Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Defective raw material?

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In Psalm 89, verses 19 through 37 speak of how God chose David and set him up to be a great king. This comes as no surprise to anyone who has read the Bible or knows anything about Jewish history. David was the king who presided over the growth and stabilization of Israel as a nation.

It is a bit surprising that when Samuel went to the house of Jesse to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as king, David was the last one that either Jesse or Samuel thought had the raw material for kingship (the story is found in 1 Samuel 16). It does not appear that while David was growing up that anyone looked at him and said, “you’re going to be king one day.”

Even as king, David had his foibles. He was certainly not immune to scandal during his reign. For example, David had one of his soldiers murdered so that he could marry that soldier’s wife. Nor was David an exemplary father. He ignored one of his sons to the point where that son attempted to take the throne from David through civil war.

Yet, in spite of all of David’s mess, God chose to work through him. David chose to participate with God in God’s program.

It is good to be reminded of this since we may think that our own failures and weaknesses disqualify us from being of service to God. When we are tempted to think this way, it would be good to remember the words of Paul:

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9–10, ESV)

Our weakness can be used by God to accomplish his purposes. Take some time to think about that.

How to Help People with a Substance Abuse Problem through the Bible

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This is a quest post by Patrick Bailey. If you would like to contribute a post to Attempts at Honesty, please read the guest post guidelines and get in contact with me if you feel that you can work within those guidelines to submit a post.

Note that there is a link in this post to direct those who struggle with addiction to a recovery center. I am not qualified to assess the quality of the care provided by the facilities represented there so the existence of the link does not imply an endorsement by Attempts at Honesty.

At the library, you’ll find multiple books on how a person can recover from a substance abuse problem.

I think this is ironic and also a little sad. Alcoholics, drug addicts, and those who suffer from some form of substance abuse are generally incapable of helping themselves. In fact, it will take a good, hard jolt to make a person with a substance abuse problem admit to this.

On the other hand, there is an army of us Christians for every single one of our brothers or sisters who needs help.

I think that any article that deals with helping those with a substance abuse problem should actually talk to the people around them. It is we who have the Christian duty to help those who have stumbled. Perhaps I too need a bit of a jolt.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

The Bible speaks of helping each other as Christ’s law. Helping each other is a concept my parents taught my brothers and I growing up. My nephews and nieces have likewise learned this even from when they were toddlers. I believe when a person is suffering from substance abuse, this when he or she needs the most help.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

Of course, it probably won’t be easy. I remember when I was younger, lots of times I would shrug off help and criticism. This was the case even though I’d already realized that I was in the wrong and knew I needed help.

Truth be told, now that I am an adult, it is still difficult for me to acknowledge mistakes and accept help. I imagine the same is true for people with a substance abuse problem. They too are ashamed to accept assistance.

It is not unlikely that this person whom we have gone the extra mile to help will turn us away, mock us, and find other ways to hurt us in general. This is the time when we need to ask God for Job’s patience.

“Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city” (Proverbs 16:32).

This is one of my favorite verses from Proverbs. Who would ever have realized that patience would be such a strong weapon?

I believe the most important and helpful manifestation of this patience, is getting to know the individual that needs our help. We should take the time to understand the best way to approach the situation to be truly effective.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

And even as we acknowledge that the individual needs help, we must also accept our limitations.

Substance abuse is not something that will go away easily. While our love and compassion can set a person on a better path, there are organizations who have studied ways of treating this effectively, where you can receive Christian help for alcohol addiction. I believe it is part of our Christian duty to lead those with a substance abuse problem to this path.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity” (Proverbs17:17).

And through all this, let us stay with this person God has given us to aid in steering back to the right path. We should strive to be the light to that helps the individual stay confident and trusting in God’s love.

Bigger isn’t always better

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Bigger isn't always better
Copyright: gearstd / 123RF Stock Photo

I don’t know if it is just an American thing, but we are so enamored with popularity and large followings. Unfortunately, the church has not been immune to this fascination.

When a church grows large, there will be those who want to study that group to determine what they did that has become so effective. Leaders will attempt to understand and emulate the programs and techniques of the larger church so that their own congregation will grow.

There are good things that come as a result of growth.  But, as leaders, we need to constantly remind ourselves that we are not the ones who are responsible, nor are we the ones who have the ability, to make the church grow. Jesus reminds us that He will build His church.

I suppose that techniques might be effective in drawing a large crowd. Any spectacle, good or bad, will draw a crowd, but what will be the long term effect? But, if our focus is too heavily skewed toward numbers, I think we do those in our congregations a disservice.

Today I read the words of the Apostle John in Chapter 6 of his gospel which tell us “a huge crowd was following [Jesus] because they saw the signs that he was performing by healing the sick.” Later in the same chapter, we see parts of that crowd leaving because of the hard things that Jesus was saying.

Certainly we don’t want to unnecessarily offend people. We should go out of our way to present the truths of Scripture in a manor and language that are most likely to be understood by our hearers. But ultimately, the Gospel will prove to be an offense to some, and a fountain of life to others.

Rather than focus on growth in numbers, we must focus on growth in Biblical understanding and growth in correct practice. The two must go hand-in-hand. We should question whether we, as a group, and as individuals, are growing in our ability to live out the two great commands of Scripture. Are we becoming more loving? Are we moving into deeper relationship with God? In short, are we making disciples (the root meaning being learner) of ourselves and those in our care?

The numbers will be what they are and if God brings a bunch of people together, then as leaders we need to learn how to minister to all of them in a way that encourages them to grow. Our example is Jesus who fed the 5,000 even though he knew that some or many of them were there for the wrong reasons and would soon be leaving him.

Certainly we should try to reach as many people as we can with the good news of Jesus Christ, but all the while, we should also remind ourselves that some of the people in our crowd will walk away and we should not be devastated when they do. Bigger isn’t always better.

All the right answers but still wrong

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Wrong AnswerI recently read Isaiah 29:13-14 which says:

“And the Lord said: ‘Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men, therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.’” (ESV)

This passage may be familiar because Jesus quoted it in Matthew 15:8-9 and Mark 7:6-7.

The lesson we should learn from this is that we can have all the right answers but still be wrong. We can say all the right things and still be far away from where we need to be.

There much to commend in pursuing theological accuracy. We certainly need to build upon a foundation of correct Biblical understanding. But we must always remember that theological accuracy is a means and not an end.

Theological accuracy is only beneficial when it is the means of deepening our relationship with God.

The problem is that I do not primarily have a knowledge issue, I have a heart issue. My heart, left to itself, will twist Biblical knowledge into something that God did not intend.

For example, I can take a right understanding of the sovereignty of God and use it as an excuse for inaction on my part. Since God’s will cannot be thwarted, does it really matter if I do such and such?

The antidote for this behavior is given in the passages cited above. We need to honestly evaluate if there is a divergence between what we say and what we truly believe. When there is such a divergence, our actions will show our words to be false.

If we find that our actions belie our words, the only proper response is repentance.

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