Today I posted something on Facebook to help me deal with the part of scripture that I struggle with the most, Romans 13:1-7.
There are a LOT of scriptures that are difficult for me; things that call me towards Christ likeness yet cause my flesh to throw temper tantrums. There are things that I recognize as true about the world that I don't want to be true. And then there's Romans 13:1-7.
Deep in my heart there is a wall I've drawn around my principles and values. Many of them are immovable as a result. I will not budge on X, Y, or Z because I know these things to be true and if I violate them then I violate my soul. There's a traitor in their midst. I recognize the sovereignty of God and His scripture, his very words to us. And so I have troubles.
Here it is:
Romans 13:1-5
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from the fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
(6 and 7 are on taxes and what is owed people)
What does this mean to those under a cruel and oppressive government? At what point are we, as Christians, allowed or permitted to rebel...violently?
The more I read of the Bible, the more I think that the Amish and Quakers may have the right of it. In the face of abuse, intolerance, oppression, war, you do the good works that God has told you to do. You do not respond with rebellion. You give honor, respect, and anything asked of you even to a tyrant.
It grates against me. I don't like it. Even now as I write this there is rebellion in my heart to the concept. It hurts, but I know that feeling for what it is. It's a dark root that I have yet to pull out.
Look, I'm not telling you what to believe. I don't necessarily have any answers. I just coined on Facebook a saying I'm sure to repeat til my dying day. "I don't have answers unless it's to questions regarding the random trivia in my head. Other than that I have questions. Lots of questions." I would love for someone to come along and tell me why I'm wrong on this.
As I look at the scriptures, however, I don't see a single place (yet) that endorses rebellion against any form of government, tyrannical or not. I think of the Old Testament where the Children of Israel are in bondage to Egypt. I'm sure there were bloody uprisings every now and then because...well...they were humans. Was a bloody uprising what freed them? No. It was in God's timing and God's way. We've got the Medes, the Persians, the Babylonians who all come and dominate Israel. God even has a prophet who tells the people, "Just accept it! This is God's judgement!". Were their bloody uprisings? I'm sure there were..because...humans. But, again, was that that what freed them? Never. It was in God's timing and God's way.
My mind naturally turns next to the Revolutionary War and, given Romans 13:1-7, were the revolutionaries right in overthrowing the British empire? By God's standard, available for all to read, was it right? The British King was in authority and they rebelled against that authority. They rebelled against the authority God had established, because God establishes all authorities. And I recognize that I'm taking the tack of many Loyalists at the time who felt that it was exactly that. I value our American heritage and history more than most people realize. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Henry, Hancock, Adams, so many of them are basically protestant versions of saints in my head, but I have to question this. Are we better off? Sure. However, were we right biblically?
Jesus never preached rebellion and the Romans were significant oppressors at the time. Within 20 years after his death, if I remember correctly, they destroyed the temple. Constantly we are told to just do good, help the weak, the poor, the stranger, and the widow but never called to take up the sword. Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, give a man who demands your cloak your outer garment as well, do as the Samaritan; all of these are references to doing good to an oppressor. We are called to pray for and bless those in authority. The Bible instructs us, if we are slaves, to not try to escape but work all the more diligently for our master as we would the Lord himself.
I'm conflicted and need opinions on this, especially those which are grounded in scripture. It's easy to get off on "Well, surely God doesn't expect us to submit to THIS" and not deal with the call to submission itself.
I'm teachable. I'm willing to hear even that which disagrees with me, in fact I welcome it.
Pax,
W
Showing posts with label Supremecy of Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Supremecy of Jesus. Show all posts
Friday, September 16, 2016
Sunday, March 20, 2016
On Lent: Palm Sunday
It has been an interesting past few days here, going though Lent. In many ways I feel like this is the week I've been waiting for, and not because Resurrection Sunday comes and I'll be able to have sugar. On the contrary, in these final few days the personal spiritual revelations have started coming that I expected. There is a certain maturity that comes in giving up something you hold dear, something that controls you or at least moves you. One or two weeks without that thing is a fad or a lark. The third week tests your resolve. The fourth week tests your reasons, and if you get beyond that there really is quite something to be learned about yourself.
I'm starting to see the Sunday School haze fall away from my eyes more rapidly. Like many I grew up attending Sunday School in the morning and then Children's Church after worship service. Now, I respect the people who do such things and make those programs available. I don't mean to criticize them, but things get lost in the translation. Whether it was my wholly owned ignorance that is being exposed to the light of day or their desire to make good "behavioral lessons" out of common Bible tales I'm not certain.
For instance, it just occurred to me today that Luke, the doctor and gospel writer, wasn't one of the 12 Disciples. For that matter fellow gospel writer Mark wasn't either. Luke was likely Greek, never met the Lord in person and began as a pupil of Paul. Odds are he was a gentile. Mark, it is believed, was one of the outer disciples and tradition holds that he was one who departed when Jesus declared that in order to follow Him one had to drink of his blood and eat of his flesh. Superficial, some of the most learned among my readership might suppose, but it alters how one sees the things in front of him. The words and impact of their gospels are still the same, there's just a little something different in the perception.
This last week I was reading in Luke where Jesus tells about the wise man who built his house upon the rock an the foolish man who built his house upon the sand (Luke 6:48). And the rains came down, and the floods came up, (you may be singing along now...) and the foolish man's house went SPLAT! When we were little we knew that song was about Christians and Non-Christians. Oh, look at those foolish non-Christians building there lives on hedonism, humanism, evolution. It's only on the rock of Jesus and his principals, doing things his way, that we can expect to live stable, secure lives.
I grew up, went to college, started a family and for a long time it was very rare that I ever felt stable and secure. Heck, I didn't even know anyone who said they felt stable and secure. So, the old wise man foolish man parable must be wrong, right? I'm a Christian, this shouldn't be how I feel, right? I said the prayer, I did the getting dunked in water thing. So how can I feel this way?
There are whole sections in Christian book stores about how to feel good about yourself, how you're a winner and an overcomer, how you should just change your perception and you'll have self esteem just because you did the prayer and the water dunky thingy. I've always had a natural aversion to those sort of books because they feel...sickeningly sweet, like drinking soda syrup straight. (What? Oh, like I'm the only one who has ever...OK...maybe I am...snorted pixie sticks? Anyone?) I can't take the perma-grins of the authors on the cover, their wide mouthed, way too reassuring smiles highlighted with unnaturally white teeth. (If you hear laughter as you read that part it's probably my sister. She knows exactly who I'm talking about there). The whole thing of "think positive, that's all you need" has always seemed counter-intuitive to the gospel...and now I know why...well...OK...I have a better understanding.
The wise man and foolish man of Luke's 6th chapter has nothing to do with non-believers, but rather everything to do with believers. Look at verse 46 : "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord," and do not do what I say?..." and then He launches in to the parable. It is those who call Him, "Lord, Lord,", those who proclaim Him as their teacher or, more appropriately, Master (according to the Greek) and yet don't do what He says to do. That would be like me learning under chef's in culinary school, telling everyone how proud I am to be learning under them, attending daily classes, then decide I know better than them how to make a souffle, and just start guessing at what goes in it. What's going to happen? It might be barely edible but it's not a souffle. Why call him Lord, Lord if you aren't going to do things as he says to do them? Why waste the time if you aren't going to follow him and make up your own life recipe?
Now, I can't and won't judge you, but I'm more than happy to judge myself.
Until about a year ago I was doing the same thing. Well, that's not completely accurate. It is probably best to say that I have spent the past six years going through a process that has gradually brought me more in line with Jesus as my true Master that became very obvious within the past year or so.
In the past year I've gone on a self induced/guided journey through the New Testament chapter by chapter wondering what the "commandments" of the New Testament are. I know the word "commandments" freaks us people of God's Grace out a bit, but they are actually there. "Do this. Don't do this," can be found in every book of the New Testament and yet we ignore them. Let's just take this classic, "Let there be no divisions among you," from twice in 1 Corinthians. In our modern times many people find identity in their divisions with other denominations. "But, come on, that's Paul. That's his opinion." Jesus' words are even harder, "Be anxious for nothing,". That's it. Don't do it. What is the antidote? Prayer. Making your requests known to God.
So, long story short, I started to do the things Jesus and the Apostles said to do. Then, and only then, was when I started to feel peace and stability. When I reject divisions among the Body of Christ then it follows that chaos within my life at church will be minimized. When I squash pride and foolish talk (yes, the last one is an eternal work in progress) then my relationships are protected and enhanced. When I refuse to be anxious about something and instead give it to the Lord and leave it there, naturally I will have peace. When I choose to study His word and be in regular contact through prayer then, surprise, I feel not only stability but His presence.
This morning I got all dressed up to attend my church's Palm Sunday service. It was a little bittersweet in a few ways. I wore one of my Hawaiian style button up shirts to the service because that's about as dressy as I get. The church doesn't quite feel like home yet. I was reminded of this because I know if I was at my home church more than one, at the VERY least the pastor, would have commented on how appropriate my shirt was because..ya know...Palm Sunday, palm trees on the shirt.
For the entire season of Lent the question that the Reverend has been asking as our theme is: "What does it mean to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ?" I find that I'm not alone in my preference of over-intellectualizing that question. When it comes down to it, it is not calling Him "Lord, Lord". It is all to do with doing the things He tells us to do...even if it means loving your enemies...which...I'm glad I get along with a lot of people because that one's rough.
Pax,
W
I'm starting to see the Sunday School haze fall away from my eyes more rapidly. Like many I grew up attending Sunday School in the morning and then Children's Church after worship service. Now, I respect the people who do such things and make those programs available. I don't mean to criticize them, but things get lost in the translation. Whether it was my wholly owned ignorance that is being exposed to the light of day or their desire to make good "behavioral lessons" out of common Bible tales I'm not certain.
For instance, it just occurred to me today that Luke, the doctor and gospel writer, wasn't one of the 12 Disciples. For that matter fellow gospel writer Mark wasn't either. Luke was likely Greek, never met the Lord in person and began as a pupil of Paul. Odds are he was a gentile. Mark, it is believed, was one of the outer disciples and tradition holds that he was one who departed when Jesus declared that in order to follow Him one had to drink of his blood and eat of his flesh. Superficial, some of the most learned among my readership might suppose, but it alters how one sees the things in front of him. The words and impact of their gospels are still the same, there's just a little something different in the perception.
This last week I was reading in Luke where Jesus tells about the wise man who built his house upon the rock an the foolish man who built his house upon the sand (Luke 6:48). And the rains came down, and the floods came up, (you may be singing along now...) and the foolish man's house went SPLAT! When we were little we knew that song was about Christians and Non-Christians. Oh, look at those foolish non-Christians building there lives on hedonism, humanism, evolution. It's only on the rock of Jesus and his principals, doing things his way, that we can expect to live stable, secure lives.
I grew up, went to college, started a family and for a long time it was very rare that I ever felt stable and secure. Heck, I didn't even know anyone who said they felt stable and secure. So, the old wise man foolish man parable must be wrong, right? I'm a Christian, this shouldn't be how I feel, right? I said the prayer, I did the getting dunked in water thing. So how can I feel this way?
There are whole sections in Christian book stores about how to feel good about yourself, how you're a winner and an overcomer, how you should just change your perception and you'll have self esteem just because you did the prayer and the water dunky thingy. I've always had a natural aversion to those sort of books because they feel...sickeningly sweet, like drinking soda syrup straight. (What? Oh, like I'm the only one who has ever...OK...maybe I am...snorted pixie sticks? Anyone?) I can't take the perma-grins of the authors on the cover, their wide mouthed, way too reassuring smiles highlighted with unnaturally white teeth. (If you hear laughter as you read that part it's probably my sister. She knows exactly who I'm talking about there). The whole thing of "think positive, that's all you need" has always seemed counter-intuitive to the gospel...and now I know why...well...OK...I have a better understanding.
The wise man and foolish man of Luke's 6th chapter has nothing to do with non-believers, but rather everything to do with believers. Look at verse 46 : "Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord," and do not do what I say?..." and then He launches in to the parable. It is those who call Him, "Lord, Lord,", those who proclaim Him as their teacher or, more appropriately, Master (according to the Greek) and yet don't do what He says to do. That would be like me learning under chef's in culinary school, telling everyone how proud I am to be learning under them, attending daily classes, then decide I know better than them how to make a souffle, and just start guessing at what goes in it. What's going to happen? It might be barely edible but it's not a souffle. Why call him Lord, Lord if you aren't going to do things as he says to do them? Why waste the time if you aren't going to follow him and make up your own life recipe?
Now, I can't and won't judge you, but I'm more than happy to judge myself.
Until about a year ago I was doing the same thing. Well, that's not completely accurate. It is probably best to say that I have spent the past six years going through a process that has gradually brought me more in line with Jesus as my true Master that became very obvious within the past year or so.
In the past year I've gone on a self induced/guided journey through the New Testament chapter by chapter wondering what the "commandments" of the New Testament are. I know the word "commandments" freaks us people of God's Grace out a bit, but they are actually there. "Do this. Don't do this," can be found in every book of the New Testament and yet we ignore them. Let's just take this classic, "Let there be no divisions among you," from twice in 1 Corinthians. In our modern times many people find identity in their divisions with other denominations. "But, come on, that's Paul. That's his opinion." Jesus' words are even harder, "Be anxious for nothing,". That's it. Don't do it. What is the antidote? Prayer. Making your requests known to God.
So, long story short, I started to do the things Jesus and the Apostles said to do. Then, and only then, was when I started to feel peace and stability. When I reject divisions among the Body of Christ then it follows that chaos within my life at church will be minimized. When I squash pride and foolish talk (yes, the last one is an eternal work in progress) then my relationships are protected and enhanced. When I refuse to be anxious about something and instead give it to the Lord and leave it there, naturally I will have peace. When I choose to study His word and be in regular contact through prayer then, surprise, I feel not only stability but His presence.
This morning I got all dressed up to attend my church's Palm Sunday service. It was a little bittersweet in a few ways. I wore one of my Hawaiian style button up shirts to the service because that's about as dressy as I get. The church doesn't quite feel like home yet. I was reminded of this because I know if I was at my home church more than one, at the VERY least the pastor, would have commented on how appropriate my shirt was because..ya know...Palm Sunday, palm trees on the shirt.
For the entire season of Lent the question that the Reverend has been asking as our theme is: "What does it mean to be a faithful follower of Jesus Christ?" I find that I'm not alone in my preference of over-intellectualizing that question. When it comes down to it, it is not calling Him "Lord, Lord". It is all to do with doing the things He tells us to do...even if it means loving your enemies...which...I'm glad I get along with a lot of people because that one's rough.
Pax,
W
Sunday, July 26, 2015
40 Days: Day 2
Romans 15:1,5
Matthew 5:41,42
"We must put others before ourselves - putting their needs before our own."
It's kind of funny. I've been in GJ for the weekend and I met my sister for coffee over which we talked about the very thing that Romans 15:1,5 talks about; that we must "bear with the failings of the weak" or "carry the weaknesses of those who are not strong" and "not to please ourselves". This covers a lot of ground in the Christian life. It can easily, and rightly, be applied to family, friends, neighbors and those beyond our daily context. It is also very integral to the Christian life in so many ways and in an equal number of ways it is so very hard to grok.
The very nature of the self wants to serve...itself. We want our needs met before we ever budge to try an meet someone else's needs. Once we make an effort to meet someone else's needs then we want recognition, appreciation, even glory, deference and reverence if we can get it. This of course is self serving and not as altruistic as we'd deceive ourselves into believing.
God wants us to have a pure, selfless, serving heart before him. That is the ideal, but he is more than ready to meet us right where we are. (Un?)Fortunately, He is a good Father who will not let his children miss out on a valuable lesson. When we work in our own strength, with our own motivations, under our own delusions, for purposes not His then we will fail. We will burn out. We will be desiccated husks of potential. We will find ourselves empty with nothing left to give and then we will blame anyone but ourselves. We will accuse our fellow believers of asking too much and giving nothing to us in return. We will blame God for the perceived failure. We will lash out at anyone else rather than see the truth that we didn't do it in His timing, under His power, or for His reasons.
Often we begin to identify ourselves with a particular ministry or set of behaviors and say, "This is just what I do". The danger there is that the perceived success or failure of a ministry becomes intensely personal, and it is never meant to be. When we draw from our personal well of water there is an end to the supply. When drawing from Jesus there is no end. We get so caught up in what "has to be done" that we rarely pause and say, "What would You say I need to do". When our alignment is off then of course we will come up empty. He is the Living Water of which there is no end to the supply.
My sister and I discussed if it was possible to be "Good without God". Definition of terms can be a tricky thing so I kind of skirted that by saying "Oh yeah, absolutely a Atheist can feed a hungry person, give water to a sick person, or bind up the wounds of an injured person." So what is the difference between an Atheist or a Christian doing it? I think the answer is two-fold and fully debatable by the Atheist.
Firstly, it is a question of motivation. I don't believe and Atheist is capable of altruism. Certainly there are Christians who struggle with altruism. I have my own personal doubts about those who live in mansions and preach in crystal cathedrals, but there are those whose lives have been truly transformed, those who are even in process of being changed by Jesus, that can give without thought of self. Could an Atheist truly sell all of his possessions, give them to the poor, expect nothing in return at all, and walk away actually happy? I truly doubt that. And why is that? Because what they have is a deep part of who they are. A rich Jewish man in the New Testament wasn't capable of even giving it to the poor and the Bible says he wanted to "justify himself". How can we sacrifice our time, effort, money, possessions, and our very lives to help others? Because we have a God that we know in our bones will supply all our need and so there never is a bottom to the well. The Atheist only has their own self to draw upon and that is finite.
The second difference is purely metaphysical. When an Atheist hands a hungry person a piece of bread and Christian hands a hungry person a piece of bread there is something completely different going on there. Is it a coincidence that the entire civil rights movement of the 60's found its success not in the mocking fist of the Black Panther movement nor in the Nation of Islam, but in the non-violent, respectful but still resistant work of a Reverend? Certainly MLK was not a saint, but he was a believer. When an Atheist hands a hungry person a piece of bread the man's hunger is satisfied for but a moment. I believe that when a Christian hands a hungry man a piece of bread something, a power, is released in the spiritual realm that alters both of them forever even if they never meet again. Neither goes away unchanged and they both draw closer to Jesus even if they never speak again. The Spirit does something there in a believer's act whereas the Atheist's rings hollow only satisfying the surface need.
We are called to put others before ourselves. In the U.S.A. that message can easily get lost in the mass of messages calling for us to consume, to make it all about ourselves, and "have it your way". Those outside of the Way look and scoff at it as an invitation to be a doormat or abused by leadership. The truth, however, is far grander than anything they can imagine or conceive of.
I must decrease so that He may increase...both within me and without me.
Pax,
W
Matthew 5:41,42
"We must put others before ourselves - putting their needs before our own."
It's kind of funny. I've been in GJ for the weekend and I met my sister for coffee over which we talked about the very thing that Romans 15:1,5 talks about; that we must "bear with the failings of the weak" or "carry the weaknesses of those who are not strong" and "not to please ourselves". This covers a lot of ground in the Christian life. It can easily, and rightly, be applied to family, friends, neighbors and those beyond our daily context. It is also very integral to the Christian life in so many ways and in an equal number of ways it is so very hard to grok.
The very nature of the self wants to serve...itself. We want our needs met before we ever budge to try an meet someone else's needs. Once we make an effort to meet someone else's needs then we want recognition, appreciation, even glory, deference and reverence if we can get it. This of course is self serving and not as altruistic as we'd deceive ourselves into believing.
God wants us to have a pure, selfless, serving heart before him. That is the ideal, but he is more than ready to meet us right where we are. (Un?)Fortunately, He is a good Father who will not let his children miss out on a valuable lesson. When we work in our own strength, with our own motivations, under our own delusions, for purposes not His then we will fail. We will burn out. We will be desiccated husks of potential. We will find ourselves empty with nothing left to give and then we will blame anyone but ourselves. We will accuse our fellow believers of asking too much and giving nothing to us in return. We will blame God for the perceived failure. We will lash out at anyone else rather than see the truth that we didn't do it in His timing, under His power, or for His reasons.
Often we begin to identify ourselves with a particular ministry or set of behaviors and say, "This is just what I do". The danger there is that the perceived success or failure of a ministry becomes intensely personal, and it is never meant to be. When we draw from our personal well of water there is an end to the supply. When drawing from Jesus there is no end. We get so caught up in what "has to be done" that we rarely pause and say, "What would You say I need to do". When our alignment is off then of course we will come up empty. He is the Living Water of which there is no end to the supply.
My sister and I discussed if it was possible to be "Good without God". Definition of terms can be a tricky thing so I kind of skirted that by saying "Oh yeah, absolutely a Atheist can feed a hungry person, give water to a sick person, or bind up the wounds of an injured person." So what is the difference between an Atheist or a Christian doing it? I think the answer is two-fold and fully debatable by the Atheist.
Firstly, it is a question of motivation. I don't believe and Atheist is capable of altruism. Certainly there are Christians who struggle with altruism. I have my own personal doubts about those who live in mansions and preach in crystal cathedrals, but there are those whose lives have been truly transformed, those who are even in process of being changed by Jesus, that can give without thought of self. Could an Atheist truly sell all of his possessions, give them to the poor, expect nothing in return at all, and walk away actually happy? I truly doubt that. And why is that? Because what they have is a deep part of who they are. A rich Jewish man in the New Testament wasn't capable of even giving it to the poor and the Bible says he wanted to "justify himself". How can we sacrifice our time, effort, money, possessions, and our very lives to help others? Because we have a God that we know in our bones will supply all our need and so there never is a bottom to the well. The Atheist only has their own self to draw upon and that is finite.
The second difference is purely metaphysical. When an Atheist hands a hungry person a piece of bread and Christian hands a hungry person a piece of bread there is something completely different going on there. Is it a coincidence that the entire civil rights movement of the 60's found its success not in the mocking fist of the Black Panther movement nor in the Nation of Islam, but in the non-violent, respectful but still resistant work of a Reverend? Certainly MLK was not a saint, but he was a believer. When an Atheist hands a hungry person a piece of bread the man's hunger is satisfied for but a moment. I believe that when a Christian hands a hungry man a piece of bread something, a power, is released in the spiritual realm that alters both of them forever even if they never meet again. Neither goes away unchanged and they both draw closer to Jesus even if they never speak again. The Spirit does something there in a believer's act whereas the Atheist's rings hollow only satisfying the surface need.
We are called to put others before ourselves. In the U.S.A. that message can easily get lost in the mass of messages calling for us to consume, to make it all about ourselves, and "have it your way". Those outside of the Way look and scoff at it as an invitation to be a doormat or abused by leadership. The truth, however, is far grander than anything they can imagine or conceive of.
I must decrease so that He may increase...both within me and without me.
Pax,
W
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
A Bit of a Tid (On a Jealous God)
"A Bit of a Tid" = Just a tidbit on a given topic that I don't have too much to say on...yet.
This past Sunday our worship leader took a bit of time to talk about, of all things, Oprah. I am not a huge fan of Oprah for many reasons, none of which I'll get into here. Our worship leader brought up her remembrance of an episode of the show where Oprah revealed the moment she stopped believing in the Judeo-Christian God. Apparently it happened when her pastor read the scripture to the congregation regarding God as a jealous God. Right then and there Oprah stopped believing. Why? Because jealousy is such a petty human emotion and any god worth their salt can't have a petty human emotion.
First of all, I'm always bothered by this sort of behavior. The Bible shows that God or his people don't meet the individuals expectations and they shut down...without ANY further inquiry. I've seen it at least a hundred times. "I like Jesus, but his fan club keep me away"...declares someone who self identifies as an atheist (In my personal dictionary Atheist is described as an agnostic with a grudge...but that's another topic for another day) or "Jesus didn't keep the sabbath so he can't be God let alone holy", or "How can a loving God allow..." These "road blocks" are fairly foreign to me. If something doesn't meet my expectations my first impulse is a minor "revulsion" followed by further inquiry to try and fully understand. So when something minor causes someone to immediately eject the idea...it significantly perplexes me.
Secondly, as our worship leader went on to say, the kind of jealousy the Bible refers to is NOT a petty human emotion. It's not the jealousy that I get when someone gets published before me, or when someone gets a PS4 that I've wanted forever. That kind of jealousy is not warranted and meets no criteria for truly logical behavior. I have no claim on that publishing agent. I have no claim on that PS4, etc. It is a purely emotional response. Let's say that my wife who swore before both God and Men to be mine, to cling only to me through sickness, health, for richer or poorer, suddenly cheated on me and decided to leave me for another man. Would anyone EVER say that my jealousy in that situation was petty or unwarranted? Would anyone ever fault me for burning with jealousy? No. Everyone would say that it was completely understandable and expected.
This jealousy is the closest definition we can come to for Divine Jealousy. If we have pledged our troth, our faith and loyalty, to Him then of course he would be jealous of that. The relationship he calls us into is even deeper than a mortal marriage which only lasts until one partner dies. If my wife flirts with another man I am within my right and compelled to jealousy. How much more when we flirt with other far lesser idols that are daily in our lives.
This dovetailed quite nicely with our pastor's sermon on the supremacy of Jesus that tends to be missing in our lives...which pummeled me into the ground and I'm much the better for it. That may be my next post soon.
Pax,
W
This past Sunday our worship leader took a bit of time to talk about, of all things, Oprah. I am not a huge fan of Oprah for many reasons, none of which I'll get into here. Our worship leader brought up her remembrance of an episode of the show where Oprah revealed the moment she stopped believing in the Judeo-Christian God. Apparently it happened when her pastor read the scripture to the congregation regarding God as a jealous God. Right then and there Oprah stopped believing. Why? Because jealousy is such a petty human emotion and any god worth their salt can't have a petty human emotion.
First of all, I'm always bothered by this sort of behavior. The Bible shows that God or his people don't meet the individuals expectations and they shut down...without ANY further inquiry. I've seen it at least a hundred times. "I like Jesus, but his fan club keep me away"...declares someone who self identifies as an atheist (In my personal dictionary Atheist is described as an agnostic with a grudge...but that's another topic for another day) or "Jesus didn't keep the sabbath so he can't be God let alone holy", or "How can a loving God allow..." These "road blocks" are fairly foreign to me. If something doesn't meet my expectations my first impulse is a minor "revulsion" followed by further inquiry to try and fully understand. So when something minor causes someone to immediately eject the idea...it significantly perplexes me.
Secondly, as our worship leader went on to say, the kind of jealousy the Bible refers to is NOT a petty human emotion. It's not the jealousy that I get when someone gets published before me, or when someone gets a PS4 that I've wanted forever. That kind of jealousy is not warranted and meets no criteria for truly logical behavior. I have no claim on that publishing agent. I have no claim on that PS4, etc. It is a purely emotional response. Let's say that my wife who swore before both God and Men to be mine, to cling only to me through sickness, health, for richer or poorer, suddenly cheated on me and decided to leave me for another man. Would anyone EVER say that my jealousy in that situation was petty or unwarranted? Would anyone ever fault me for burning with jealousy? No. Everyone would say that it was completely understandable and expected.
This jealousy is the closest definition we can come to for Divine Jealousy. If we have pledged our troth, our faith and loyalty, to Him then of course he would be jealous of that. The relationship he calls us into is even deeper than a mortal marriage which only lasts until one partner dies. If my wife flirts with another man I am within my right and compelled to jealousy. How much more when we flirt with other far lesser idols that are daily in our lives.
This dovetailed quite nicely with our pastor's sermon on the supremacy of Jesus that tends to be missing in our lives...which pummeled me into the ground and I'm much the better for it. That may be my next post soon.
Pax,
W
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