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Las Vegas is often referred to as ‘Sin City’. There’s gambling, drinking, prostitution and other harmful pursuits. There’s also the Heart Attack Grill. It’s a famous burger joint known for offering huge amounts of unhealthy food with names like the ‘Triple Bypass Hamburger’ and ‘Flatliner Fries’. People over 350 pounds are welcome to eat for free. Basically, it’s a celebration of overeating and binging, or what can be called gluttony. For most of world history, food was not always available in abundance. A good harvest was necessary to get through the winter months. A bad harvest would mean famine or worse. Wasting food or taking more than your share was immoral. In our world, we joke about gluttony at Christmas time or other holidays when we overeat. However, it is really more about a lifestyle than one feast. Jesus tells us in John 6:27, not to “work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Gluttony isn’t always diagnosed by stepping on the bathroom scales. It refers to over-indulgence and overreliance. It’s about looking for material things, food and drink, to satisfy a hunger that is not physical. If we live with the expectation that food, drink or other physical things can nourish our soul or give meaning to life, we will be disappointed. And yet, our commercial society runs on the belief that we must have more and more. In a world where millions go to sleep hungry every night, we do need to carefully consider the way we approach food. Gluttony is about our attitude to things that satisfy our stomachs and fulfill our tastes but do nothing for our spirit. Are we addicted to consuming more than we need? Followers of Jesus need healthy inputs so we can produce the fruit of self-control.

Pity the poor sloth. An animal so unhurried that it was named for one of the seven deadly sins. Sloths, as we all know, are very slow-moving animals. Their bodies are made to conserve energy, and they spend most of their time hanging upside down and sleeping. As a result, they are seen as being lazy when it actually helps them to avoid predators and stay safe. Nonetheless, they are stuck with a rather negative label. The Bible speaks of sloth, an activity or rather inactivity which is sinful. We often equate slothfulness with laziness in our work. The book of Proverbs doesn’t present the sluggard in a positive way but encourages us to be diligent in our work and thoughtful about what we are doing. As a door turns on its hinges,    so a sluggard turns on his bed.A sluggard buries his hand in the dish;    he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes    than seven people who answer discreetly. Proverbs 26:14-16 No one should desire to be a sluggard. But there is more to sloth than just laziness in our work. Our spirituality can also suffer from a lack of attention. Ligonier Ministries defines biblical sloth as, “laziness that comes from carelessness about the commands and priorities of God, a lack of love for God and His ways.”   Paul tells us in Romans 12:11 to “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.” Guarding against spiritual complacency is essential. Many people would be horrified to think others see them as lazy or slothful but in their spiritual life, they have let things go. We don’t need to strive to impress God with hours of prayer or Bible study every day. But we do need to consider if we are keeping our spiritual fervor alive and healthy.

I saw a news report last week about two men who stopped their cars on a major city freeway, got out and started fighting with each other. They were literally rolling around on the asphalt while cars were trying to get by. No one was sure what prompted the road rage during the rush hour, but many commuters expressed concerns about their own safety. What’s with people getting so angry in traffic that they need to get into a fistfight? It’s hard not to see the wisdom in James’ instructions. My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. (James 1:19-20) Anger is a serious problem in our world. Judging by the number of times it is referenced in Scripture, I don’t think this is a new problem. Here are some other verses teaching us about anger: People think that there isn’t much you can do about being angry other than just letting it all out. The Bible makes it clear that we have more control over our anger than we usually admit. We can be slow to anger and not quickly provoked. That’s a decision we can make. We can refrain from anger and offer gentle words rather than stirring up conflict. We all struggle with anger at times. Yet we aren’t at the mercy of anger or the foolish people around us who just ‘make us mad’. The problems we see come from a belief that we can’t control our emotions. As Christians, we have the benefit of the Spirit’s work in our lives producing good fruit. We aren’t helpless. If anger seems to be out of control in your life, it’s time to ask for God’s help, it’s what he intended.

The devil was travelling across the desert when he came upon a few of his minions who were tempting a holy man who was easily shaking off their evil suggestions. Try as they might, the demons couldn’t get the man to sin. The devil watched for a while and then stepped in to give them a lesson. He leaned over and whispered in the holy man’s ear, “Your brother was just made bishop of Alexandria.” Suddenly a scowl of jealousy clouded the peaceful face of the man. His whole demeanour changed and his body drooped. “That,” said the devil to his imps, “is what I recommend.” The holy man wasn’t tempted with sins of the flesh or inflated wealth but hearing something good about a rival (his own brother) depleted him of goodwill. We live in an age where envy flourishes. We are envious of others’ careers, travel, body type, house and or family. You name it. Envy is that feeling that what someone else has should be what we ought to have. Worse, malicious envy is when you want to take it away from the other person. As one evangelical dictionary puts it, envy is the “sin of jealousy over the blessings and achievements of others.” Envy isn’t pretty and left unchecked brings more problems. James 3:16 tells us, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.” Better to check it early and not let it take hold. Do you have any envy to confess?

A dominant driver in our culture is convenience. The business world is obsessed with finding ways to make it easier for us to buy things. We can barely stand to purchase something if it takes more than 3 clicks. You get the feeling that inconvenience must be purged from society. It’s not just that we hate to be inconvenienced by everyday chores: we are increasingly annoyed by having to do them at all. We want instant gratification without effort or sweat. The danger is that we lose the capacity to develop patience and self-discipline which has always been necessary for the development of character. The Biblical poster-child for instant gratification is Esau.  He was the older twin brother to Jacob. Esau, after a tiring day, gave away his inheritance to Jacob for the price of a bowl of soup. The Message paraphrase puts it like this: “Watch out for the Esau syndrome: trading away God’s lifelong gift in order to satisfy a short-term appetite. You well know how Esau later regretted that impulsive act and wanted God’s blessing—but by then it was too late, tears or no tears.” (Hebrews 12:16-17)Hebrews 12 deals with the subject of discipline and why it’s necessary. We are encouraged to stay the course when things get difficult. We are to “run with endurance”, “struggle against sin” and, “not grow weary or fainthearted.” In other words, spiritual growth takes some effort. Time-saving devices are great, but when it comes to the development of our faith, there is no shortcut. It’s necessary to pass through the dark and challenging days in order to strengthen our character. We carry burdens in prayer to develop the muscles of faith and trust.  In our suffering, we identify with Christ who suffered for us. The discomfort we feel causes us to yearn for something better. None of these things are convenient and yet they are necessary to our Christ-like development. So watch out for the Esau syndrome. Don’t trade away the blessings of God for your short- term appetites. That might leave a bitter taste.

The public transportation company in Aargau is putting out a new safety campaign. The ads show videos of people and cars with near tram mishaps. Some of the videos show a car or van turning onto tracks, unaware of the tram. Others show people with headphones in or focused on their phones wandering into the path of an oncoming train. According to the tram drivers, the biggest problem these days is the way people are distracted with their phones. Their plea to people, “Put down the phone and watch where you are going.”  It’s easy to take a shot at the overuse or overdependence on technology, especially phones. However, being constantly connected or constantly ‘checking’ has an impact on our overall well-being. Researchers are starting to come up with some clear evidence of how this can affect us and most of it is not healthy. Many schools this fall are now requiring students to put their phones away for the day. The negative impact on learning is significant for young minds.  What about adults? Truthfully most of us need to be connected to the internet for work purposes. It is hard to avoid. But are we spending too much time just scrolling or being on social media? Is your weekly screen time increasing or decreasing? Are we developing unhealthy habits?   What about taking a phone Sabbath? Sabbath, as we know from scripture is a day of rest. The principle of a day of rest is important for Christians. We honour God by ceasing from our labour, worshiping him, and enjoying life. I know it might be unrealistic to not check your phone for a whole day but what about giving it up for several hours?   In Deuteronomy, the Israelites were told they could take a day of rest because they were no longer slaves. “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.” (Deuteronomy 5:15) It was a sign of freedom, and liberation from control. When we recognize that we are being controlled by our need to check the phone, it’s time to put in some boundaries.   So, what would a Sabbath break from technology or your phone look like for you? How long can you go without checking your social media and updates? Start slowly. Can you leave it alone for an hour, or two? What about all of Sunday afternoon so you can read or play or nap? Practicing Sabbath is a spiritual discipline. The benefits of regular practice take time to build up but ultimately set us free.  

Poor Arti Mala went to a lot of trouble and expense to fly from her home in Scotland to attend a friend’s wedding in Washington, DC. How embarrassing then when she discovered she was at the wrong wedding. After a 3,000-mile flight and a taxi ride, she realized her mistake when she read the wedding program and didn’t know who the bride and groom were. Double-checking her invitation, she discovered the correct venue was just six miles away. In her defense, the name of the wedding venues was very similar. But she was a little mortified at crashing a wedding. I admire her commitment to travelling so far for her friends. She’s the opposite kind of person from the ones Jesus talks about in Matthew 22. A king prepared a wedding banquet for his son and sent out invitations. But when the time for the wedding came, the guests refused to come. The king grew agitated and sent his servants to collect the guests. “But they paid no attention and went off – one to his field, another to his business.” (Matthew 22:5) It’s hard to imagine that people would so carelessly ignore an invitation to the wedding of a royal. And yet, that is exactly Jesus’ point. The king of heaven has invited us into his kingdom, and many people chose to ignore him. In fact, they get angry at the messengers who bring the invitation. It’s hard to share the gospel message with people and see them reject it. So, the king called his servants and said, “Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find. The servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find…and the wedding hall was filled with guests.” (Matthew 22:9-10) Like the servants in the parable, you will encounter people who are not interested in Jesus or even reject him outright. It can be discouraging. Remember that God’s kingdom will be filled. There are still many more people who need to receive an invitation. Don’t stop inviting people or sharing the message. You just never know who may say ‘yes’.

A Montrealer has been named the ‘Fittest Man on Earth.’ That’s quite the title and I was interested in knowing how or who could determine this kind of distinction. Jeffery Adler won the title at the CrossFit Games, an annual championship for people involved with CrossFit gyms which offer high-intensity workouts. So, the pool of contestants for the title might have been a little limited. To win he says that his daily routine was the same. For three to four hours in the morning, he trains, eats, and then naps. He repeats it in the evening and says he has little time for anything else. This goes to show that if you want to be the fittest man in the world, you need to be focused. Of course, that’s just the title CrossFit gave him. They defined what a fit person looks like. Other gyms and programs might have other ideas. There are other titles to be won, like Miss Universe, the fastest runner in 100 meters, best actress, world billiards champion, and most successful CEO. Even Moses was called the humblest man on the face of the earth. (Numbers 12:3) To achieve something of note involves natural ability for sure. And hard work. But mostly one needs to be intentional about moving towards a goal. I don’t think there is anything wrong with devoting yourself to pursuing some development goals or achievements. As long as we don’t miss what is really important.  As followers of Christ, what should we be devoting ourselves to? Paul makes a simple and clear proclamation in Colossians 4:2 that is worth noting: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” What a simple reminder about taking events and happenings in our life before God. I’m sure that I will never win the ‘most prayerful man in the World’ award. But I do want to be more intentional about my prayer life. Some things are temporal and will soon be forgotten. Some things are eternal and worth pursuing.

Reading through the gospels on a regular basis should be a consistent part of discipleship. It’s in the gospels where we meet Jesus and get a clearer picture of who he is and what he teaches. All scripture is written for our benefit and there are no verses more important or more inspired than others. But there are some powerful verses that stand out and remind us of the most basic elements of our faith.   I’ve picked ten of Jesus’ sayings that I think are helpful. Meditating on these verses and getting them deep into our spirits builds us stronger spiritually. Take a moment and think these over.   What sayings would you add? 

Here’s a promising lead. You can rent a fake private jet for $49.99 per hour to take pictures for your social media accounts. This way you can pretend to be fabulously wealthy and impress the people who follow you. You can also sign up for one of the many tutorials that teach you how to pretend you are on an elaborate vacation when you’re really just in your bedroom. Thanks to the magic of the modern age, you can create an amazing impression of yourself and have others looking up to you, all at a low cost.  Maybe that’s not to your liking. But it is true that we far too often like to put our best image forward. Not many of us post a picture of ourselves when we first wake up in the morning. We don’t show off the boring and uninteresting parts of our day. Reporting our mistakes, conflicts or failures on social media doesn’t happen much.   Why do we want to impress others? It’s nothing new. Proverbs 13:7 says, “One person pretends to be rich, yet has nothing; another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.” The impulse to project a certain image is an old one. Rooted no doubt in our fleshly nature. It’s never been easier to create an image of ourselves, to blur the line between what is real and what is fake. We want others to have the right impression of us. The problem comes when we start to believe our own posts.  Facing our own reality can be frightening. Not only what we might really look like on the outside, but what’s on the inside. God reminded the Prophet Samuel that he looked at the heart, not the appearance. He knows what is really going on inside of us. He is aware of our motives and desires. There is no fooling God by putting on appearances.   Another Proverb puts it this way, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” (Proverbs 11:2) Humility isn’t a popular virtue. Except, it’s one of the most necessary if we want to have an authentic relationship with God. Since he already knows the truth, we might as well face up to it. Confessing our mixed motives and confused desires is the first step.   He doesn’t just see the negative. He also sees the positive and the potential. God is in the business of refining and reframing our lives. Our role is to let him into those places and let him do his work. When real change begins to happen, we don’t need to post about it, people will see it in real life. His work is hard to fake.