Pause and recognize value

We humans have a love/hate relationship with principles.  We love the way they wrap a direction into a little nugget of truth, but we struggle to agree on how to actually apply the principle…because you may apply it differently than I would.  Honestly, a lot of our arguments come down to a disagreement on how to live within our society’s principles. 

So, what do we do to cope with this conflict?  Usually…we end up making a ton of rules.  For example: Companies and organizations can boil their mission statement down to two or three sentences, while at the same time, their employee handbook has to be split into separate volumes as they explain the rules and guidelines which are rooted in the mission statement.

Ancient Israel was no different.  God gave them the 10 Commandments, and while they are pretty cut-and-dry (e.g. – Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not lie), there were questions to be asked about some commandments, like – What, exactly, is coveting and at what specific point am I guilty of it?  How do I honor my parents and when does my responsibility to God affect that relationship?

The Sabbath question was especially tricky for them.  Here is the commandment, in its entirety:

Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.  You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  You must not do any work – you, your son or daughter, your male or female servant, your livestock, or the resident alien who is within your city gates.  For the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything in them in six days; then He rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy.

The biggest question the Israelites had about this commandment was – I understand why we don’t work on the Sabbath, but what, specifically, constitutes “work” so I don’t violate this commandment?

This “What is work?” question was debated and argued all throughout the Old Testament times.  Various rabbis, scribes, and religious sects all had their own interpretation, and instead of replacing the previous teaching, any new rule/guidance was added on top of existing tradition and teaching.  By the time Jesus began His ministry, the non-work rules included directions around farming: no sowing, reaping, threshing, grinding, or baking.  There were rules against sewing, writing, starting a fire, carrying items, and even limiting how far you walked (no more than about 1/2 of a mile).

And if you didn’t adhere to these rules, you were considered by the religious/political leaders to be a Sabbath-breaker, a sinner, and someone who was inviting the wrath of God into your life.

A continuous point of contention between Jesus and the Pharisees (religious leaders) was Jesus’ refusal to follow their man-made rules.  One Sabbath, Jesus and His disciples were passing through some grainfields.  A few of the disciples were hungry and picked off some grain heads, rubbed them in their hands to remove the chaff, and then ate the grain.  The Pharisees saw this and accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath.  You can read the full account and Jesus’ rebuke to the Pharisees in Matthew 12:1-8.  We’re picking up the scene with what happened a little later on that same Sabbath day:

Matthew 12:9-10
Moving on from there, [Jesus] entered their [the Pharisees] synagogue.  There He saw a man who had a shriveled hand, and in order to accuse Him they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

Rabbinic teaching of the time only allowed medical assistance on the Sabbath in extreme cases of life and death.  Obviously, the man with a shriveled hand wasn’t in danger of dying and probably had his condition for some time.  In the Pharisees’ minds, if Jesus were to heal the man properly and not work on the Sabbath, then He should wait until the next day.  However, Jesus didn’t answer their question with a “yes” or a “no”…instead, He called out their hypocrisy.

Matthew 12:11-12
He replied to them, “Who among you, if he had a sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, wouldn’t take hold of it and lift it out?  A person is worth far more than a sheep; so it is lawful to do what is good on the Sabbath.”

Let’s pause right here.  If the Pharisees were willing to help out an animal on the Sabbath, why would they consider helping a person to be an act of sin?  The original point of the fourth commandment was to set aside the Sabbath day to God, imitating His example of resting from His creation labor.  Only through twisted logic and flawed tradition do we end up with a situation where it is considered more holy to leave a person in their suffering than it is to do something that will help them.

Jesus’ point looks at the correlation between value and effort.  The things we value, we make an effort to rescue.  Sheep were an important part of Jewish society, they had both income value and religious sacrificial value.  It’s no surprise that the Pharisees would want to rescue a sheep that fell into a pit, because if they don’t, the sheep would likely panic and die.  The tragedy was that they did not apply this same level of value to other people – so they used their religious piety to avoid putting in the effort.  But, as Jesus pointed out, is it really honoring to God to avoid doing good for others?

After pointing out their duplicity, Jesus shows them the right thing to do:

Matthew 12:13
Then He told the man, “Stretch out your hand.”  So he stretched it out, and it was restored, as good as the other.

It’s easy to look at this situation and comfortably chuckle at how Jesus was able to “stick it” to those stuffy religious leaders.  I’m sure we could all think of some people that need to be “put in their place” regarding the contradiction between their religious words and their heartless actions.  But we need to be careful here…lest we fall into the same trap.

If our car breaks down and we’re on the side of the road, we do everything we can to fix the situation.  We change our plans.  We call for help.  We pay the money we need to in order to have the car restored to working order as soon as possible.  We might gripe about it, but the car has too much transportation value for us to be without it for any length of time.  Suddenly being down a vehicle can cause a pretty big change in your family’s plans, dynamics, or ability to generate income. 

There are a lot of broken down people out there.  There is a need for us to step in and do what is good, even if that person doesn’t fit in with our man-made traditions that have become “Christian society” norms.  People can be restored when we give up our religious hypocrisy and see others as Jesus saw them.

Are people not worth more than our cars?

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Jesus told jokes

I’m not really sure why, but most – if not all – of our descriptions of God have an ominous, somber, super-serious tone.  We imagine God sitting in Heaven, looking down on Earth, being constantly disappointed.  Worse yet, we think that God is always mad at us…with an itchy trigger finger to punish us the moment we step out of line.  To even think of God having a sense of humor or even comedic timing?  Yeah, right…

When we look at Jesus’ ministry, we do see times that He doled out just punishment (John 2:13-22), but we don’t see Him walking around as a grouchy sourpuss ready to flame-spray all the bad people.  Instead, He’s often charged with being a “friend of sinners” and one who “eats and drinks with sinners” – those who were seen as low-brow and low-class in Jewish society.  If Jesus was as pious and solemn as our modern depictions go, I can’t imagine Him being invited to many parties…let alone being called a partier’s friend.  When you enjoy a meal with others, there are stories told, jokes made, and much laughter.  “Stoic Jesus” would have been left alone in a corner somewhere…instead, the “sinners” knew who He was and often invited Him in.

While that’s an indirect proof of Jesus’ use of humor, there are other examples found in Scripture.  I think we miss them because most of the time when we read the Bible, we’re looking for serious, life-changing truths…and we gloss over the tangible descriptions of everyday life.

The most obvious joke Jesus told was illustrating the hypocrisy we often have in our relationships.

Matthew 7:3-4
Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye?

As a skilled speaker/teacher, Jesus would have paused to let the absurdity of the situation play out in their minds.  If you have a beam of wood sticking out of your head, how in the world are you able to see the splinter in another’s eye?  And then you offer to “help” them with their issue…but when you get close enough to reach their eye, they are taken out by the beam sticking out of your head.  Ironic situation, meet slapstick comedy.  Or to put it in a more modern setting: imagine going to a blind optometrist.  How helpful would the appointment be if he can’t see the letters either, let alone walk around the exam room without crashing into everything?  How funny would this be to watch as an SNL skit?

Jesus also used humor to chastise those who were “religious” but also full of themselves.  While reprimanding the Pharisees, He said

Matthew 7:23
Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!   You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  These things should have been done without neglecting the others.

In all honesty, Jesus could have stopped there.  Instead, He furthers His point by using this humorous illustration:

Matthew 7:24
Blind guides!  You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!

Both gnats and camels were considered “unclean” in the Mosaic Law.  Neither should be eaten.  There is some evidence that the very pious would run their wine through a strainer in order to make sure that no gnats or bugs had landed in their drink.  Jesus’ contention is that the scribes and Pharisees have been missing the point of the Mosaic Law.  They’ve been “majoring on the minors” so much that while they scrutinize everything for a gnat out of place that they miss the fact they were willing to eat an entire camel!

Although there are other ironies and humorous stories I could reference, in this last Scripture example, I can envision Jesus using “air quotes” as He talked.  The day after feeding 5,000 men (plus the women and children present), many of those who ate the loaves and fish tracked Jesus down.

John 6:26-27
Jesus answered, “Truly I tell you, you are looking for Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate the loaves and were filled.  Don’t work for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal of approval on Him.”

They worked to find Him – not because they realized that the signs/miracles Jesus performed demonstrated He was the promised Messiah – instead they spent their energy to seek Him out for another free meal.  When Jesus pointed out their true motivations, they keyed in on the word work in relation to eternal life and performing miracles for themselves:

John 6:28
“What can we do to perform the works of God?” they asked.

They were asking how they could earn up enough favor with God so they could manifest their next meal.  Sounds familiar, right?  “If I follow the rules, give to the synagogue, do the right sacrifices, God will give me stuff…right Jesus?  Just tell me all the good things I need to do to earn the outcome I want.”  They also thought that there were many things they needed to do, since they asked about works – plural.  Jesus’ reply is tongue-in-cheek, correcting their use of the plural works and pointing them to the air quote singular “work” they would need to do to obtain eternal life:

John 6:29
Jesus replied, “This is the work of God – that you believe in the one He has sent.”

Just like they missed the point of the miracle – it was evidence that Jesus was the promised Messiah – they also completely missed that eternal life was something He would give you.  You can’t do enough works to earn a gift…eternal life is a gift free of charge, no “work” necessary…you only have to believe in Jesus for it.

Remember, when you read stories in the Bible…these aren’t made up fairy tales, they actually happened.  The people in them didn’t know the next verse, they simply lived it out.  Of course, there were serious moments, but there were also times of fun, laughter, and joking.  Some jokes were even told by God Himself.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

How to give correction, lovingly

No one likes a phony, especially when we are on the receiving end of correction. 

When presented with correction, our human nature will begin to build a defense any way that it can.  We justify our understanding, we make excuses for any gaps, and – if possible – we challenge the credibility of the messenger.

Because – we rationalize – if the person correcting us can be shown to be deficient, then we feel justified in not heeding their correction.

So does this mean we must have our lives perfectly put together before we can rebuke anyone?  Of course not.  However, those of us who lead know how difficult it can be for correction to be received and implemented…and how even more difficult it is to prompt a change in behavior when our own actions need some work.

Throughout his letter, Paul is mentors and advises Timothy on how those in charge in the church are supposed to lead and live.  Paul knows that it is not enough for a leader to just “go through the motions”.  So in addition to discussing what a leader is supposed to do, Paul also points out how they are to do these things, as well as their motivation of character behind doing them.

So when it comes to correcting error, take a look at where Paul tells Timothy he should be coming from:

1 Timothy 1:3-5
As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach other doctrine or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies.  These promote empty speculations rather than God’s plan, which operates by faith.

Now the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

This love is the agape love, which is a ‘give-all’ kind of love that one has for the benefit of others.  This is the kind of love that God shows us; and in the context of giving correction, it is the kind of love Timothy is to have for his fellow believers who are messing around with bad teachings.

The goal of Timothy’s instruction is to show love to those he is correcting and that they will accept the correction, change their focus back to God’s plan, and also participate in the same agape love.

But this is where character matters.

Timothy could say “I’m correcting you because I love you” and still be a total jerk about it.
Timothy could say “I’m telling you this because I love you” and be a hypocrite.
Timothy could say “I’m commanding you to stop because you’re wrong and I’m in charge”.

In each of these situations, Timothy would be right – they need to be corrected – but he would have a difficult time convincing his fellow believer that change is necessary.

When we own ‘our stuff’, it is much easier to lovingly comment on ‘other people’s stuff’.  This applies to everyone, but especially those of us in leadership positions – at church, at work, or in the home.  Let’s take steps to keep our hearts pure, our conscience clear, and our faith sincere…and then love others accordingly, especially when they need correction.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

Moving mountains

While on His way to the temple complex, where he would clear out the money changers and reprimand Israel’s spiritual leaders for their hypocrisy, Jesus came across a fig tree with leaves.  Fig trees of the area would produce early fruit, then leaves, and then fig season would come in full swing.  Since Jesus was hungry, He walked up to the leaved tree and expected to eat one of its early fruit.  However the tree was barren, it did not produce any early fruit…and trees that did not produce early fruit were also known to not produce during the proper season, either.  Due to the tree’s hypocrisy of being fully leafed, yet without fruit – Jesus cursed the tree:

Mark 11:14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples heard it.

After witnessing this scene, Jesus’ disciples watched Him strongly rebuke Israel’s leaders for their own hypocrisy.  The similarity of these two events was not lost on the disciples.  The next day, they went back to Jerusalem along the same path as they had the day before.

Mark 11:20-21 Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up.  Then Peter remembered and said to Him, “Rabbi, look!  The fig tree that You cursed is withered.”

Imagine what the disciples were thinking – If Jesus curses a plant for its hypocrisy, and the next day it is dead from the roots up…what will happen to Israel because of His rebuke to the priests and scribes the day before???

The first thing Jesus will reply with is a reassurance of where their faith belongs, in God and not in the appearance of spirituality.  Jesus then speaks to them in hyperbole, in large unqualified examples used only to make a larger point.  This wasn’t the only time Jesus spoke like this in His teaching.  For example, He had previously warned his disciples:

Mark 9:43-45 And if your hand causes your downfall, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell…And if your foot causes your downfall, cut it off.  It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell

Within the context of His teaching at that moment, the disciples understood the point Jesus was making – they didn’t seriously believe that Jesus was teaching them that there are eternal benefits to physical self-mutilation.  In fact, this kind of exaggerated talk was quite common in Jesus’ day…and although not to the same extent, we use similar ridiculous phrases to express ideas, like “It’s raining cats and dogs” or “he bit off more than he could chew”.  The point made by the saying isn’t found in the saying itself. 

So let’s keep that in mind while we look at Jesus’ response to the disciples’ fears:

Mark 11:22-24 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.  I assure you: If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for – believe that you have received them, and you will have them.

Jesus isn’t giving His disciples a blank check to start rearranging the landscapes as they see fit.  There is no mention in the rest of the New Testament of the disciples praying and then physically moving a mountain.  Instead, they understood Jesus’ point – that as they placed their faith in God, they would see things accomplished that no man could do.  The disciples spent the rest of their lives participating in God’s fantastic story of redemption, and they witnessed the supernatural removal of many obstacles along the way.

So what figurative “mountains” do you face?  When praying about them, do we trust that God is bigger and greater than the obstacle in front of us?  Believing that He can handle it is the first step toward seeing that mountain moved.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

House of prayer (part 3)

A few days before His final Passover meal, Jesus cleared the temple in a symbolic gesture which represented the reform needed within the Jewish religious practices.

Mark 11:15-17 They came to Jerusalem, and He went into the temple complex and began to throw out those buying and selling in the temple.  He overturned the money changers’ tables and the chairs of those selling doves, and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple complex.

Then He began to teach them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?  But you have made it a den of thieves!”

Growing up in Israel, children were educated and taught to read using the Old Testament Scriptures.  Constant repetition was considered an essential part of their learning process.  As such, all Israelites would memorize large portions of the Old Testament.  The priests and scribes of Jesus’ day would have the entire Old Testament, as well as the Jewish traditions, perfectly memorized.  So when Jesus quoted Isaiah with His question “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?”, everyone knew what He was quoting.

While Jesus quoted Isaiah with His question, His audience would have also recognized that He quoted Jeremiah in His emphatic statement “But you have made it a den of thieves!”.  The Isaiah passage was an encouraging invitation to foreigners, but the Jeremiah passage is one where God rebukes Israel for living for their own desires while showing up on the Sabbath and verbally praising God.  The Israelites at that time also believed that the physical presence of the temple was proof enough that God was satisfied with how the nation treated Him.  Jeremiah was warning the nation that if they did not change their hypocrisy, judgment would come:

Jeremiah 7:3-11 “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your deeds, and I will allow you to live in this place.  Do not trust deceitful words, chanting: This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.

Instead, if you really change your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another, if you no longer oppress the alien, the fatherless, and the widow and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves, I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.  But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.

“Do you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known?  Then do you come and stand before Me in this house called by My name and insist: We are safe?  As a result, you are free to continue doing all these detestable acts!  Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your view?

For their hypocrisy, judgment and exile came on those in Jeremiah’s time.  By referring back to the Jeremiah passage, Jesus was indicating that the priests and scribes of Jesus’ day also acted this way.  Of course, they did not take kindly to Jesus’ teaching.  

Mark 11:18 Then the chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to destroy Him.  For they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished by His teaching.

As a result of their hypocrisy, the priests and scribes missed the fact that Jesus was the Messiah…and Jerusalem was soon after destroyed.  We would be foolish to think that we modern believers would never see judgment like they did.  Do we live hypocritical lives and then show up for an hour on Sunday to offer verbal praise to God?  Do we acknowledge Jesus with our lips, but walk out the door and deny Him by our lifestyle?

Will we persist in making God’s house a den of robbers, or will we take the necessary – even painful – steps to ensure that God’s house is as it should be, a house of prayer for all nations?

Keep Pressing,
Ken