Archive for » January, 2015 «

The Holy Shut Up

Click here to read Matthew 2 on BibleGateway.com

garbagebasketMan is competitive by nature. You doubt? Next time you see a bunch of guys sitting around in the office, throw a piece of crumpled up paper in between two of them and see what happens. Within 4.2 seconds, they will have located a garbage can a suitable distance away, taking into consideration the aerodynamic properties of the paper and the relative likelihood of boss discovery, and will begin some sort of free-throw competition, not dissimilar to the pig-throwing competitions of yesteryear. They will do no-look shots, bank shots, possibly even setting up obstacles to challenge themselves. And they will high-five, chest bump, and yell barely intelligible phrases to each other. All will be well with the world.

ANYTHING YOU CAN DO…

Why? Why do we challenge each other? Why are board games popular? Why do we spend billions of dollars on athletic competitions every year?  In a word, rightness. We love to be right. More importantly, we love to be more-right than the Other Guy. We don’t really care how fast we run, as long we run faster than Dave. We don’t care how much money we make, as long as it’s more than Wendell. We don’t even really care how much we sin, as long as we’re more righteous than Them.

Oh, what a temptation Being Right is. There may be no greater competition in the world. We love to be more righteous than the other people around us. Maybe it’s because deep down we think that somehow God grades on a curve, and if we’re just more righteous than a few others, we’ll make the cut. Maybe it’s just that ole pride, the bedrock of so many of our troubles.

And it’s not enough to be right, everyone else has to know how right we are. They have to know that we were tempted and held firm; that we had a chance to steal and restrained ourselves; that the last doughnut called us with its sweet glazed siren song, and we managed to resist. We need people to praise us for our strength and holiness almost as much as we need them to overlook our weaknesses. And if we have to drop hints here and there about our righteousness to get people to notice, then we devise ways to drop hints without making it too obvious that we are hint dropping. They need to notice without them noticing that we are noticing that they noticed.

HOLY UNKNOWN

Yet the Bible makes clear that sometimes the most righteous thing we can do is just shut our Doritos hatch. Jesus says that when we give to charity, even our left hand shouldn’t know what our right hand is doing. We should be able to give a truckload of cash without even needing others to know we gave a nickle.

Look at Joseph in today’s reading. The Bible says he was “faithful to the law.” He was a righteous man, no doubt about it. And then his young fiance comes to him and says “Oh, by the way, I’m pregnant. But don’t worry, it’s from God.” Can you imagine the temptation for him? He could have locked her in the loony bin, or at least made sure everyone knew what a hussy she was, and made sure that everyone knew how righteous he was. He wasn’t the one who fell into temptation; he wasn’t the one who should have to suffer the ruined reputation.

But even before he was visited by an angel, Joseph had already decided to divorce her quietly. Quietly. He did not mock her, did not stand up for his rights, did not even mention it to the neighbors. No disgrace, no public ridicule, no self-righteousness. His mercy won out over his need to be Right.

And he got to spend more time with Jesus than any other man.

Anticipation

Click here to read Ezra 1 on BibleGateway.com

AnticipationLet us sing together: it’s the most wonderful time of the year.

No, not Christmas, with the greed and the family squabbling and the hand-knitted sweaters and the fruitcake. Be honest; do you really enjoy all that? Yes, the family time is nice, and who can say no to turkey? Clearly, not all bad. But not the most wonderfulest either.

It’s football playoff season, my friends, and we no longer have to just talk about the NFL. The NCAA finally joined the 20th century (and only 14 years too late) and set up a college playoff. And there was much rejoicing in the land. Yea.

THIS YEAR

What is it that makes playoffs so exciting (not just football, but any sport)? After all, it’s just one more game, just one more sixty minute clock, just another nine innings, or, in the case of soccer, as long as it takes for the ref to rig the game against the US (Yes, I remember you, Portugal. Don’t think I don’t remember.) So what is it?

Anticipation.

Every team that enters the playoffs has a chance. All they have to do is win for a short period of time, and they’re champions. They prepare for a year (or more), they play multiple games, they go through injuries, heartbreaks, bad calls, internal fights, and the occasional legal battle, and it all comes down to one more game to move on. In the end (for most sports) there’s only one champion left standing. And everyone thinks they might be the one. Every team, player, and fan has the hope, the dream, the anticipation of finishing as the Best.

IN THE BEGINNING…

In today’s chapter (Ezra 1), we read how God “moved the heart” of Cyrus to allow the Jews to return home and rebuild their temple after seventy years in captivity. Their dream was coming true. For seventy years they had waited, anticipating the day God would move. And from what an unexpected source – the king of a heathen empire not only allows them to return, but funds the trip and rebuilding project as well. God does beyond what we can hope or imagine. They waited, prayed, anticipated. And God came though.

It’s January 1st, my friends. A whole new year is opening up before you. You have a chance this year to be more than you were before. Anticipate it. God may move through someone or something unexpected and fulfill that dream he put in your heart. Anticipate it. He may do more than you could ask or imagine. Anticipate it. Pray, wait, and know that God works it out in his time and his way for your good. Anticipate it.

There’s no telling what this year may hold. Commit yourself today to drawing closer to God; everything else will grow dim. And God will do amazing things. He always does.

Anticipate.