idle and disruptive

Paul had one thing in common with Dutch Calvinists of a couple of generations ago: he didn’t like idleness. “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop!” was a saying I heard a lot as a boy.

Here’s Paul’s version, from 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13: “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’

“We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.”

The way Paul seems to see it is if you tend to your own business you won’t have time to stick your nose into other people’s. Idle people not only have time to gossip and stir up controversy, but they rely on others to support them. They’re a burden, a drain on resources.

This isn’t a point about government programs. This is a word for people who could be busy but aren’t. And it doesn’t have anything to do with jobs; there are many busy Christians who serve all day long and never collect a dime. There are many who leave their day jobs and spend evenings doing good works.

There are also people who never seem to roll up their sleeves, but instead snipe at people from their comfortable seats at the coffee table after church. I think those are the ones Paul didn’t like.

At work we have an informal rule that you can’t complain about something you’re not willing to help work on. If you won’t contribute to the solution, then the problem evidently doesn’t bother you all that much. It’s a way that we keep idlers from turning into busybodies. And it might be a good rule for the church.

love the truth

I wonder if any of us really prefer the truth.

People avoid the doctor because they fear they may have high blood pressure, or high cholesterol. Until they know for sure, they can live as if they don’t. The problem is, their ignorance doesn’t change the truth, and their concern suggests they might have an inkling anyway.

We also seldom enjoy the truth about what people think of us. Occasionally we hear a comment or see something written for someone else about us, and we get a hint that we’re not as universally loved as we would wish to be. Even those closest to us have thoughts about us they don’t share. Do we really want to know?

I don’t think we have to know every unpleasant thing there is to know, but I do think we should try to be active seekers for the truth. That’s a defining characteristic of Christians, that we believe there is an absolute truth. In fact, Jesus said the truth will free us.

Paul repeated that truth in the opposite, in 2 Thessalonians 2:10: “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” In Paul’s view, salvation is closely linked with not just truth-finding, but truth loving. That’s because truth is what is real about God and his world. All untruth is an attempt to obscure God.

That’s hard these days. We’d rather let our tribe, defined by ethnicity and political affiliation, tell us what to believe, and which side to champion. We don’t want to hear and defend the truth that there are only two genders and only one way to do marriage right. We don’t want to acknowledge that Jesus told us to look after the marginalized, not brutalize or take advantage of them. We prefer to lock down our borders and carry our guns rather than believe Jesus when he tells us not to fear people who can only hurt our bodies. Jesus says fear the one who will jeopardize your soul, possibly by getting you to consider other people animals or at least expendable law-breakers. 

We all have hard truths to face. Our favorite sin is as bad as the sins we condemn in others. Our favorite candidate doesn’t love America any more than the other side. Our Lord would not choose for us most of the fights we spend our energy on.

This morning, Paul gives us a choice. We can continue to go along in order to get along, or we can learn to love the truth and thereby save ourselves. But how can we love something we won’t even acknowledge?

fruition

Paul was so good at praying. You may have read some of my thoughts on his other prayers; here’s another great one from 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: “With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

I love how Paul zeroes in on what’s important. No praying for a good day, a successful trip, excellent grades, recovery from a cold. Paul prays this prayer in three sets of twos: two requests, two fruits and two outcomes.

The two requests are at the core of Christian purpose. Paul prays that the Thessalonians will be worthy of God’s calling, and that God’s power would bring fruition. That fruition Paul prayed for in two ways; fruitfulness in their desires for goodness and in their faith-prompted deeds. Paul wanted these things for the Thessalonians because they would lead to two outcomes: that the name of Jesus would be glorified in them, and that they in turn would be glorified (read made holy) in him.

Paul’s elegant symmetry in composing this prayer makes it ring for me. It becomes a memorable little Gospel-in-a-nutshell, that by God’s power in making our desires and deeds fruitful, we can be glorified and glorify God. All of this is what it means to be worthy of our calling.

It’s another great model of how to pray earnestly and graciously for each other.

readiness

For 25 years I was an officer in the Army National Guard. During that time, regulations were updated, new MTOEs were issued (those are the organizational documents that authorize soldiers and equipment), uniforms changed. There was one constant, though. From Basic Training on, the mantra of the National Guard was readiness, which I came to understand as a high level of preparedness that would enable effective response to almost any contingency.

I believed wholeheartedly in the concept of readiness. I still do. It seems both pragmatic and responsible to look at life, estimate what it might require of me, and work to prepare myself in advance. The problem is, in civilian life what readiness means is less easily understood.

Paul helped me a little bit this morning with this from 1 Thessalonians 5:8: “But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.”

My takeaway from this verse is to guard my heart and my mind. A breastplate goes over your chest to protect your heart, and a helmet goes on your head to protect your brain. Paul seems to be saying that life is going attack me in those two places, heart and mind, so part of readiness is learning to defend them.

What’s interesting is his idea of protection. For the heart, it’s faith and love; faith in God and love for him and for others. Those things, Paul says, will give me a robust heart that can withstand disappointment, poor treatment and neglect.

For the mind, Paul suggests hope. Hope will give me mental resilience because I’ll be able to understand why I shouldn’t be overwhelmed in the current moment. I’ll stay focused on heaven, so earth won’t seem so important or so intimidating.

Again, Paul returns to faith, hope and love, the three spiritual gifts he describes in the Love Chapter. These three, he notes there, will always persist, so what better tools for readiness?

control

I think the American church has a problem with gender bias, but it’s not the one everyone is talking about. Oh, we’ve elevated men too high and women not enough, that’s true. But I’m talking about the idea that somehow men are incapable of controlling themselves, and women are irresistible sirens. It’s this idea that when something inappropriate happens men are given the benefit of the doubt, and women are given an extra measure of blame.

Women are in a tough spot in the church. We want them to be as pretty as they can make themselves, with clean, styled hair, and fashionable clothes and make-up. But when they are pretty we men say we just can’t help ourselves, that those temptresses planted evil thoughts in our brains.

That’s a pretty low view of men.

Paul would have said that Christian men are quite a bit better than that. Here’s what he expected, from 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.”

Paul is pretty clear: men can control their bodies and their lusts. They can be holy and honorable. They by nature of the strengths designed into their character and the further strengthening of their spirits by the Spirit are fully able not to take advantage of people they’re attracted to.

And the way they can do that is one of those things that’s understood in a minute but takes a life-time to do: we become sanctified. By living every day as close to God as we can, by looking every minute to the leadership of our Lord Jesus, by listening in everything to the wise counsel of the Holy Spirit, we become more and more godly, more and more like the men we were created to be. We do in fact become more holy.

But here’s the thing, guys: we’re holy enough now to control our thoughts and actions. God has a way out of every temptation. When you give in, it’s because you want to.

So here’s an idea: let’s just knock it off. Our reactions to other people are controlled by us, not them. We’re not a bunch of frat boys, we’re sons of the king and brothers to Jesus. And to all the sisters created in his image. So let’s man up and stop with the excuses.  

increasing love and strong hearts

Again today, I’m struck by the specificity with which Paul prays. Look at this, from 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13: “May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.”

Two very specific requests: that their love would increase and that their hearts would be strengthened. And both with a specific purpose.

Increasing love, Paul felt, would overflow onto other people. Strong hearts would enable them to be blameless and holy. What he really wanted was for them to please Jesus and love other people. In order to get that for them, he prayed for increasing love and strong hearts.

I’m reminded that, the closer I get to praying in God’s will, the more specific I can be and still have confidence I’m seeing things the way God does.

shared lives

There’s a danger we have in the established church when it comes to outreach. The danger is that we like the “out” in outreach too much – we want it to stay out there and not sully our pristine buildings and highly-controlled worship services.

That’s not the way Paul saw it. This is typical of him, from 1 Thessalonians 2:8: “Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”

Do you see it? Paul was just as happy to share his life with these people as he was to share the Gospel. Paul didn’t care if they were pagans, former idolaters, former sinners or Jews. He was pleased to live right among them, share meals with them, talk and laugh in the cool evenings, sitting on the rooftops or in the square or in a lamp-lit room as the sun went down. 

It’s so easy for us to send money to missionaries, or to mentor a new church plant. We like our occasional visits to the soup kitchen or the prison ministry. But isn’t it often different when people come into our church and don’t know how to dress, or behave, or keep control of their kids? And even if we’re willing to welcome them to church, are we willing to include them in our lives? Will we invite them to game night or to walk with us in the morning? Do we want to have dinner with them?

I suspect that the reason Paul shared the gospel and his life simultaneously is because the gospel doesn’t mean much otherwise. How can we bring a message of forgiveness, acceptance and inclusion if we won’t then demonstrate those precious gifts by our own behavior?

People need both things, the gospel and to be part of community. Doesn’t our mission, then, involve bringing both?

remembered before God

As a Christian, one of the things I think I’m supposed to be is a blessing to others. I think that’s a basic part of following Jesus and bearing God’s image, that my presence in peoples’ lives will be a good thing for them. I just sometimes am uncertain about what that looks like.

The Thessalonian Christians were a blessing to Paul, one that he thanked God for all the time. He told them so, and why, in 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3: “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

What blessed Paul was not just that they had the spiritual fruits of faith, hope and love, but that those fruits were obvious by active outcomes. Faith had produced work, probably in this context what we would call kingdom work that furthered the spread of the Gospel. Love had resulted in labor, in all likelihood what we would call service or acts of love to other people. And hope became endurance, the ability to withstand the hard knocks that the Father of Lies wants us to see as calamitous evidence that God is absent.

I find it fascinating, and helpful, that the three spiritual gifts Paul wrote about so passionately in the Love Chapter are the seeds that produce in these Christians the fruit that blessed him, so much so that he continually mentioned them to God.

If my religion produces kingdom work, loving service and hopeful endurance, that will probably bless the people around me too.

every opportunity

There’s a thing at work that we call “kicking the can down the road.” That’s when you decide to postpone dealing with a problem, or you find a way to defer it. If you respond to a problematic email, for example, by sending back, “Can you get me more information?” then you’ve kicked the can down the road.

Usually we do that because it’s just not a good time. We have other things we’re working on, or maybe we don’t want to spend the resources right now. But the end result is that the problem lives on.

Paul reminds me this morning how often I have a “kick the can” mentality when it comes to mission. I never decide not to do it, but I often decide not to do it today. And then I find that for 30 or 60 or 365 consecutive days I’ve postponed the very thing I’m alive to do.

Here’s a better way, according to Paul from Colossians 4:5-6: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Every conversation that doesn’t encourage a brother or introduce someone to Jesus is a missed opportunity. In a few weeks I won’t even remember what those other things were that we talked about; certainly they won’t seem important at the end of my life. But the result of my graceless, unseasoned conversations is that very few of my conversations have the impact they should.

Instead of looking for the right day, or finding a good time, Paul says to make the most of every single opportunity. Every can kicked down the road is a missed chance. That other stuff can wait; this is what’s important.

earthly things

There’s a lot going on this week. I’m in summer theater and have practice three nights, plus lines to memorize. I’m also busy at work; our seasonal demand is peaking and there are several big projects on my desk. I have a dozen or so meetings, and Dawn is gone for the week so I get to learn once again how much she contributes to the ease of my days. You could say I have a lot on my mind.

But do I have the right things on my mind? My thoughts right now are all about life in the next week, when Paul advises this, in Colossians 3:1-5: “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

I’ve often read this as related to the goals or end purpose of my life; in other words, to live ultimately for God’s purposes and to work toward my own sanctification. Today, it spoke to me of my everyday wants. Today, I heard Paul telling me to stop feeling harried by my schedule and look instead to the reasons for all the things that fill my days.

Because if I’m doing it right, summer theater and making paint are part of my ultimate purpose. They’re ways that I try to make this world more beautiful, to restore goodness where sin brings ugliness. Each of my meetings and all of my work will bring opportunities to make people smile, to serve people, to bring a little blessing into other lives. Every moment will be a chance to see people through God’s eyes and offer them what he would give.

If I have my mind set on earthly things, like finding leisure for myself or squirreling away more for my retirement, I’ll miss all that. I’ll miss the chance to grow, becoming more like Jesus and less like the man I used to be. And I’ll miss the blessing that comes from blessing others, that true joy that makes every day a sunny day regardless of the weather.

It starts in my mind; what is my focus? What can I do to make sure that focus stays on things above?

goals

In my experience, people are either consistent goal-setters or they don’t set goals at all. I’m one of the first kind. The first goal I remember setting was at age 16, and I’ve had goals ever since. I have short-term goals for the year, long-term goals for my life, and mid-term goals that bridge the two.

That means I’ve spent a lot of time considering the purpose of my life and my work, and deciding what are appropriate things to want and work toward. And, as with so many things, Paul put me to shame this morning with just a few verses, from Colossians 2:1-3: “I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Paul had a goal, that the Colossians Christians would be encouraged in heart and united in love. In fact, he says he was working hard toward that goal. That verb “contending” suggests resistance, so I imagine Paul not only as a fierce prayer warrior on their behalf, but also as a tireless fighter against all the false preachers in the region.

And there was a reason behind his goal, something that made it worthwhile. The reason was so that they would have the full riches of complete understanding, knowing the God’s greatest mystery (Jesus), who would provide them the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In other words, Paul wanted them to really know about life, and everything that gives life value.

What’s in it for Paul? Nothing. He already knew Jesus, he already had this treasure. Paul just wanted it for these other Christians; he wanted it bad enough to make it a goal, to fight for it.

You see why Paul puts me to shame? His goals were all about other people. He wanted desperately for others to be saved. He didn’t care where he lived or what he owned or how he dressed. He never thought about retirement. He didn’t even care if he got arrested and thrown in jail. All he wanted was to encourage other Christians and lead them to know Jesus.

I’ve set and achieved some goals in my life that I thought were pretty ambitious. Somehow, today, they don’t seem like much.

effective prayer

Sometimes I get serious about praying. I try to develop good habits, and to be diligent about remembering things to pray for. At those times, I think a lot about what effective prayer is.

This morning I got an idea of what Paul thinks it is. Look at this, from Colossians 1:9-12: “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.”

In this brief description of his prayers for the believers in Colossae, Paul provides an outline.

First, what he prays for: that God would fill them with the knowledge of his will by the gift of the Holy Spirit, who gives us wisdom and understanding. In other words, Paul prays that the Spirit will show them what God wants.

Second, there’s a reason. Paul wants them to be able to please God and live a worthy life.

And then, he gets into some hows. He prays that they will please God by bearing fruit in good works, by growing in the knowledge of God, by being strengthened with great endurance and patience, and by joyfully giving thanks to the Father. Four things: fruit, knowledge, endurance and patience, and joyful thanksgiving.

That’s a prayer I can pray for anyone, that they would be shown God’s will and enabled to live a life that pleases God, a life made up of good works, knowledge, patience and joy. I think God would be pleased to answer a prayer like that.

the basis of love

Paul could sure expect a lot of people. For example, look at his request written to Philemon, in verses 8-11: “. . . although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.”

The rest of this letter tells us Onesimus was a runaway slave, and Philemon was his owner. When Onesimus took off, it cost Philemon a lot of money, and Philemon was fully in his rights not only to want his property back, but to discipline Onesimus as well. In the rest of his letter, though, Paul makes clear his expectation that Philemon will welcome Onesimus back not as a servant, but as a free brother.

That’s a lot to expect.

But look how Paul starts the letter, beginning in verse 4: “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.”

Paul knew that he wasn’t expecting more than Philemon could or would do. Philemon had gotten to know Jesus. Philemon was now a Christian, dedicating himself to refreshing the hearts of fellow believers and opening his house up for worship services. Philemon was exactly the kind of guy who would treat former property as a brother in Christ.

How can that be? Because the love of Jesus changes us. It fills us and spills out on other people, even people we used to disdain. So Paul bases his appeal in love, knowing that Philemon would respond out of his gratitude for the love Jesus showed him.

“They’ll know we are Christians by our love” are lyrics in an old praise song, a very apt one. Before our bodies or clothes or nice cars or powerful positions, love should be the first thing people notice about us. It’s what makes us the church.

obedient

What do you do about a government you don’t like? That’s a pertinent question for many people today, and Paul seems to address it in Titus 3:1: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient . . . .” That’s pretty straightforward, it seems. There are times, of course, when civil disobedience is appropriate but we have to recognize that if we’re disobedient just out of dislike, we might disappoint God.

Maybe more pertinent: what do we do about all those other stupid people who feel differently about the government than we do? Paul seems to speak to that in verse 2: “. . . to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.”

Does that sound like the Facebook and Twitter you know? Does that sound like the statements of our celebrities and sports stars? Does that sound like our conservative commentators and liberal counter-voices? Or are the people you most admire, the ones who mic-drop the best, who shut others down, the opposite of peaceable and considerate and gentle? Do you cheer the slanders they make against people you don’t like? Do you join in?

Here’s why it matters, from verses 3-5: “At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.”

People who behave like that, Paul says, only do it because they haven’t experienced God’s grace and mercy. They’re still foolish and disobedient, deceived and enslaved by the Father of Lies, who has plenty of people sharing and retweeting his lies these days. They’re the puppets of their passions. That’s where all the malice and hate come from.

But that’s not us. Christ-followers know better. We’re nice, especially to our enemies. Aren’t we?

sound doctrine

It’s not uncommon for my church friends to ask why we have to talk about doctrine. In my denomination we learn it from doctrinal statements like the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dordtrecht. Those tend to be dry and sometimes hard to understand, but they are a good way to describe and summarize what is revealed across all of scripture about God and how we relate to him.

But most of my church friends have little interest in doctrine. They just want the Bible, and the right songs. It’s easier that way.

Here’s what Paul said on the topic, in Titus 2:1-2, 11-14: “You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance . . . . For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.”

As a man who is rapidly becoming older, I see a lot of value here. Instead of eccentric or curmudgeonly or blunt, all the things old men tend to be, I’d rather be temperate. I like that word; like tempered, it implies some ability to withstand stress and pressure without getting bent out of shape. This world needs more temperate old men, not to mention ones worthy of respect, self-controlled and sound in faith, love and endurance.

All that can come from learning sound doctrine. Want to say no to those worldly passions? Paul says learning sound doctrine will help you live a self-controlled, upright and godly life.

I like to think of it like this: reading the Bible teaches us the parts of God’s revelation, but doctrine teaches us the entirety of it. It’s hard to pull a cohesive understanding of the Trinity or election or baptism or grace or the law from the Bible, but all those things are summarized for us in our doctrinal statements. And the real value of the Heidelberg Catechism and other like documents is they have been validated for us by generations of wise leaders. We can trust them.

So by all means keep up your Bible reading; in fact, if you’re only going to look one place go there first. But don’t devalue sound doctrine. After all, it and scripture are really saying the same things.

pure

I’m proud of my military contribution, but one outcome of 25 years with soldiers is some of my humor is kind of black. Soldiers and cops and nurses, among others, tend to do that to cope with some of the things they have to see and do. But one thing I never got used to, and still am repulsed by, are the coarse jokes about sex. To me, most of them are gross or sad, not funny. Sex is at the core of marriage, which is one of the ways we understand how Jesus relates to the church. It isn’t a joking matter.

When I wonder how some people can think those things are funny, I remember what Paul taught in Titus 1:15: “To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.”

Now, I’m not as pure as I should be, but in this matter I can see what Paul is referring to. Without God as an absolute reference of truth and goodness, we don’t have to respect anything as good. And then everything is fair game.

Sex is good and pure only if you accept God as its creator and his standards for sex as absolute. If you don’t acknowledge that Jesus’ kingship extends to include our bedroom behavior, then sex is just scratching an itch. Nothing pure about it.

That’s true for everything God made good, and all the things he declared holy. And it’s why our coarse jokes say much about what we really believe.

poured out

I love those parts of scripture that show Paul’s human side, because most of the time he makes me feel inadequate, and often I’m in awe of him. Today, it’s that last one.

Look at this casual comment thrown in at the end of his second letter to Timothy, recorded in 2 Timothy 4:6: “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.”

Two things strike me about this. First, it’s true. Paul spent his entire self on mission and ministry. All of his dreams, his career, his standing with his peers, his life and health and freedom, all were consumed by his passion for the great good news. “Poured out” is an appropriate word picture for what Paul did as he followed Jesus. 

The other thing is, he’s fine with it. He doesn’t rail against it. In fact, I imagine a little satisfaction in this verse, and the ones following where he says he’s run a good race. In Paul’s mind, it’s fitting that everything about his life became an offering to his Lord.

See what I mean? How can I hope to measure up to a man like that? I hold so much of myself back; I want too much of life for myself. I would resent being poured out, everything of worth in me dumped onto the thirsty ground. 

But that’s where the greatest blessing is. Following Jesus, being used up in his service, is exactly what I was made for. It’s the only thing that can truly give me joy.

form of godliness

I’m not a guy who looks for signs of the end times; I think that if we could figure it out Jesus wouldn’t have told us we’ll be taken by surprise on that day. But sometimes I read things in scripture that make me wonder.

Here’s an example from 2 Timothy 3:1-5: “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”

Does any of that sound familiar, like maybe even like us? People who love ourselves and love money? Both of those loves are billion-dollar industries in this country. And Americans have a name overseas for being boastful, proud and abusive. On top of that, how many middle-aged folks like me don’t think too many kids these days are disobedient and ungrateful? This whole list (let’s see, what’s left: unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good things . . . ) could be a description of the worst parts of our culture.

But Paul didn’t leave me out. Just when I’m thinking disdainfully of all those other people, he adds, “having the form of godliness but denying it’s power.” Is that me? Instead of all those other things, when people look at me I think they see a Christian. But do I live in the power of God? Or do I try to control my life, manipulate outcomes, and push and prod others in order to have things the way I want them?

Unless I’m really motivated by serving Jesus and nothing else, I deny the power of the Gospel claim on my life. And that puts me in that same group of people Paul warns us to have nothing to do with.

words

I’m on the verge of quitting on the news, and social media along with it. I feel like I shouldn’t, because I believe that keeping informed is one of the first responsibilities of good citizenship. By being informed, you are equipped to take part in our cultural and civic dialogue, to be a voice of reason.

But I’m sick of it. I’m sick of the talking heads on TV trying to make something out of nothing by over-dramatizing things that seem pretty basic to me. And I’m even more sick of the way people will post things they’d never dare to say face to face. So I’m about there.

This morning, Paul seems to be thinking like I am. Look at this, from 2 Timothy 2:14-17: “Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.”

I see two warnings in these verses for people like me. The first one is not to get bogged down in debates that aren’t relevant to my mission. Why do I care what one celebrity said about another one, or even what the President tweeted? What does my opinion about the special counsel’s investigation matter? How does it help anyone for me to lay blame for things I actually know very little about at the feet of people I’ve never met? 

Far better, I think, to spend my energy on the things that are closer to the Kingdom, and things I can actually effect. That, to me, means those issues that are basic to justice and human dignity, like refugee support and immigration regulations and figuring out how we Christians can relate lovingly to unbelievers of all types. And it means engaging those topics locally, where I can actually make a difference.

The second warning is that, no matter what conversations I choose to take part in, I have to keep it clean. I must treat people respectfully, not sully anything that God has made good (like sex, for example), and not accept or encourage any kind of sin or evil. Those things are godless, the kind of chatter Paul warns of, and by engaging in them I will simply corrupt myself, on top of whatever other badness I might do.

Two things, then: be careful what I, as a Christian, choose to engage in, and be sure to engage in a way that befits the Lord whose banner I’m waving. I think I can do both without much CNN, Fox or social media.

flames

Are Christians doormats? Should we, as followers of the Prince of Peace, let people walk all over us? Is that what turning the other cheek is all about?

I don’t think so. Paul, as he reminds Timothy to work his gift of the Spirit into a roaring inferno, gives this reason, in 2 Timothy 1:6-7: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”

The Spirit gives us power, not timidity. Why then does the world so often see us as weak?

I think because of the other two things the Spirit gives us: love and self-discipline. Love enables us to hold back our strength, to be gentle when we could choose not to be. Self-discipline helps us overlook the things that feel personal and care only about the things God cares about. Those things cause us to restrain our power, something impossible for those who only understand power.

That’s why Paul reminds Timothy, and us, not to let the embers of our faith burn too low. That combination of power, love and self-discipline will blaze like a bonfire in the dark night of this age, it will be that different. It will draw people. It will push back the darkness. It will change the world.

We’re not doormats. Far from it.

pierced

As a born-and-raised Calvinist, I learned to mistrust wealth even while, as a Dutchman, I wanted it. Money, I learned early, is the root of all evil. The only thing worse, as far as I could discern from my mom and grandma, was dirt.

Turns out, I must not have listened well. The only thing wrong with money is that it helps Satan to tempt us. Here’s how Paul explains it, in 1 Timothy 6:9-10: “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

If I get Paul right, the problem with money is it takes a godly person to handle it. If you don’t have your eyes fixed firmly on Jesus and your purposes slaved to his, money can be a poison that erodes your soul. It isn’t the root of all evil, but it is a root, meaning it contributes along with other factors. People who chase after money are easily tempted, and that lust for wealth can actually lead people to their ruin.

But, Paul says, that’s only some people. It’s the ones chasing money for its own sake. There are others, this implies, who have worked their lives amassing wealth without being led astray. The difference, it seems, is whether your goal is to get rich, or to best use the gifts God has given you. After all, there have to be some money-earners in the church or it would be a struggle to fund ministry.

As with so many things, this seems to be an example of God’s blessing being turned by Satan into a curse. Don’t blame God for creating the potential for wealth in this world; Paul is clear that when money leads us to sin we’ve pierced ourselves. It’s literally a self-inflicted wound.

Good, committed Christians, it turns out, might be the only people on earth who can handle money.