Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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Can’t see the result

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While painting a room for my daughter, I noticed that when the paint is in the process of drying, it is difficult to see what the end result will look like. Since some places on the wall dry faster than others, there is a variation in color until the entire wall dries. It is only when the project is complete that the end result can be assessed.

There is a life lesson in this observation. In the midst of our day to day activities, it is impossible to fully see the results of our effort. We don’t know what impact we are making when we make each choice in the moment. 

For the Christian, we have the promise that Jesus is with us all the time, and that he will complete what he has begun in us. While we seem to struggle with the same things over and over, we can be assured that at some point those problems will be resolved and we will no longer struggle.

The parts that seem incomplete are like the parts of the painted wall that are not yet dry. All we have to do is wait and seek to be obedient to what God has called us to do. God will take care of the rest and the result will eventually be perfect.

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On the pursuit of pleasure

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MeatloafI am not the first to make the point that idolatry can entail taking good things and making them into ultimate things. Or to put it another way, we should not confuse means and ends.

I was thinking about this with reference to physical pleasures. Too often, the response of the church to the danger of making pleasure a god in our life is to put rules in place to deny those pleasures. Churches have spoken out against many things to keep us from the danger of having pleasure as our goal in life.

One danger of a focus on restricting pleasure is that by doing so, we may feed our inner Pharisee and cause us to look down on others who are less disciplined.

The problem is that pleasures are so . . . pleasurable. We like the comforts in life and they make life interesting. While I assume that you could survive with only eating meatloaf, green beans and potatoes every day, limiting the diet to these would surely reduce anticipation of delight from the meal.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 that God delights to give us what we need, pleasures included. But a warning is needed: there are illegitimate pleasures that are forbidden to us by Scripture. For example, while consuming alcohol is not condemned in Scripture, drunkenness is. There are other “pleasures” that we are to avoid. The good news is that the legitimate pleasures are more numerous than those that are forbidden.

How then can we keep the pleasures from being a cause for idolatry?

The answer lies in how we enjoy the pleasure. I can enjoy the legitimate pleasures without idolatry when I enjoy them as an act of worship. When I accept the pleasures as a gift from God and enjoy them as such then I am less prone to idolatry.

I like to eat. I like to eat good food and I very much enjoy having a variety in my diet. Using food as an example, It would be possible to arrange my whole existence around food. I could spend a majority of my time planning my eating and focus my existence on finding new and interesting foods.

Or, I can accept any opportunity to eat as a gift from God. I can enjoy the really great food when it is available or I can enjoy more pedestrian fare if that is what is in front of me.

The difference is not in what is eaten but the motivation for eating it. The fundamental question is this: “Who gets the glory?” Am I so focused on the food that I do not give glory to the God who made the food possible?

The same question applies to any legitimate pleasure we could pursue.

If you are discouraged about church . . .

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Discouraged about Church
Copyright: enterline / 123RF Stock Photo

If you are discouraged about church, it may be that your expectations are too high.

Church is not a gathering of the mature. Church is not a gathering of the wise. Church is not a gathering of the beautiful.

Church is a gathering of those who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ.

A long while back (it was the 70’s, I think), there was a popular phrase going around in churches that said, “Please be patient with me, God is not finished with me yet.” The point was to remind us that we are all works in progress.

Not only are those who attend church works in progress, but so are the leaders. The question is not whether the leaders are flawed. The question what are they doing about those flaws? Or more correctly, what are they allowing God to do about those flaws?

Does the leader of your church allow others to speak into his blind spots? Do the elders encourage members and visitors to provide feedback? Does the pastor give a sense that God is actively working in his life to transform his understanding and his behavior?

At all times, we have to keep in mind that the way we want church to be is not necessarily what God wants for us. God is less interested in our comfort than he is in our growth in relationship to him.

Also, our background and gifting may see things in the church that should be changed, but the church may not be ready for those changes. Do you trust God enough to bring about those changes in his time? Will you be content to pray for those changes until he does bring them about?

There is a caveat that I should bring up. The understanding that we are a work in progress does not give us an excuse for spiritual or intellectual laziness. The fact that there are so many commands in the New Testament (verbs in the imperative mood) is an indication that effort on our part is required to achieve progress in the Christian life.

We come to church and find imperfection and by being there we add to the pile.

But that is OK. God is powerful enough to use our imperfection to accomplish his plan.

The point of church is not to parade our perfections, but to solicit the help of others as we navigate our own imperfections. We help and encourage our brothers and sisters along the way.

A checklist for the church

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Question 36 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks this:

What are the benefits which in this life do accompany or flow from justification, adoption and sanctification?

In other words what is the result of being in relationship with Jesus Christ?

The catechism gives four benefits:

  1. Assurance of God’s love
  2. Peace of conscience
  3. Joy in the Holy Spirit
  4. Increase of grace

ChecklistIt seems to me that these four things provide a good checklist to see how we are doing individually and as a group.

Am I acting as if I am assured of God’s love? If so, it seems as though I would be communicating that love to others. I will become a radiator of God’s love into the world around me.

Do I have peace of conscience? Or, I am pressed down by my lack of conformity to the revealed will of God? Do I act as if I know that I am forgiven? Can I forgive myself and forgive others?

Do I display joy? Or, am I pressed down by the circumstances around me? Do I act as if God has been, is and always will be in control? Do I act as if I trust him?

Is grace an increasing trait in my life? Do I show grace to others and allow myself to receive grace? Am I patient with the progress that myself and others are making in “working out their salvation?”

In looking at all of these questions, I realize that there is a gap between my behavior and my belief. I believe in God’s love, I know that I am forgiven, I know that God is in control and I know that I have received and am to give grace. Yet, I do not always live according to that knowledge.

The gap between my knowledge and behavior is wider than I would like it to be but it is shrinking.

As mentioned above, these questions can also be applied to churches. This is a good checklist to assess the health of a congregation.

Would a visitor sense our assurance of God’s love? Does the visitor experience peace, joy and grace radiating from us? Do we give them a taste of the living water of Jesus Christ (see John 4)?

I hope so. The world desperately needs to see believers living out the Gospel.

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