The Worth of Worry

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Luke 12:25-26.

The original for this verse reads, “add a single cubit to his height?” a euphemism for adding length to life. It seems to be the perverseness of life that although we can’t add to our life, which we would like to, we can add to our girth, which most of us would like to avoid!

The context of this verse is that God will provide for the necessities of life—food and clothing—but standing alone, the verse reminds us that we can’t put off the date of our death. However, while most of us rather not think about it, worry will not change it.

For many, death is a fearsome prospect, mainly because they have no idea what to expect on the other side. Some try to avoid this by hoping there is nothing beyond the grave. That there might be prompts a natural fear of death, fueled by an innate sense of guilt.

At least this text should be a wake up call to prepare for death if we can’t avoid it. A current advertisement suggests that we spend more time selecting vegetables than choosing life insurance. Similarly, we spend more time preparing for life which is transient than we do for death which is certain and eternal.

So if it doesn’t make sense to worry about death, it is just as foolish not to prepare for it. For the life of me, I cannot understand why, when God has given us the perfect reprieve in His son’s sacrifice, so many will not take advantage of it. If we reject that, we can expect no other concession from Him.

Are Our Words Fitting or Perverse?

The lips of the righteous know what is fitting, but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse. Proverbs 10:32.

The last five verses of Proverbs 10 teach values accruing from righteousness. The word “righteousness” is not in everyday use, so we need to know what it means. The common idea that it means goodness, or just “being good,” falls well short of the mark; it provides no standard to measure goodness.

A previous verse, 27, helps clarify the meaning: “The fear of the LORD adds length to life.” “Fear” in this sense is not terror, as some might interpret it, but respect for God. Thus, the righteousness that produces joy, safety, stability, and wisdom denoted in verses 28–31, is abiding in God’s counsel.

Unfortunately, our human thoughts and words are distorted by our sinful nature, which undermines the wisdom we devise. Thus, our words may be either fitting or perverse. Only as our thoughts are “transformed by the renewing of [our] mind,” will we “be able to test and approve what God's will is . . .” Romans 12:2.

But the renewing of our mind is not simply an educational process. The more we consider we have mastered the Word, the more likely we are to pervert it with our own ideas. For our words to be fitting, we prayerfully need to gain God’s ideas embedded in His Word, not just a mechanical exposition of the text.

Where Else Can We Go?

To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit. Ps 28:2

We are all a strange mixture of faith and doubt. Even David, author of this psalm, expressed his faith by calling on God, yet expressed fear that He would not listen. In fact, those who claim God always responds to their bidding, are either dishonest, or essentially bragging they can manipulate God to their will.

For us, it is not whether God will hear, but whether He will respond to deliver us, that is mostly in question. But in the Hebrew language, when God hears, it includes the idea of his response to the need. Thus, the psalmist is not just asking if God will hear his cry, but whether He will respond to the need.

It is clear to the psalmist there is no other alternative to God’s response. He may wonder whether God will respond, but he has no doubt there is no other resource to go to. God is his Rock, and if God doesn’t respond, he might as well be dead.

Ann and I are both going through recovery, which is rarely a straight line—often two steps forward, one step back! Of course, there are medical resources to which we can turn, but they are not the source of our confidence. Medicine doesn’t have all the answers.

What we recognize is that healing is part of the body’s mechanism designed by God. Even medical resources originate in God, but when they are insufficient, He is our only recourse. The test of our faith is whether we trust Him to be with us when it seems He doesn’t respond.

Nearness: Proximity or closeness?

 

Monday, September 13, 2010

Come near to God and he will come near to you. James 4:8.

Nearness in the sense of proximity can be delightful or suffocating. For lovers, even bodies touching might not seem near enough. In a crowded bus, train or elevator, we could wish a clothespin on our noses is as fashionable as rings or studs.

God’s omnipresence means that He is always nearer than the breeze on our cheeks; intimidating for some and comforting to others. But that is a static nearness; He is always there, irrespective of our attitude or condition, whether we like it or not.

So it is obvious that this text, encouraging us to come near to God, is referring to something other than simple proximity. We can experience closeness even when far apart. Although our immediate family is scattered around the world, we are still a close-knit family.

In a similar way, God is as far removed from our understanding as a queen is from a fish. If our lack of knowing God separates us from Him, how can we become close with Him, with that sense of companionship so desired between humans?

God has bridged the gap by becoming one of us and revealing God in human terms. “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:9. Furthermore, He has given us his written Word, the Bible, in human language, expressing Himself to us.

The obvious way to come close to God is the way we turn any acquaintance into a companion: by communication. He speaks to us through His Word, we speak to Him in prayer. That is, providing the communication isn’t distorted by sin, distrust or boredom.

But we need to match that by loving our neighbour; after all, how we love our neighbour is a reflection of how we love God. Every “cup of water,” given in compassion rather than for gain, is given to Christ. Being close to Him is being close to those in need, for it is there we will find Him.

A Stone for our innocence

Thursday September 9, 2010

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak. Mark 14:38

Why, with the best of intentions, do we sin? The body of course, is a metaphor for the sinful nature that invades both flesh and spirit. As Paul says, “what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” Romans 7:15. Calvin put it this way; we sin necessarily, yet without compulsion. We all sin, but nobody makes us do it.

Despite this, if Jesus today asked the one without sin to cast the first stone, there would be plenty of us bending down to arm ourselves! At least the Jews of Jesus’ day had the humility to recognize their own sin and walk away. The greatest rogues are often the most self-righteous: Iran is conceited enough to want to “push Israel into the sea,” yet proclaims its sinlessness by taking up stones against an adulterous woman!

Saying we have no sin is a contradiction in terms. It is a lie for it is inspired by the greatest sin, arrogance or pride. It is precarious, because pride usually comes before a fall! Furthermore, it is cowardly. We find sin in others to protect ourselves against a subconscious acknowledgment of our own sin.

Where Do We Look for Help?

I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Ps 121:1-2

Some translations give the impression that we look to the hills for our help. For those under siege in biblical times, that is exactly where they looked. It was on the hills surrounding a city where a relieving army would first appear. When the Lord opened the servant of Elisha’s eyes, “he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

But that’s not where this psalmist was looking. While he would naturally look to the surrounding hills for help, he knew that his help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Whatever is happening in the earthly realm, God is our final provider.

When it comes to making a living, we often have a skewed mindset. We need a job so our employer will provide an income. Or we scratch for some income from the government for disability, retirement or unemployment to enable us to pay our bills. In doing so, we look to the hills!

It was an eye-opener for me to realized that these resource people and agencies were simply God’s means for our supply. He is beyond and above the hills—He is their Maker—and is our ultimate resource. This is what Jesus had in mind when He told us not to worry about today’s needs, for “your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

Our problem, of course, is translating faith into practice. Can we trust God when other resources fail?

Are We Really Depraved?

This is what should have been posted last Thursday, but I was otherwise engaged!

Thursday September 2, 2010

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." John 8:7.

If there is one principle of the Christian faith deplored by non-believers, it is human depravity. It flies in the face of the good people do, and of course, undermines our self-pride.

Today’s text comes from the story of the woman taken in adultery. The story assumes her guilt, and sentencing—death by stoning—is the penalty. Would Jesus agree? The dilemma rested on the fact that Roman law did not recognise Jewish religious law regarding the death penalty.

As in other altercations, the Jews were hoping Jesus would commit Himself to one side or the other—a Jewish rebel or a Roman sympathiser. In fact, Jesus cut through their arguments with the idea of total depravity—we are all guilty of breaking God’s law.

If there is one error that plagues humankind, it is belief in the essential goodness of humanity. History and current events tear this idea to shreds; but many accept it! We are not good people who occasionally fail; at best, we are

law-breakers who are trying to improve our reputation. 

The saying goes, we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners. While we have a sense of justice—necessary to keep social order—that too is corrupted by our innate sinfulness. Social justice is a hit and miss affair, undermined by inadequate knowledge of the facts and by personal biases and agendas.

On a personal level, we may need to protect ourselves from those we suspect of destructive acts and attitudes, but God is the final Judge—of them and ourselves!