If...

In this time of graduations, many of you will have recited for you the poem “If,” by Rudyard Kipling, by some young person who believes they have unearthed a rare and precious jewel that has never before seen the sun.  And many will be impressed and think it is full of great wisdom and promise.  But, an even wiser man wrote even greater wisdom, long before Kipling, that I think holds even greater promise for those who would tend to it.

Solomon wrote Prov. 2 to his son and started off with the same word, “If…”  Both, Solomon and Kipling encouraged their sons to accept their words, offered some useful guidelines, offered some principles to live by (although I would differ with some of those by Kipling), and suggested there would be rewards; especially if they listened to their words, even when the rest of the world seemed to be going in different directions.

However, Solomon’s writing to his son differed in two respects.  One, he placed greater emphasis on his son’s pursuit of wisdom on his own.  Wisdom from our fathers can only take us so far, and then we must find it on our own.  Most graduates forget 80% of what they learned while they were in school.  Solomon encourages his son, “Turn you ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding…call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding…look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure.”  Solomon’s admonition to his son was to make it a lifelong pursuit, to put everything he had into it.

A second distinction and one of great significance is what Solomon describes as the benefit of this pursuit of wisdom.  Kipling’s poem ends with the words, “”Yours is the earth and everything that’s in it; and—which is more—you’ll be a man, my son!”  Solomon held out to his son a much greater reward.  Although he assured his son he would benefit by having victory/success, protection from his enemies, help him have a successful marriage, and have good friends; there was an even greater treasure in store, and one that is still available to the graduates of today.  Solomon wrote, “Then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.”

Consider the challenge before us.  Do we want our young people to pursue the earth and everything in it, or to know God?

Godspeed, Phil

“…nor sits in the seat of scoffers (Ps. 1:1).”

Scoff: verb 1. Speak to someone or about something in a scornfully derisive or mocking way; an expression of contempt (synonyms: mock, deride, ridicule, taunt, dismiss, or belittle)

My son just returned home from playing with another boy in the neighborhood.  As he has on many occasion after playing with this particular boy, Jacob came in with frustration, and was a little bit angry.  This time, the other boy had mocked Jacob for wanting to return a ball that Jacob knew didn’t belong to his friend.  While Jacob knew this was the right thing to do, the other boy didn’t want to do it.  He began to tease Jacob and say hurtful things to him.  He was scoffing at Jacob for wanting to do what was right.

David continues to describe the downward progression that we began talking about a few blogs ago.  In the Keil and Delitzsch commentary on Psalms, the authors offer this rendering of the verse, “Blessed is he who does not walk in the state of mind which the ungodly cherish, much less that he should associate with the vicious life of sinners, or even delight in the company of those who scoff at religion.”  We might think this is a lesson only for the young; but, how easy it is for a lot of us to get sucked into the lifestyle of the ungodly, especially when our reputations are at stake.

 We don’t want to be seen as “pushing our religion down their throats,” or as “holier-than-thou,” or, heaven forbid, judging others.  While all of that may be true, there is nothing in the Scripture that suggests we should hide our faith, or pretend as though it isn’t important to us, and join these others in their sin.  It is preferable to take a firm stand for what we believe is right, than to succumb to the temptation that results from not wanting to offend someone.

 This brings up a related issue.  Why do we feel the need to always be on the defensive when it comes to our faith?  From childhood, we learned we were not supposed to “hide it (our faith) under a bushel.”  We are called to be salt and light, and we are reminded of the words spoken by Paul to Timothy, “God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (II Tim. 1:7).”

We have effectively been intimidated into not sharing our faith, even while others are apparently free to openly discuss their lifestyles, their values, and their behaviors.  We worry about being ostracized, isolated, judged ourselves, and even ridiculed.  I have been so as well; but, I found there are many opportunities where I can share what I believe, and that it sometimes makes a difference to those around me.  Sometimes, we are the ones who can effectively turn the conversations around to what is more appropriate and productive.  Sometimes, choosing to act upon what we believe can make a difference in terms of the outcome of a project, or the outcome of a major decision.

 A couple years ago, I and others in my office were in a very difficult situation, which could have resulted in a loss of business, and a scarring of our reputation, even though we had done nothing wrong.  I was encouraged in my time with God to express confidence that we were going to come out of our situation unscathed.  I especially felt compelled to share this with one of my supervisors, a marginal Christian, who never openly spoke of his faith.  I not only spoke to him on a regular basis; but, I also would text him Scripture to give him encouragement.  We did come out of it as I had hoped, and his faith grew exponentially, I believe as a result of my sharing with him.  I also spoke to one of my other supervisors, who was not a Christian.  I continue to trust God used that time to influence him.

At times, it is best we not associate with those who only scoff at our beliefs.  But, there are other times, we need to take a stand for what we do believe, and not back down.

Godspeed, Phil

 

Don't stand in the way

A second lesson that comes to us from Ps. 1 is that we are not to “stand in the way of sinners.”  It is a natural progression that, if we entertain the counsel of the wicked, instead of seeking the counsel of the godly in our lives, we will, inevitably find ourselves staying too long and being influenced by them.  We need to examine what has influenced us along the way and what may even now be influencing our walk with the Lord.

Recall how God told Joshua not to turn to the right or to the left, but to be careful to “obey all the law” Moses had handed down to him (Joshua 1).  Joshua was further instructed to meditate on the Word day and night, so that he would be “careful to do everything written in it.”  Our focus must be very similar.  We must not even slightly be distracted by wrong counsel or wrong influence.  Our conscience should become alarmed when we are so deterred.  After a while our life begins to take on a different direction and we will become like them.

I worked with an attorney who worked with prosecuting criminals day in and day out.  He came to me concerned because his wife had noticed a change in his demeanor, that he was becoming more grim and negative, even at home with his children.  Even our outward appearance can take on the features of the work we do.  I know, for example, my mouth turns downward into a frown if I focus on my work too much and allow it to influence my attitude.  Just look at the President after he’s been in office for a couple years.  An amazingly young looking man can all of a sudden appear to be years older.  How much more are our hearts affected by the continual influence of others?

The Hebrew tense of the verbs used in this verse suggest this a man who has never done this.  Unfortunately, for many of us, that horse has already left the stable.  The difficult, then, becomes extricating ourselves from where we have been walking, sittiing, and standing.  It isn’t easy to remove ourselves from relationships that are especially long-standing.  However, Jesus told His disciples, “No man who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).”  Once we have started down this road, there is no turning back.

If we are to become more like Christ, we must obey all the law, not turn to those on the right or left, stay focused upon the Lord and His Word, and let go of wrong influences, and the ways we have been influenced by them.

Godspeed, Phil

 

My new book, "Here's My Heart, Lord," is now available on Amazon.com.  it speaks of the problems of our hearts that get in the way of complete devotion to our Lord. 

 

 

Two Ways

 Are you happy?  Instead of “blessed,” Zorn translates Ps. 1:1 in this way, “Oh, the happiness that man experiences…”  This particular Psalm has a lot to say about being happy.  David’s purpose in writing this Psalm seems to be to promote the way of the righteous.  This Psalm commends living right, those we call the righteous, indicating what they avoid, what they delight in, and what that kind of life looks like. Zorn writes, “The Psalm is brief, consisting of some 65 words in Hebrew, and to the point.  It calls for a decision.  In the OT, if one is not godly, he is not wise, for there wisdom and godliness are inseparable.”

Wisdom directs one to the ways of God, to do what is right in the sight of God and to avoid doing what is evil.  What is involved in order to do what is right and to avoid doing evil?  David describes a progress.  The man who wants to do what is right will not walk, stand, or sit in such a way that will lead to a lack of godliness.

First, the godly man does not entertain the counsel of the wicked.  He is careful to seek out godly counsel, the wisdom that comes from those who know the Lord and know His Word.  Further, the godly man spends time with the Lord to listen to Him.  Gordon Smith (Listening to God in Times of Choice) writes, “Urban Christians, in particular live such harried lives that there is little time for reflection, prayer and silence, and consequently little time to attend to the quiet presence of God and the prompting of the Spirit.”

Some would argue that we cannot hear God and we cannot expect to have His counsel.  Willard (Hearing God) argues that is more dangerous to presume we cannot than that we can.  He contends, God has created us for intimate friendship with Himself.  Why would He choose to not communicate with us?

Two questions we need to ask of ourselves…are we in relationships that speak the truth into our lives, or are some of our relationships questionable?  While we are to minister to all, we need to be careful in terms of getting into personal relationships, where we are seeking counsel from those who are clearly not talking to God.  Secondly, are we taking/making time to listen to God?