
By the way, it’s
only those who we love that can break
our hearts in this way, and God is no different since we are made in his image.
This is something that I realized about Jesus and Judas a while back:
Any one of us,
knowing that Judas would betray us, would act in a way that would bring about
that betrayal (self-fulfilling prophecy, anyone?). We would be callous toward
him, dismissive, bitter, etc., and he would be justified in harboring feelings of
resentment that would lead to betraying us.
But love, by
definition, does not do that. It is
patient, tender, humble, selfless, “keeps no record of being wronged,” “never
gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every
circumstance” (reference 1 Corinthians 13:4-7).
Jesus, because of
his loving nature, could not and would not and did not ever give up on trying to win Judas’ heart. He was
vulnerable with Judas, fully expressing the heart of God, “not willing that any
should perish” (2 Peter 3:9). As John Eldredge wrote of God in Wild at Heart,
God's relationship with
us and with our world is just that: a relationship. As with every relationship,
there's a certain amount of unpredictability, and the ever-present likelihood
that you'll get hurt. The ultimate risk anyone ever takes is to love, for as
C.S. Lewis says, "Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly
broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give it to no
one, not even an animal."
But God does give [his heart to us] -- again and again and
again -- until he is literally bleeding from it all. God's willingness to risk
is just astounding -- far beyond what any of us would do, were we in his
position.
Which means that
the consequences of Judas’ actions – his betrayal of Jesus – fall squarely on his
own shoulders.
The Holy Spirit is
no different with each of our own hearts, as Jehovah spoke of ancient Israel:
Now I will sing for the one I love
a song about his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard
on a rich and fertile hill.
He plowed the land, cleared its stones,
and planted it with the best vines.
In the middle he built a watchtower
and carved a winepress in the nearby rocks.
Then he waited for a harvest of sweet
grapes,
but the grapes that grew were bitter.
Now, you people of Jerusalem and Judah,
you judge between me and my vineyard.
What more could I have done for my vineyard
that I have not already
done?
When I expected sweet grapes,
why did my vineyard give me bitter grapes?
(Isaiah 5:1-4)
God does
everything that he possibly can in wooing and winning our hearts that does not
violate our own free will:
To force himself
on us would be the equivalent of spiritual rape and would be appalling to the
utmost degree imaginable. Could you imagine any judge or jury returning with a
“not guilty” verdict for a husband who forced himself onto his wife -- repeatedly -- against her
will? Even though it’s morally lawful for them to have sex because they're married, if he forces it against
her will, it’s still rape – which would then make it unlawful.
So for Judas – as
well as this servant – to continue to resist God’s gentle-yet-persistent
beckonings is going to invariably leave God hurt.
Despite our love for someone, which one of us
wouldn’t feel some contempt toward a person who broke our heart?
DISCLAIMER:
Contempt does not mean unforgiveness.
In the strictly literal sense, yes,
the wicked at the end of time are
unforgiven – because they did not accept Jesus’ atoning sacrifice – but they
are also still deeply loved by their
Creator. More on that thought in this post.
It probably
wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine this guy as a fence-rider, either, never really
leaning one way or the other (again, the “lukewarm” issue surfaces).
Don’t get me
wrong, Jesus gets pissed at people,
but it’s typically the people who know
what they are supposed to do and then don’t do it; these are presumably the
people who would have the best chance of truly knowing God (reference John 5:39).
He also has a
compassionate side, though. Matthew 12:20 says “a bruised reed shall he not
break.” He’s tender with the broken, the wounded, etc. He was always looking to
mend hearts in addition to people’s physical frailties.
“But if you had
known what this means – ‘I will have mercy, and not sacrifice’ – you would not
have condemned the guiltless.” ~ Matthew 12:7
There’s no way I’m
going to presume that I know how God judges people, because I don’t. But it’s
like the whole faith-versus-works thing – there’s evidence for both sides, and there
is no way we’re figuring out how much
God is "made up" of each one. There’s mystery here, that’s for sure.
“Paradox: Life’s a
mystery. Don’t bother trying to figure it out.” ~ Peaceful Warrior
Yes, obey God in
feeding the hungry, etc., etc. But God doesn't hate you and immediately toss
you to the side or into a dark pit where there's gnashing of teeth (Hell, most
people would assume).
Some can
have a real issue with how people portray God in this strict comparison
with the master. But Jesus explains that God is going to deal fairly with it.
Which, yeah, he is. But it’s easy to think that the master in the story was a
bit extreme – and that can have
devastating effects in how people view their lives.
I remember reading
about when "Samuel" appeared to Saul in the Old Testament after being summoned by
a medium (which, by the way, attempting to communicate with the dead is/was strictly forbidden, Deuteronomy 18:9-12).
The Mistake (1 Samuel 28:7-11). Saul
consults with a medium.
The Misperception (1 Samuel 28:14).
Notice that the scriptures do not say
that it was Samuel, but that Saul perceived
that it was Samuel. If angels can disguise themselves as people (Hebrews 13:2), then it's not too much of a stretch to say that fallen angels can imitate people, too.
The Message (1 Samuel 28:19-20). “Moreover”
in verse 20. In other words, “Above and beyond the news I have already given
you, here’s some more bad news.” Notice Saul’s reaction: “then Saul... was sore
afraid because of the words of Samuel.”
The Murder (1 Samuel 31:4, 1 Chronicles
10:13-14). As if I needed to go further, it is written that God specifically
killed Saul for his consultation with the medium.
Notice that in 1
Chronicles, the text explicitly says that Saul didn’t approach God about it, but
that he went to a woman who had a familiar spirit; would I be presumptuous to say that God desired for Saul to seek the answer from Himself? But no, Saul
wouldn’t humble himself and take a chance with God (Micah 6:8), so he played it safe and
consulted what he thought was a safe bet...
It’s usually the heart-level
issues that are important.
Too much emphasis on obedience focuses on the
symptom (e.g., inaction), similar to the “check engine” light on a car. Just
don’t forget to take a good look under the hood – read, under the surface – every once in a while...
God’s heart is for
us to repent, to turn ourselves back toward him and away from our selfish ways of
handling life (Ezekiel 18:31-32). Satan would give a message that is intended
to rob us of hope and for us to give in to despair, which is exactly what
happened to Saul.
“God has not given
us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love...” ~ 2 Timothy
1:7
“There is no
fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear...” ~ 1 John 4:18
Again, recall that
this servant made his fear of his master a lifestyle
that he lived out for a considerable period of time. He didn’t truly know his master, which means that his perception of his master was false,
but that his false perspective caused a (falsely perceived) reality to occur that confirmed his misperception.
Bottom line:
Get
to know God.
Allow his love to fill and transform you.
And then take your filled
and transformed self and get ‘er done.
