In Philippians 3:13, the Apostle Paul writes this:

“. . . forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on . . .”

Philippians 3:13b -14a (ESV)

With the exception of Jesus, there is no one who has gone through life without racking up some regret for past failures or bad choices. I’m not referring to that really bad haircut you once got or the clothing styles that seemed cool at the time but now look downright silly.

We all have stuff in our past that hurts when we remember it.

In the context of Philippians, Paul is writing about things that he has done that would be considered good things. In verse 7, he refers to them as “things that were gain to me.” It is these that Pauls is leaving behind.

But we can also use the same principle for the not-so-good things, they should also be left behind. Neither the good things nor the bad things will change our relationship with Jesus. That relationship is based entirely on grace.

Furthermore, the very nature of the resurrection shows us that God can use even the bad things for his glory.

So while we may not totally forget the failures of the past, we can live knowing that we are not stuck and those failures don’t define us.

In the end, we are not saved by what we do or don’t do, it is our relationship with Jesus that gets us through. He is not going to be the one who reminds you of your failures, it is our Enemy who will do that.

Forgetting what lies behind involves not listening to the lie that your failures define you.

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I recently had an encounter with a bully. He did not try to steal my lunch money, but he did use threats in an attempt to get me to validate his inappropriate behavior. The threats came because I disagreed with how he is handling a situation and I pointed out the harm that he is doing to some of God’s people.

While formulating a plan to respond to this situation, in my daily Bible reading, Luke quotes Jesus as saying this:

“To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also”

Luke 6:29a, ESV

Whether it is by personality or by training, or some combination of both, I like to have rules to assist in making decisions. But one thing we learn from the gospels is that Jesus often didn’t play by the conventional rules and sometimes it is difficult to discern if a rule is from God (and inviolable) or from man (and can be ignored).

Earlier in the same chapter of Luke, this is illustrated by Jesus defending his disciples for eating grain on the Sabbath. Jesus allowed the eating while the Pharisees condemned it.

But Luke 6:29 begs the question, should I turn the other cheek to a bully? Should I not, rather, take the fight back to him to protect myself and others from his threats? Should I not expose his inappropriate behavior and threats? Is there a rule which governs this situation?

Conventional wisdom is that the best response to a bully is to stand up to him. I should set a boundary and not let him cross it. We love stories where the bully is set in his place by a former victim. Who doesn’t cheer when Ralphie unloads on Scut Farkus in the Christmas Story?

Should I take the fight to the bully?

One thing I learn from Jesus is that he always did the right thing and did not worry about how his behavior was perceived. Jesus knew that the religious leaders were looking for a reason to accuse him but this did not stop him from fulfilling his mission. In short, Jesus was not worried about his standing or reputation with those religious leaders, his only concern was obedience to the Father’s will.

In this case, the bully can only attempt to ruin my reputation among fellow church leaders. I am willing to allow the evidence to be examined, and if I have erred in my judgment of the matter that caused the angry response, I am willing to be corrected.

So, I will turn the other cheek and will not respond to the angry outburst and threats. This is not because I am refusing to set a boundary for the bully.

The boundary that I am setting is that I will not allow the bully to dissuade me from my assessment unless he proves by Scripture that I was wrong in it. How he responds is between him and his Creator.

“This sainthood is one of the great benefits of being a recipient of God’s grace. It also reflects a responsibility to act like one who has received this calling.”

Darrell Bock

I copied this quote down, but unfortunately, I didn’t note in which book I found it.

But this is a good reminder that our status as believers should influence how we live. We are called to obey the directions given to us by our Savior.

We don’t obey to secure our position or standing in the kingdom. We obey out of gratitude for the position we have been given.

One way of thinking about obedience is that by obeying we are removing barriers to deeper fellowship with God. This is not because God views us differently but because disobedience is an indication that our hearts are not looking to God for that relationship.

Also, when we disobey, we misrepresent the God we claim to worship.

So, let’s choose today to live in obedience according to our calling.

If you are encouraged by this post or would like to make a comment, please use the comment form below to offer your feedback. If you are reading this in an email and would like to comment, you can reply to the email or click on the “Read in browser” link below to go to the web page where you can enter a comment. I enjoy hearing from you.

When he threw the merchants and money changers out of the temple, Jesus said,

“My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”

Mark 11:17

The “you” is plural and probably refers to the religious leaders, including the high priest. They were getting rich by creating a system where those who wanted to offer sacrifice had to use the services of the merchants and money changers.

As the writer of Ecclesiastes has indicated, there is nothing new under the sun. Anything that is good, can and will be corrupted by our Enemy. So, financial misconduct by church leaders should not come as a huge surprise.

Fast forward to 2021.

All my life, I have had to endure news reports about financial scandals and opulent living of purportedly Christian leaders and teachers. Reports of gold-plated bathroom fixtures and other excesses in the homes of such leaders are used by media outlets for grabbing the attention of viewers.

I need to mention that for every one of the leaders who have disgraced themselves and the name of Christ, there are thousands of faithful ministers who are usually underpaid and overworked. For them I am grateful.

My point in writing this post is to ask us to reexamine what we are expecting in a church organization. Are we enamored by the buildings and grounds? Are we looking for marble entryways and fountains? Are we looking for a mystical experience on Sunday that is produced by a carefully crafted worship center and carefully scripted program?

I must admit that I love visiting old church buildings with stained glass windows, high ceilings, etc. I appreciate the beauty of the buildings and the attention to detail that was paid by the designers and builders of those buildings.

But in those visits, I have to remind myself that the building isn’t the church, the building potentially houses the church. The church is the group of believers that gather for worship in that building. The church building is a tool for ministry, not an end in itself.

This line of thinking also helps me when I see beautiful church buildings that are no longer used for worship. In Eastern Pennsylvania where I live, there are many such that are no longer functioning churches. They are now restaurants, art galleries, museums, and a personal residence in one case I know of.

My tendency is to think this a shame, but when a tool is no longer useful, it should be discarded. If those buildings no longer assist in advancing the cause of Christ, then they should be sold to be whatever the next owner wishes them to be.

Bigger isn’t always better. Numbers don’t always tell the story. Apparently successful does not always mean truly successful.

The result of this musing is that I conclude that most, if not all of the scandals involving financial misconduct of church leaders result from a misunderstanding of the purpose of the church. This coupled with a misunderstanding of the Biblical principles for church leadership provides fertile soil for the seed of greed to grow in the leaders.

The leaders in question could not have lived opulent lifestyles if the congregants had not given them lots of money. Why did they give the money? The conclusion I draw is that they gave to make the organization bigger and the building more extravagant. In some cases, they gave because of a false promise to the givers that what they give will be multiplied and given back to them. None of these is given to us as a legitimate goal in Scripture.

As I examine the New Testament, I also see that the churches were to be ruled by elders rather than by a single man. The plurality (more than one) of elders provides for mutual accountability which will also help prevent such misconduct.

Greed is alive and well, and we should be vigilant against it in our own hearts and the organizations we participate in.

If you are encouraged by this post or would like to make a comment, please use the comment form below to offer your feedback. If you are reading this in an email and would like to comment, you can reply to the email or click on the “Read in browser” link below to go to the web page where you can enter a comment. I enjoy hearing from you.