It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans; for a man is living with his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you. For though absent in body I am present in spirit, and as if present, I have already pronounced judgment in the name of the Lord Jesus on the man who has done such a thing. When you are assembled, and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. RSV
If the apostle Paul, instead of writing this in one of the sacred epistles, had wrote this on an Internet message board or in a blog, I can hear the responses: “Judged? How can you judge him?” “The Bible tells us specifically not to judge one another.” “We need to love this man, not judge him.”
And yet, not only the sinful man, but the entire congregation . . . Paul judged! And pronounced sentence. He condemned what was happening among them.
Our lack of love, true love, for each other and particularly for those who sin appalls me. It isn’t love when we tolerate sin. It isn’t love when we ignore the fact that someone’s lifestyle may lead them eventually to an eternity in hell. It is self-love. We are cowards. We are afraid how we will be seen. We aren’t concerned about the sinner. We are concerned about ourselves.
Does that seem harsh? And yet, I hope it rings true in your heart.
I just attend the memorial service of a dear friend. None of her children—for whom she prayed for years—are saved. And, in fact, they are living lives of terrible sinfulness. And yet, both pastors who were asked to speak soft-petaled (until it was almost invisible) the strong gospel of Jesus Christ. What’s interesting is that they did what my friend would have never done! She never soft-petaled anything in her life. And given the opportunity to speak boldly to her children about the Lord, she did. Here was the perfect opportunity and both pastors, in an effort to be loving, spoke about grieving and memories and the psychological steps of mourning.
These children—her beloved children—will spend their eternities in hell unless they accept the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Where was the urgency in that?
If our child was running across the lawn and the next few steps would take her into the street right in front of an 18-wheeler, would we be concerned about sparing her feelings or would we be screaming for her to stop?
Paul heard that the Corinthian church had allowed one of its attenders to participate in the church fellowship while he was living in sexual sin. It doesn’t say whether or not the man was in leadership, but it does say that the church was “arrogant” about this situation. Perhaps they felt proud of their “love and tolerance.” Perhaps this man was prominent and they wanted him to be a part of their group. Whatever the reason, Paul is strongly concerned about what’s happening because this man’s behavior is leading him down the broad path to hell. Paul’s concern is for this man’s eternal salvation:
Verse 5: “You are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.”
Paul didn’t tell the church to counsel this man, to embrace him in hopes that he would repent. He told them to cast him out of their fellowship, to repudiate their relationship with him. But the purpose wasn’t some formula for exacting punishment; it wasn’t because Paul was angry with this man. The purpose of the punishment was to convict the man of his sin and to compel him to repent.
In 2 Corinthians, it’s obvious that it worked:
But if any one has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to you all. For such a one this punishment by the majority is enough; so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. (2:5-8 RSV)
We need to ask ourselves what’s our motivation when we tolerate sin, when we reach out “in love” but ignore the fact that the person is flaunting their actions in God’s face. Do we really love that person, enough to risk their ire, their disdain when we speak the Word boldly? Or are we simply trying to save our own relationship with them?
Musing
Monday, October 29, 2007
Sunday, October 28, 2007
1 Corinthians 4:15b-17
For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me. Therefore I sent to you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church. RSV
I have a sign in my classroom: “Fewer people with kids; more parents.” The crux of the sign is that simply having kids (begetting them, living with them in the same house, etc.) isn’t the same as parenting. Parenting is a responsibility, probably beyond all others, that requires that a parent sacrifice for their child: sacrifice time, sacrifice resources, sacrifice priorities.
Many American parents don’t do that.
I’ve found that most parents fall into two categories: (1) The ones who refuse to raise their children the way they were raised (usually meaning that their parents restricted what they could have and do and it made them resentful), and (2) the ones who insist that this is now their time in life to be able to do what they want to do. And while that’s a discussion for another time, the fact remains that these kinds of parents have calloused American Christians to the idea of having spiritual parents (or, for that matter, spiritual children). In fact, for many adult Christians, if an older Christian were to stand up and announce, “I’m your spiritual father (or mother),” that adult would likely simply sigh and think, “Oh, someone else to make demands on me.”
But for Paul, the idea of being a spiritual father was a very precious thing. And, in fact, for many Americans 100 years ago, it was natural. It was natural to submit to elder Christians. It was natural to learn from them. It was natural to imitate their lives because they knew how to be Christians.
No more. The American Church has become enamored with the American youth culture. More and more our pulpits and worship teams and church leadership are filled with the young and beautiful, rather than the elder and wise. We have become a Church that leans more toward Manhattan Avenue (and all its advertising methods), rather than a Church that seeks the Bible for its definition and purpose.
But Paul insists. “I became your father in Christ Jesus . . . be imitators of me.” Why?
The fact is, most of us learn by example, by modeling, by mentoring. While we insist that we would prefer to learn through our own experiences, the fact is, that’s not an efficient or healthy way to learn. After all, who wants to learn that a saw blade is sharp by having their arm cut off? And yet, spiritually, that’s what we often do. This insistence is born in a spirit of independence and rebellion that refuses to submit to anyone else.
My own son, who is a believer, who loves the Lord greatly, shared with me that his generation doesn’t trust my generation. With cause! But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t godly men he can imitate. It simply means there are fewer are them. The fact is, my generation hasn’t been trustworthy, but rather has been self-centered and, often, self-destructive. In order to say, as Paul, “Imitate me,” we must first be imitatable.
Are we?
Many of us haven’t taken Paul’s advice to heart and looked for those godly men and women that we can imitate. How many of us have Christian mentors (either formally or informally) from whom we can learn the skills and secrets of the faith? How many of us have elder Christians who call us to account when our behavior is rebellious and wrong?
And, as we grow older, as the former generation dies and we, by nature of our years, step into that place, can we say with confidence to a younger Christian, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ”? If someone were to receive no Christian training but only had our lives to see, would they understand what they were to become as a believer?
Paul said with confidence, “Imitate me,” because he knew that his life reflected the essence of the gospel. Do our lives reflect the Lord Jesus in the same way?
I have a sign in my classroom: “Fewer people with kids; more parents.” The crux of the sign is that simply having kids (begetting them, living with them in the same house, etc.) isn’t the same as parenting. Parenting is a responsibility, probably beyond all others, that requires that a parent sacrifice for their child: sacrifice time, sacrifice resources, sacrifice priorities.
Many American parents don’t do that.
I’ve found that most parents fall into two categories: (1) The ones who refuse to raise their children the way they were raised (usually meaning that their parents restricted what they could have and do and it made them resentful), and (2) the ones who insist that this is now their time in life to be able to do what they want to do. And while that’s a discussion for another time, the fact remains that these kinds of parents have calloused American Christians to the idea of having spiritual parents (or, for that matter, spiritual children). In fact, for many adult Christians, if an older Christian were to stand up and announce, “I’m your spiritual father (or mother),” that adult would likely simply sigh and think, “Oh, someone else to make demands on me.”
But for Paul, the idea of being a spiritual father was a very precious thing. And, in fact, for many Americans 100 years ago, it was natural. It was natural to submit to elder Christians. It was natural to learn from them. It was natural to imitate their lives because they knew how to be Christians.
No more. The American Church has become enamored with the American youth culture. More and more our pulpits and worship teams and church leadership are filled with the young and beautiful, rather than the elder and wise. We have become a Church that leans more toward Manhattan Avenue (and all its advertising methods), rather than a Church that seeks the Bible for its definition and purpose.
But Paul insists. “I became your father in Christ Jesus . . . be imitators of me.” Why?
The fact is, most of us learn by example, by modeling, by mentoring. While we insist that we would prefer to learn through our own experiences, the fact is, that’s not an efficient or healthy way to learn. After all, who wants to learn that a saw blade is sharp by having their arm cut off? And yet, spiritually, that’s what we often do. This insistence is born in a spirit of independence and rebellion that refuses to submit to anyone else.
My own son, who is a believer, who loves the Lord greatly, shared with me that his generation doesn’t trust my generation. With cause! But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t godly men he can imitate. It simply means there are fewer are them. The fact is, my generation hasn’t been trustworthy, but rather has been self-centered and, often, self-destructive. In order to say, as Paul, “Imitate me,” we must first be imitatable.
Are we?
Many of us haven’t taken Paul’s advice to heart and looked for those godly men and women that we can imitate. How many of us have Christian mentors (either formally or informally) from whom we can learn the skills and secrets of the faith? How many of us have elder Christians who call us to account when our behavior is rebellious and wrong?
And, as we grow older, as the former generation dies and we, by nature of our years, step into that place, can we say with confidence to a younger Christian, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ”? If someone were to receive no Christian training but only had our lives to see, would they understand what they were to become as a believer?
Paul said with confidence, “Imitate me,” because he knew that his life reflected the essence of the gospel. Do our lives reflect the Lord Jesus in the same way?
Saturday, October 27, 2007
1 Corinthians 4:3-5
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. I do not even judge myself. I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God. RSV
The opinions of others mean very little. People only see our outward actions, not our inward motivations. “Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b RSV).
Paul tells us that neither the opinions of others nor our own valuation of ourselves is actually valid. So while our actions are judged by the world (Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:12 RSV), they—our actions—are not how we determine our own value or even necessarily our own standing with God.
It’s an interesting dichotomy. We cannot judge what we do as good in the sight of God, and yet we are to continually judge what we do, whether or not it is sin or obedience:
But if we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are chastened so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 RSV
The world judges us, but we aren’t to necessarily respond to that judgement. The world’s opinion doesn’t save us.
We are to judge ourselves, but we aren’t to cling to that judgement as our hope. Our own opinion doesn’t save us.
I think that Paul has hit upon a very important idea here. And that is the idea of being solid in who we are based on either our own or someone else’s opinion about us. I think about my husband. He admires me greatly as a Christian and yet I know that my own heart is unbelievably wicked; I am capable of the most dire sins even if they are hidden within my own heart and thoughts. And yet neither his loving opinion nor my own will save me. I am only saved through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 RSV
I do believe, however, that we can use the estimations (opinions) of others around us as a second conscience. If others see us as admirable, we need to check our pride, our own complacency. If others see us as sinful, we need to check our behavior, our lifestyle.
Paul says: “I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.” Even if he isn’t aware of sin in his own life, that doesn’t acquit him. David spoke of “hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12). There are even the sins we commit of which, at this point in our spiritual maturity, we have no awareness because we still too childish to recognize them. So not believing or thinking we are in sin doesn’t acquit us. We are still desperately in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Lastly, Paul’s comments here seem to be, not so much about evaluating whether or not something we do or choose is sin, but more about commending ourselves for a job well done: “who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God.”
A friend of mine once commented that God wasn’t nearly as concerned about what we did as who we are. Now, while I think we can’t apply that statement broadly, I do believe there is a very important kernel of truth in it. In any given situation, I believe that God is most concerned about how we respond (which is a measure of our heart attitudes) and not so much concerned about how we affect the outcome of that situation. In other words, God isn’t nearly as concerned with our success (particularly as how the world judges success) as He is about how we treated those we passed along the way.
I think about Philippians 2:3: Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. If we truly count others better than ourselves, then we will promote them, rather than ourselves. We will allow them the advantage, rather than ourselves. We will allow them to succeed, rather than ourselves. But if we do all this with a selfish heart, we still don’t meet God’s goal. The point of anything we do should be to love others as God loves us. When He loves, He does so without reservation. When He forgives, He restores. When He provides, He does so lavishly. He is our model. And rather than commending ourselves for doing the same, we should understand that everything we have, everything we do, everything we are comes completely and absolutely from Him.
The opinions of others mean very little. People only see our outward actions, not our inward motivations. “Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b RSV).
Paul tells us that neither the opinions of others nor our own valuation of ourselves is actually valid. So while our actions are judged by the world (Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 1 Peter 2:12 RSV), they—our actions—are not how we determine our own value or even necessarily our own standing with God.
It’s an interesting dichotomy. We cannot judge what we do as good in the sight of God, and yet we are to continually judge what we do, whether or not it is sin or obedience:
But if we judged ourselves truly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are chastened so that we may not be condemned along with the world. 1 Corinthians 11:31-32 RSV
The world judges us, but we aren’t to necessarily respond to that judgement. The world’s opinion doesn’t save us.
We are to judge ourselves, but we aren’t to cling to that judgement as our hope. Our own opinion doesn’t save us.
I think that Paul has hit upon a very important idea here. And that is the idea of being solid in who we are based on either our own or someone else’s opinion about us. I think about my husband. He admires me greatly as a Christian and yet I know that my own heart is unbelievably wicked; I am capable of the most dire sins even if they are hidden within my own heart and thoughts. And yet neither his loving opinion nor my own will save me. I am only saved through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God— not because of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10 RSV
I do believe, however, that we can use the estimations (opinions) of others around us as a second conscience. If others see us as admirable, we need to check our pride, our own complacency. If others see us as sinful, we need to check our behavior, our lifestyle.
Paul says: “I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted.” Even if he isn’t aware of sin in his own life, that doesn’t acquit him. David spoke of “hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12). There are even the sins we commit of which, at this point in our spiritual maturity, we have no awareness because we still too childish to recognize them. So not believing or thinking we are in sin doesn’t acquit us. We are still desperately in need of God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Lastly, Paul’s comments here seem to be, not so much about evaluating whether or not something we do or choose is sin, but more about commending ourselves for a job well done: “who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God.”
A friend of mine once commented that God wasn’t nearly as concerned about what we did as who we are. Now, while I think we can’t apply that statement broadly, I do believe there is a very important kernel of truth in it. In any given situation, I believe that God is most concerned about how we respond (which is a measure of our heart attitudes) and not so much concerned about how we affect the outcome of that situation. In other words, God isn’t nearly as concerned with our success (particularly as how the world judges success) as He is about how we treated those we passed along the way.
I think about Philippians 2:3: Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. If we truly count others better than ourselves, then we will promote them, rather than ourselves. We will allow them the advantage, rather than ourselves. We will allow them to succeed, rather than ourselves. But if we do all this with a selfish heart, we still don’t meet God’s goal. The point of anything we do should be to love others as God loves us. When He loves, He does so without reservation. When He forgives, He restores. When He provides, He does so lavishly. He is our model. And rather than commending ourselves for doing the same, we should understand that everything we have, everything we do, everything we are comes completely and absolutely from Him.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Philippians 2:3-11
Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. RSV
2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. RSV
John 3:16-17: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. RSV
I think that it’s often extremely difficult to be a contemporary American and be a Christian. It wasn’t always so. The values that this country embraced in its infancy were similar to Christian values.
Not so now.
When America was founded, duty was put before privilege, obligation before rights. Now, not only do we demand our rights, but we actually believe that our value comes from the fact that we are people who have rights.
Our thinking goes along these lines: We are human beings. We have rights. Therefore, we are valuable; we should be valued.
This is very different from the thinking of the early Americans and from the thinking of the Bible. Our value doesn’t come from our being human beings. Our value comes from our being loved by God. And that love—that value—doesn’t guarantee us rights. Just the opposite. It guarantees us obligations.
Paul tells us in Philippians to do nothing from selfishness or conceit. We have convinced ourselves that we aren’t selfish. But we are.
The RSV here actually waters down the meaning as given in the Greek. What is translated here as selfishness is translated in the KJV as strife. And that doesn’t even really explain what the Greek word means. In fact, we really don’t even have an English word that gives the complete meaning to this very broad and expressive Greek word.
The Greek erithia means (according to Vine’s): denotes ambition, self-seeking, rivalry, self-will being an underlying idea in the word. It includes the meaning of “seeking to win followers.” So, in a sense, it’s the desire to have everyone be in your side, want what you want, support your views, defend your position. It is the sense that we are the center of the universe and that our priorities are what matters.
Doesn’t that sound to you like the constant demands for rights that we have in America? And Paul tells us not to do anything from this perspective, from this desire, from this motivation.
“But I deserved that promotion. I worked harder; I’m more qualified.”
Paul tells us to do nothing from this perspective.
“But there are people who have greater advantage than I do.:
Paul tells us to do nothing from this perspective.
“But that person always gets more than I do even though things should be equal between us.”
Paul tells us to do nothing from this perspective.
Even as churches, we want every right that we can gain from the government. I read part of a discussion last month where it was asserted that churches needed to legally organize (incorporate) so that members could be protected and could access the tax benefits.
What would Paul say? Obviously, we aren’t to consider anything from a self-serving perspective. Why? He who did not spare his own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also give us all things with him? (Romans 8:32 RSV)
The second thing Paul tells us to do is to not seek things from the perspective of conceit. The definition of conceit is “a result of mental activity : thought; individual opinion; favorable opinion; especially : excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue.” The thing is, none of us think that we excessively appreciate our own worth or virtue . . . but we do. Any time we aren’t willing to give in to the demands of someone else, any time we aren’t willing to consider the situation from their perspective, any time we think that someone is mean to us simply because they are a “bad person,” we are having an excessive appreciation of our own worth or virtue.
Paul tells us to do nothing from this perspective.
“In humility, count others as better than yourselves.” Rather than demand our own rights, we are to focus our efforts on doing for others, because—in our minds—the others are better than us. That’s not the mindset of the contemporary American and, unfortunately, the contemporary American Christian. But it should be! Rather than being people who demand our rights, we should be people who are acting in humility, trusting God to take care of us when we are put upon, when we are taken advantage of, when we are persecuted.
God gave us His Son. That is what gives us value. God will give all things to us; we don’t need to demand them, to fight for them, to insist upon them.
Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. RSV
2 Peter 3:9: The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, but is forbearing toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. RSV
John 3:16-17: For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. RSV
I think that it’s often extremely difficult to be a contemporary American and be a Christian. It wasn’t always so. The values that this country embraced in its infancy were similar to Christian values.
Not so now.
When America was founded, duty was put before privilege, obligation before rights. Now, not only do we demand our rights, but we actually believe that our value comes from the fact that we are people who have rights.
Our thinking goes along these lines: We are human beings. We have rights. Therefore, we are valuable; we should be valued.
This is very different from the thinking of the early Americans and from the thinking of the Bible. Our value doesn’t come from our being human beings. Our value comes from our being loved by God. And that love—that value—doesn’t guarantee us rights. Just the opposite. It guarantees us obligations.
Paul tells us in Philippians to do nothing from selfishness or conceit. We have convinced ourselves that we aren’t selfish. But we are.
The RSV here actually waters down the meaning as given in the Greek. What is translated here as selfishness is translated in the KJV as strife. And that doesn’t even really explain what the Greek word means. In fact, we really don’t even have an English word that gives the complete meaning to this very broad and expressive Greek word.
The Greek erithia means (according to Vine’s): denotes ambition, self-seeking, rivalry, self-will being an underlying idea in the word. It includes the meaning of “seeking to win followers.” So, in a sense, it’s the desire to have everyone be in your side, want what you want, support your views, defend your position. It is the sense that we are the center of the universe and that our priorities are what matters.
Doesn’t that sound to you like the constant demands for rights that we have in America? And Paul tells us not to do anything from this perspective, from this desire, from this motivation.
“But I deserved that promotion. I worked harder; I’m more qualified.”
Paul tells us to do nothing from this perspective.
“But there are people who have greater advantage than I do.:
Paul tells us to do nothing from this perspective.
“But that person always gets more than I do even though things should be equal between us.”
Paul tells us to do nothing from this perspective.
Even as churches, we want every right that we can gain from the government. I read part of a discussion last month where it was asserted that churches needed to legally organize (incorporate) so that members could be protected and could access the tax benefits.
What would Paul say? Obviously, we aren’t to consider anything from a self-serving perspective. Why? He who did not spare his own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also give us all things with him? (Romans 8:32 RSV)
The second thing Paul tells us to do is to not seek things from the perspective of conceit. The definition of conceit is “a result of mental activity : thought; individual opinion; favorable opinion; especially : excessive appreciation of one's own worth or virtue.” The thing is, none of us think that we excessively appreciate our own worth or virtue . . . but we do. Any time we aren’t willing to give in to the demands of someone else, any time we aren’t willing to consider the situation from their perspective, any time we think that someone is mean to us simply because they are a “bad person,” we are having an excessive appreciation of our own worth or virtue.
Paul tells us to do nothing from this perspective.
“In humility, count others as better than yourselves.” Rather than demand our own rights, we are to focus our efforts on doing for others, because—in our minds—the others are better than us. That’s not the mindset of the contemporary American and, unfortunately, the contemporary American Christian. But it should be! Rather than being people who demand our rights, we should be people who are acting in humility, trusting God to take care of us when we are put upon, when we are taken advantage of, when we are persecuted.
God gave us His Son. That is what gives us value. God will give all things to us; we don’t need to demand them, to fight for them, to insist upon them.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
1 Corinthians 4:1-2
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy. RSV
Even though Paul is speaking here, specifically, about the apostles, I believe that this is an admonition to all of us. In truth, we are all considered to be stewards of God in one way or another. If we are moms, we are stewards of God’s most precious possessions: children. And it is our responsibility to be trustworthy in that stewardship.
In fact, if we are not teaching our own children, we should be, as mature women in the Lord, teaching others somewhere what we have learned about being Christian women. Titus 2 tells us:
Bid the older women . . . to teach what is good, and so train the young women (v. 2-3, in part, RSV). If we are the “young” women, we likely have our own children at home to teach and train. If we are the “older” women, our responsibility is to mentor the younger women around us.
We are stewards . . . and it is imperative that we be found trustworthy.
Trustworthiness is a concept that’s, for the most part, grown out of favor among American Christians. We are much more comfortable touting our “sinfulness” and inability to achieve (as sinners). We would rather excuse our inabilities, rather than challenge ourselves to rise above our base instincts and achieve what God has called us to be.
I find more and more as I’m involved with conversations with Christians all over America (and in Western countries throughout the world) that we would rather accept our limitations and live with ourselves as imperfect and sinful, rather than to trust God to strengthen us to do more than we are able.
Romans 8:37: “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
It used to be that Christians believed, truly believed, that not only were they called to live lives morally above reproach, but that such lives were possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now some of us are more content to sit on our duffs and wait for God to somehow change us, albeit against our will. Others are simply willing to accept that we are sinful and think there’s no reason to even consider whether or not our behavior is pleasing to Him. It’s all covered by the blood anyway.
We have not been found trustworthy.
The true sense of the Greek is that we must the kind of people that God (and others) can trust. As we trust God, they can trust us. Think about it. We trust God because of His nature, because of Who He is. We know that He won’t let us down, that what He says He will do!
Is that true about us as believers? Can people believe what we say? When we are wrong, do we apologize and make it right, even if making it right brings us hurt? Are we focused on what’s important for others, rather than simply getting out of life what we want (or think we need) for ourselves?
Are we trustworthy?
I think it’s high time that we, as American Christians, begin to consider whether or not we have become what the Lord Jesus really wants us to be.
Even though Paul is speaking here, specifically, about the apostles, I believe that this is an admonition to all of us. In truth, we are all considered to be stewards of God in one way or another. If we are moms, we are stewards of God’s most precious possessions: children. And it is our responsibility to be trustworthy in that stewardship.
In fact, if we are not teaching our own children, we should be, as mature women in the Lord, teaching others somewhere what we have learned about being Christian women. Titus 2 tells us:
Bid the older women . . . to teach what is good, and so train the young women (v. 2-3, in part, RSV). If we are the “young” women, we likely have our own children at home to teach and train. If we are the “older” women, our responsibility is to mentor the younger women around us.
We are stewards . . . and it is imperative that we be found trustworthy.
Trustworthiness is a concept that’s, for the most part, grown out of favor among American Christians. We are much more comfortable touting our “sinfulness” and inability to achieve (as sinners). We would rather excuse our inabilities, rather than challenge ourselves to rise above our base instincts and achieve what God has called us to be.
I find more and more as I’m involved with conversations with Christians all over America (and in Western countries throughout the world) that we would rather accept our limitations and live with ourselves as imperfect and sinful, rather than to trust God to strengthen us to do more than we are able.
Romans 8:37: “in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
It used to be that Christians believed, truly believed, that not only were they called to live lives morally above reproach, but that such lives were possible through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now some of us are more content to sit on our duffs and wait for God to somehow change us, albeit against our will. Others are simply willing to accept that we are sinful and think there’s no reason to even consider whether or not our behavior is pleasing to Him. It’s all covered by the blood anyway.
We have not been found trustworthy.
The true sense of the Greek is that we must the kind of people that God (and others) can trust. As we trust God, they can trust us. Think about it. We trust God because of His nature, because of Who He is. We know that He won’t let us down, that what He says He will do!
Is that true about us as believers? Can people believe what we say? When we are wrong, do we apologize and make it right, even if making it right brings us hurt? Are we focused on what’s important for others, rather than simply getting out of life what we want (or think we need) for ourselves?
Are we trustworthy?
I think it’s high time that we, as American Christians, begin to consider whether or not we have become what the Lord Jesus really wants us to be.
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