Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Paths of Righteousness for His Name’s Sake

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Paths of RighteousnessIn Psalm 23:3, King David writes, “he leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”

While there is benefit to me in walking a path of righteousness, my benefit is not the primary purpose of God’s leading me. David points to God’s reputation and God’s purpose as the reason for the leading.

This is freeing and challenging at the same time. It is freeing because I am not responsible for the outcome, I am only responsible to go where I am lead. God will take care of the rest.

This thought is challenging because the consequences of not following are great. Not that I can thwart God’s plan by being disobedient, but I will miss out on the blessing of being used by God if I do not follow.

I am writing this post from a men’s retreat where the speaker shared about some personal tragedies in his life. When he was going through the tragedy, he had no idea how that experience would be used by God in the future. With hindsight, the speaker was able to share how those experiences prepared him to be used to touch the lives of others who had experienced a similar loss.

Somehow I need to keep in mind that both the good and the bad experiences are allowed into my life by God for his purpose and his glory. God or bad, the experience should cause God’s name to be glorified. This will keep me from being overinflated by the good things and from being decimated by the bad.

Soli deo gloria

The Ministry of Reconciliation – We Can Do Better

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17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17–18 NASB)

HandshakeHaving grown up in the church, I do not have the personal perspective of one who was outside and is now inside the circle of fellowship. I can, however, read articles and editorial comments as to how many perceive the church.

Many perceive the church as a gathering of folks who think themselves better than others because of their good behavior. Even people who might want to check out church are put off by the fact that their current lifestyle may not be acceptable and that they would have to clean up their act before coming to a worship service.

Contrast this with what we see in the Gospels. Jesus had sinners all around him. They seemed to enjoy his presence and did not feel condemned. In fact, to the woman caught in adultery Jesus explicitly told her that he did not condemn her (John 8:11).

Why then do “sinners” feel put off by the church, the gathering of people who are seeking to imitate the Jesus that sinners loved?

I’m under no delusions that if the church was perfect, that everyone would hold her in high opinion. Many willfully misrepresented or misunderstood what Jesus said when he was walking this planet; this same willfulness is in operation today.

The fact that some will not listen, does not relieve us of the duty of fulfilling our mission. Paul tells us in the verses quoted above that because we, as believers, have been reconciled to God, we have the ministry of reconciliation. God chooses to allow us to participate in the reconciliation of others to himself.

When visitors come to your church do they immediately apprehend that you are a group of the reconciled, looking to bring others into that same reconciliation that you’ve experienced? Do they feel loved and accepted? Do they perceive that reconciliation offers a way out of the struggles that they are currently experiencing?

Or, do they feel unworthy, unclean and irreconcilable when they visit? Do they feel that because of their clothing or piercings or tattoos or substance abuse or . . . that they are never to be included in the fellowship?

I’m not writing this as one who has this all straight. I can be just as comfortable doing church as the next person. I can settle into a routine and be cranky about somebody messing it up. Yet, I am convicted that there is a large chunk of our society that has no knowledge of Jesus and unless I am willing to get uncomfortable, they will remain ignorant.

I sometimes wonder if we, as the church, took our mission of reconciliation seriously if our society would not be a lot different than it is. Before we place blame for the condition of our social and political systems, we need to take a hard look in the mirror of Scripture and confess the areas where we fall short.

It is time for the church to be a fellowship of the reconciled, bringing others into the same reconciliation. We and our world will be different as a result.

You shall know them by their . . . excess?

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I am reminded of something I read about John Stott a while ago. He said that he wanted to live a lifestyle that would not cause the richest person in his congregation to feel sorry for him. Nor did he want the poorest person in his congregation to be put off by ostentation. He wanted to have a home where everyone would feel welcomed and comfortable. He wanted his home and lifestyle to be a platform for ministry.

The Apostle Paul was a good example to us in living in such a way as to make clear that his reason for ministry was only to bring the Gospel to those who desperately needed it. In 1 Corinthians 9:12, Paul tells his readers that while he had the right to expect the Corinthians to support him in his ministry, he worked to support himself lest his motive for ministry be questioned.

I have no idea what motivates the church leaders mentioned in the article. That is the problem, we don’t know. Their life style gives reason for some to question their motives, or assume that they are in ministry only for the money.

Of course, the church leaders who get it right and who work outside the church or who make do on small salaries for the privilege of sharing the Gospel do not make splashy headlines. For every church leader who participates in the abuse mentioned in the article, there are thousands or perhaps millions of men and women who serve their Lord in the church with no expectation of financial reward.

So, if you are one who is outside the church, I ask forgiveness for these abuses. I also ask you to look beyond what a few knuckleheads have done and judge the Church by her body of work through the ages. The abuse of a few does not nullify the fruitful sacrifice of the many.

They don’t even know how to blush – responding to a lack of shame

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Hiding FaceA recent ruling in Indiana held that sexually graphic pictures posted by school girls on Facebook are considered constitutionally protected speech. As a result, their school could not submit them to discipline for the photos.

The case was decided in court because the ACLU represented the girls to appeal the discipline that he school implemented in 2009. I assume that the parents of the two plaintiffs were in support of the ACLU bringing the case to court.

This morning I read Jeremiah 8:12, where God says through the prophet,

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed, Nor did they know how to blush.” The Israelites had lost their sense of shame when they committed indecencies.

Rather than teach the girls that the pictures posted were inappropriate and allowing the girls to face the consequences of a poor choice, seemingly the parents supported the poor choice by electing to go to court. Rather than blushing over their daughters’ indecent behavior, they endorsed it.

The point of this post is not to participate in hang-wringing and finger pointing. The church has done enough of that through the years with little good effect.

The point is that we as Christians need to stop and think about how we contribute to the moral decline in our country. We contribute to the moral decline by not living as if we are created in the image of God and every human life is sacred.

The fact that human life is sacred should play itself out in every aspect of our behavior, not just with regard to procreation and sexuality.

When we think that anyone is beyond God’s redemption we devalue human life. When we ignore injustice we devalue human life. When we support film, television and the arts that depict indecencies and gratuitous violence, we devalue human life. When we think more about our own comfort than the mission God has given us to make disciples, we devalue human life.

What these girls did was wrong and their parents are wrong for supporting them in that behavior. But before we get too exercised about what they have done, we, as the Church, had better make sure that our own house is in order.

I am reminded of a proverb that I first heard from Chuck Colson, “it is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Shine on!

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