Rose-colored glasses ............. Parables 780

February 2003
In the late 1980's, Randall Wise sold his profitable computer-software company to focus on producing and selling colored contact lenses for chickens. He claimed that the birds were happier, ate less, produced more eggs, and stopped fighting when they looked at the world through blood-red lenses.

Eliminating the pecking order, particularly in the crowded conditions of egg-producing hen houses, was supposed to make life easier for chicken farmers, save consumers about 2.5 cents a dozen for eggs, and give Wise a projected 1992 income of $24 million.

However, in 1991, Dr. Nedim C. Buyukmihci, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology in the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of California offered a report: “The red plastic lenses are at the very least uncomfortable for the chickens . . . also appear to cause corneal ulcers . . . (that) can rupture and lead to blindness. Pain always is a significant component of corneal ulcers or ruptured eyes.”

By 1996, Mary Finelli, senior researcher for the Humane Society of the United States, said, “Today’s intensive confinement systems for chickens are notorious dusty and rank with ammonia and other irritating gasses. To permanently set contact lenses in the eyes of birds who exist for 1 to 2 years under such conditions is grossly inhumane. The problem is that the birds are inhumanely housed. Under natural conditions they live peacefully together in small groups. The only true solution to the abnormal aggression which their mistreatment causes is to provide these sensitive animals with humane living conditions.”

In this case, science beat the entrepreneur. While the stories and his lenses are still advertised on a veterinarian supply site, Wise seems to have left the building.

What does this story have to do with us, or our spiritual lives? One is that the world seems to have its own version of a pecking order. Crowded conditions may provoke it, but it seems part of human nature to be bigger, better, taller, stronger than the person next to us — so we knock them down, just to make sure they know we are. God has a better, albeit more challenging plan: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves . . . your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. . . .”

Furthermore, rose-colored glasses from a human vantage point are just as misleading as the avian version. They keep their wearers from recognizing that selfish competition and one-upmanship are genuine problems. Not only that, these lenses that seem to make people more mellow also produce indifference — too laid back to make a fuss about anything, even when it is important. “That’s just the way it is,” they say, without caring to change it.

Chickens don’t have many options, but we can make choices. We can try rosy lenses — they might work for a little while. Or we can live in spiritual darkness — which may sail us without much fuss to the grave. Or with God’s help, we can really live with our eyes wide open — in this life and for eternity.

************************************
This is the final entry in this series. God gave me the privilege and challenge of writing for a weekly newspaper for about seventeen years. I had about ten editors and a wonderful experience. As I posted the entries, God surprised me. First I did not remembering writing most of them — and second that God deeply blessed me, sometimes to tears, as I read the words He gave me more than a decade ago. Because of that, I leave these online hoping that others will experience His blessings also.

My daily devotional thoughts are also published online — daily for several years and at this LINK. They are personal and point to the reality that faith in Jesus Christ is practical and possible to live out in the power of His Spirit.  

Why bad things happen ............. Parables 758

July 23, 2002

When the popcorn bowl runs out, I like to suck the butter and salt out of those partly popped kernels in the bottom. Sometimes I gnaw on them, despite a little voice that tells me to stop it. Once I cracked a filling in a back tooth. My dentist added insult to injury by reminding me I’d made a foolish decision.

This incident reminds me of that huge question: Why does God allow suffering? People in every corner of the world ask it. While the biblical answers may not satisfy everyone, over the next few weeks I’ll offer a few that immensely help me.

First, three foundations. One, suffering does not always imply God’s punishment. Sometimes it does, but not every time.

Two, while God can bring good out of anything, that is not always the reason He allows bad things to happen. Sometimes they are just bad.

Third, God does take responsibility for everything. Job said, “Shall we accept good from God, and not evil.” The very next line reads, “In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.”

Jeremiah repeated the thought: “Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?” While the mind of God does not make sense to our limited perspective, yet the Bible affirms we can trust Him anyway. It also reveals a few why’s concerning evil and suffering.

One reason we suffer is that we bring it on ourselves. We make foolish choices, and our actions have consequences. Without them, we would never regret foolishness, or change. Ecclesiastes puts it in the negative: “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.”

Cause and effect are important to our stability. Water should satisfy our thirst. Flipping a switch should turn the lights on or off. We expect results from what we do and if they do not happen, we are perplexed, even thrown off balance.

This applies to both good and foolish choices. When I bite a hard popcorn kernel, my less-strong fillings are apt to take a beating. When I ignore God’s moral warnings, my life will fall apart. When I behave and obey Him, I experience not only His blessing but His pleasure.

The foolish choices of others can cause us suffering too. Children suffer in war. People die at the hands of reckless drivers. A construction worker neglects a safety check. Airline mechanics do too. Innocent people suffer consequences.

Consequences should change our choices but what about drivers who run stop signs, make illegal turns, drive too fast, and cut in too quick, who never get a traffic ticket or ever have an accident? Or consider an elderly couple, normally careful drivers, yet one day he failed to stop at a stop sign. They were hit by a truck and both died. Does this make “cause and effect,” and God, capriciousness?

Christians know God takes responsibility for everything. In the case of the elderly couple, He had reasons for allowing their suffering and death. They were people of faith and belonged to Him, so they were not being punished — Jesus already took their punishment for sin.

Neither did they die so ultimate good would happen. It did not, at least for them here on earth. Their death was a tragic event, even though God could have stopped it. For the most part, it happened as a result of a wrong choice.

But God also has reasons for not applying that rule of cause and effect to others who seem to deserve it. Maybe He is giving them a second chance. Maybe He has a greater plan for their lives.

Sometimes people blame God when trouble strikes, but I would not want God to change the rule of cause and effect. When I do something dumb, I do not like the consequences, yet without their predictability (in general), the world would make even less sense than it does.

A merry heart is like good medicine ............. Parables 729

December 18, 2001

Medical science offers new labels for sad, crabby, or worried people. For instance, if we used to complain that we “get the blues when it rains” or “have the winter blahs,” we can now call it SAD or Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Those who might have called themselves “worry worts” now can say they have GAD or General Anxiety Disorder. A similar designation, something like “excessive rage disorder” applies to spoiled children with temper tantrums.

Maybe modern medicine is on to something but a few experiences make me wonder if symptoms like these have less to do with physiological conditions than they do with choices.

When my brother was a teenager, he was often cranky in the morning. My mother noted which days were the worst and diagnosed his problem as not having enough sleep the night before. Now as an adult, he has learned to go to bed earlier but has also discovered that tired or not, he can choose to be cheerful.

All through my own life, I’ve had PMS. It has affected my behavior but a wise person told me how to handle it. She said, “Sure, your body hormones are out of whack, but observe yourself when this happens. You will discover all the areas of life where you have weaknesses that need to be taken to God. Keep track. When you are back to ‘normal,’ review them and confess the sins. He will cleanse you and the next time will not be so difficult.”

She was right. For me, each bout with PMS became an opportunity to see and confess sinful attitudes and fears that came out only when I was physically ‘weak.’ As I brought them to God, He forgave and cleansed me at a deep level. Gradually, the hormone swings stopped affecting my mood.

That does not mean God says,“it’s all in your head” (or heart) and ignores genuine physical needs. The Bible gives many instances where He puts the body first. In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah ran several kilometers, confronted an evil king, received a death threat from the queen, ran even farther to escape, then collapsed under a tree and wished himself dead. God could have rebuked him for his negative attitude and for being afraid of a mere mortal. Instead, He ordered food and rest. Soon Elijah was back on his feet, encouraged and ready to do God’s will. In other words, Elijah’s fatigue contributed to his discouragement. Nevertheless, his lack of courage was fear and a lack of trust. He was afraid God would not help him.

When we get into a situation where we are fearful and discouraged, we need to remember that “God is not the author of fear but of love, power, and a sound mind.” He is able to help us. We must also remember that whenever Jesus was tired, He never used fatigue as an excuse to be rude, cranky or to ignore people. When He took His disciples to a remote place to rest from their exhaustion, the demanding crowds followed. Jesus was tired too but He took care of the needs of the multitude anyway.

Scripture offers many exhortations about our attitudes and clearly tells us that our lives should be governed by love, God’s power, and sound thinking. There are no disclaimers. Even if SAD or GAD or any other disorder is genuine, we can still love others. Courage, grace, power and joy are still available from the Lord.

Some of the most cheerful people I know have chronic illnesses or are in pain. Sadly, the same is true for some of the crankiest people I know. Lord, when my back hurts or things are not going well, help me to deal with whatever it is in a wise way but also help me remember that You are here with me. With Your help, I can remain loving and cheerful.

Our deepest needs .......... Parables 673

June 6, 2000

Ramona (not her real name) started drinking as a young adult. She wanted to be an important person and thought she was not. This plus other challenges overwhelmed her. Alcohol provided an escape — for a little while.

She married late. Her husband was not the easiest man to live with and she felt it was her fault. Her drinking continued. They had two children who were her constant delight, but as they grew, being a wife and mother became less fulfilling. She wanted to be more important, to be wealthy and included in an upper income social group. She tried to buy her way up but her expensive taste and extravagant spending put a strain on the family budget and her marriage. Both fell apart.

Ramona was forced to find a part time job. It was barely adequate. Her increasing need to belong and to impress people demanded more money. Finally, she figured out a way to “borrow” it from her employer. She was caught, prosecuted, and convicted. Most people think that the Bible says money is the root of all evil, but the actual quote is: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” In Ramona’s case, that love destroyed her health, and her marriage and family.

Also, that love of money had a root of its own. Ramona needed to feel accepted and significant. She mistakenly thought both these needs could be satisfied by other people and when they were not, the second mistake was trying to use money to gain the recognition she craved.

Money is not the only thing we latch on to as the answer to these two human needs. Some think being attractive will do it. Leaf through any women’s magazine and look at the advertising. Nearly all of it appeals to a desire to be beautiful. That should make us more important.

Another ticket to acceptance and significance is achievement. It will buy applause, awards, a raise in pay, an increase in status, even a page in Who’s Who. This works at least for some people. But then we hear stories from athletes or the wealthy telling how their fame and fortune brings only fleeting blessings.

Despite the stories, Ramona felt money would fix her problem. Others would say all they need is a better body, a higher score, a more prestigious job, something more or better — and that would be enough to make to give them that sense of acceptance and significance they are looking for; however, God says not. He says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.”

What looks like it will work is not what will work. Not everyone will wind up in jail like Ramona, but pursuing money, beauty, fame, or any temporary status can only provide a temporary sense of significance. Wouldn’t we rather have something permanent?

Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you.” While He was talking about food and clothing, the principle applies to far more. God is eager to give us all we need. We block Him from doing it by our futile search to find it everywhere else but in Him. Only God loved us “while we were still sinners” and only God gave us significance by sending His Son to die in our place. We do not have to work for, or do anything, to gain that kind of divine acceptance and status. Both come from His love and from the price tag He placed on our lives.

Whatever might happen to our finances, fame or face, how God feels about us and what He has done for us will never change. It is in Christ that we can find that lasting sense of being loved and valued. He invites us to turn away from the folly of seeking it elsewhere and know the freedom of finding it in Him.

No Rest for the Wicked .......... Parables 650

August 10, 1999

Because lots on both sides were vacant for months, our neighbor could not develop her yard. Finally, she started. However, she soon ran into contractor problems, weather delays, and other unexpected setbacks. When the yard work was finished, she could not contain her relief.

A week or so later, we were both outside. She weeded her flower bed and remarked, “Just when I thought my yard was finished, now it needs more work. I guess there is no rest for the wicked.”

We laughed together. Later, I couldn’t help thinking how we use Bible verses in ordinary conversation, sometimes without thinking. When she talked about “no rest for the wicked” my neighbor referred to an Old Testament verse from Isaiah. When most people say it, including her, they mean something like, “If I was a better person, God would let me sit down and put my feet up more often.”

After checking it out, I notice this verse does not talk about being a better person or even being more moral. Nor is it referring to relaxation or time for recreation. Instead, in its immediate context the verse says, “But the wicked are like the tossing sea, which cannot rest, whose waves cast up mire and mud. ‘There is no peace,’ says my God, ‘for the wicked.’” (Isaiah 57:20-21)

While everyone is a sinner, the Bible does not call every person wicked. In the Old Testament, wicked people were thoroughly immoral and actively evil. They were ungodly, continually guilty and without any faith. In other words, they had no use for God nor any intention to trust Him. This verse applies to these people, not the average person.

As for its concept of rest, Scripture uses a word that sometimes means being idle with your feet up, but it usually means “tranquility.” In our culture, it is difficult to imagine being free from inner or outer tension and strife but in the Bible, a person at rest was not agitated or troubled in any way. They had an inner peace that made it possible for them to face all sorts of trials and circumstances. It is this kind of rest that eludes wicked people.

According to God’s Word, this rest is not a psychological gimmick. The way to achieve such peace is by trusting or resting in God through a deep faith in Him. This faith knows He is far greater than any threat we might face. That gives us confidence to focus on Him. When we do, our hearts are at peace. But the wicked cannot find this rest. They are not interested in its source. Even if they were, they would try to manipulate God rather than simply trust Him.

My neighbor used the word “rest” rather than “peace” which is used in that verse. Her choice is legitimate. The one is closely related to the other. The word “peace” comes from “shalom.” Shalom is used over 250 times in Scripture. Jews still use it today as a greeting. It basically means a state of completion and fulfillment, wholeness and unity. This condition includes restored relationships and deep contentment. The Bible links shalom as a result of being in the presence of God.

The bottom line seems to be that rest is a state of mind, a gift from God, yet partly our choice. We can be agitated by the weeds and the necessity of using our lawn mower or we can choose to enjoy the presence of God — who lives both in the back yard and in the hearts of those who trust Him.

No weeds? .......... Parables 640

July 27, 1999

Dag Hammarskjold, diplomat and former Secretary General of the UN once said, “You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn’t reserve a plot for weeds.”

A modern Chinese proverb says the same thing using another analogy: “Forbidden fruit creates many jams.”

In a world of continual change, a few things stand firm. One is the truth that folly will impact our lives — just as untended weeds will ruin our rose garden.

Folly can seem harmless at first. An army officer was out hunting with his friends. While pausing for a rest, he thought he would create some excitement so touched a match to some dry grass. Within minutes the entire area was ablaze, and the men were powerless to stop it. Flames, fanned and driven by a strong wind, raged rapidly across the prairie burning thousands of acres of land, homes, buildings and countless head of livestock. But it seemed so harmless.

Folly can seem to be a quick fix for a problem, such as cheating on exams. Students who do it either fear failure or simply want a shortcut to success. They may get away with this folly for their term finals but in the trials of life, the lessons they borrowed without learning for themselves will be repeated. One way or another, life has a way of showing cheaters that dishonest shortcuts produce painful regrets.

Another folly is called “casual love” or what started out in the 60's as “free” sex. In those days, it seemed harmless and without consequence but today, in the United States in one day, over 25,000 people contract a sexually transmitted disease, or about 10 million a year. One state (Illinois) spends over 800 million dollars dealing with the effects of illicit sex. The entire nation spends billions. So much for “free” sex.

If that is not enough jam from that forbidden fruit, one statistician says that more babies are born in one year in the 90's with birth defects because of sexually transmitted disease than all the babies affected by polio during the epidemic of the 50's.

Another related folly is adultery. Marriages, families and the tender hearts of children are torn apart because someone gave in to their hunger. That folly may keep lawyers employed, but no one can claim these are positive results. Our nation’s strong family norm slowly deteriorates, replaced by one-parent homes struggling to survive.

These jams are not the lot of common people either. Royalty can fall into folly too. One evening, when King David of Israel should have been in the fields with his army, he instead gazed out over his city and saw on a nearby rooftop, a beautiful woman enjoying her evening bath. His desire led to adultery then later to murder, as he arranged for the woman’s husband to be killed in battle. From his position of power, he thought no one would know or find out — but he forgot about God.

God revealed David’s plot to a prophet named Nathan. Nathan confronted the king, and just as the Bible says, his sin “found him out.” As another prophet said, “Woe to the wicked. Disaster is upon them. They will be paid back for what their hands have done.”

No forbidden fruit is exempt from disastrous consequences. Hammarskjold stands with Scripture. Both oppose the foolish idea that we can sow wild oats without harvesting an unwanted crop. As the Chinese affirm, no one can taste, eat or even steal forbidden fruit without getting themselves in a sticky and unpalatable jam.

Who takes the blame? .......... Parables 639

May 11, 1999

After two shootings in as many weeks, most of us are in shock and grieving, not entirely objective. Few actually knew these children or the families that are involved. Most were not there and glad of it, yet everyone has an opinion about who to blame, about whose fault it was.

Parents are almost always first to take the flack. They are either too strict, or too lenient, or not there, or not in touch with their kids, or the child was beaten or deprived. Yet how can we explain a child murderer if that child’s parents were loving, concerned and did their best? As John Kindred’s column (April 27) pointed out, children from good homes sometimes turn out bad.

Also consider God, the perfect parent. He provided an ideal environment (including work and responsibility) for His children, yet Adam and Eve decided to disobey Him. Their choice adversely affected the entire human race yet no one blames God for their failure.

What about education? Were the children with the guns taught how to manage their lives? Their anger? Didn’t these rebellious teens know the harm they could do, the lives they could ruin? Whether they knew or not, or were taught or not, education can hardly be blamed. Statistics show that the nations with the highest standards of education also have the highest crime rates. Also, any parent knows you can teach it but that does not mean they learn it.

Are these shootings the government’s fault? Legislators try. They bring in gun controls, beef up the Young Offenders Act, but it doesn’t seem to work. In fact, most researchers say that gun control or lack of it, does not affect the incidents of violence. I suppose if an angry person with murder in mind cannot obtain a gun, he or she could use a baseball bat or a big rock.

A radio talk show highlighted the responsibility of the media and pointed fingers. They cited statistics about rising crime rates in countries that feature violence in their movies, TV shows and other media. Certainly what we see and hear affects us, otherwise advertisers would not spend billions of dollars for time and space to promote their products. Also, media moguls should be held responsible for any garbage they produce, but, are they responsible for what we do with their garbage? That is like blaming Madison Avenue every time we make a poor purchase.

Certainly violence in the media sells a “product” but only to those who are in the mood to buy it. We do not buy every item we see on television. We do not go to war simply because we see it on film or in a news clip. After seeing and hearing it all, we are still free to make choices.

When we make decisions, no one can coerce or influence us without our consent. How we choose is based on our wants, likes, dislikes, knowledge, perception, the strength of the hype, and a host of other things, nevertheless, we are still free to choose. God granted us that freedom, His laws are designed around it, and He will not violate it Himself. He has the power to make us do what He wants but instead says, “Choose this day whom you will serve . . .”

Has it occurred to anyone that the two boys in Littleton and the other in Taber shot other children because they choose to? Years ago, they were babies with parents who made decisions for them, but as they grew, they began to decide for themselves. They picked what shirts to wear, what color they wanted their rooms, what subjects to take in school. They were bright, intelligent young people, who one day decided to do an evil thing.

Too many people will not accept responsibility for their own choices and their own outbursts. Just think how often people say, “You make me so mad” as if they had no choice. As a result, when someone does anything wrong, they blame everyone else but the person who did it.

God clearly says that those who choose to disobey Him will “eat the fruit of their ways.” Ironically, by choosing that fruit, those three boys (like Adam and Eve before them) ruined many lives too. My deepest sympathy to those who mourn in Colorado and Alberta.

The ‘why’ question ................ Parables 600

June 16, 1998

U.S.A. SCHOOL SHOOTING -- WHY DOES GOD ALLOW SUFFERING?

If the question is not added after newspaper headlines, people do ask it after hearing tragic events such as young students bringing guns into their school to shoot classmates and teachers.

Without intending to diminish the horror of recent events, a cartoonist attempts to answer that huge question. His drawing shows a man shouting at God, “Why do you allow injustice?” A voice comes back, “I might ask you the same question.”

In another attempt to answer this question, an eighty-year old friend says we are foolish to confuse God with life. In life, we experience evil, helplessness and things that seem senseless. However, God is always good, powerful and wise. While we may not understand His reasons for staying out of certain human activities, we cannot blame Him when people do evil things.

Who do we blame? The psychologists debate back and forth; is it nurture or nature? Is the environment at fault or is this a genetic problem?

Those who blame nurture say something is wrong with a bad person’s environment. That could include parents, the school system, their neighborhood and society at large. Accordingly, if children were properly raised, rightly educated, and lived in the right part of the world, they would not do evil things.

Others think genetics determine character and intelligence. Certain people are simply prone to unacceptable behavior. In this theory, kids who shoot other kids are genetically predisposed to be anti-social (or however the current lingo describes them). We are simply “programmed” and our behavior is a natural outflow of that programming. We have no real choices in what we do because our decisions flow out of predetermined factors set at birth.

The Bible does put some responsibility in both areas. Because our environment does have influence, parents are told to raise their children to know and obey God. Social structures are encouraged to be just and moral, upholding righteousness and punishing those who do evil. Of course failure of families and other social systems to uphold godly values can result in children without those values, kids who shoot other kids.

As for genetics, Scripture does say that we are “born into sin.” This means that although human beings were created to reflect God’s image, sin has marred our ability to do it. Our propensity to go our own way, opposing and ignoring God, permeates the entire human race. A huge reason kids shoot kids is inherent in what the Bible calls our “sinful nature.”

However, the Bible makes it clear that God does not allow anyone to blame their nature or their environment for their behavior. Our sinful nature is neither an excuse nor a reason for despair. God will forgive us and give us a new nature. With this transformation, we can choose good and rely on Him to give us the power we need to overcome our sinful nature.

We are not stuck with externals that “program” us either. Despite the lawlessness around us, with God’s help it is possible for us to choose to obey Him. Jesus said, “In the world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” Through faith in Him, we can overcome the negatives that life throws at us.

God clearly says no one is a helpless victims of their genes or their environment; we are personally responsible for our choices. Nature and nurture can be negative or positive but God gives freedom from both by giving us the ability to choose — and that will influence how our life turns out.

God’s key to the nurture/nature debate is choice. He may permit evil but He also puts the ball back in our court. He says, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . .” 

Overcoming the worst addiction ................ Parables 596

(No tear sheet)

According to the manufacturer, nearly 16,000 Smarties are eaten every minute. That is about 960,000 per hour and about 23 million per day. Since at least 3/4 of the world’s population do not have access to Smarties, a few people are consuming a great deal of candy.

The candy industry would not exist apart from our craving for sweets. For some, a penchant for sugar becomes an addiction, causing problems with weight gain and nutrition. I’ve noticed that eating sugar kills my appetite for carrots, corn, broccoli, oranges, bananas and other fresh fruit and vegetables. To put it simply, the body confuses its hunger for nutrients with its sweet tooth. In no time, a good diet becomes a craving for junk food.

Every now and then, I get angry with myself and determine to stop eating sweets. The first week or so is awful but once the cravings stop, I can manage without desserts. . . for a month or so. Then I just have to have something sweet. My conclusion is that the body needs a certain amount. The problem is maintaining moderation. Like eating salted peanuts, it is difficult to stop at just one.

In an article about addictions, TIME magazine says that the twelve-step program seems to be the most helpful. This program was made popular by Alcoholics Anonymous and is now used by other groups trying to overcome obsessive or addictive behaviors.

These twelve steps begin with admission of need and taking ownership of the problem. They go on to acknowledging that the problem is bigger than one’s own ability to solve it. A “higher power” is needed, sometimes referred to as “God, however you perceive him.”

Although many twelve-step programs use terminology designed to include all religions, participants think of God as this higher power, and suitably so — the steps are biblical in their general form. They were originally prescribed by Him as part of His remedy for sin, the most destructive and insidious addiction of all.

To overcome sin, a person must recognize that it is not only a problem but their problem. It is easy to point fingers or shift blame yet we cannot conquer it by passing it off as “not a big deal,” “everyone does it,” or “I am not really so bad.” The Bible says “the wages of sin is death.”

Anyone who takes the battle against sin seriously soon finds out it is more difficult to stop sinning than to stop eating salted peanuts or sweets. Just when we think we have made progress, we slip again. Like an alcoholic cannot think themselves cured, we cannot think this problem is behind us. We also need to acknowledge that we cannot do anything ourselves, that sin is bigger than our determination to avoid it or our good efforts to replace it.

To make matters worse, even if we have some success, pride moves in, and pride is sin. The challenge is not to reform outward behavior, which may or may not last, but receive inner purification and a change of heart about our problem.

God provides both through Christ, the One who is totally pure. He not only died for us, that our sins may be forgiven, but He also comes to live in the hearts of those who believe in Him. When He does that, we are given divine desire and power to fight sin. The Bible says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness.” It also explains that the promises of God combined with the power of the indwelling Christ help us “escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

For some, this can be an instant escape. Others struggle longer against their addictions as they learn how to rely on the Lord and not their own strength. However, the battle to stop at “just one” takes on a different flavor when Christ is present to help us overcome.

Everyone serves a master ................ Parables 580

January 20, 1998

A simple statistic reveals human attitudes. For instance, 44% of American youth say if they do not like the candidates, there is no reason to vote. If political leaders don’t please them, they opt out of the system and refuse to support any leader.

Public support encourages leaders but voters’ personal preferences do not determine who makes a good leader. Leaders usually advocate change. Voters do not always see change as positive. They may decide to not follow that leader, even if the change would benefit them.

What if change challenges moral values, personal ethics or spiritual waywardness? Leaders who do this could be unpopular because of it. Does that make them poor leaders?

Sometimes the best leaders are the least popular. For instance, more than 99% of the population of Israel rejected Christ’s leadership. When He was arrested and taken to Calvary, His best friends abandoned Him. However, lack of popularity did not change His value as a leader.

In Jesus’ case, and perhaps in other situations where people refuse to support a leader, the difficulty is their own independence. Some people simply refuse to follow anyone. They fiercely proclaim self-reliance and will not let someone else tell them what to do.

The universal cry for freedom often means that kind of freedom. We are just like the Old Testament prophet Isaiah said we are— prone to turn to our own way. However, the Word of God says everyone is in bondage to something. Doing our own thing does not make us free. If we follow our own desires, they rule us. If we ignore the demands of political, legal, religious or social leaders, we will be at odds with a society that does not function very well without some conformity to its rules.

Besides this practical reason to follow social and political leadership, the Bible says we also are responsible for choosing our masters. Some of our options: we can follow our own lusts (they will bring us into addictions and bondage). We can follow the desires of friends (and find ourselves slaves to their demands). We can select political leaders (yet we are seldom happy with the outcome). Not one of those options gives us the leadership we want or the freedom we seek.

How startling that Jesus claimed “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Yet most people, including the Jewish leaders, did not go for that either. They liked their system of law with its 600 plus rules for life. They liked to think they were obeying those rules. They said of Jesus, “We will not have this man rule over us.”

However, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” He also said if they did not want the freedom He offered them, they would “die in their sins.”

The Apostle Paul restated it: “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience (to God), which leads to righteousness?”

Both affirm that everyone is a slave to something. Both affirm that those who do not follow God follow their own way, which is sin.

We may not like God’s definitions of our options but we do have the freedom and the responsibility of choosing our own master . . . and of accepting the outcome of that choice.

The Value of Silence .......... Parables 517

July 2, 1996

The husband comes home complaining, “There are people on my committee that never say anything. When we are supposed to brainstorm ideas, they never talk. It drives me crazy.”

His wife replies, “I have the opposite problem. My new boss is a nice person, but I can’t get even a ‘Yes, Sir’ in sideways. Talk! He must have once been an auctioneer.”

The Bible says, “There is a time to speak and a time to be silent....” Don’t we all sometimes find ourselves confused about which is which?

Sometimes people think actions have greater power than words or silence yet when a father tells his children, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say,” they don’t copy his words but his actions.

Learning how to behave properly includes learning how to keep one’s tongue. Simple silence can prevent many problems. Proverbs 21:23 says, “He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.” Another proverb adds, “A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered. Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue” (Proverbs 17:27-28).

A wise person is one who says the right thing at the right time. As one lady put it, “My grandfather was one of those people who did not talk very much, but when he did, everyone turned their head to listen.

Certainly Jesus Christ was not a person to mince words yet whatever He said showed His great wisdom. When He spoke, people not only turned to listen but came in droves to hear Him.

Jesus was also the only person with perfect knowledge of when to speak and when to be quiet. During the last days of His life on earth, as He was taken before the men who would eventually order Him crucified, He choose silence. As Isaiah 53 says, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth.”

The silence of Jesus was not a sign of ignorance or weakness. Because He was the Son of God, He could have opened His mouth and ordered legions of angels to rescue Him. He could have defended both His character and His innocence with great eloquence. Instead, He said nothing, perhaps because He considered His life purpose. As God’s Son, He came, “not to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

In that case, what would be the point of self-defense? His accusers had seen Him do miracle after miracle and still didn’t believe He was anything but an ordinary man. One more sermon would not convince them nor would any effort to verbally justify Himself. Even if speaking would change their minds, in light of what He came to do, the only option He had was silence. Because He choose this, sinners can choose life.

For those who do, silence is often more powerful than words. Peter wrote that Christians needed to trust God and submit to the rules of people in power. He explained in 2:15, “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.” Later on, he adds a note to wives of husbands that are in rebellion against God. He exhorts them to live such gracious, trusting lives that their husbands may be won over, without a word!” (Italics mine)

Learning when to speak and when to be quiet is one of life’s toughest lessons. My father loves to talk but also knows when to keep his tongue. It seems he learned this lesson from eighty-seven years of experience but then again, maybe he also read the Bible — his favorite expression mirrors Proverbs 17:28, “Better to be quiet and thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.”

The Most Influential Person of all Time .......... Parables 516

June 25, 1996

A recent issue of TIME magazine features an article identifying twenty-five of America’s most influential people. The lead person is Jim Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics and a man with a vision of what the Internet can become and who developed of a software program (Netscape) that is making that vision a reality.

Others on the list include comedian Jerry Seinfeld, jazz musician Wynston Marsalis, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and author-speaker Stephen Covey. A shorter article goes on to describe the most powerful people in America. That list includes Bill Clinton and Bill Gates.

Unfortunately, TIME left someone off their list. Thousands, perhaps millions of Americans know Him as the most significant change-producer, not only in their lives but for all eternity.

For example, Franklin Graham would put Jesus Christ at the top of the list. Franklin is the son of Billy Graham (who should have been on TIME’s list too). While growing up, his parents tried to influence him to choose Christ but Franklin had a mind of his own. For years, he resisted them and resented countless people who assumed he would take over his father’s ministry.

Franklin’s attitude was changed while running an errand in the Middle East for his father. He met two missionary women and through them, was encountered by Jesus Christ. From that time on, the direction of his life changed. Franklin now preaches the Gospel he resisted, even in the pulpit of his father during a recent Billy Graham Crusade in Australia.

Christ definitely has power to change lives in a way no other person can. Without Him, we are helpless to make God-pleasing changes. Romans 3 says, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Without Christ’s influence, we would not even seek God.

The Bible can make such strong condemnations against humanity because God’s standard of goodness far exceeds anything we call good. Sin has damaged our perception. We do not know God nor have the capacity to reflect His image as we should. We may think we can do it alone, but we cannot. We need a power outside ourselves and stronger than our resistance. We need an influence that tugs at our hearts and draws us away from our independence, pulling us to God.

For that, we must have a power that can give us new life through a spiritual birth. We need to be new creatures. Only Christ does that. When He influences a life, He enters the heart and mind, sufficiently and permanently changing the way we think and act.

2 Peter says: “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

As individuals who supposedly have minds of our own, we are pushed and pulled from all directions. There is no end to influences. TIME left out art, music, media, advertising and a host of environmental and social factors. They also left out the inner pressure, that which 2 Peter calls “evil desires” within our own hearts.

Powerful men and women, our environment, and sin are tremendous shapers of behavior. However, Christians have another choice. We are influenced by our Lord and Savior. For us, the power of people like Jim Clark, or sin, or any other thing is not nearly so compelling. We know by faith and by experience that Christ alone can influence us for good and for God. He take us in a positive direction and can even make us a positive influence in the lives of others.

Seeing and believing .......... Parables 476

(no date for original)

My mom wears bifocals. Actually, that is not exactly true. She has bifocals. She wears them on a cord around her neck — most of the time. Whenever she tries to read, or watch television, or look out the window, she narrows her eyes and squints.

One day I asked her why she didn’t wear her glasses. Couldn’t she see better with them on? She put them on, looked at the TV, took them off and said, “Yes, I can, but most of the time I don’t want to look at anything.”

I understand that. Some days I don’t want to look at anything either. The news is frightful or repetitive. The day outside is gloomy. Television is nothing but reruns. I’ve read all my books. Why wear glasses?

As my mother grows older, she is becoming less and less interested in life’s confusion. Keeping her eyes off the world is one way to cope with a decreasing ability to make sense of it. Although I understand and even sympathize with her, her attitude reminds me of another type of refusing to see. This one is far more serious, even deadly.

Jesus talked about people “having eyes but seeing not.” He told His disciples that He spoke in parables or stories that would be not be understood by these people because, “though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”

Jesus added “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.”

Confused? The Bible explains. When someone hears spiritual truth but ignores or rejects it, their heart (mind) becomes hardened. As the process is repeated, a callous forms and soon that person can no longer hear or understand the truth Jesus proclaimed.

In contrast, those who follow Jesus have a responsibility to both hear and repeat the truth Jesus told. For instance, God gave the Apostle Paul a special mission. He related to King Agrippa what God had told him: “I am sending you to (the Gentiles) to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

Then Paul added, “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”

As Paul obeyed what God showed him, he was given increasing revelations. The Lord even allowed an “infirmity” or weakness to prevent him from taking pride in that he had seen. Without this “thorn in the flesh,” Paul may have boasted about himself and his knowledge instead of doing the job God sent him to do.

The Pharisee’s illustrate the other end of the matter. They refused to believe anything Jesus said. Before long, even the simplest truths illustrated in parables confused them. Their deliberate choice at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry did them in. That choice was refusal to see the most basic reality: all have sinned (including themselves, the most religious Pharisees) and all need God’s forgiveness and the redemption He offers through faith in His Son.

“Use it or lose it” can be applied to muscle tone, eyesight, and skills — yet the most important application is to spiritual understanding. Whenever anyone refuses to see their own need of God, God politely makes Himself fuzzy, if not invisible, to their sight.

Genuine Freedom .......... Parables 468

May 16, 1995
When Rome ruled the known world, a law allowed soldiers to demand that any citizen carry their pack of equipment and weapons for one Roman mile. Israelites living in Judea and Galilee during the time of Christ, were included in that citizenship. Although they were allowed to keep their religion, the Jews longed for full political liberty. Can you imagine how they felt whenever they saw a soldier looking at them or even coming their way?

Put yourself in their place, maybe walking home after a hard day’s work. A soldier rides up and orders you to go 1620 yards in the opposite direction carrying his helmet and metal breastplate. Or perhaps you are dressed for an important job interview when accosted and forced to carry a dirty, smelly pack that smears both muck and aroma on your suit.

Roman taxes were bad enough without this further oppression. When Jesus came, many Jews began looking to Him as their Messiah, the One who would deliver them from their enemies, the Romans. Can you imagine their reaction when He told them, “If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles”?

Jesus gave them this startling command when was speaking to the disciples and a huge crowd gathered at the Mount of Olives. His discourse that day is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon, Jesus upended traditional rabbinic teaching. He also said things that mock so-called common sense, like “love your enemy” and “do good to those who hate you.” Why would He tell them to go beyond compliance and do Roman soldiers a favor?

Today, if someone tried to order anyone to carry their pack or do anything else they didn’t want to do, there would be a quick protest to the American Civil Liberties Union or some other rights protection group. North Americans value personal rights. We are free people who resist doing anything we don’t want to do. Besides, that Roman law was exploitive and encouraged people in power to be selfish and cruel.

It would be easy to look at the words Jesus said and think He was telling His followers to be submissive to evil, selfish people. That is not the case. He clearly teaches elsewhere that we should stand up against evil and do all we can to make sure people are treated justly and with respect. Furthermore, it is not biblical to encourage selfishness in others or allow them to do unkind things.

Why then did He urge “go the second mile?” Think of the typical response to unjust treatment: revenge; however, according to the Bible, getting even is not a godly response to evil. Romans 12 says, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord... Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The people Jesus talked to were outraged at the Romans who exploited their resources, time, energy and personal liberty. Even if they were not strong enough to physically resist, revenge was certainly in their hearts.

Nevertheless, Jesus told them when someone tries to rob you of your liberty, give it to them. This is not to encourage selfishness, not even to show unusual kindness. Instead, doing the unexpected for those who do not deserve it is being like Christ. He did not wait until we repented, made up for it, smartened up or quit sinning. Instead He “demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

By making a free choice to serve others, God’s people demonstrate they possess a loftier kind of liberty, a freedom that no one, not even a Roman soldier, can take away.

Acting like a sheep? .......... Parables 460

February 21, 1995

My farming experience did not include sheep but a neighbor told me about one of their annoying idiosyncrasies. If a fence had a little hole in it, they would find it and crawl through even if it meant leaving their pasture and wandering in areas without food. When they were brought home, the fence had to be fixed or they would crawl through it again.

Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet, makes an interesting observation. He says “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have all turned to our own way.”

Isaiah was one of many prophets who preached God would bless them for following Him and bring a curse if they disobeyed. These curses were sometimes simple, logical consequences of their social and moral failures and sometimes included famine, drought, disease and the invasion of more powerful enemies.

During one of those periods of disobedience, the writer of Judges commented, “In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” In their eyes, idol worship, injustice and lawbreaking was acceptable.

Isaiah and the other prophets could not see any sense in abandoning the laws of God. When God’s people obeyed Him, they always experienced spiritual and material prosperity. Why would they crawl through His fence of protection when the results were so disastrous? When the consequences of going astray completely overwhelmed them, they turned back to God but after years of this cycle of disobedience, consequences, repentance, God finally refused to hear their cries. He abandoned them to the invading Assyrians and allowed them to be taken into captivity in a foreign land. They remained in Babylon for decades lamenting their sheep-like behavior and learning again that sinful choices bring disaster.

Today, people still turn away from the laws of God and still miss the connection between this choice and the consequences. For example, the American Civil Liberties Union decided that praying and reading Scripture is unconstitutional in schools. As a result, these God-honoring activities are now illegal in the United States. Good things happen when people praying and read the Bible, not so when they turn away. Is there a connection between this choice and the dramatic drop in student self-esteem and the drastic increase in student discipline problems?

Violence on television is another example. God tells us to hate violence and refuse to look at it. However, television brings crime and bloodshed into our homes. While psychologists argue its effects, statistics show that brutality increases when these programs are made available in communities that once were without them. Is there a connection?

What proof do theorists need that the laws of God are valid? In spite of the hypocrites and phonies, when anyone genuinely places their faith in Christ, the process of becoming like Him begins. Christ produces a desire to obey God that results in increasing efforts to stop sinning and do right. According to Jesus, this change for the better is not only valid evidence of genuine faith, but has a life-giving, preservative effect on all of society.

When people cannot or will not observe the consequences of sinful behavior, could it be that they, like sheep, have turned their own way? To those who prefer their own wisdom, the Bible gives this grave warning: “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12).

God says it, His prophets say it and statistics back it up: it is folly to act like sheep.

Nature or Nurture or ? .......... Parables 458

January 31, 1995

“From the day your baby is born, you must teach him to do things. Children today love luxury too much. They have detestable manners, flout authority, have no respect for their elders. They no longer rise when their parents and teachers enter the room. What kind of awful creatures will they be when they grow up?”

A quote from a modern psychologist? or a Junior high school teacher? or a disgruntled mother? None of the above. Socrates (a Greek philosopher who believed doubt was essential to discovering truth) said it in 399 B.C.

Nothing has changed. Children still must be taught manners, respect and how to do things. In contrast, awful behavior has psychologists and philosophers arguing. Can the blame for it be put on nature/genetics or nurture/environment?

Certainly most of them agree that genetics are the cause of eye, hair and skin color and even the predisposition to certain diseases; however, environment and training are powerful factors that also influence the way people think and live.

As they argue, many experts ignore two other reasons for bad behavior. One is the human ability to make choices. Even though they will not remove genetic flaws like deformities, or erase bad experiences, good choices can help people overcome both. We can decide to make the best of a bad thing, profit from it and go on to reach our goals.

Concerning behavior, making choices requires taking responsibility for the way things are. If someone realizes they are rude, greedy, or selfish, taking responsibility for their actions sets them free to choose other options. Anyone who continues to willfully do wrong and at the same time blames poor parenting or a bad background is irresponsible. Unfortunately, “choices” and “responsibility” are not popular terms these days. Society prefers  “dysfunctional” and “abused.”

Another reason for bad behavior is connected to a doubted, and almost completely rejected, biblical principle. According to this principle, children and everyone else has an incredible tendency to love luxury, disobey authority, and fail to respect other people. It is called the sin principle.

Sin is not a popular topic but it is real. Sin is God’s terminology for the bad things people do. It is also His explanation for why those bad things happen. We do sinful things because there is sin in us. This is the sin principle.

Sin means that by nature, we fall short of the Godlikeness we were intended to reflect. Sin expresses itself in actions ranging from fibs to rape and murder. No matter the extent or damage done by sin’s expression, the Bible says “all have sinned...” and “there is no one that does good”... all have sin in them.

Socrates thought the solution was education, but even educated people can know beyond a doubt something is wrong and still do it. He also suggested loving luxury was an issue, but even a happy pagan in a loin cloth sins. Desiring the finer things can encourage evil but taking luxury away will not necessarily drive anyone to do good.

Proper teaching, respect for authority, and contentment without luxury are virtues that we may choose, but no matter how much we desire them, they are elusive. The sin principle is always at work.

The Bible says we need to take personal responsibility for our own sin. When we do, God’s remedy is a relationship of faith and trust in Him. Without this relationship, we will doubt God and take matters into our own hands. Sin will then multiply and those “awful creatures” Socrates talked about will always be a problem.
   

Will machines rule the world? .................. Parables 404

January 18, 1994
Psychologists are concerned that computers and other technical equipment is robbing people of their relational skills. They say that we are becoming so dependent upon machines that we don’t need each other. Not a few science fiction writers even speculate that someday, machines will rule the world.

Don’t believe it. This week, I can prove that we don’t need machines at all; machines need us. During our vacation my husband laughed when he found me playing Minesweeper on a computer in the corner of a Radio Shack store. He was already convinced I would not survive two weeks without my 486 and laughed that I simply could not survive without my computer.

When we got home, we discovered the opposite. My PCU has a rechargeable battery. Because I turned it off while we were gone and wasn’t using it, the battery did not recharge and some of the memory needed to start the computer was lost. It would not “boot” and I had the last laugh; it was the computer that could not live without me!

While I do use this machine a great deal, I am not helpless without it. I can still write, draw pictures, and play other games besides those designed for computers. A fruitful life does not depend on any machine... but this machine’s life and usefulness does depend on me. Pull the plug and it is a mere dust-collector.

After fixing the problem, I thought about co-dependency (another psychological buzz-word) and how God designed us to live as useful tools for Him. The Bible even says, “Offer yourselves to God as instruments of righteousness.”

Certainly we are not machines. Unlike a computer, we have power to choose who we will serve and how. However, like a computer, we do need a power source, something that motivates us and gives us our energy to keep going. Furthermore, the power source we rely upon will determine how we live.

The Bible teaches that we are insufficient in ourselves to keep ourselves going forever. That is, our life comes from God. In Him we live and move and have our being. It teaches that fruitful abundant living also requires Him as our power source. Jesus said, “I am the Vine and you are the branches. If anyone remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

He didn’t mean we couldn’t function at all on our own. Those without Christ are still able to do things. However, without a relationship of dependency and faith, what we do is not sufficient to keep us going for eternity, nor is it enough for fruitful, abundant, godly living.

Even my machine did some things on its own (after I plugged it in) without my direction. It destroyed some sectors on its own hard drive, which was rather foolish. Now it needs some major surgery to correct that problem; a procedure that will wipe it clean and reformat it.

Believe it or not, the Bible talks about our self-reliant efforts in the same terms. God says that what we do apart from faith in Him and His direction is sinful and destructive. In fact, we are so damaged by sin that we also need major corrective surgery to remove it from our lives. We need Jesus to wipe our hearts clean and give us an entirely new life.

Between my Bible and the sometimes goofy circumstances of life, God keeps reminding me how important it is to rely on Him for motivation, power and direction. What I do on my own is either destructive or makes me as useless a computer with a pulled plug.
           

No Link? Really? ................ Parables 347

December 8, 1992

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission now concludes there is “a link” between violence portrayed on television and violence in society but it is “not necessarily one of cause and effect.”

Interesting. What do advertisers think about the relationship between their commercials and the effect it has on consumers? Are sales merely a link? Or do commercials have a definite cause/effect relationship to consumer buying habits?

Profit studies and statistics say commercials definitely effect buyers. If they didn’t, why would any company pay media advertising fees? A half-minute spot on a show such as Murphy Brown costs over $300,000 — that is over $10,000 a second! Those kinds of rates are an indication of profits; people do respond to commercials.

But the CRTC is right in not being too hasty to attribute cause and effect. There is always more than one factor involved in issues like human behavior. Psychologists debate whether nature and genetics are the greater influence or is it environment and the way people are nurtured that cause them to live as they do? Many would agree that both factors play a part.

The Bible supports the both nature and nurture theory, but not quite the same way as would psychologists. Jesus, while not commenting on the effects of television violence, did say where violence begins: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”

While we were made in the image of God and do have potential to do tremendous good, Jesus is pointing out that sin has marred that image and gives us the capacity for tremendous evil. It is this propensity for sin that causes sinful thoughts, and we all have them.

As for the nurture side of things, God holds us accountable for how we raise our children, how we govern our lives, and how we deal with our sin. We need to recognize that when evil thoughts are given any priority at all, they easily lead to sinful actions. Nurture means we need to avoid whatever feeds that human tendency to sin.

Certainly such factors as our conscience and social pressures constrain evil too. Otherwise we could never live in a sinful world without personally participating in all its sin. Yet if our conscious is dulled by viewing a dozen murders a night on television (tests prove that it is dulled) and television programming begins to exalt violent people, the effects of conscience and social pressure are reduced. That kind of nurture makes it much more difficult to keep sinful thoughts from turning into sinful actions.

The psalmist did not have a television set but he knew this principle long before psychologists tested it. He said, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.” Instead, he determined, “My eyes are ever toward the LORD, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.”

Scripture says “Where there is no vision the people perish” not “no television.” The violence depicted is not profitable for enjoying life as God intended, a life of goodness and peace. We can lobby for better programming yet in lieu of that possibility, the best initiative to take may be in finding our entertainment elsewhere and simply shutting it off.

Self-Abuse & Warranties ................ Parables 342

November 3, 1992

A trouble-shooter for a major implement dealer tells a story about some complaints they received on a new tractor. While this tractor was receiving rave responses from nearly everyone, there were a few farmers from one part of the country who thought it was the worst model on the market. They kept wearing out gear boxes. After replacing the defective parts under warranty, sometimes two or three times for the same farmer, the company decided to send their trouble-shooter to find out what was happening.

This fellow discovered these farmers clearing land, including tree stump removal. They fastened a long chain around each stump, hooked the other end to the tractor, put it in gear, then took off at full speed. Just before the tractor reached the end of the chain and reared into the air, the driver jumped off. If the stump was not yanked free, they repeated the process.

Now any farmer, and a few of us who are not farmers, know that tractors and gear boxes are not made to withstand such treatment. After so much of it, the equipment will break down. The trouble-shooter had to carefully explain that in order to resolve the problem the farmers were having with their tractors. He said he now uses the story when folks come to him with their problems, explaining that we too break down because so many of us abuse our lives like those farmers abused their tractors.

He says people were originally made to live in a perfect environment with a relationship of dependence on God to meet all their needs. Instead, we live in an imperfect world where God is left out of most of our lives, but because we were not designed for such living conditions, we need Him even more than Adam and Eve did in paradise.

We see the wreckage all around: shattered marriages, dysfunctional families, corrupt governments, business failures, crime, and irresponsible behavior; people living independently from their Maker. Even though suggestions and plans for what to do instead-of-God are almost as numerous as the negative situations, only one works: the plan for which we were designed.

According to the story of creation in Genesis, God intended man and women not only to depend on Him but to reflect His image. When humanity determined to act apart from God, sin entered the picture and the image was mangled. Oh, it can still be seen whenever people act in kindness or mercy, but independence and the effects of sin have marred our hearts, minds, choices, and life as it was intended to be.

In love and concern for us, our Manufacturer also offers a warranty regarding our defective parts, ruined by sin. He offers a “new heart” and to put a “new spirit within,” to “take the heart of stone out” and give us a heart that is soft towards Him and towards living as He made us to live.

He warns us “do not be confirmed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” That means a change in thinking made possible by receiving His wisdom and “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

As for our choices, so seldom do we consult God and we so easily make selfish decisions but the Bible tells us if we turn to God, He works in us “both to will and to do His good pleasure.”

God remembers that we live best in paradise and says that someday, “the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” Those who go back to their Manufacturer for replacement hearts, minds and decision-making abilities will undergo a radical transformation, but so will this world someday be radically transformed, “a new heaven and new earth.” In the meantime, we are responsible to stop abusing ourselves and live life the way He intended.

Choose what kind of hypocrite I want to be ................ Parables 305

February 18, 1992

Professional Counselor Larry Crabb says that Christians, no matter what how they live, are hypocrites. He quickly adds a qualifier — Christians can make a choice regarding what form their hypocrisy will take.

To understand Crabb, it is important to have a clear definition of hypocrisy. We usually think of hypocrites as people who pretend to be good but are not, people who are nice to our face but stab us in the back. Webster’s Dictionary broadens the definition. It defines hypocrisy as: feigning to be what one is not, or to believe what one does not believe.

In other words, if I pretend to be an opera singer, when clearly I am not, I am a hypocrite. (My first performance would reveal the hypocrisy.) However, there are two ways to look at this. If I really was an opera singer, say an excellent soprano, but told everyone I could not sing a note, I would also be a hypocrite.

Notice Webster’s definition includes pretending to believe something as well as pretending to be something. I gather from that some people who say they believe in something or someone, when they really don’t, are hypocrites too. Without intending to be unkind, this might include parents who tell their children about the Easter bunny or the tooth fairy.

Taking this into the realm of religion, hypocrites are people who pretend to be what they are not, or pretend to believe but really have no faith. But it could also mean people who really are Christians and who really believe in Christ but say or act otherwise.

The first description we immediately recognize as the charlatans who masquerade their way into the church, fleece the flock, and leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. They are the business people who go to church on Sunday and conduct unethical business practices the rest of the week. They profess faith but do not possess it.

But what about the other kind of hypocrite, the one who is really a Christian but acts and talks like everyone else? Actually, this sort probably does far more damage in the church and to the reputation of Christianity than the other kind because few people can distinguish between these and the charlatans.

What is behind this strange form of hypocrisy? Well, when a person becomes a genuine Christian, they receive a new nature. This new nature is to govern their lives. However, the old nature, with its habits and selfishness, can have a strong influence if allowed to do so. When I was a new Christian, and sometimes even now, strong desires of the old nature try to govern what I do. In fact, sometimes obeying God seems unnatural — and doing the right thing, when I don’t feel like it, makes me feel like a hypocrite.

At that point I have to choose what kind of hypocrite I want to be. Am I going to be true to the new creature God says I am? Or am I going to be true to my old desires that God says have been crucified with Christ?

Psalm 26 says: “...I have walked in my integrity. I have also trusted in the Lord...” Integrity means being true to who we really are, and if we really are children of God, we ought to act like it, even if we don’t feel like it.

This is Crabb’s idea - Christians have to choose their hypocrisy.

In times of high moral and emotional pressures, something inside me may protest obedience. I may even yell, “I DON’T FEEL LIKE IT!” At that point, I need to remember I can be true to those sinful desires but I will be a hypocrite to what I really am. But if I choose to be true to what I really am, I will be a hypocrite to my sinful desires. The Bible says it is okay to be that kind of hypocrite.