My spammed identity crisis

I hate SPAM.  I really do.  And as much as I despise that nasty concoction sealed in tin cans and sold in the grocery store…I’m not talking about that today.  The SPAM that I really hate is the one that shows up in my email inbox. 

Although I use the SPAM-filters on all my personal and work email accounts, there is always some junk emails that get through.  “Buy my stuff”, “Click this link” – makes me just roll my eyes.  Sometimes, the topic of the email is relative to something I’ve searched for or shopped for recently.  I bought some cordless power tools this past summer, and ever since I keep getting emails that I’m the “lucky winner” of a new tool set.  Other times, I can tell that my email address was sold to some list of random ads, clickbait, and phishing scams…often profiled to whatever demographic they believe I fit in: “Your Paypal account is locked”, “Life insurance – cheap quotes”, “Free phone – please respond”, “Find singles in your area” and on and on and on…

Looking at my SPAM file now…if my identity was defined by how these entities view me…here’s who I would be, based on just the SPAM I’ve received today:

The lucky winner of gift cards to both Kohl’s and Delta Airlines, a Milwaulkee Power Drill set, a Yeti backpack, as well as sweet deals for Canvas Prints, Gutter Guards, and a compression knee sleeve. 

Going back a couple more days, the SPAM companies’ picture of my identity includes:

Someone who is in need life insurance, a sloth Christmas t-shirt (twice), a sexy message from “Sofia”, a pizza oven, another power drill set, an American Airlines gift card, dementia information, and a warning that my McAfee account will be removed today!

It would be absurd for me to look at these junk emails and believe that they define what I should buy, where my interests are focused, or who I am as a person.  These strangers and their algorithms use scraps of data about me to construct a common-denominator profile, firing off anything a guy my age(ish) might be interested in.

But how often do we allow others to define our spending habits, our interests, or our value as a person?  It is very easy to allow the opinions of coworkers, fellow students, or celebrities to change our focus.  How much of our inner dialogue is shaped by what we see in commercials or on what the algorithms show us on social media?  How many of our wants, fears, and racing thoughts are driven by others and their view of what our identity should be?

We look for external affirmation because we know our internal thoughts can be biased.  The good news is that we can choose who is (and who isn’t) allowed to speak into our lives about who we are. 

Ever wonder what God says about our identity?

Once we believe in Jesus for eternal life (John 3:16), we automatically become children of God (John 1:12).  Here are a few more characteristics that God declares about His kids:

·       We’re rescued out of our old life and have a new home – one of love:

Colossians 1:13
He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son He loves.

·       We find forgiveness:

Colossians 1:14
In Him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

·       We have been brought near into God’s family.  God is no longer relationally distant from us:

Ephesians 2:13
But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

·       We have a home, a place where we belong:

Philippians 3:20
Our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.

These verses are a small sampling of what God has to say about our identity.  We can find many more identity descriptions throughout the New Testament books.  I suggest reading the letters I quoted above – Colossians, Ephesians, and Philippians – as these books talk a great deal about who we are in God’s family.  They are quick reads that will have great insight into who God says we are.

So don’t allow SPAM emails, social media algorithms, or other imperfect humans to determine your identity.  Instead, look to the one who gave you eternal life and made you a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  If we trust Him with our eternal destiny, then we should be able to trust Him with our identity.

Keep Pressing,
Ken

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

Getting specific

Sometimes when I am presented with an important teaching, I need a little help to flesh out exactly how this new concept applies to where I’m at.  As such, I love it when a speaker moves from the theoretical to the practical. 

Paul has just given Timothy instruction on the importance of the believers in Ephesus to lead a tranquil and quiet life, a life that is characterized by both godliness and dignity.  This kind of life will stand out to those outside God’s family and will serve a launching pad for telling others about Jesus.  (see 1 Timothy 2:1-7).

Thankfully, Paul moves quickly to give Timothy instruction for how the believers in Ephesus can display these characteristics.

1 Timothy 2:8
Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

The first task for the men is to lead in prayer.  The importance of this task in each family and within God’s family cannot be understated.  Since the men are to act as the leader and High Priest for their family, as well as provide leadership within the church, their individual connection to God must be a top priority.

Paul’s practical instruction also comes with specifics about their posture and attitude in prayer – both of which reveal the focus of their heart toward God and others.  While lifting up…hands in prayer was a common “prayer position” in ancient days, it was more of a symbolic gesture meant to convey the person’s inner openness to God.  Throughout Scripture, a person’s hands are also symbolic of their activities, and Paul description of lifting up holy hands suggests that as the men pray, the offering of their daily actions are undefiled by sin and free from wickedness.

When a man focuses on devotion to prayer and godly conduct, and does them without anger or argument, the world will plainly see the difference God can make in a man’s life.

Paul also has specific instruction for the women in the Ephesian church so that they, too, know how to best represent God to the culture around them.

1 Timothy 2:9-10
Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense; not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel, but with good works, as is proper for women who affirm that they worship God.

Keep in mind that these instructions were written to believers.  These women, especially the wealthy ones, would set an example within the church family.  If an unbeliever comes in with little means, they could begin to wonder if you have to be rich in order to be saved.  Another potential issue could arise if another believer has little means, they could conclude that they aren’t favored by God because others have so much more to display.  Additionally, there is a risk of division among even the affluent believers.  The exorbitant displays of wealth among them will cause problems as egos rise as they try to outdo one another in dress, hairstyle, and jewelry.

Paul’s contrast here is really between works and wardrobe.  How is a woman displaying her understanding of value within God’s family?  The ancient upper class women would spend an excessive amount of time on their elaborate hairstyles and expensive apparel; these things would draw attention to themselves rather than to the God they claim to serve.  Paul says that a woman’s value isn’t in the perfection of her outward appearance, rather her beauty comes from her decency and good sense.  Both of these lead to a reputation of good works and point others toward God.

Paul’s directions to both groups cut against our natural, self-promoting tendencies…which is precisely why the world will notice the difference God makes in a person’s life.

Keep Pressing,
Ken