The vast treasure of the little flock

𝗟𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝟭𝟮:𝟯𝟮‭-‬𝟯𝟰 “𝗙𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗻𝗼𝘁, 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗱𝗼𝗺. 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘆. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗹𝗱, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝘀. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼.

After pointing out God’s glory in all creation – in birds, flowers and grass and saying how trite they were – even in their existence – to human beings, Jesus gave the “therefore” passage above. It’s both supremely endearing and challenging, even convicting.

The “little flock” is nonetheless the object of God’s pleasure and recipient of the very Kingdom of God. This flies in the face of any “big flock” mentality. Small is good in this passage, and of course Jesus was speaking to the small band of original believers. As the church grew, “little flock” would no longer describe it, except in comparison with the overall population.

A strong part of Jesus’ description of the creation was God’s care for it. It was and is God who waters the earth, sends sunlight to plants and provides food for all the animal kingdom. This is an indication of his care for people, whom God cares about more. There is hierarchy in the creation, and humankind is its apex.

The instruction to sell possessions and give to the needy implies that one has possessions and one is not needy. Far from any human socialistic system, this is generosity after God’s own heart.

And once exercised, there is a new treasure obtained. This is a restatement of the proverb:

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀 𝟭𝟵:𝟭𝟳 𝗛𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲.

… which is an almost scandalous truth concerning the heavenly economy. God becomes the debtor to human kindness and generosity. A reward is kept in eternity for the generous.

The final statement – “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” – shows that giving one’s possessions takes them off the throne of one’s life. You cannot worship something you give away and even renounce. Once done, the heart of a person – his/her intents and purposes – are directed and reside in heaven.

So, who is needy around me? Hands would go up if the question is asked. But clearly, there is godly counsel to be gained in this. Do I give grudgingly of any resource – finances, time, energy, etc. ? If so, that needs cleansing and correcting. I have freely received; get over yourself O my heart.

Do I demand notice and reward for my acts of kindness in this life? If so, Jesus says I have received my reward in full. That is NOT the treasure described in this passage. Give and I will prime the pump of blessing in my own life; that is very true. Let me be God’s conduit – his pipe – of blessing. Let it flow.

Generosity and Labor

Matthew 20:15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’

The master of the field had decided to give equal wages to all his workers no matter how long they had worked.  The ones who had been at it the longest were upset by this, since they only earned the same as those who had worked a few hours.  It was a labor dispute.

Then the master replied with the questions above.  There are 2 aspects to his words:

1. The protesting workers had been paid what they had agreed, but considered that they had control of what all others were paid.  They wanted equal pay for equal work but the master decided differently.  At the heart of that is an assumption that they thought the money was theirs to distribute, not his.
2. The master’s intent was generosity.  In a day and in a place where people lived hand to mouth, a day’s wages would ensure a family ate that night only.  He wanted no one to starve.  Nobody in the story was lazy, they were just unemployed, even into the late afternoon.

For 1., state-level socialism does in fact remove ownership of fields and the wherewithal to pay workers from society.  The state is the master and its wages and conditions are engineered and metered.  The workers get their way – equal pay for equal work.  Except that corruption invariably creeps in and work ethic degrades because there is no reason to work well or even care about one’s toil.  There is no advancement and there is no reward for extra diligence.

Ownership of resources allows for incentivizing good attitude and extra work.  If a “master” grows in wealth, his/her resources can be re-invested in people and entities that will continue to grow.  Greed notwithstanding, the organic seeding of resources has the often-realized potential of causing people and corporate entities to thrive.  Individuals can accumulate wealth as well, becoming “masters” in their own right; it’s part of the system. 

As a follower of Jesus, I believe all I have belongs to God.  Not a few times have people accused and insinuated that I need to give here or there – to them or others in need.  Yet what I have is mine to steward, to pray for wisdom about how and where to give and invest.  I am allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me.

For 2., the scourge of the wealthy – their greed – is vividly exposed.  If I want to protect freedom of resource distribution and the growth of my estate and the community and nation, I MUST practice generosity.  Greed is why socialism arose and why it keeps its place as an alternative to free enterprise.  And greed is not only the practice of the well-to-do (though being greedy with a lot has larger impact).  Ten thousand mini-misers have the same effect as one wealthy one.  The workers in the story were not generous to be sure; they wanted what was coming to them and a strict limit to what the late arrivals were paid.  They did indeed begrudge the generosity of the master.

God is infinitely generous.  His reward is not “fair” as humans would compute it, but abounding in grace as an expression of unconditional love.  If I receive the free gift of salvation – and I do – I cannot with integrity begrudge the generosity of my God towards those who don’t deserve it in my eyes.  Let me learn this deeply.

Endangered place and nation

𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻 𝟭𝟭:𝟰𝟳-𝟰𝟴 𝗦𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗱, “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼? 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘀. 𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.”

Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, with many witnesses, including Pharisees who could not deny the miraculous work. Some of them began following Jesus at that point, but others returned to Jerusalem, concerned for what this meant to their standing and security. Their words above indicate a fear of lost prominence (“our place”) and the nation of Israel itself (“our nation”).

It was presumed, then, that Jesus was as they were, power-grubbing authority hounds who lorded what they knew and what they did over the people. And of course Jesus was after political control, inciting rebellion against the Roman occupiers. Jesus had never given any indication of those claims and projecting motives was just wrong.

It’s not that Jesus would ever uphold their leadership; they ran a corrupt system of perverse and diluted spirituality. That meant they were indeed in danger of losing their “place”. But that was happening in any case for in 70 AD the nation rebelled and their entire system was destroyed, temple and all. Towards the religious practice of Jews of Israel, Jesus could be seen as more of a reformer than rebel. Yet, the authorities would have none of it.

It is upon me to not defend my position or my nation or my church or my family from Jesus. Why would I do that? Because I am afraid of the change Jesus would bring. I might lose authority or influence. My country might become “weak” in its defenses or standing among nations. I might have to eat humble pie and admit and turn my sin and patterns of control and coercion.

I may never say I’d oppose Jesus and strongly state my allegiance to everything he says or does. But in fact the Holy Spirit is inexorable in revealing ways I still cling to my own ways, possessions and importance. Prestige is a subtle yet vicious idol.

God is good and grants all humanity with fulfillment, justice and truth. We have stuff and position and blessed trajectory in life all from God’s hand. None of that is retracted or relented. The temptation and worldly encouragement is to construct surroundings and systems that protect and accumulate those blessings in ways that benefit us above all else. That’s idolatry. That’s being afraid for “our place” and “our nation”.

Christ in us is better than that and

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀 𝟭𝟬:𝟮𝟮 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗢𝗥𝗗 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘁.

that is, wealth of all kinds. Let me (and let us) rest in that.

When pretense is deadly

Acts 13:11  Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, had conspired to sell some land, give part of the proceeds to the cause of Jesus and keep some of it for themselves.  But their story was that they were giving the entire sum, which was a lie.

First Ananias, then Sapphira, testified before Peter that they had given the entire amount.  He pronounced judgment on each of them, for they had “not lied just to human beings but to God.”  They each instantly fell down dead.

This is a seemingly radical departure from a ministry and movement that featured so much healing and blessing.  If you lie you die?  How could it be?

There was and is a practice of toy religion – human doings and sayings that supposedly win the approval and appeasement of God.  It’s commercial – you say a few prescribed words, perhaps 1000 times to really be impressive, and you get the blessing.  You pretend to be “all in” and are actually only partly “in”.

It’s very clear from the context that the pretense (or acting – hypocrisy) was the problem here – Ananias and Sapphira likely thought everyone pretended just like they had under the Law of Moses.  Not now.  Doing things just for show turned out to be fatal for them, and the fear of that being exposed “seized the whole church”.  Following Christ was not to be a sideshow to the real event – personal, secret life.

Let me know this – they could have kept part of the money and told the truth about it and not undergone the judgment.  It was about being honest.  Turning greed into generosity is discipleship that often takes time, but turning what is fake into what is real needs to be called out right away, and in this case at the expense of the lives of this couple.

So where am I pretending?  How and where do I give only lip service to the things of God, giving part and saying it’s all (or even making that allusion), boasting (even in subtlety) or doing anything that lacks integrity?  Do I sin? It’s with no pride that I say “yes”.  Do I lie about my shortcomings?  Well, I won’t say I advertise them, but let me be quick to confess them to any and all who ask.

Let grace define me – not just receiving it but being open that I need it.  Every single day.

Saving a miser from misery

Luke 19:9 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.

The people of Israel hated tax collectors, who worked for the occupying Romans. Not only were they compromised in their loyalty, but they used their power to extort more money than was truly owed. Everyone knew they were thieves, also.

Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, so we can imagine, though not told, of a pyramid scheme of graft he utilized to acquire great wealth. He was also of short stature, such that when Jesus came by, he had to climb a tree in order to see. It must have been startling to hear Jesus tell him to get down because he had to spend the day at his house. Startling and scandalous, because to visit someone like that was thought to be an endorsement of their life and practices, perhaps to curry favor or gain wealth for oneself.

But Jesus had other plans. We do not know the conversation, but Zacchaeus emerged from their time together joyfully repentant. He would restore four times what he had gained illegally and give a full half of his wealth to the poor. In a short time he went from miser to benefactor.

Jesus’ proclamation that “salvation has come to this house” could have been seen as a pun, since Jesus’ own name – Yeshua – means salvation. But more vital is his inclusion of Zacchaeus as a son of Abraham. His restoration was something Jesus needed to accomplish that day.

So, do I look on crooks in high places with a condemning heart? It is certainly in vogue these days to do so. Are they hopelessly doomed to be bound in their own greed and pride? Or do I see the will of God that salvation would come to their house? Oh, let me drink that spirit in! Let me be strengthened with such grace that I could see my very oppressors saved, smiling and generously loving where before they were only using me and others like me. Is this enabling? Is it making myself vulnerable to new and even worse hurt? Not if my steps are ordained by the Lord.

Let me have a prophetic glimpse of what it means to include the wayward despot among the people of God. Let me make sure that person knows s/he is welcome in the family, that there is no condemnation awaiting his/her coming clean and coming to faith. And let me spend time as Jesus did, compelled to speak life to the cold and dead.

Roger Daltry sang the word “No one knows what it’s like to be the sad man, to be the bad man, behind blue eyes. No one knows what it’s like to be hated, to be fated to telling only lies.” Indeed. And no one knows what it’s like when salvation comes to his house.

Glorious resupply – Philippians 4:19 (June 14, 2013)

Scripture:

Philippians 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Observation:

The Philippians had been unique in their action to support Paul in his missionary journey. They had sent Epaphroditus, a “fellow soldier” in Christ to Paul. It’s hard for us to appreciate the level of encouragement that this produced. It would have been easy for Paul to become lonely and discouraged. If not for a devoted life in the spiritual disciplines, he may have easily given up. But God had chosen the right man in Paul; he was equal to the task. And God’s hand was with the Philippians as they sent Epaphroditus to find him and bless him with their gift. But Paul’s response did not end with thanksgiving; it included the promise cited above. Sacrificial giving, though rare in this day, was arguably the default in the early church. People would give out of their poverty. This was not in response to some manipulative huckster, promising untold wealth and good fortune if they did so. It was due to pure faith, trusting that God saw and would act on their behalf, since they had acted on behalf of another. And so the gift was trusted to be reciprocal, though its reciprocity originated in heaven and not earth. That is, God would meet all the needs of the givers, but He would use other givers or other human circumstance to do it.

Application:

Is there a way I can encourage the family of God? In particular, is there a set of people I know who are fulfilling their calling to places that are difficult or dangerous? It doesn’t take a direct word of prophecy to know that they need my encouragement and it doesn’t take an accountant of gifts to know that I have things to give them that would not only “make their day” but in fact make it possible to continue. For the attack of the evil one is incessant both to hinder and blunt the work of God and my obedience to give what I have is a direct weapon against that onslaught of discouragement and all he would bring. So let me be diligent in giving, considering ALL I HAVE as a contributing capital for the Kingdom. And should I shrink back or be conservative let me remember the Philippians (and all in the ancient church who had NOTHING) and receive back the promise given by Paul above. All I have is from God’s supply; let it go out that I might again see His blessing. For my needs will be covered – let me both know and historically observe that – and the flow of this world’s goods, talents and even people will be resupplied by the sovereign hand of the Living God. We are not talking about worldly resources for worldly resource, but heavenly ones for worldly ones. If I believe the material world is a shadow of the reality of heaven – trusting spiritual discernment – then there is no investment that can equal the coming payback. Period.

Prayer:

Father, let me trust as I should, giving what I should and seeing Your hand of supply as I should. Wake me to Your glory, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Waging the war of the disciple – Luke 14:31-33 (October 1, 2012)

Scripture:

Luke 14:31-33 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.  In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

Observation:

Jesus gave three admonitions about becoming and remaining his disciple recorded in the latter part of Luke 14.  The first made the point that family affinities take second place to commitment to Christ – for so much manipulation can exist that there is the potential to make a mockery of one’s discipleship.  The next two warnings concerned the cost of following Christ.  Using the analogy of a builder – the one constructing must give it all to build this house.  And then the analogy of war was given – where a king must have enough warriors to win the war or else get a peace treaty negotiated to avoid a slaughter.  There is very little doubt that this refers to spiritual warfare and the size of the host among the forces of the enemy brought to oppose the disciple.  Now, it is not by his/her own strength that the disciple conducts warfare but by the Spirit.  The point is that the warfare has come and is coming; it is the permanent state of existence among those living for God on planet earth.  Asking for terms of peace would be surrender and compromise; NOT the will of God and NOT the fulfilled life of the believer.  And finally, Jesus said this entailed giving up everything to serve Him.  That is, one’s possessions must serve God in this warfare or else be dispensed with for other weaponry of God’s choosing.  And there is NOTHING forged by men that wins this battle for it belongs to the Lord.  Giving up that which fills one’s hands means to allow God to fill the heart and hands with His goods and power.

Application:

Do I cling to this world’s goods?  I must defend owning them, and even then consider them as if I did not own them, but they belonged to Jesus.  Do they serve to fight the war of the Spirit?  The battle is not one fought with weapons of human devise, built to rip through flesh and destroy vital organs.  It’s one of spiritual strategy and weaponry, with apparently “soft” tools like prayer, time in the Word and in worship.  Have I taken an inventory of those weapons?  Have I considered how they might be better used to demolish the work of the enemy all around?  Or have I sent a peace delegation already, making peace where there is no peace and laying down vital arms for an easier life and daily tranquility.  The devil will gladly make peace on his terms, with his boundaries and rules of conduct.  It’s a sign that I need stirring if I internalize those regulations over my life.  No, I need to rally the troops of my own spiritual gifting, find others with the same and partner with them against the onslaught.  For “greater are those who are for us than those who are against us”, says Elijah to the doubting protégé – and then the disciple’s eyes were opened to see the chariots of fire over the valley of war.  Oh let me see that army; let me march with it and sing its victory songs.  For I have not been born to surrender and born again to lay aside that with which I have most amply been supplied.  Victory in Jesus, my Savior forever!

Prayer:

Father, may Your eyes be upon me this day to show me where I have made peace in the war of the kingdoms.  Let me take inventory and fill me with battling faith that I might take ground for You.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Gold gone worthless – Ezekiel 7:19-20 (August 29, 2012)

Scripture:

Ezekiel 7:19-20 They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity.  His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore I make it an unclean thing to them.

Observation:

That which the people of Jerusalem thought so precious that it even defined them became worthless when judgment fell.  Nothing could be bought or bartered in the economy of desperation.  Nothing ever can be.  They had made their possessions more valuable than justice or righteousness and those possessions now showed themselves impotent.  Gold used to buy things – from the three staple needs of food, clothing and shelter to that which brought prestige and curried favor.  For those with gold to find themselves utterly destitute was a complete overthrow of society and culture.  At the point of this passage the rich were on equal footing with their former slaves and victims.  Gold and silver could not be eaten and without food, all were starving to death.  This was judgment and the most vivid kind of idol destruction.   The worship of riches had to cease in order for the worship of God to commence; though these people were far from worshiping God in their suffering.  They were in shock.  Their money had become that which destroyed their faith and thus its value needed to be destroyed before their eyes.  Indeed, the choice material for manufacturing idols was precious metals.  These were those who could afford the fanciest of worship-ware.  If one were to pray to an idol, how much better to a golden one!  Now the gold was abhorrent, worthless and a bitter reminder of their error and wayward hearts.

Application:

And where is my gold?  Where is my worship?  Do I need the best of all materials to worship well?  Does my instrumentation need to be state-of-the-art and my technology need to be that which inspires envy?  Let my heart know right now that all that is a trap.  There is no limit to the goods one can be blessed with in life.  But the more it is, the more carefully it must be kept off the pedestal of the heart.  Thanksgiving is critical in the shower of blessing; anything else creates idols and builds pride.  And if one is blessed, one must also keep the blessing flowing with growing, even reckless generosity.  If I should lose everything – I mean everything – would I on that day yet praise God my Savior as I am fond of singing?  Would I still be able to live for others?  Would I sacrifice myself or scrounge for survival at others’ expense?  It’s only a contrived scenario in the sense that I have not yet lived it; it was the scene in Jerusalem after decades and decades of rampant depravity.  Is it so different today?  How many worship their riches?  How many others live in envy?  The best thing I can to do keep my countrymen from such judgment is to be a witness of God’s grace and worship Him in spirit and in truth.  It is absolutely counter-cultural and that’s the only way to be if culture worships the wrong things.  Let me never long for judgment but instead long for all to become worshipers of the only One who saves.

Prayer:

Father, keep my heart from exalting the things of this world.  If they be tools for Your glory, so be it.  But let my heart remain yours always, even if it means I must lose all that glitters.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

Redeemed toil/cleansed ambition

As part of a pastoral training program I’m enrolled in, I’ve been reading through Kenneth Boa’s Conformed to His Image.  So far it’s been a great reminder/enforcer of what we believe, what we do and why we do it.

I stumbled a bit as I read the chapter on temporal versus eternal perspectives.  Boa is balanced, but I read him as one who has been through imbalance.

There is an overstating and over-living of the heavenly view where secular work is deemed unholy, even dirty.  It’s ambitions and goals are as compromised as the ways they are achieved, stepping over people and cheating, stealing and lying.

I have heard it said that it was my secular job to in fact be one whose only purpose was to win people to Jesus; nothing else matters.  Well today I would say that if I really acted upon that, I should be summarily fired.  That is NOT that for which I am paid a salary nor it is all that God is concerned with.

Boa writes:

Thus it would be the heart of folly to become entangled and enmeshed in that which is “highly esteemed among men” but is “detestable in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15). In our careers, for example, we should execute our tasks with quality and care as servants of Christ rather than pleasers of men (Colossians 3:22—24). Our ambition must be different from that of others; instead of pursuing position, power, prestige, or wealth, we should seek the approval of our God (2 Corinthians 5:9).

citing

Luke 16:15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.

and

2 Corinthians 5:9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.

which are scriptures both taken out of context (that is, work ethics).

But the purifying truth is that one can achieve advancement, power, career development and the whole package without greed, seeking prestige or wealth.  I would suggest that not only can one do this, one should pursue these things as a gifted child of God.  A born-to-be-CEO who glorifies God is a better witness if s/he takes steps to become CEO than one so born who pursues the position of CEO out of greed and power-lust.

The unbelieving world out-achieves believers.  That’s a statement I’ll make without data but with a good deal of personal experience.  I will also say that is a tragedy of some proportion because it has been instigated by clerical error, throwing baby out with bathwater and establishing strong guilt by association.

God redeems our toil; He cleanses our ambition.  As believers, we are still to have ambition and make plans, submitted to God but nonetheless to be acted upon.  Anything less denies and defies the attributes of the person God has created and is sin from the pulpit.

Now, advanced scholarship and career ascension can be like strong wine; they must be approached with great sobriety for they can seduce the believer right out of his/her faith.  But a theology vaunting a God that does not allow people to be who they were born to be destroys the church.

I want to balance this; I want us all to balance this.  Then we can be the amazing children of God we were created to be.

Reward for the servant guards – 1 Samuel 30:23-25 (April 25, 2012)

Scripture:

1 Samuel 30:23-25 David replied, “No, my brothers, you must not do that with what the LORD has given us. He has protected us and delivered into our hands the raiding party that came against us.  Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike.” David made this a statute and ordinance for Israel from that day to this.

Observation:

David had listened to God and gone on a rescue mission against the Amalekite raiders who had burned the town of Ziglag and had stolen their property and kidnapped their wives and children.  As they began their pursuit, they came upon an abandoned Egyptian slave who directed them to their enemy and they fought and overtook them, recapturing all that was lost PLUS a large amount of plunder.  Now, as they returned, those who had gone on the raid wanted the plunder to be theirs alone since those who stayed behind hadn’t participated.  But David strongly objected, citing the LORD’s hand in all that had proceeded, including the accumulation of booty to be distributed.  David insisted that an equal share of what they had received belonged to those who had stayed behind to guard the supplies.  In retrospect, if David had left some men behind in Ziglag, the Amalekites could never have taken what THEY had, so in a way he was citing a lesson from recent history.  But more to the point was the principle that guarding is no less a task in the army than fighting and there was to be equal reward bestowed upon those who stayed back from the battle to watch over the camp.  Now, it was true that those who did not go to battle may have been very weary from recent exploits into Israel with their hosts, the Philistines, which is a whole other story.  So for them, staying behind was to catch their breath and rest and it could well have been that those who went to battle resented that, being tired themselves yet going hard after the enemy.  Still, rest is afforded the weary, said the new statute instituted by David in all wisdom.

Application:

Who do I demote based upon what I consider an inferior job description or performance that I just know I could have exceeded myself?  If I do that, I should expect my own job description to diminish until I learn to serve in the most exalted of positions and tasks.  Do I steal the reward of those who serve?  Do I discount their faithfulness while vaunting my own?  That’s shady business and self-deceptive to the point of scandal.  No, I had better learn to go out of my way to reward those who are left out of the discussion at bonus time because they hold “only” this or that job title.  Organizations – including the called out servants of God in the church – need people who serve in all functions or they truly will be raided as the Amalekites raided Ziglag.  Let my soul learn that well and give no less attention to the faithful who remain holding the fort.  Let me learn what comprises competence in the work and call it out as I exalt its best practitioners as stars outright.  For the caste systems of men are based on shaming pride; let me stab that with every rusty knife.  Let me pull down its rock stars and put the roadies on the stage.  Let me take the scientist from presenting his brilliance (which IS brilliance but NOT in pride, thank you) and put him in the audience which the mechanic fixes an engine for us all to marvel at.  There is no lesser job if the job is done with a heart of service.  And there is no less reward for the one who serves.

Prayer:

Father, I thank You for this lesson yet again.  Truly You have placed me in a position of influence for such a time as this.  Let me be used of You to establish this and other precepts like it, enforcing it in my own life and the lives of those around me.  In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.