Numbering our days: a reflection on Psalm 90

Posted on July 14, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

Beyond a temporal understanding

I have been reading through the Psalms. Recently I came to Psalm 90 where it says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) This is a verse that has often been quoted, usually in the sense of expressing urgency to get busy in doing work for the Kingdom of God. In this understanding, the emphasis is on the fleeting nature of time and how we have, on average, some 70 years to accomplish things for God before life comes to an end.

If this is the correct understanding of this verse, wisdom would dictate that we discover our calling and work hard at accomplishing the most in the time we have allotted. Ephesians 5:15-16 would seem to support this understanding when Paul writes:

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

I have even heard it said that we should keep a running countdown of the days until our 70^th birthday so that we can be aware of how much time we have left to work for the Kingdom. While the countdown is not a bad idea, I think that it does not capture the whole point of the prayer in the context of the Psalm. Awareness of the brevity of our days has benefit, but the focus should not be on what we plan on accomplishing but upon what God wants to accomplish through us.

Obedience is the key

Moving a few verses back in the Psalm, it can be seen that the context of the prayer is God’s judgment against Israel for their rebellion. In verse 8 it says, “You have placed our iniquities before You, our secret sins in the light of Your presence.” In other words we are to live with the understanding that we are under the scrutiny of God and as a result, we must have an understanding of our finite nature and respond to God properly. It is not our temporal awareness that is in question, but our ability to obey.

In reading the rest of the Psalm I have a sense that some of the anger at the nation of Israel was due to presumption on their part. They presumed upon God’s tolerance and as a result they reaped God’s anger. Can we not do the same? We can be busy doing all sorts of things and convince ourselves that we are doing it for God. Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees for this type of hypocrisy. The question is not whether we are busy, the question is are we being responsive to God?

On the basis of this, I see Psalm 90:12 as a request to help us understand our finiteness rather than an encouragement to pack in as much in our 70 years as possible. The lesson we learn from Matthew 7:21-23 is that activity is not the cause for reward, relationship with Jesus Christ is. This prayer is not a call to busyness or activity, it is a call to submission to God.

It is God’s plan

I do not for a minute buy into the argument that there is something that God needs me to do and I am the only one to do it. Yes, God allows me to participate in the accomplishment of his will but my rebellion or incompetence cannot derail his plan. I do not have to race the clock to get something accomplished for God. This is freeing if I allow it to be.

What I do need to do is bring my finite understanding to God and seek him for what I should be about today. Do we really believe Jesus when he said take not thought for tomorrow? I don’t need to plan out what I need to accomplish for God, I need to do what he has asked me to do today. God will take care of the years moving forward if I simply submit each day to him.

The danger of relying on talent

Posted on April 22, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

If there is one sad story that we’ve seen too often repeated in the church, it is the story of gifted leaders getting off track. The result is a train wreck. Some of the most famous examples have been those who had large radio and television followings.

It may be a great over simplification to say that the story of Jeroboam explains this phenomenon, but perhaps it does give us a clue.

In 1 Kings 11:28 tells us:

Now the man Jeroboam was a valiant warrior, and when Solomon saw that the young man was industrious, he appointed him over all the forced labor of the house of Joseph.

Jeroboam had talent. He was a mighty warrior and a good manager. He was a man that men would follow. Solomon recognized this and rewarded it.

Jeroboam also had opportunity. A few verses later we are told that the prophet Ahijah came to Jeroboam to inform him that God was giving ten of the tribes of Israel to Jeroboam to lead. Not only would he lead them, but if he led well and followed God’s commands, Jeroboam would have an enduring kingdom like that promised to David.

It was at this point that Jeroboam had a choice to make. He had to choose between living in dependence upon God or relying on his wit and talent. As we can see from the following chapters, Jeroboam chose the latter and Israel suffered. 1 Kings 13:33 tells us that Jeroboam “did not return from his evil way.”

In reality, all of us have this same choice to make on a moment-by-moment, daily basis. In Luke 9:23, Jesus tells us to take up our cross daily. We have to constantly choose the path of self denial and reliance upon God. This is true not only for our Salvation but for our very existence as believers in Jesus Christ.

For those of us who are not in official positions of responsibility in the church, this choice seems like it would have small impact. Yet this is not the case. For the Body of Christ to be healthy, all of the members of the body must be in harmony with the head, Jesus Christ. We cannot be in harmony with the head unless we acknowledge our dependence upon him. Small rebellions can have a big impact.

For those, like Jeroboam, who have been given the responsibility to lead, small rebellions will always have huge impact. I believe this is why James 3:1 tells warns us that teachers will incur a stricter judgment. It is one thing to move yourself out of God’s blessing, it is another to lead a group toward chaos.

For all of us, small or great in the workings of the church, we need to learn the lesson of Jeroboam. Self reliance and self will have no place in the Kingdom of God. We rely on our own talent to our own peril and to the peril of those we lead.

We need to be reminded of the words Jesus spoke to Paul as recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.”

Reliance upon God-given talent, no matter how great that talent is, will always end in brokenness and failure. It’s not worth it; depend upon God and God alone.

Why I Hate Religion – Reaction to a Reaction

Posted on January 24, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 16 Comments

I don’t spend a lot of time on YouTube so I am coming to this discussion a little late. I had the chance to see this video in Church this past Sunday where it was shown before the sermon. I really like what Jefferson Bethke has to say. The full text of the poem can be found here so that you can read it for yourself.

If you look at the ministry of the prophets in the Old Testament, one of their functions was to challenge the Israelites to reexamine their lives in light of Scripture. One of the problems that the prophets addressed was that the religious observance in Israel often did not translate into changed lives. The rituals did not bring righteousness. Perhaps this is the best way of taking Jeremiah Bethke’s video, as a call to reexamine our lives in light of Scripture.

There is much in the church today that should be challenged and examined. We certainly cannot operate as if the Church is what it could be or should be. I know this because I am part of the church and I am neither what I could be or should be with regard to my walk with Jesus.

I am haunted by the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 7:21-23 where he tells us that many who claim relationship with Jesus will be turned away from Heaven. Those turned away by Jesus point to their works as proof of their status. This is a reminder that religion doesn’t save anyone, Jesus does. So I get where Mr. Bethke is coming from in much of his poem. We are challenged to be in the relationship with Jesus first and foremost.

I also appreciate Kevin DeYoung’s Reaction to the video and the follow-up post including a response from Mr. Bethke. Kevin searches for balance and goes point by point through the poem pointing out some parts that potentially cause confusion.

DeYoung’s point is well taken that God’s program is with the Church, imperfect as she is. We cannot pursue a relationship with Christ apart from the Church. The Church is an institution founded by Christ and when she is functioning as she ought, the Church is also in submission to Christ. So while parts of the visible church are failing in their mission, we cannot escape our responsibility to allow God to transform us and our Church into what he wants us to be.

Mr. Bethke’s poem should be taken as food for thought. We should examine what Scripture says about the issues he presents and how our churches should respond. We should examine Scripture and consider how we should respond individually to the issues the poem presents. We should seek God to change us individually and transform our Church into an institution that is above reproach, that takes Scripture seriously, that lives out the Gospel and reaches out to a world that desperately needs good news.

Thank you Jefferson Bethke and Kevin DeYoung for a healthy dialog.

What is your reaction to the video and Kevin DeYoung’s response?

On wineskins, graves, garlic, leeks and onions

Posted on January 22, 2012 Written by Mark McIntyre 5 Comments

When a new work is started, the newness brings with it a level of discomfort. We often refer to the old system as tried-and-true, even if the results were less than optimal. The danger is that the new work will be hobbled by those who are determined to force the new work into the old pattern. I have seen this tendency in industry and I’ve seen it in the church.

In Exodus 14:11, shortly after the Israelites left Egypt, it appeared that the Egyptians would wipe them out (discomforting thought). In response, the Israelites cried to Moses “were there no graves in Egypt?”, the assumption being that that death was immanent and that by staying in Egypt they would have avoided that death. They preferred the relative safety of the old way even though it included slavery.

Later on in the Exodus story, the Israelites longed for the “leeks, onions and garlic” that they had in Egypt (Numbers 11:5). During the insecurity of pursuing the new way, it is easy to distort the memory of the wold way an make it seem better than it was. God offers them freedom (with some risk and difficulty) and they prefer slavery.

Jesus spoke against the desire for the old when he warned us against putting new wine into old wineskins (Matthew 9:17, Mark 2:22 and Luke 5:37). We should not try to force a new work into an old pattern.

I have been involved in church plants and the church I currently attend was founded somewhere around 13 years ago. I observe in myself and others a tendency to want to bring pieces of previous church experience into the new church. While this is not all bad, a dogged expectation that the new church will provide a similar experience to the previous church experience can be a source of irritation and can even lead to open hostility.

Should we learn from previous experience and continue the pieces of that experience that work well? Yes! If there are methods that are effective, they should be continued. At the same time, we need to be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit which may take us in new directions. Learn from the past, but don’t be handcuffed by it.

It is also important to choose your battles wisely. It is one thing to argue for a discipleship method that worked well. It is entirely different to argue over a music style, dress code or other preference issue. The methods can be measured and evaluated. With some issues there is no means of evaluating them and it comes down to personal preference.

The point of this is to ask that we all be wary about prefacing a comment or suggestion with, “At my old church . . . .” There may be good ideas coming out of that experience, but a determination to stick with that experience may cause you to miss out on something even better. The words of James 1:19 come to mind:

But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

What do you think?