Month: June 2014

Last week a young man broke into a house in Minnesota. He stole cash, credit cards and the man’s watch. Then, seeing that the computer was on, he logged into his Facebook account and forgot to log off. That’s how they caught him. His next status update will have to be from prison. I once knew of a guy who had been taught by his mother to always take his shoes off when entering a house. He did that while committing a ‘break and enter’; heard the owners coming back and took off without his shoes. That’s how they caught him. If you are interested in knowing more about the world’s dumbest criminals there are many websites dedicated to the topic. It’s hard not to feel somewhat superior when reading about the foolish exploits of some people. I tend to think, “I would never do something that stupid.” We all like to think of ourselves as wise and not foolish. Foolishness isn’t a virtue in any culture. But are we truly as wise as we think? Most of us train and educate ourselves so that we will be considered smart and intelligent. We want to be among the strong and powerful members of our society. Paul gives us a different perspective when he writes in 1 Corinthians: Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.  Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1:26-30) The truth is we aren’t as smart as we think we are. God’s wisdom is far above our worldly wisdom. It wasn’t because we were smart and gifted that we find ourselves among God’s people. God prefers to use those who are weak and lowly so that he gets all the credit. As believers we can’t boast in our own cleverness, it’s simply all because of Jesus. Every so often I need that reminder and it keeps me humble – I’m just foolish enough for God to use.

John Rockefeller once explained the secret of success – ‘Get up early, work late – and strike oil.’ I’m sure we’d all like to be able to follow that advice. There’s a story about a widow who lived in the days before there was any social assistance or welfare but she struck oil in a different way. She was destitute and facing the prospect of her two sons being sold into slavery. Her husband had been a good man but when he died there was nothing left for the family. Not knowing what to do she called out to a prophet of God. Being a kind and helpful man he went to visit her and saw her tough state. She had nothing in the house to eat and no money to pay her debts. So the prophet asked her, “What do you have in the house?” The only thing she had was a jar of oil. “Ok,” said the prophet, “have your boys go around the neighborhood and collect as many jars as possible. Then when they get home start pouring oil into the jars.” The woman never doubted or questioned the prophet but did just as he asked. The boys collected as many jars as they could and once ready she started pouring oil. From that one jar she filled another and then another until all were filled. She called for one more jar but they didn’t have it and at that point the oil stopped flowing. Then the prophet told her to go and sell the oil, pay off the debts and live on the rest of the money. You can find the story about the widow and Elisha in 2 Kings 4:1-7. It’s just one such story of the miracles that God worked on behalf of his people in the midst of everyday circumstances. Its New Testament counterpart is found when Jesus fed the 5000 with five loaves and two fishes. I believe that God still works in miraculous ways. What’s amazing is how God takes what we have and uses it to demonstrate that he can supply our every need. In our world of material abundance we aren’t always in need of food and clothing but we often run dry spiritually and feel emotionally bankrupt. We are living on credit and can’t seem to keep our head above water. The widow called out for help. We should learn from her, God wants to hear us ask for his strength and assistance. She had faith to believe that God would hear and help her. She prepared for abundance, the boys just kept bringing jars and her faith was rewarded as the oil kept flowing. Sometimes when we look around our house all we see is emptiness and we feel hopeless. But God’s word tells us that’s when there is opportunity for a miracle. 

When Narvaez, the Spanish explorer, lay dying, his father-confessor asked him whether he had forgiven all his enemies. Narvaez looked astonished and said, “Father, I have no enemies, I have shot them all.” Well that’s one way to deal with your problems – but not one that’s recommended. It seems we don’t go too many days without hearing about another violent incident inflicted by people who are angry or bear a grudge against someone. Much of it is personal and plays out in homes or small communities. The people affected are forever changed. In other cases the violence is more wide spread and has universal implications, like the bombing in the Pakistani airport this week. Beyond praying for the soon return of Christ I sometimes wonder what can be done to help this world. Rather than thinking on a global scale we need to consider our own relationships and what we allow to dwell in our spirits. Paul gives us good advice in Colossians 3 when he says, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (3:13) Here’s the solution for having more peaceful relationships in our world. It starts with you and me. Rather than holding onto our grievances and building up a bank of complaints against others, we have to learn to forgive. Sure, this isn’t always easy. Some issues are big and need to be handled with the help of others. Our goal should be that we learn to release others from our debt. This is only possible when we reflect on the forgiveness we have received from Christ. I’m shaken some days at the violent world we live in. However, I have to own my feelings and frustrations, learning to forgive others as Christ forgave me.

So here’s a challenging verse: “Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” (Philippians 2:14) My first reaction is to qualify Paul’s words “do everything” so that I can have some wiggle room here to grumble and complain about the things I don’t like. Paul doesn’t really mean ‘do everything’ without grumbling does he? Unfortunately he does. Paul goes on to explain why we need to practice this behavior, “so that you may become blameless and pure, ‘children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.’ Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” (2:15) The default mode of the world around us is to grumble and argue about everything. Reality television wouldn’t exist if the producers couldn’t find a steady stream of people willing to complain and fight with each other. I’m sure that at your place of work you can quickly identify the individuals who are known for their constant complaining.  There is probably no shortage of folks who just seem happy to argue about any trivial matter. If we are going to live out our Christian faith in a way that makes a difference then we’ll need to be noticed. When we refuse to enter into the contest of grumbling and arguing it sets us apart from some pretty typical behavior. We can use our words to bless and build up rather than tear down and bring strife. The world has enough people who see the negative in everything out there. There is a great need for people who bring life giving words and offer reconciliation rather than snappy comebacks. As followers of Christ we need to stand out in a crooked generation. It’s not easy, but we could start with praying, like the Psalmist, that God would put a guard over our mouths.