Failure: The Unintended Consequence of Success

Posted on July 30, 2014 Written by Todd Pylant 1 Comment

This is a guest post by Todd Pylant whose biographical information appears in the author box below this post. If you would like to provide a guest post to Attempts at Honesty, please see the guest post guidelines and contact me if you are interested in providing a post.

The writer of Hebrews demonstrated faith in action by highlighting the life of faithful men and women throughout biblical history. The famous “faith hall of fame,” otherwise known as chapter 11, is full of great faith stories like Abraham and Moses. But it also includes a list of names, stories that the author didn’t have the time to tell. One of those un-expounded faith stories is the story of Gideon.

Gideon’s story is found in Judges 6-8. He was the unlikely man chosen by God to deliver Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Though he was the least in his father’s house, the angel of the Lord told him to “go in this might of yours and save Israel.” In faith, Gideon destroyed his own father’s altar to Baal. The Spirit of the lord clothed Gideon, he rallied Israel around him, and gathered for battle. He famously sought confirmation from the Lord through the fleece, twice. And he trusted in God’s plan, even though the Lord whittled his fighting force down to a paltry 300 men and gave him a battle plan about a silly as Joshua’s: torches, trumpets, and clay jars. But “through faith,” Gideon “conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, and obtained promises” (see Hebrews 11.33).

So great was his victory, that the people wanted to make him king, but Gideon boldly refused. “I will not rule over you. The Lord will rule over you” (Judges 8.23). A great man with great faith. And as long as Gideon was alive, the land had rest.

But there was one small “but”…

After the least of his family turned into the mighty warrior, after the oppressed farmer turned into a cultural icon, after the man who had seen none of God’s wonderful deeds had seen too many wonderful deeds to count, after all that, Gideon stumbled. After refusing to become king, he asked each soldier to give to him a portion of the spoils in war. And with this gold and purple garments,

Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family. (Judges 8.27)

In the words of Keith Jackson, “Whoa Nellie!” The ephod was the priestly garment worn by the descendants of Aaron (see Exodus 28.1-5). Gideon committee two major errors. First, he took upon himself a role that was given to the priests. He was of the tribe of Mannasseh, not a descendant of Aaron. He was called by God to be a judge, not a priest. He assumed that success in one role gave him the freedom to step into any role he wanted.

Second, he enabled the people to violate the second commandment. He made an image, and whether he intended for it to happen or not, the people worshipped it. The word translated “whored after it” is a word used to describe the adultery and immorality of worshipping pagan gods. Because Gideon didn’t stop the people from doing the very thing that got them in the mess in the first place, it became a snare to him, his family, and ultimately, the nation as a whole.

What we see in Gideon is a very powerful principle of faith, one that we would be wise to heed: failure often follows success. When God does great things through people, pride often rises up and leads them into great failure. Consider David’s success and subsequent failure with Bathsheba. Consider Hezekiah’s deliverance and subsequent prideful display of wealth. Consider Elijah’s triumphant stand on Mount Carmel and subsequent fearful foot race. What once made us useable for God’s great work, our humility, now makes us dangerous to our own future: our pride.

The faith story of Gideon challenges us to work hard to not allow whatever form of success we might experience to lead us onto the prideful path of failure.

Christianity Boosts Education, Quality of Life in Asian Countries

Posted on July 25, 2014 Written by Sarah Brooks 1 Comment

This is a guest post by Sarah Brooks whose biographical information appears in the author box below this post. If you would like to provide a guest post to Attempts at Honesty, please see the guest post guidelines and contact me if you are interested in providing a post.

Sarah Writes

Although often considered a primarily Western religion due to its prominence in the Americas and Europe, Christianity has always had a strong presence in Asia. Between the 1^st and 14^th centuries CE, Christianity spread from Western Asia to China, and from the 16^th century it spread further to Eastern Asia. Christianity is currently the principal faith in four Asian countries: the Philippines, Armenia, East Timor, and Georgia. Among the faithful in the primarily irreligious countries of South Korea and Vietnam, Christianity is the second most widespread religion after Buddhism.

Perhaps most remarkably, China, which is emerging as a formidable economic power, is also poised to become the world’s largest Christian nation within less than a generation, according to an April 2014 report in The Telegraph (UK). Though officially the People’s Republic of China is an atheist country, with 60%-70% of its 1.3 billion people claiming no religious affiliation, the number of Christian congregations has soared since churches began reopening after Chairman Mao’s death in 1976. There may ultimately be a violent showdown between church and state, but as indicated in a recent battle over the Sanjiang church in Wenzhou (which government officials were threatening to bulldoze), for now the Chinese government seems to be willing to negotiate compromise with church leaders. Some observers have noted that the leaders do not want to make enemies of the estimated 70 million Christians in the country.

Is Christianity always a force for good?

This may seem a ludicrous question to the many followers of the Word who look upon the developments in Asia as a hopeful sign, and yet there are critics whose opinions are worthy of consideration. Though Communism’s shortcomings have certainly been well documented, Christianity over the centuries has also been criticized for being a repressive force. The target of the criticism has not been the teachings of Christ, but organized Christianity (and indeed organized religion in general). Organized Christianity has been called a source of bigotry, a cause of wars, an impediment to science and progress, and a tool for the exploitation of the environment and the destruction of native cultures. Unfortunately there has been some truth to all of these accusations, and as Christians we have to face up to these truths.

Yet Christianity has also been a force for profound good, having had a positive impact in many areas of life. Beyond the Good News of the Gospel there have been many concrete, measurable influences. Christian organizations and individuals have labored all over the world to fight disease and hunger, and to help ease the ravages of wars and natural disasters. Christian influences have driven social change (e.g., the abolition of slavery, and prison and labor reform); the support of science and the arts; and the development of higher education, particularly in the United States and Europe.

Those who strive to bring enlightenment in the name of Christ have certainly impacted Asia as well. For instance, for many decades various Christian organizations have worked to advance the causes of higher education as well as Christian values in Asia.

High ideals

One group that has been active since the early twentieth century is the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia. They describe themselves as “a Christian organization working in partnership with higher education institutions in 13 countries and regions of Asia to express values such as justice, reconciliation and harmony between ethnic and religious communities, gender equity, care for the environment, and civil society.” The Board operates various programs, and is involved in both seeking and bestowing grants. This is one of numerous organizations working to improve education and general quality of life for millions of people throughout Asia.

While Christians have sometimes been criticized (particularly in the United States) for being regressive and oppressive, that’s not what Christianity is about. Rather, it is about endeavoring to live the teachings of Christ. Unconditional love, respect for people of all cultures, and stewardship of the natural resources bestowed upon us by the Creator are all in harmony with what Jesus taught. Today more than ever, Christianity is a truly global faith. May it continue to be a force for good in the world, and for unity rather than divisiveness. “For you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28.

Boldly Broadcasting

Posted on March 3, 2014 Written by Bob Myers 2 Comments

This is repost of a news letter article written by Bob Myers, the lead pastor at the church I attend. I thought it worth sharing with you so I asked permission to use it as a guest post. If you are interested in becoming a guest author, please see the guest post guidelines and use the Attempts At Honesty contact form.

Are you boldly broadcasting? By that, are you using the unique God-given opportunities in front of you?

I believe that everywhere Jesus went He found a way to make an impact on a man, woman, or child. Although the gospel writers make it clear that He preached and taught multitudes, it’s amazing how much of the gospels focuses on one on one encounters with Jesus that you and I can easily identify with and replicate.

Here’s some tests for whether we’re boldly broadcasting.

Inventory your interactions. How many people have been in your home in the past two months? How many of them have been part of your same church, or have been Christians compared to how many non-Christians? If you go out to restaurants, how many of those who sat at your table are not yet believers? Jesus went out to eat with non-believers a lot, so much so that He was criticized for dissing Israel. Are you like Him in this? Take a little bit of your tithe and treat a non-Christian to a lunch out. In the conversation, work on understanding the person and listening first. Take the challenge question I gave you last week in the sermon on compassion. Find out what it’s like to be them. Ask them, “So, what’s it like to be you?”. Ask them with a curious mind and an open heart. You’ll be a better image bearer of Jesus. And as Dale Carnegie said, A person who asks questions and listens to the answers is regarded by most people as an incredibly interesting conversationalist.

Social Media: If you do Facebook and Twitter, and I think many of you should do it, ought to do it, and can do it being salt and light, you should have a bias towards people who don’t share your faith. What I mean is, interact with them positively, affirmatively, and in a winsome and inviting way. Each Saturday on Facebook I try to share a preview of what our worship service is going to be. If you’re on Facebook, yes, you should “like” this, but you should also share this, which re-broadcasts it to your network of friends. If you’re on twitter, you should interact with non-Christian tweeters in a winsome way. This doesn’t mean we tweet Bible verses constantly. That’s talking at people. But twitter allows you to dialogue, to show curiosity and compassion for other people. And I would encourage you to tweet on the broad subject matters that interest you. I have some Facebook friends who are atheists and from other religions. I make sure I especially communicate interest and graciousness to them. I “unsubscribed” from a tweeter who only posted on a subject that had no interest for me. But I love how twitter can open up subjects and worlds that I otherwise knew nothing about, but can begin to understand and appreciate it.

Evaluate your intake and output. If you have been a Christian less than five years, you may want to attend more than one Bible study to “catch up” on all that you might have missed before. But if you’ve been a Christian for more than five years, generally, you should not be regularly coming to more than one Bible study unless you’re bringing someone, babysitting for someone, or leading the study itself. If you’ve been in multiple Bible studies for more than five years, stop attending more than one Bible study, drop it and attend a neighborhood book club discussion of some secular book, or join a community interest club of some kind. You’ll find it revolutionary to your faith and life. Your prayer life will probably grow. And most of all, you’ll be more like Jesus in how you live and interact.

Strength Through Him

Posted on February 28, 2014 Written by Lauren Todd 4 Comments

This is a guest post by Lauren Todd. If you are interested in becoming a guest author, please see the guest post guidelines and use the Attempts At Honesty contact form. You can see Lauren’s biographical detail at the bottom of this post.

“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13

Out of all the Bible verses I’ve encountered, this one particular verse by St. Paul struck me the most, and has remained within me until now. This verse has guided me since I saw it once at a bumper sticker on a car when I endured traffic back from a road trip. It caught my eye, and during that traffic jam, I copied it on my mobile phone and saved it. At first, the verse sounded nice to me, and eventually, I learned that there’s more to it than just sounding nice. Because of this verse, I survived a lot of events and circumstances in my life.

The most recent catastrophe I encountered was losing my first job while I was beginning to take up graduate studies. Getting laid off along with a dozen or so employees was something unexpected. Why was I laid off? I understood that my former company needed to cut down on their budget. But what I couldn’t understand was why did it had to be me, when there are other employees who work lousier than I am. Most of all, I worried so bad about how to pay for my graduate school expenses, now that I’m not employed. I had this brooding feeling that I had to stop my graduate studies as well while I have to look for a new and stable work.

I did my part by applying to different companies. I juggled two jobs at a time, and most of these were contractual. By the time my contract ended in one job, I would start to look for another one, even if I already had another job. On weekends, I would attend graduate school, then spend my weekdays working at two or sometimes, three, different jobs.

It was physically and emotionally stressful, and it went on for a year. One day, I broke down and cried out that I couldn’t take it anymore. My roommate comforted me while I cried hard, and she assured me that she’ll be there for me and things will get better soon. She’s always admired me for my strength, and she allowed me to cry. But I had to promise her and myself that I won’t break down anymore after this one good cry.

When it was all done, I stayed alone in my room for a while. As I was playing with my mobile phone, I went to the Notes section and saw the verse again. “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”

I prayed for the first time since I lost my job.

“Wherever You want me to go, Lord, please take me there, if I am meant to thrive in that place.”

This was my prayer in helping me find a job wherein I would become a permanent employee.

It did took me a while before I landed a job that’s pretty stable. It happened when I visited my college and talked to my former professor. Out of the blue, he told me that there was a vacancy waiting to be filled. That was the answer to my prayer, and I took the job offer. I’ve been at that job for a year and a half now. And I get to keep studying grad school. A year from now, and I’m about to finish.

I’m thankful that this trial made me stronger and led me to better opportunities. It may not be perfect, but you get good things that you deserved.

The Lord has been my strength, indeed, through all this time. Help yourself always, and He will give you a Hand to get through it all.