Let Nothing You Dismay

In almost every Christmas movie we hear this title in the line from a warm and familiar Christmas carol ringing out in the background. No matter how secular the movie or how hard they still try to prove Santa’s existence, the real theme of the season is always shining through the cracks of a poorly-wrapped “Seasons Greetings”, a present that has a star burning at full strength inside. And we also hear:

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." Luke 2:14

Peace on Earth is indeed God’s intent, but not some feel-good kind of peace whose true depth has been bleached out by too much holiday tradition. It is a peace in the midst of an evil onslaught against our souls from the enemy below, and enmity with a righteous God above. In the midst of this conflict the angels herald peace on earth as God steps in - born as a child - to show just how close He will descend to save. His tidings offer victory over darkness and an amnesty for those who would seek peace with Him. But the peace is conditional on the unconditional surrender of us, the merry gentlemen.

Remember Christ our Savior. It is not the child in the manger who brought peace but the sacrifice that He made some 33 years later as the Messiah on the cross. His birth was the introduction of His mission, and His death, burial and resurrection accomplished peace for those who would respond.

Saved from Satan’s power. There is an enemy of our souls and of humanity who desires to wreak total chaos and death. The devil’s left hand seemingly causes destruction while his right hand gives a false peace that there is neutrality and moral relativism. And mankind runs back and forth from darkness to false light like confused sheep without a shepherd.

We have gone astray. But relativism is a lie. There is light and darkness, truth and falsehood, right and wrong. And it is only those who are initially dismayed at their poor condition before God who can appreciate the true tidings of comfort and joy heralded some 2000 years ago and echoed till this day. These are those “with whom He is pleased.”

"God bless us, every one!" Timothy Cratchit

A Sin Tax: Economic Boost?

Government leaders and businessmen around the world are pulling out their collective hair trying to find quick fixes and long-term solutions to the world economic crisis. One solution in the US for certain states and municipalities is creating or increasing the “Sin Tax.”

For those who think you need to be more careful about sinning in light of this, don’t worry. This means that certain things like the sale of cigarettes, alcohol and casino profits are taxed more. These are the “sins” that society is talking about.

Also in the news is a resurgence of the practice of granting Indulgences by some Catholic Churches. You used to have to pay hard cash for this, but now the renewed practice of acts of penance in this life can supposedly shave days or years from your time or the time of a friend in purgatory. All I have to say about this it that it makes Christianity look like a divine comedy. What a perversion of Christian truth!

Anyway, back to the sin tax. Imagine for a moment a real sin tax. Every time you sinned there would be a price to pay, and if you did not pay it now you would really have to pay later, but I am getting ahead of myself. Mind you, I really mean a payment for every sin, and if this was levied against all human beings for every sin I think it would vastly increase the economic reserves of every nation on earth.

However, this would also cause catastrophic bankruptcy for every individual on earth, so this is not a good economic plan at all. Still, if it were enacted we would see all sorts of human mechanisms come into being that either redefined sin, or we would see new forms of tax corruption and tax shelters - indulgences and absolvences - that would let people skate through life without any worries. Allow me summarize these under the category of “Other Religions”.

But there is a fundamental problem with all of this. There is no Sin Tax. There is simply a payment. The payment for every sin is the same, flat tax if you will, and the payment is not monetary. It is death, eternal separation from God.

Here we see humanity’s bankruptcy in its basest state. We can’t pay because it cost more than we have or more than we are. We need to plead – ask – for bankruptcy protection. God will forgive our debt by buying back our lives with the life of His Son. The only stipulation is that ownership is ceded to God. Your life will no longer belong to you. Don’t worry though. God takes very good care of what He purchases.

God is not a banker, but He is able to cancel out the debt of the entire world with one grand payment. It is free to us, but it cost Him dearly.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 6:23

Gossip Part 2: Appeasement, Correction or Rebuke?

Most gossip can be stopped by preemptive positive comments. We can’t anticipate what others will say, but if we are in a group we can sometimes sense the direction conversations might lead. Gossip – our untamed tongues - is a part of our old baggage that God is still working on, and for most it is an occasional lapse that we regret.

However, for some it is a very bad habit that is based in bitterness, insecurity or it is the only way they can make themselves look good - by lowering others. The gossiper often fishes for a response to see if others will volley. You know the guy. He makes a joke or a verbal slight, then looks around for approval and then he ventures further out on thin ice. Each time he goes through this routine he gets more and more comfortable with the wagging of his tongue. It just flaps in the wind.

Sooner or later the tongue will start a great fire, so as Christians it would serve us all if we did some fire prevention. The first rule is: Don’t volley! Just don’t answer. Don’t smile. Don’t laugh. This is kind of hard when everyone else is laughing.

Appeasement
I am from North Carolina where everyone is very polite. We just ignore stupidity and let people make an ass of themselves. Then we talk later about how they made an ass of themselves. However, appeasing the bigmouth violates community. It weakens our discernment and strengthens the root of evil because evil gets more comfortable and brazen with practice. As a young Christian and leader my common response to gossips was, “Hmm, that’s interesting.” I just did not like confrontation.

Correction
The best and easiest way to stop gossip is to inoculate the situation. For example, a new acquaintance who has a loose tongue says, “Did you hear about what ______ did?” We can say, “I know him. He helped me in the past. Is he ok?” This immediately lessens what this guy is willing to say at the risk of offending you.

Sometimes, we have to be a little more direct in a group when the snowball gets rolling. “Listen, I know this seems important, but I know this guy and his family. It might be appropriate to discuss this issue, but it is not here and not in this fashion.” If we do this humbly we will only gain respect and set a standard.

Rebuke
Some people still don’t get it, so we have to take them to the side. “Friend, I don’t know if someone has offended you, but what you are saying is really hurtful. Can we talk about this? Maybe I can help?”

Some have crossed the line so many times that they are brazen in their public tongue wagging. I have encountered this only a few times in 15 years of pastoring. Someone, usually a guest with an axe to grind, tries to dominate a meeting with bitterness and accusation. First I would say, “Sir, this is not the appropriate place for this. We can talk elsewhere.”

If they don’t heed this then I say, “We care for you, and you are welcome but what you are doing is not welcome. Let God touch your heart and heal you.”

Finally, I might have to say. “Sorry, you have to leave. No discussion.” This was done to maintain order and protect the fellowship. I have only done it twice.

Appeasement is a cancer, but constant gentle correction as well as setting positive standards will stop the snowball before it gets too big.

So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! James 3:5

Atheism: Camping at God’s Grave

Concerning belief in God there is a broad spectrum of positions ranging from devotion, to acknowledgement, to ignorance and finally direct opposition. I have met many people in my life all holding different positions. Many religious people are indifferent, and most who call themselves atheists or agnostics are only stating a shallow opinion on the subject.

However, standing at opposite ends of the spectrum are two camps that look at each other in total disbelief and fascination. The committed atheist wonders at the life committed to the unseen deity, but the believer must also wonder about the commitment of the atheist. I checked Google today and there were 15 million hits for the phrase “There is no God”.

Motive & motivation are always a factor in belief or unbelief, and I marvel at the determination of the atheist to prove that something does not exist. He even becomes angry at that thing that does not exist to the point that he seems to be camping out at the grave of God, always digging a hole to prove that it is empty. He can’t seem to tear himself away from digging much like a dachshund my wife once had growing up. He was obsessed with turning over large rocks in the back yard to see what was under them. After he turned over the rock he would proceed to do it again and again until we stopped him.

The committed atheist often becomes one at a young age before having devoted a lot of study to the subject. There is usually some event that has shattered his view of God. It could be the failing of a leader, a misrepresentation of some biblical truth by a charlatan or an unexplained loss. Personal failings are often projected onto God with illogical results. “I am mad at God about myself, so I will keep him in exile. I will maintain his nonexistence.” Simple revenge. All evidence after this is seen through these glasses as objectivity is lost and the radical is born.

You would think that once the idea of God has been eliminated that the person’s anger and moral crisis would disappear; however, for the committed atheist it often intensifies. I see a similar thing in people who have unresolved issues with a loved one who has passed away. In their hearts they are still arguing with that person to the point that they feel anger when they visit their grave. Some atheists are in a worse situation because they are angry with what they believe is an empty grave.

One aspect of radical Atheism’s continued fight with the nonexistent god is what it considers to be “the problem of evil”. While claiming that evil exists – an assumption that requires an absolute morality - they claim that a benevolent god whose existence defines good & evil does not exist because evil exists. Once again, their hearts reveal that they are waging a personal debate - based on God - with a personal God…who can’t exist. A non-existing god is kept in place as the whipping boy for humanity's failures, and the radical atheist can scarce live without him.

There are a great many arguments on each side of this great debate, and I have encountered many of them. I am one who has committed his life to knowing a personal God, but I do not understand a life committed to proving God does not exist. If God does not exist then our existence is short. Why waste time debating unless the questions of the soul concerning God are not really answered? Why not “eat drink and be merry for tomorrow we die” as Solomon said?

Life is indeed short. All sides agree. Eternity is long. Atheists do not agree on this, but in private they wish for a good eternity when they reach their later days. The irony of it all is that God did have a grave. He became like us, lived like us, died like us and inhabited a grave for a few days. The grave could not hold Him though. It will not hold us either from entering one of two eternities. Pascal wagered that closing the door on God is not wise, and even though it is an old wager it is still a good one.

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Heb 11:6

… the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen! Luke 24:5,6

Meeting Me & Becoming Them

Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. 1 Cor 4:15

There are some questions that God will not answer directly. It’s as if He waits until our maturity level or experience gives us a basis for understanding the answer. For me one of the questions in life has been understanding my leaders and being frustrated because they just could not understand me. As I grew, learned to forgive and began to lead others there was still a subtle nagging sting of past misunderstandings and hurts that remained without closure. Then the answer came from two directions at once.

I met me. I never planned to meet him, and I was not prepared to meet him. Actually, I began to lead people – some of them young leaders – who reminded me a lot of myself when I was a younger leader or when I started following Christ. As I began to help these people through familiar struggles I became surprisingly embarrassed. It was as if I was in one of those dreams where I am naked in a room and no one notices except me. (don’t laugh, you know you have had this dream too) The nakedness I now felt was in realizing how I must have looked to more mature believers and leaders when I thought I knew it all. How patient had they been? How much had they overlooked? This was the first half of God’s answer to me. I had met myself.

The next part was the hardest part. As I helped these growing leaders I found myself offending them in the same way that my leaders had hurt me. I meant well, but their expectations were too high. I never meant to offend. I explained and apologized. Some forgave and grew. Some did not. In this moment God answered. I had not only met myself but had become those whom I could not forgive. Understanding came, the offense in my heart lessened or vanished altogether and I realized the truth of the matter.

• Spiritual fathers are great, but they are few and far between.
• Even if we have spiritual fathers we need to have realistic expectations. Herein lies most offenses. They are perceived offenses.
• Leaders are not God, they are not our real fathers and as we grow their influence has to decrease as we become fathers ourselves and get to know The Father.
• God cannot answer some questions without growth on our part. If He simply told us the truth we might not believe it.
• Mirrors come in many forms.
• Even at our best we are just like those whom we can’t seem to forgive.

When G.K Chesterton was asked to contribute an article to the Times on “What is Wrong with the World?” he responded with the letter:

Dear Sirs,
I am.
Sincerely yours,
G. K. Chesterton

Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness.
Heb 12:9-10

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