Attempts at Honesty

Reflections on the interplay of the Bible and Culture

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C. S. Lewis on Christian morality

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C. S. LewisIn a collection of broadcast talks called Christian Behaviour, C. S. Lewis’ said this:

“People often think of Christian morality as a kind of bargain in which God says, ‘If you keep a lot of rules I’ll reward you, and if you don’t I’ll do the other thing.’ I don’t think that is the best way of looking at it. I’d much rather say that every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven; that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.”

This is a good reminder that our moment-by-moment choices do have consequences. The Apostle Paul supports this idea when he writes:

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15–16, ESV)

There are two extremes to be avoided in thinking about the choices that we make. The first is to become frozen because the understanding of the importance of each one becomes overwhelming. The second danger is to be stop caring about them because the decisions come so fast that it is difficult to process them correctly.

This is an imperfect illustration but perhaps it might help the discussion.

Assume for a moment that I have a perfect understanding of exactly what type of diet is good for me. I have a strict list of things that I know are good for me to eat. But these foods are not found in their purest form. In other words, the “healthy” foods are available but are combined with things that are not on the list. One extreme would be to not eat anything at all until I was sure that it was 100% healthy. The other extreme is to give up any hope of choosing well and eat Krispy Kreme donuts (or Dunkin’ Donuts, I am an equal opportunity donut eater).

The Christian’s desire is to choose well, but often we do not. But a proper understanding of the sovereignty of God frees us up with the understanding that even when we don’t choose well, God can use that poor choice to draw us closer to himself. We have the opportunity to repent and have our relationship restored.

A lesson learned from a genealogy

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Genealogy TreeIn reading through the names in the genealogy in Matthew 1, it is tempting to skip through to verse 18 where the text gets more interesting. “Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of . . . .” is not riveting reading. It is like walking through a graveyard. There are a bunch of names of dead people who seemingly have very little impact on how I get through my day.

Some of the names are important people in Israel’s history. Of others we know nothing more than their name and where they fit in the genealogy. Some were obedient to God and were praised; some were disobedient and went on to ignominy.

This is exactly the choice that all men (and women) have to make. We choose to be obedient or disobedient; we must make this choice every moment of every day. Like those men in the genealogy, our lives will be defined by the sum of our choices. We cannot work our way into Heaven (Ephesians 2:8-9), but Jesus does give indication that there will be rewards and a hierarchy in eternity. It is through obedience and service that the rewards are accumulated.

Rich or poor, influential or insignificant, popular or unknown, talented or untalented, we all are called to follow God in obedience. In that sense we are all the same. We cannot use the excuse that our choices do not matter, because all of Scripture teaches us that they do. Specifically, the words of Jesus in Luke 16:10-13 come to mind:

“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (NASB)

Someone told me “mind your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.” In the same way, if we choose faithfulness in the little things, the foundation will be laid for faithfulness in the big things.

Let us choose to be obedient in the small things.

Power and authority in the church – Choose who is in control

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When Herod was questioned by the Magi (Matthew 2:2), he was presented with a choice. He could recognize a greater authority and submit to it or he could seek to maneuver into a position above that authority. He chose the latter and his kingdom suffered for the choice.

Church leaders are faced with the same choice today. Either God is in charge and He is working in the individuals in the church, or the pastor is in charge and arranging the events to his satisfaction. There is no middle ground.

The danger for church leaders is that we can start believing our own press about our ministry. We can start believing that we have a better handle on God’s word and God’s plan than those we lead which is not necessarily the case.

A. W. Tozer which speaks to this issue:

“I believe it might be accepted as a fairly reliable rule of thumb that the man who is ambitious to lead is disqualified as a leader. The true leader will have no desire to lord it over God’s heritage, but will be humble, gentle, self-sacrificing and altogether as ready to follow as to lead, when the Spirit makes it clear that a wiser and more gifted man than himself has appeared.”

It takes wisdom to know the role that God has for a man and wisdom to stay within that role. I have seen pastors who have felt the need to do it all who struggle to empower people in their congregations to minister under the direction of the Holy Spirit. I can think of a few potential reasons for the lack of empowerment:

  1. A need to control which results in micromanagement of the church. The root of this is lack of trust in God and a deep seated insecurity. This leader has an inflated sense of responsibility and is often more concerned about his own reputation than he is of that of Jesus Christ.
  2. Feeling pressured as the “full time” minister to do it all. This is rooted in an inability to say no or to ask others to step up. The congregation bears some responsibility in this situation because some churches have this expectation of their pastor.
  3. A feeling of superiority because of talent or training. This is rooted in an inflated sense of self worth and an inability to receive feedback. This leader is often critical or suspicious of those he leads so people do not step up to take on aspects of the ministry.

Leaders need to keep in mind that we are all equal before the Cross. Yes, God gives the leader increased responsibility and a different role to play but this does not make the leader superior or of greater value. The leader cannot usurp Jesus’ authority by feeling the need to lead and control all of the activities of the church.

The process of making disciples requires that leaders recognize the gifts that God gives to those in the leader’s care. After those gifts are recognized, the leader needs to turn those people to use their gifts as God leads.

Allowing people to be led by the Spirit is scary and requires much faith in God. Yet for the health of the body the leader needs to know when to lead and when to relinquish control and do it all graciously and in love. To do this well requires Supernatural wisdom, a wisdom that God promises to provide if we ask for it.

Not what I would choose

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RomeIn Acts 19:21, Paul expresses a desire to go to Rome as part of his missionary efforts. Paul did eventually get to Rome but it is unlikely that he envisioned that he would enter Rome as a prisoner of the state and remain there under house arrest.

In the Epistles that Paul wrote while in prison in Rome, there is not one hint of self pity, nor of antipathy for the authorities in Rome. Paul had a strong sense of being right where God wanted him and his contentment with this is evident in his writings.

Perhaps the secret to contentment is in accepting the fact that my limited knowledge and wisdom do not allow me to always understand what is best for me. If the giants of the faith went through difficulties, I should not expect that I will be exempt. The difficulties are allowed by God for His purposes and by accepting them as being ordained by Him, I can then participate in the unfolding of God’s plan, for myself and for humanity.

While I cannot articulate it very well, I feel there is something more here than mere resignation to the fact that problems will happen. We are enjoined to rejoice while going through suffering. This goes beyond acceptance into participation with God in the difficulty.

In retrospect, I can see that the difficult bits of my life have been used by God to change me for the better. They have also have allowed me to be put into a better position to be used by Him for His glory.

In Matthew 28:20, Jesus promises to be with each of us, no matter what it is that he takes us through. Therefore, I can rest in the fact that I am not alone in any difficulty. In addition, I can be assured that there will be a day when there will be no more difficulties. What a glorious day that will be, but until then I will choose to learn to rejoice in the midst of trials.

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