LOUD PREACHERS AND CHURCH LADIES

LOUD PREACHERS AND CHURCH LADIES

                It is very sad that they should be in our churches but I am confident that you have seen one as well. You know, the bombastic preacher. The man who shouts until his voice cracks while running aimlessly in circles on the platform. Why? Because he has nothing of actual significance to share with the congregation and so he hopes to make up for it with volume and style. This behavior has its root in vanity. This kind of preacher is waiting for and desiring recognition and admiration. But wait, before you go off on him, how many sitting in the pews are just like him? Just because we have no podium or pulpit to project from does not mean there is not a desire to have others like us, look up to us and to recognize us for our abilities, talents or intellect? Most of us know someone who uses every opportunity to turn a conversation around to themselves. They seem to have a “me too” radar which can find in your explanation of a hardship some similar situation in their own life that was even more tragic than yours. Or an accomplishment by someone else that was not quite as significant as theirs. They really are the same as our bombastic preacher. They both seek recognition or glorification.

            I know there are many things in life that all of us can work on, many areas we can all improve. I mention this one more because of its effect on the Body of Christ and its destructive force within the believer himself. Look at what Paul said in Gal. 5:25-26 “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (v.26) Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.” As believers we are to be walking in the Spirit of God and, with this mention of the very essence of Christianity, Paul says stop desiring “vain glory.” We are to eradicate pride, vanity and conceit, the very ingredients of vainglory. Vainglory is also mentioned in Phil. 2:3 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” To live and walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5) is to exalt Christ daily in all of what we do and say, our goals and desires and everything we think (2Cor. 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ”) are to be focused upon and captivated by the very image of Christ.

            And so, vainglory can be seen as the very antithesis of Christianity. In true Christianity Christ is exalted but in vainglory man is exalted. Notice again Paul’s statement in Galatians 5 above. He states that we should not be filled with a desire to glorify ourselves because it is provoking to those within the Body of Christ. When one exalts himself he, of necessity, must reduce someone else and so provokes them. When someone says, or makes an implication that, they are better or of more importance than another it is provoking. Paul adds to this the idea of envy. The one who is seeking self-glory will often find themselves envious of what others have physically or in social status. They will believe that having what others have could give them the recognition they so much desire.

            The flipside to this, or the proper Christian perspective, is found in Phil. 2:3 (above). “Let nothing be done…” is a powerful statement. It is all inclusive. It leaves nothing out. It searches out every activity, every thought and every action of every moment in every day and says to place yourself below others always. Jesus was a servant to his own creation. Should we seek a higher status than His? Jesus never sought acknowledgement or praise. It is alright if other people acknowledge our efforts. The problem is in our “vainglory” or striving toward that praise and exaltation.

            I have only known a handful of people who were truly humble and free of vainglory. I wish I could say I was one of them. They do not wear their accolades for others to see, their accomplishments are not offered in daily conversations. Their actions are designed to promote others, there is an innate desire to reach out and assist others even when it would clearly be burdensome to them. And always their actions are accompanied with the warmest smile and most genuine love, and never in vainglory (self-glorification).  Paul said let all of our actions be “in lowliness of mind” always esteeming “others (as being) better than themselves” For most this is a completely new and different attitude. It is a view of the world around us which opens our eyes to the value of other people. It is a change in our nature in which we understand that in us, within our natural self, we are less than the least of God’s creation. We begin to empathize with Paul’s humility when he said, “Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints” (Eph. 3:8a).

            Our churches do not need more loud preachers and church ladies. We need humble servants filled with the Holy Spirit of God who “esteem others better than themselves.”

HOW BAD IS OUR BEST?

HOW BAD IS OUR BEST?

                   “Most people are good.” “There is a little good in all of us.” How often have you heard sayings like these? We see people who are seemingly kind or generous and we make statements that elucidate the traits we find and declare them to be positive. Someone comes by when we are in need of help, it may be a particularly difficult situation that requires an act of selfless sacrifice, and naturally we view this night-in-shining-armor in the most favorable way. Certainly, he must be a good person.  An elderly woman who attends her church regularly and aids in several of its local ministry outreaches is said to be a good woman. And who would dare say otherwise?

                   What constitutes “good”? If we make a determination that one thing or action is good do we not make that determination on the basis of comparison? Our elderly woman in the above paragraph is good compared to the drunkard in the corner bar. But if we were born in a different culture where Christianity was the antithesis of the common faith she may not be viewed as being good by many holding to that faith or belief. Before we can say someone is good we must have a standard by which to make that judgment. In our world, and throughout the world, the idea of good or bad is commonly a matter of comparison with cultural norms, norms which vary with the tide of human depravity.

                   If our rule of moral virtue continues to be the comparison of one depraved human with another then the level of good we aspire to will soon be no greater than striving for the pinnacle of a trash heap. Is there a greater measure? Is there a sure and stable rule of virtue which does not change with society or the depravity of man?

                   The Bible and its teachings do not change with man. Certainly, there are many today who strive to adapt the Word of God to their culture. However, they can only do so by changing its content and when one changes the content of the Bible one no longer holds the Bible. Then they merely possess their own writings. The Bible is unchanging and it is the sure Word of God. The Bible has been the driving force for good in every culture in which it has been espoused. It is, and always has been the very Word of God (Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17; Rev 1:8; 1Peter 1:15-16; 2Timothy 1:9; 2Corinthians 7:1; 2Corinthians 1:20; Galatians 3:22; John 1:1, 14; 1John 5:11; Revelation 1:1).

                   So then, if the Bible is the Word of God and it is eternally unchanging then one might reasonably ask what it has to say about the goodness of man. One of the most devastating proclamations of man’s nature is in Isaiah 64:6a, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags….” All of those things we thought were good, “our righteousnesses” the Bible says are like “filthy rags” before God. Our church going woman, the man who came to our aid unselfishly, and any other nice person we might have in mind is like a soiled rag (a term I choose not to define here). Our goodness is compared to that which most vulgar.

                   If our goodness is so bad then how bad is our wickedness? We all know that we do wrong. And if our good is terribly wicked in the eyes of God we cannot possibly believe our good can outweigh our bad. The Bible says we are all bad no matter how good we think we are. Look closely at the Bible’s assessment of our goodness in Romans 3:11-18, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. (v.12) They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (v.13) Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: (v.14) whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: (v.15) their feet are swift to shed blood: (v.16) destruction and misery are in their ways: (v.17) and the way of peace have they not known: (v.18) there is no fear of God before their eyes.” Yet, God demands holiness, 1Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, be ye holy; for I am holy.”

                   God has chosen to give (or impute) righteousness to us by His grace since it is clear we cannot do good on our own, Romans 4:6-8 “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, (v.7) saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. (v.8) Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” Those who come to Christ for salvation receive His righteousness. It is imputed to us since we can do no good on our own.

                   How bad is our best? Salvation must come by grace and grace alone because our best is as filthy rags before God. Our only hope is that God will impute the righteousness of Christ to us.

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ESTABLISH YOUR THOUGHTS

ESTABLISH YOUR THOUGHTS

            Trying to live godly lives is often a challenge. We live in a wicked world. Everywhere we go evil is present with us. Yet, it is without question that we are called upon to live right. It is a daily challenge even within our own thoughts. Just think of the difficulty we have with our thoughts. When people look at us they generally think we are pretty good people because they can’t see our thoughts. How embarrassed would we be if, even for one instant, people were allowed to see what we were thinking? And isn’t our thought life one of the biggest struggles we have in this life? Just consider how many people in the past thirty days you have beat up, boiled in oil, hanged by their heels in a tree over hot lava or just given a really scathing chewing out. Nobody saw a thing. Yet, the heart was made all the worse for its evil intent.

            Our thoughts…oh, if only we could gain control of our thoughts. The other day a friend shared a verse with me. Simplicity is often inspiring. Chris, my friend, said he had been meditating on it for some time. I imagine it is one of those concepts we could meditate on for a multitude of years and never gather all of its import. But it also offered for me a simple concept for the moment. The verse is found in Proverbs which tells you right away that it is a thought God wants us to consider and to really digest. It seems to me that God gathered many of the deepest thoughts into that one book for easy reference.

            So, we read in Proverbs 16:3 “Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.” Simple, right? But look a little closer. Look at the intended end result. Here is the answer to established thoughts. The idea is gathering our thoughts into one area and controlling them, established thoughts. It is that our thoughts can be structured and shaped. They can be formed and given purpose and design. Our thoughts do not have to be, nor should they be, random and without purpose. How often have you found yourself repulsed by your own wayward thoughts, thoughts that had gotten so out of control that when you finally realized where they had gone you were actually shocked? How often have you found yourself wondering how it was even possible for a Christian to think the way you were thinking at that moment? I believe it happens to all of us at some time. But here we are given an answer.

            “Commit thy works unto the Lord” the writer says. Well, I thought all Christians did that. We go to church every Sunday, right? Even on Wednesday if we are super spiritual. But this is deeper. This goes to the heart. He says to commit. That alone moves beyond church attendance and financial support. The word for commit in this text has the idea of shifting the load you are carrying onto another, one better able to carry it. Many of the thoughts we have are produced from our inability to handle, change or otherwise alter situations in life. He says commit thy “works” or all of what we do, all of what concerns us in a day. Take all of those and lay them upon him. Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (v.29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (v.30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

            If we take all that we are carrying, all of what concerns us, and lay those on the shoulders of one better able to bear them we will find rest, our burden will lighten. And ultimately our thoughts will be established. Ultimately, our daily burdents are the very things which construct our thoughts. The frustrations with life, the people who attack us unjustly and our own inability to meet the demands of one more hectic day formulate thoughts which are not pleasing to God and thoughts that ultimately drag us down and make us all but useless to God.

            Can God not carry those burdens? Do we somehow believe our worries and fears will ultimately bring about the desired results? I am certain if we lifted those burdens off our own shoulders and placed them upon His shoulders our thoughts would be established or secured and properly fashioned and given proper order.

            I believe placing our cares upon Him would finally bring peace to our mind and establish our thoughts.