Unsocial Media

The internet is a strange place.

That's a statement we can all unite around, isn't it? Whether we hate it or we love it, we can recognize that the virtual connections we forge on the internet produce different experiences than real-life connections. Sometimes they are plain unusual. And yet, where else can you connect ideas so freely? We tolerate the oddity of web-connected gnostic relationships (read: "not in the flesh") because they bring us some value. Whether it's sharing something we love, exchanging fresh points of view, finding support through a hardship, or just helping us feel less lonely, our virtual connections serve us a worthy purpose.

On that last point, it's interesting to hop onto social media sites like Facebook and Twitter when something big is happening in the world. Instead of experiencing something alone you can feel like you're experiencing it right along with all your virtual friends. Watching a web-cast of some conference by yourself? Hop on Facebook chat & find out if anyone else is watching it. Or send out a Tweet with the appropriate hashtag. It's almost like a virtual town square where everyone can gather to share the experience together. Part of the attraction has to be the ease of access: instead of getting dressed up, climbing in your car, and going to an actual town square, you can just flip open your laptop.

And so that's what I found myself doing when the news starting buzzing on Sunday night May 1st that the President was requesting time from the major networks to make an announcement. I hopped on Twitter and Facebook to see what the world was saying. What I observed was fascinating. As the President was making his announcement, dozens of people were posting the news as their status. The people I follow on Twitter made snarky comments about this or that (as only people on Twitter can do). But the mood was mostly celebratory. People happy that the boogey-man was gone. People happy that their deeply-rooted beliefs in American Exceptional-ism were confirmed. People happy that justice was done. People happy for our troops, as if this was "Mission Accomplished" (and it felt like it), and happy for families of troops, as if this justified their decade of sacrifice.

But as joyful post after joyful post crawled across the computer screen, I began to notice another theme rising: righteous indignation. Disgust that anyone could find any glee or redemption from the death of a man. Little matter that this man was the most terrifying figure of this century. These people were upset -- uninterruptedly shouting into the chorus of joy about how inappropriate the joy was. It would be akin to a small faction of people making a ruckus about people enjoying a wedding reception because of 9% unemployment, or suffering in Sudan, or something along those lines. It was amazing. Like shouting into a whirlwind. Did these people think that they were going to shout down a happy mob? Who shouts down a mob?

Then I observed more indignation. People acting cranky over the President getting credit "instead of the soldiers." People acting cranky over the news about it being everywhere. People expressing anger over almost anything! Even people acting cranky over people getting cranky. Yeah, that's right: that was me. Even I tried to shout down the army of wet blankets who were trying to douse everyone's happiness. I'm not proud of it, but it happened.

The whole thing was just a strange phenomenon that led me two days later on Facebook to opine:

(Philip) thinks he learned a lesson since Sunday night: when big events happen, stay off of Facebook. Too emotionally charged. Too many opinions. Just seems like a good policy.

Let's see how long it takes before I have to re-learn this lesson

Turns out it was 9 weeks to the day. 63 days!

Because last Tuesday a Florida jury declared a verdict of not guilty on the most heinous charges brought against Casey Anthony. The reaction was virtually immediate; it was swift & full of fury. Twitter exploded. As I looked on, one person after another unleashed their rage -- or at least their dissatisfaction -- on Facebook. The general theme was that there was a miscarriage of justice. Some were affected to the point of feeling sick to their stomach. Some expressed not ever being able to trust the justice system again. (...seemingly reversing the sentiment from 2 months ago. If killing bin Laden helped us all feel strong again, the Casey Anthony verdict made us feel weak) And then, of course, the snark.

"O.J. Simpson finds this verdict outrageous."

"I wonder if the Casey Anthony trial jurors would ever let her babysit THEIR kids?!?"

"I wonder if Dexter will come after her!"

Social media has made us all into social commentators. And then there's strange minds like mine that spend time like this commenting on all the commentary.

Me personally: I could feel the spirit of spirit of indignation welling up inside me again. Not because I felt honor-bound to defend Casey Anthony. Not at all. It's pretty apparent that this woman murdered her daughter (whether purposefully or accidentally), then hid the body, then lied to the police. And all that while partying like a rockstar. No, I didn't feel the need to defend her; my temper was rising because... I guess because everyone else's was. "Don't these people know that the state prosecutors did a terrible job?" "Don't these people know that the jurors did exactly what they were supposed to do?" "Why are all my grace-accepting Christian friends obsessed with seeing this woman fry in an electric chair?"

Thankfully I refrained from angering anyone with these thoughts. I think. I let a couple of them loose on Twitter. Hopefully without causing anyone else ill temper.

I've spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out what possesses me in moments like these. Part of it has gotta do with how I'm wired. Being an ideological moderate, I like things balanced. So when I encounter a perspective that is wildly one-sided, and emotionally charged, it charges my emotions to want to respond with the other side of the argument. It's as if something somewhere deep inside me is wanting to exclaim, "THIS IS MORE COMPLEX THAN YOU'RE LETTING ON, YOU KNUCKLEHEAD!"

The good folks at the "You Are Not So Smart" blog would say that I'm unwittingly giving myself over to the backfire effect. That's where, when confronted with an opposing opinion, you strengthen & fortify your own views. I like how they put here:

The last time you got into, or sat on the sidelines of, an argument online with someone who thought they knew all there was to know about health care reform, gun control, gay marriage, climate change, sex education, the drug war, Joss Whedon or whether or not 0.9999 repeated to infinity was equal to one – how did it go?

Did you teach the other party a valuable lesson? Did they thank you for edifying them on the intricacies of the issue after cursing their heretofore ignorance, doffing their virtual hat as they parted from the keyboard a better person?

No, probably not. Most online battles follow a similar pattern, each side launching attacks and pulling evidence from deep inside the web to back up their positions until, out of frustration, one party resorts to an all-out ad hominem nuclear strike. If you are lucky, the comment thread will get derailed in time for you to keep your dignity, or a neighboring commenter will help initiate a text-based dogpile on your opponent.

After some deliberation, I have decided that this is folly. (g) Seriously: Thank God for good satire to rouse us out of the caricature-like behavior that we can so easily & unwittingly slip into.

I've decided to repent & not steamroll over other peoples' views anymore. I recognize that it will be difficult for my balance-craving psyche to accomplish. But somehow I'll manage.

I think of two examples from Scripture. One is the prophecy about Jesus in Isaiah 42 that's also quoted in Matthew 12: "He will not wrangle or cry aloud, or raise his voice in the streets." Jesus managed to live His life and make His point without making a dramatic scene. Seems like I could do the same. I've also long admired Paul with how he combined both boldness and humility in a spirited defense of himself and his faith in Acts 26. One of the more under-rated passages of Scripture, IMO. Probably one I could stand to spend more time with. As could we all.

And if social media is the virtual town square, then it makes sense to act as one would when actually at the town square. If those gathered grow unruly & start to act with great furor, common sense would generally say, "Time to head home." I don't know why it's so hard -- maybe because it's just so intense -- but it wouldn't hurt just to log off. It's not like missing out on those two or three heated status threads (read: virtual Molotov Cocktails) is going to hurt. In fact, if indeed I were throwing a few around, it probably would.

* I wish I'd made that fabulous photo. I didn't. That came from www.xkcd.com via the "You Are Not So Smart" Blog.

A New Reading of the Wise & Foolish Builders

Isn't it great when you read a passage of Scripture from a new perspective? Especially when you discover the way the passage was supposed to be read all along?

My buddy Mark did this for me last year for Jesus' teaching on money & rendering unto Caesar. "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, and render unto God what is God's." Well, Caesar's coin had Caesar's image on it. So what is God's image on? Our entire being. We are made in the image of God. Therefore render ourselves unto God. Brilliant!

(That reminds me. I miss those ads for Guinness beer. "BRILLIANT!")

It's kind of amazing the things that shape your view of texts without you even realizing it. For me, reading the story of the wise & foolish builders at the end of the Sermon on the Mount (in Matthew chapter 7) always felt like another installment of "Goofus & Gallant."

Does anyone else know who Goofus & Gallant are? Or am I the only geek who grew up reading Highlights Magazine? I hope not. I was the only one at Church on Sunday, but maybe someone out there read it, too. I always made sure to catch each monthly entry of Goofus & Gallant. I'll let Wikipedia sum it up for you:

First appearing in Highlights in 1948, Goofus & Gallant is a cartoon feature created by Garry Cleveland Myers and drawn by Anni Matsick. The strip features two contrasting boys, Goofus and Gallant. In each cartoon, it is shown how each boy would respond to the same situation. Goofus chooses an irresponsible path, while Gallant is kinder. Goofus and Gallant's primary function is to teach children basic social skills.

It's entirely as simple as it sounds. Goofus is a doofus. And Gallant is valiant. Goofus had unkempt hair and always did the wrong thing. Gallant's hair was never out of place, and he always did the right thing. It made you want to be like Gallant.

There is a way that this simple form of propaganda is used in one of the most beloved TV shows today. Its "The Office!" Just look at Andy Bernard (douchey), Dwight Schrute (nerdy), and Michael Scott (pathetic). Especially Michael Scott (he's especially pathetic). Who wants to be like them?! Nobody, that's who. You'd rather be like Jim: funny, cool, likeable. And so watching "The Office" is rather like watching a social morality play that teaches adults basic social skills.

And innocent little you thought you were just enjoying fun entertainment. :)

So, I always read Goofus & Gallant (or Michael Scott & Jim Halpert) into the story of the Wise & Foolish Builders from Matthew 7. But, thanks to this Alan Perkins sermon, I'm now convinced that this was wrong.

Why? Because the foolish man did quite a few things right. I mean, he did actually BUILD A HOUSE. Have you ever considered that? I've never even tried to build a house. It takes a lot of hard work and technical skill. Not that I'm against hard work. It's just that with my complete lack of technical skill, it'd make the hard work even harder, right?

So evidently, even the foolish builder was an energetic, diligent, and skilled hard worker. It's no easy thing to put up a house. I think it's important that we grasp what the true contrast is here. It's not a contrast between someone who can build & someone who can't build. Or a hard worker & a lazy worker. Jesus isn't knocking the foolish builder for his lack of skill or work ethic. Think about it: no power tools or Home Depot. He probably would have had to carry stone, and cut wood, and form bricks out of clay. It probably took him weeks & months of back-breaking labor. And he didn't even quit: the foolish man persevered until the structure was complete.

And THAT is what really makes the story so heart-breaking: because the good, hard-working builder made one incredibly foolish decision. So that in the end, all of his hard work was lost.

It's easy for us to confuse activity with godliness. We assume that if someone is hard-working and energetic, or sincere and diligent, that they're ultimately probably a "good person." And that's not always the case. And that's the point of the passage immediately preceding the wise & foolish builders:

Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"

The issue here is foundation. What is your life centered on? Is it your faith? Or do you consider your faith to be more like a slice of your life, along with work and entertainment and leisure and so on? Because it's how you answer those questions that is going to be determinative for how you fare when the storms of life arrive. Because you can build a really nice life for yourself, and have it all ripped apart if it's not on a firm foundation.

By all indications, the foolish man's house was a good, solid structure. That's not the way I always thought of it. In Goofus & Gallant terms, I always kind of pictured Gallant's beautiful brick house up on the firm ground, and Goofus' rickety-looking shanty down on the beach.

But that's wrong.

By all appearances, the foolish man was well-off -- his house was well-built. It didn't fall down right away. It wasn't obviously defective. As long as the weather was fair, it was perfectly adequate.

But then the storms came. And then it collapsed.

You know, it's possible to accomplish a great deal in this world without Christ at the center of your life. You can build a business or a career. You can make money. You can have a reasonably good marriage & develop a wide circle of friends. You could even be a big brother or adopt a 3rd world baby. Whatever. You can do many big, important, impressive, and admirable things. But if your life isn't built on a firm foundation, eventually a storm will come along that will bring it all tumbling down.

It all kind of comes down to one question really: who is at the center of your life? What's the foundation upon which everything else is built? Who's the source & wellspring of all that flows out from yourself? If it's anything other than the God-made-man who we call Jesus, then I've gotta level with you: you're in for a world of pain.

Job 39 and Glen Coffee

Alabama running back Glen Coffee has a favorite Bible passage: it's God's description of a war horse in Job 39:19-25...

Pretty cool stuff. I'd never really paid this verse much mind until I heard it was his favorite passage. I think it's awesome that he takes on the spirit of this passage in his running style.

Taming the Ferocity of the Urgent

"If I changed the life of one person...just one person...well, okay, one is aiming pretty low. Let's say I change the lives of five thousand people...ten thousand...okay, five thousand, I'd be satisfied for starts...”
-Michael Scott

What a dunderhead.

Michael Scott is the fictitious boss of a paper company in Scranton, PA on the NBC hit television series, The Office. And I believe that in satire that quote raises awareness of the prevailing cultural value of accomplishment.

Our society values high efficiency & tangible results. We set goals for ourselves to lose 15-lbs. in a year, baptize 12 people in a year, or to read 24 books in a year. When we achieve our goals, we feel a great sense of accomplishment (or, in Sabanese, "personal self gratification"... Coach Nick Saban has this whole thing about not settling, or feeling content, or being satisfied. He strikes those words from his team's vocabulary, and doesn't let reporters get away with using them in press conferences. That man messes with my mind. Anyway...) But if we don't necessarily measure up with those values of accomplishment, in place of those values we mumble restlessly about how darn BUSY we are. So, if you haven't accomplished anything noteworthy or aren't busy trying to accomplish something noteworthy, we feel acutely insecure that other people may think that we are lazy or apathetic.

I am often reminded of reasons to be thankful for being single when I meet with a group of local ministers weekly for mutual encouragement & accountability. Each of the other men in our group are married. And inevitably, one of the other unaccomplished (relatively-speaking) young ministers will spatter off about how busy he is, how he's been neglecting his family, how he hasn't given enough time to study, prayer, or evangelism, or how little time he has in general. While some of this pressure is inherent, a lot of it is imposed by superiors.

For my readers who aren't ministers, this pressure is endlessly more frustrating on us ministers than you may realize. We ministers are often left with little sense of accomplishment because the nature of ministry isn't always necessarily results oriented. Rarely do we ministers get to figuratively lick the stamp, place it on the envelope, stick it in the mail, and be done with it. Ministry is ALWAYS on-going. There is ALWAYS more that can be done. There is ALWAYS one more phone call to make, one more step for a person you're working with to make, and one more hour to give to whatever necessary task. It is eternally endless.

And so we ministers feel immense pressure to measure up with the cultural value of accomplishment. And when we can't meet that imposed value on a day-to-day basis, we work ourselves to death & complain about it so that folks won't think us lazy. Moreover, we concern ourselves more with accomplishment-oriented tasks (e.g. sermon preparation) as opposed to other less accomplishment-oriented tasks (e.g. prayer... that is, unless it is part of a New Year's Resolution! Then we can justify it...) so that we will have something to show for our efforts.

And in the end, the urgent ebbs out the important.

I find this trend decidedly more culturally induced than Scripturally inspired. Even though Paul indeed accomplished a lot in his lifetime, we don't often hear of him setting tangible, measurable goals. This is a man who carried the Gospel from Judea perhaps as far as Spain in an age without planes, trains, or automobiles. He accomplished quite a bit. But he didn't set annual goals to plant x amount of churches in y amount of regions. Or to baptize z amount of disciples. In fact, his approach was maddeningly random. He would spend a couple weeks in one place, a few days in another place, 18 months in the next place -- the pattern wasn't driven by a spirit of accomplishment, but rather a Holy Spirit.

OK, here's where I'm going: the Scriptures witness to a faith that is emphasizes being over doing, but Christian leaders seem to get it so backwards. I often wonder how many of us professional ministers, who accomplish a lot, will try to plead with Jesus as he prophesied in the Gospel of Matthew: 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?'

In Philippians 3, Paul rejects the spirit of accomplishment. He rejects the tick marks of Jewish achievement for a faith where he says that he has not really achieved anything yet.

Do not mis-hear me. This is not a blog entry that wishes to excuse sloth. Nor am I trying to do away with 5-year plans, which are noble. I'm merely pointing to the unfaithfulness of venerating these values over & above the value of becoming. As my esteemed blogging buddy pointed out a month ago, our divine purpose has a lot to do with one of the more under-rated verses of the Bible: Romans 8:29...

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

If all our energies should be harnessed in any direction, we should focus those values of accomplishment & doing toward becoming. And I believe that includes activities that may not lead to immediate accomplishments or results: whether that is Bible study, prayer, or something else. If we ministers are going to be leaders of being counter-cultural, then it begins with us embracing becoming over accomplishment.

I'm not going to pretend to be paragon of virtue about this. I certainly don't pray or study my Bible as much as I'd be proud to admit. But I have begun in this new year to let go of undue anxiety to find peace in being & becoming that which God called me to be. Part of what that means is blogging more. In and of itself, blogging is in fact a hollow pursuit. But for me, it flexes my artistic muscles of writing -- a part of me that I find incredibly deficient. It serves to make me a better communicator as I try to become as good a preacher as God would have me be.

To tame the ferocity of the urgent, and to lead our congregation into counter-cultural modes of thinking, I think it means for us that we embrace the simple. Write. Pray. Read. Rest. Meditate. Memorize Scripture. Smell the roses. There are plenty of directions for us to go in, but one direction we need to turn away from is that spirit of accomplishment. To put Neale Pryor's favorite verse into different terms...

What good would it be for a man to accomplish everything but what God set out for him to become?

Puzzling Phrase in the Story of the Tower of Babel

I came across this passage in Genesis 11 a couple weeks ago & sort of curled my eyebrows:

¹ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. ² As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

³ They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. ⁴Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

⁵ But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. ⁶The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. ⁷Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."

So what do the rest of you theologians do with that line?

The Sin of Acha... Israel

The story of the sin of Achan has been one that has always disturbed my sensibilities on many levels. Really, I still have more questions than I do answers.

• Here, you have a nation that shows such faith in God as to send only a few thousand men to conquer Ai, yet He didn't bother to warn them at all about the licking they were about to receive at the hands of their enemies & the loss of 36 lives.


• Further, it says in verse 1 that "the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things" -- because of the actions of ONE man the whole is judged unfaithful.
  
• In verse 10, we're left with the notion that God doesn't want Joshua to pray any longer about an event that had to be extremely disturbing to the Israelites. When coupled with another passage, I get the distinct impression that God gets tired of our blubbering after a while. There comes a point where supplication is rendered void & action is required. Sure, that makes sense, but given all the other eccentricities of this passage it is still unsettling on some level.


• Once Israel narrows it down to Achan, he confesses that it was indeed him. Hey, at least he didn't pull a Rafael Palmeiro or a Roger Clemens. Or pull a Pete Rose & try to benefit off his "confession," if you can call it that after YEARS of categorical denials only to finally tell the truth by releasing a book to make money off of it (... what a sleazy guy!). Achan is a man & at the least owns up to his sin. And for this, he is stoned.


• And not only do they stone Achan, but his family with him. And we have no idea whether or not they were even complicit in Achan's deed. Or even knew about it!

I was listening to some Randy Harris from the Tulsa Workshop today, and he took on this passage. He expressed experiencing many of the same troubles that I listed above. Usually, when I think this passage or preach it, I talk about sin. And I talk about how serious God is about sin, holiness, etc. But that's not what Randy addressed.

Randy said that our main problem with this passage that we've never expressed is how sickeningly community-oriented the Israelites were... at least, to us. We embrace such an exorbitant individualism and it is such an epidemic in our culture that the implications of living in community appear almost perverse to us. The therapists among us might even call it "unhealthy." There is spectrum of dependence vs. independence, and we must seek to strike the "healthy balance" of interdependence. At least, that's what I was taught in Christian Home at HU.

God holds the entire nation responsible for the actions of one man. ONE. We don't take responsibility for the deficiencies around us, do we? MLB Commissioner Bud Selig refused to apologize last week for his culpability. A culture of rampant illegal drug usage spirals out of control on his watch, but it was the fault of the individuals who made those decisions. No one has even begun to lay blame at the feet of simple fans like me, even though I continue to purchase apparel, subscribe to MLB.tv each season, and play fantasy baseball. I continue to support a dirty sport, and have not done my part to hold the leaders & participants of the sport accountable for their misdeeds. No, rather, fans like me are either too apathetic to care or too cynical to think anything can be done, so we settle for a synthetic product.

How about more life applicable examples? Abilene Christian University recently apologized to African-Americans for how that institution & its supporting churches treated them in generations past. Why did they do that? Scarcely anyone that is a part of that institution today played a role in that. But at least on this issue, ACU gets it, because they are promoting a sense of community that even shares the responsibility of the misdeeds of their predecessors.

Randy Harris asked if we take responsibility for what's been happening in Sudan? Or all the turmoil of the Middle East, or previously, Eastern Europe? Because we all constitute "the nations."

This contemporary Evangelical business about our "personal relationship with God" that is buoyed by hymns with lyrics like "My God and I walk through the meadow's hue" & "He walks with me & He talks with me"... it's a little off-center. We would do well to re-examine the sense of community promoted within Scripture & the implications that holds for ourselves and what we teach.

A Day to be Remembered

¹⁶And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name.

Acts 22:16 will always hold a special place in my heart from now on.

Lately, things have been going well with my sister, Katie. She was invited to be a part of a church softball team at the Jenks Avenue Church of Christ, and has loved it. She's made a lot of good friends, primary among those being Rachael C. She had started coming just to Wednesday night Bible Studies... then expanded to coming to bi-monthly Young Adult Bible Study Devotionals... then found out about the Tuesday morning Ladies Bible Study... and has even started coming on Sunday's. She'd even started talking about baptism.

Well, Tuesday, she was sitting in the Ladies Bible Study, and the Lord spoke to her through Scripture. As she read Acts 22:16 with the group, she posed the question to herself. "What AM I waiting for?" So tonight, with Mom able to drive down for the occasion, she came forward during the invitation extended by Daniel C. I made some personal comments before the church before I took her confession, saying that among many testimonies that Katie's baptism was a testimony to prayer & perseverance. (And for those of you reading with fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, spouses, or children who haven't yet put on Christ, don't give up hope.) I then took her confession, she went back to change & I put on those hip-looking waders, and I immersed her into Christ.

Luke shares Paul's conversion account 3 times in the book of Acts. I'm so appreciative now that he included verse 16 when he was penning chapter 22.

Lesser Known Text of the Week

How do we know what we know? This is the quesion of epistemology, which seeks to investigate our bases of knowledge.

The root of knowledge for science is observation: that which you can measure by sight, smell, taste, touch, or sound. Another root of knowledge for the religion/philosophy of Buddhism is intuition: that which is realized in one's everyday walk of life and, perhaps more importantly, that which is learned via meditation.

The root of Christian knowledge, however, is not achieved 1st hand. It is an external form of knowledge: revelation. Paul talks about it in Ephesians 3:2-5:

²Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, ³that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. ⁴In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, ⁵which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.

Not that other roots of knowledge are unimportant. There is a sense in which we can know about God through those other ways of learning. Ecclesiastes 3:11b seems to indicate that there is an intuitive way that we can know about God. Romans 1 and Psalms 19 teach us that there is also an observational sense in which we may learn about God. But none of these are as important as that which we can gain by revelation.

Paul is very clear in this passage about how revelation works. It is, first & foremost, a gift from God ("the administration of God's grace ..."). It is to be shared rather than hoarded ("... that was given to me for you."). Contrary to popular belief in some circles of historical-critical philosophy, we can understand what God revealed by reading and comprehending what Paul & other inspired writers have recorded ("In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight ..."). And God revealed his message to a select few individuals by the Spirit.

I believe that it is imperative that we very carefully & deliberately consider what it is that we rely on as our base of knowledge. What do we draw upon for wisdom? I hope that it isn't merely intuition & observation. While those are good, we have a source of knowledge that transcends those. Let us not ignore it, nor be ignorant of it.

I've heard other people say this before, and I am finding it to be true myself. The older I get, the more respect I have for the Word of God.

Chasing Rabbits

My friend Matthew asked with a recent blog of his, "What rabbits have you chased lately?" There are subtle threads woven throughout the fabric of scripture that are fun to follow if you are deliberate about following them. So, faithful blog readers, for your obscure Bible passage(s) of the week: rabbit chasing.

One came up tonight in Bible Study. In the adult class on Wednesday nights at the Lynn Haven Church of Christ, we are studying Acts. Tonight ... end of Acts 4 & beginning of Acts 5. Barnabas & Ananias and Sapphira. I love how "the folks" tiptoed around giving -- "well of course this means we aren't supposed to give EVERYTHING away." Fun stuff.

Anyway, Ananias & Sapphira can be a disturbing story that is difficult to understand. But something clicked with me tonight as I read it. One of the themes that Luke develops in Acts is that of Giving God Glory. Luke very carefully shows that one of the greatest sins is that of failing to give God his due.

This is why Herod was killed in Acts 12. Herod spoke, and the people cried out, "The voice of a god and not of a man! ²³And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died." Herod should have deflected and not accepted such praise. How interesting that God killed this man for a sin of omission.

And then, soon after this, we have the story of Paul & Barnabas in Lystra in Acts 14. Paul heals a man. So we pick up in verse 12. "¹²And they began calling Barnabas, Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. [...] ¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their robes and rushed out into the crowd, crying out ¹⁵ and saying, "Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the Heaven and the Earth and the sea and all that is in them." Their response was the proper one. They gave glory to God. And so the worms were held at bay.

So what does Ananias & Sapphira have to due with giving God glory? Well, you know how we have figures of speech in language? It clicked with me & I remembered that Jews had a figure of speech about giving God glory. Dr. Ken Neller taught it to me in my 3rd semester Greek Readings class at Harding. It occurs twice in Scripture:

John 9:24. The man who was born blind was healed by Jesus & being brought before a council of Pharisees. '²⁴ So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give glory to God; we know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner."' What they are saying is this: "Come clean. Tell us the truth. What really happened to you?" But the figure of speech isn't "Come Clean," it is "Give Glory to God."

Joshua 7:19. Achan has sinned, and Joshua is trying to discover the truth. ¹⁹ Then Joshua said to Achan, "My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me." Joshua isn't saying, "Go sing some songs to God, and then come tell me the truth." With there being so much repetition in this text, it's like Joshua is channeling Tom Cruise: "I WANT THE TRUTH!"

So, back to Ananias & Sapphira. What was their sin? It isn't that they didn't give all they earned from the selling of their land. It was lying about it. And by lying, they were not giving God his due glory. I have little doubt that this figure of speech was in Luke's mind when he wrote this down, and that "Theophilus" was able to pick up on it while reading this story.

So there you go. Give glory to God and you'll avoid being food for worms.

I pity the poor soul whose wife reads this blog. "Honey, give glory to God: does this make me look fat?"

Spread It Out Before the Lord

In Isaiah 36, we come to learn that Jerusalem is in trouble. Assyria has already invaded & conquered the Northern Kingdom. And now they have Jerusalem in their cross-hairs. Sennacherib, King of Assyria, has commissioned one of his Generals to go and deliver Jerusalem to him.

The Assyrians threaten the Israelites with their strength and make seemingly-logical arguments for why they should surrender. Finally, entering chapter 37, they send a letter to Judah's King, Hezekiah, insulting his God & threatening his future. And then, this:

¹⁴Then Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it, and he went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. ¹⁵Hezekiah prayed to the LORD [...]

I really don't have a sermon to preach tonight. Just admiration of Hezekiah's act. I love that image: the connection of the physical letter & the spiritual God. I love that example: without hesitation, he took his needs to his God.

And I love the ending. You should check it out. I'm not going to spoil it for you. Start in Chapter 36, and see what happens when you take your troubles & spread them out before the Lord.

Praying in 2nd Person

For the latest installment of a lesser known Bible passage, a prayer. From Acts 4:24-31 (NASB, w/ a few adjustments):

²⁴And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, "O Lord, it is You who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM, ²⁵who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David Your servant, said,

     "WHY DID THE NATIONS RAGE,
     AND THE PEOPLES DEVISE FUTILE THINGS?
²⁶'THE KINGS OF THE EARTH TOOK THEIR STAND,
     AND THE RULERS WERE GATHERED TOGETHER
     AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS ANNOINTED ONE.'

²⁷"For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur. ²⁹"And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your bond-servants may speak Your word with all confidence, ³⁰while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy servant Jesus."

³¹And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

I enjoy a great many things about this prayer. For one, I love how the early Christians received an INSTANT answer to their request to speak the Word with boldness. It's always fun when God decides to answer our prayers instantly. Also, one of the things I've tried to emphasize in my teaching recently is how important it is that we retain a boldness when we speak about our faith. And, a lot of times, we equate boldness with rudeness or arrogance. Yet, there is example after example in Acts of how to be bold politely & in a well-mannered fashion (FWIW, my favorite example is Paul's defense in Acts 26). Among other things that we ask of God, we should ask him for Boldness.

I also like how the early Christians connected Psalms 2 with what was happening in the world around them. One thing I like about modern-day post-liberal theology (and specifically with regard to Scripture) is how they capture the sense of how the early Christians viewed Scripture like unto a script to be lived out. That is, that Scripture is not simply a chronicle of past events, but that it is also a living document which finds allegorical-like application in current events. It is not simply a document to be studied, but it is also (and perhaps even more ...) a script to be lived out. And so the early Christians, in this prayer, found an allegorical match for every character mentioned in that Psalms 2 passage (as I underlined for you above). Also, for you non-Greekniks, "Nations" & "Gentiles" is the same word in the original language. So, in interpreting this way, they took courage from the words of Psalms 2. And as the installed ruler of Psalms 2 vanquishes the foe with ease, the early Christians ask that they may vanquish the foe via the name & authority of God's annointed.

None of us will ever forget September 11th -- it's events, it's aftermath, and where we were when we heard the news. I was at a Bible Major's Retreat at Camp Takodah in Arkansas, barely a month into my first semester at Harding University. It was an amazing scene to return to campus later that afternoon and to put pictures & video with the devastating descriptions we had already heard. And one other thing I will never forget is Chapel on September 12th. I remember sitting down & seeing a gigantic American flag behind the podium & Chapel leaders' seats. I don't remember what songs we sang or even anything that Dr. Burks said as he brought the devotional message that morning. But I'll never forget the Scripture that Dr. Burks read:

¹ God is our refuge and strength,

     A very present help in trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change

     And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;

Was the writer of Psalms 46 writing prophetically about the events of September 11th? No. But it's words find new life & special meaning as it's words are compared with the events of September 11th. One thing that I love to do is to pray the Psalms -- reciting a Psalm & making it my own prayer. I suggest that you try it, as well, and that you try to capture a new wider view of Scripture, rather than just the narrow historical-critical perspective.

But what impresses me most about this prayer is what you will find emboldened. This prayer is almost exclusively in 2nd person. You know, you can tell a lot about someone from listening to how they speak. Even Jesus said, "Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). And as I think about this prayer alongside my own prayers, I think about how selfish I must sound. I mean, if I were to have prayed this prayer, I wonder if it might have sounded something like:

"Lord. I know you know about what's going on here. Things are about to get pretty tough for us down here. The Jewish Council threatened us, Lord. We need your help, and your power. Lord, bless us."

It is very subtle, but there is a distinct difference between speaking in 1st person vs. speaking in 2nd person. Do you see the difference? This second prayer is more me/we-centered. And it is primarily concerned with what happens to me/we.

However, the 2nd person prayer is more concerned with the movement of God & the will of God. These Christians see themselves no longer as individuals, but corporately as the literal body of Christ, carrying out God's wishes as Jesus' very hands & feet. They weren't concerned with the threats against their lives & livelihood; they were interested in how the recent events were going to affect the infant Christian movement.

Not only that, but the prayer was more personal. It was a conversation: you & me (or, with that group, I guess "us"). Sometimes, in my own prayers, I can catch myself drifting & have to catch and ask myself, "Who are you talking to? Yourself? Or God?" And I've found that being deliberate about using 2nd person language in prayer, and breaking out of normal speech patterns and well-worn prayer phrases, can be unsettling as you all of a sudden gain more perspective on who it is you are keeping company with: The Almighty.

I urge you to try this. Say a prayer in which you almost exclusively & very deliberately use 2nd person language. For those of you who may have more advanced prayer lives than me, perhaps this won't be very startling. But I'm guessing that for some of you who read this blog, praying in the 2nd person will almost be like a paradigm shift. It is amazing how we can sometimes almost subconciously think about God in a way that we would never affirm consciously. You will begin to view God in your prayers less as like a Divine Dispensing Machine (money in: candy bar out ... prayer in: blessing out), but begin to view Him more as a Person with feelings & values as you are talking to Him. Less of a mechanistic view and more of a personal view.

Best wishes to all of you as you learn how to better pray in the 2nd person.

Let Me Down Easy

And I comin' home to see you Jesus
Well it feels so close this time
Please take mercy on this soldier
From the Florida-Georgia line

When they find me they must kill me
Oh Jesus save my soul
I can't go back down to Raiford
I can't take that anymore
- Lynyrd Skynyrd

I heard this song the other day & quite enjoyed. And since I'm a preacher (and weird) I thought, "I wonder if the slave Onesimus thought sort of the same thoughts when he was escaping from his master." And then I thought, what a great candidate for this week's obscure Bible passage of the week.

You see, to the best of our knowledge, Onesimus was a runaway slave. And somewhere along the line, he encountered the Apostle Paul & became a disciple of Christ. And, as I'm sure it happened, one night Onesimus made a confession to his new brother & friend, Paul. Probably after dinner, sitting around a fire. "Paul, believe it or not, I'm a runaway slave." And as it would happen, Paul actually knew Onesimus' former master! What were the odds! Paul & Onesimus both knew that the life he was living wasn't right and that Onesimus needed to square himself with his old master. And I'm sure the prospect of this made Onesimus very nervous. In this day, you don't just runaway from a slave master, return, and hope everything goes back to normal like in the story of the Prodigal Son. No, No -- they make an example out of you! So Paul sent Onesimus, with a letter, back to his former master -- Philemon.

And I just love this letter. If there was ever a funnier case of someone saying, "You sure better do what I tell you to do," in a round-about way, I'd like to see it. Paul starts by pleading (even though he says he could order ;-D, v. 8) Philemon to accept Onesimus & release him. He talks about how "useful" Onesimus (which is what Onesimus means ... "useful") had been to him & how he wanted to keep him around. But Paul was too polite to do that without asking permission -- what a thoughtful person Paul is. ;-D And this Onesimus, he's no longer just a slave, you know, he's a brother in Christ. Just like Paul was to Philemon. What a pill that must have been for Philemon to swallow ...

And then Paul begins to really pull the strings (here in my very own "The Message"-like translation):

"And, so, BTW Philemon, if he owes you anything, just charge it to my account. (Hmmmm, even though not to mention that you owe me your very life ... but, you know ...)

"Yeah ... and even though I've asked this as a favor, I'm so confident in your 'obedience' that you will probably go the extra mile in doing this for me."

(HA! I love how Paul plants it in Philemon's head that he even EXPECTS Philemon to do MORE than he is asking of him.)

"Oh, and not that I'm trying to pressure you or hold you accountable or anything, buuuuuut I will be stopping through soon ... just to make sure everything is on the up & up, you know :)

"One final thing: Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, & Luke all say hello. Oh, and they know about Onesimus, too. :)

"See ya soon, buddy!"

Wow, he laid it on thick, huh?

So what do we learn from the epistle to Philemon? No, I'm asking you. Please tell me. Is it that overt manipulation is ok? Is it that you can use any kind of means to compel someone to do the right thing? I'm really unsure. Faithful readers, help me with the moral to this story.

I haven't been posting as regularly lately. Sorry. I've been a little uncomfortable with all the readers I've acquired recently. I know there aren't many of you, but still. Not sure how much this qualifies as voyeurism -- and I know I'm not comfortable with that at all.

This started out as a forum for me to get my thoughts out, and now it's a quasi- source of entertainment for some of you. I think I'm going to start a private blog to continue my personal thoughts. I'll still post ideas & other stuff here, though. It'll probably end up being stuff like this, though, (Bible passages, sermons, etc.) and other frivolous things like sports & pop culture. And maybe some philosophy or psychology or world events or anything else cool. We'll see.

Just found out that a good buddy of mine is getting married. He and I were room-mates for my first two years at UF. We've been good buddies since HS. I'm excited for him.

On a weird note, I also found that his parents just got divorced a few months ago. So strange. I think his Mom is living with another guy. I used to hang out with them all the time. I got to talk with him about it for a while, listen, & share some of my experiences and offer what little wisdom God granted me through a divorce (2nd Cor. 1:3-4).

Divorce stinks. Cherish your wives, boys.

I'm in a great mood today. I know what you're thinking and, NO, it's not a girl! I'm in a music-y mood -- I've just been especially enjoying a lot of music today. Especially Bebo Norman.

Right now I'm listening to my Pandora. I've really fine-tuned my station well. Right now some Lisa Loeb just came on. Man, she's so stinkin' hot. I wish she was a Christian -- she would be just like Jennifer Knapp with a more girly, less raspy, voice.

If you're interested in my Pandora station, lemme know & I'll share it with you.

The Rest of the Story

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of the Prodigal Son. It's such a delightfully simple story that describes what it is like to walk away from God, and it so universally applies to everyone who has ever lived. However, when we recount the story, very often we leave half the story out. So for this week's lesser known Bible passage, I bring you "the rest of the story" of the Prodigal Son. The following is an edited version of a sermon I heard Dr. Mark Love present (cool name, right? "Dr. Love." He's a professor at Abilene Christian).

Colossians 3:12-17

¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Well. These are familiar words. We are on familiar ground here. These are like smooth stones, these words. Our lives have passed over them so often that they've become polished and smooth. And they fit comfortably in our hands.

"Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus."

These words don't get lost somewhere in the back pages of Scripture, nor do we have to hunt and hunt to find them. We know these words. These are words to us like, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Or, "We are more than conquerors through Christ." Or, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son."

These are the kinds of words we needlepoint and hang on our walls -- right next to our family pictures, and our Norman Rockwell paintings, and our ceramic crosses, and our guardian angels. These are words that we could put on a T-shirt.

There is no doubt. These are words with which we are familiar. We know these words.

These are words that we could make our life slogan. "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus." And that's exactly what Rick did.

Rick printed out this verse and tacked it on his bathroom mirror and shaved under the words every morning. "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus."

And so in the name of the Lord he went to church. And not just Sunday morning, but Sunday evening and Wednesday evening. And if anything was happening at church, Rick was there. He even gathered with a select group of disciples on Saturday evening to pray over the worship service the next day.

And in the name of the Lord he conducted his business. And Rick didn't just care about the bottom line; he was concerned about customers. And he treated everyone with respect, in the name of the Lord. And he didn't make a lot of money, but he made enough to feel blessed by God. And he made sure that he gave more than a tithe to the work of the church in the name of the Lord.

And in the name of the Lord he cared for his family. He cherished his wife, and showed it quite often, publicly and privately. And he adored his children in the name of the Lord. And with them, he didn't just spend quality time, but quantity time. And he loved his mother and father in the name of the Lord. He even loved his brother, Roger.

Roger had not lived as charmed a life as his brother, Rick. Roger had gotten his college girlfriend pregnant, and married her. They couldn't make it work, though, and they separated three years later. And the divorce devastated Roger -- the dream was over and he was separated from his young boy, as well. That is when he began his drug use. But when he was arrested for possession of illegal narcotics, Roger even lost the ability to visit with his son un-chaparoned.

So when Roger asked his brother Rick if he would be a host one weekend a month so that he could visit with his son, Rick obliged in the name of the Lord. However when Roger's ex-wife showed up to drop of their son, Roger would spend only a short amount of time with his son. He would then take off for God-knows-where for the weekend while Rick & his wife babysat his child. Whenever he decided to stick around, it became evident that Roger was doing drugs in his brother Rick's home.

Well, Rick had to confront him. He told him, "Listen, Roger, if this is going to happen, we're going to need some groundrules so that we understand each other. First, on the weekend your son shows up, you will be here with him. If you are going to be a parent, then you are going to be a father. And second, you will never, EVER do drugs in this house again." After a few more months of Roger not being able to live up to the ground rules, Rick put his foot down & refused to assist his brother.

A few more months passed when Roger called up his father to chat. After catching up on the latest events, Rick's father spoke up. "Son, there's something you need to know. Your brother, Roger, came home." Rick was speechless. "He was in bad shape, and so we've taken him in here. And all his credit cards were maxed out, so your mother & I paid them off. And his van was on the out's, so we've given the BMW."

The BMW ... ... ... ... ... the CHERRY RED BMW! They gave him the BMW!

All of this troubled Rick. So in the name of the Lord, he passionately reasoned with his father. "Dad, this is wrong. You're aiding his lifestyle! You're enabling him. It's time to show some tough love here. What he needs is some good, old-fashioned discipline. He's going to end up right back where he was a couple months ago. Why don't you grow a backbone and take a stand here?"

But his father was taking a stand. He listened to everything Rick had to say, and then said, "Son, I respect what you have to say, but I'm willing to stand up for mercy here. And you may be right -- everything you're saying may be exactly right. But I'm willing to go to Judgment Day standing on the ground of mercy, rejoicing that our son has come home."

And as he hung up the phone, it hit Rick like a ton of bricks. He had become the Older Brother!

Not just biologically, or chronologically. He realized that he had become the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son. While everyone else was lavishly celebrating the younger son's return, the older brother is standing outside -- resentful & angry. "You never killed so much as goat for ME, and you gave him the ring and the robe and the fatted calf."

"You gave him the cherry red BMW!"

Rick became angry. How could this happen? How could Mark go from "doing everything in the name of the Lord" to being the older brother? How does that happen? How does one go from "doing everything in the name of the Lord" to being the one on the outside of the celebration of his younger sibling's return home?

If there's anything we notice about the story of the prodigal son, it's the extravagance of the party. The robe. The ring. The fatted calf. The friends invited over. The great celebration in the text over one who was lost is now found. How do you stand on the outside of that, looking in? How do you get yourself to a place where you can no longer celebrate with the angels in Heaven?

(Remember, this is M. Love speaking ...) And you should know right now that even though I've changed a couple of the details of this story, this is my story. I was the older brother. My brother really got the BMW. All I ever got was a used Isuzu -- he got the cherry red BMW!

And here's the point. I've had to realize that it's possible to perform religiously and cut yourself off from the joy of the Kingdom of God. I've realized that it's possible to do everything in the name of the Lord and sentamentalize faith. To make it needle-stitch and hang it on a wall. To turn it into a Hallmark card, and let it run only around the perimeter of your life. So that Scripture becomes ornamental.

And it's possible that such religious performance can trick us into thinking that we're privileged, even superior, to those around us. It's possible -- it's frighteningly likely -- that our long record of religious uprightness can leave us with the Pharisees -- on the outside looking in. Embarassed by a father's extravagant love for wayward sinners. It's possible to go from doing everything in the name of the Lord to being the Older Brother.

But let's not blame Colossians 3 fo this. Because this is a text that wants to celebrate, too! And it would be good for us to find out how this text can take us beyond do-gooding and to a place of genuine joy. I want to pick out just three things that Paul says here:

1. "Forgive each other." Paul says, "Forgive as Christ forgave you." Forgive each other. Look, I didn't fall off the turnip truck yesterday. I've been doing this long enough to know that there are people in this room who haven't forgiven. That there is something big hanging over you. Someone in your life that has wronged you and you have yet to let it go.
   
   And let's not pretend that ignoring that today isn't a shortcut to older brother status. If there is outstanding forgiveness in your life, GO ... take care of it. And when you do, don't be surprised if a party breaks out and you find yourself in the middle of one of the greatest celebrations you've ever experienced.


2. "Clothe yourselves with love." Put the purple robe on someone else. Put the ring on their finger. Kill the fatted calf. Live for the sake of someone else. Clothe yourselves with love.
   
   And if you can find that place -- if you can get to the point where love reigns over everything that you do & love defines how you treat everyone you meet -- don't be surprised if a party breaks out and one of the greatest celebrations you've ever known happens.


3. "And be thankful." Can you be thankful? Can you live a grateful life? Thankful lives are lived as if everything is a gift -- there is nothing we have that we have not received. In the Kingdom of God, thankfulness casts out the idea of anything being deserved. So the business of the cherry red BMW goes away.
   
   And if you can live thankfully, don't be surprised if a party breaks out and if one of the greatest celebrations you've ever known happens. And don't be shocked when your life gets filled with joy, in and out. And you no longer find yourself on the outside looking in at the party for wayward sinners that your Father is throwing.

Because then, we'll have more than praise. We'll ... have ... JOY.

Can the older brothers and sisters, those who do everything in word or deed in the name of the Lord, can they join this celebration & praise God today?

Habakkuk

I think I'm going to try to make it a point to blog about some of my under-the-rader favorite Bible passages. I'll do it, say, once a week. Or who knows, I could get tired of this whole blogging thing in a month. So for as long as this medium captures my interest, I'll try to highlight some oft-unhighlighted texts of Scripture.

Sure, anyone could wax eloquent (or, as Dr. J. Fortner would say, "wax an elephant") about Romans 8 or John 1. But there are some rich stories that go untold. Last week, it was Hosea at the auction block for Gomer. This week, it's Habakkuk.

Habakkuk was a faithful prophet living in 7th century Judah. One day, Habakkuk looked around at the unfaithfulness of his countrymen, threw up his hands, and cried out to God. "How long, O Lord, must I call out for help," he begins. And he rails on about the injustice in his land that goes unpunished. In essence, he's saying, "What are you going to do about this, God?"

And wouldn't you know, God talks back! "You're not going to believe this. But I'm raising up the Babylonians. They're going to be my big stick, and they're going to come in and punish your people for me."

Habakkuk is in disbelief. "The Babylonians?! But they're worse than us! How is that justice?"

God answers back with a list of Judah's misdeeds. And then the book ends with a prayer from Habakkuk to God. Habakkuk is trying to reason through what God has told him, reflecting on God's history of faithfulness as he talks to his Lord. Finally, he writes these words:

I heard and my heart pounded,
my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
to come on the nation invading us.

Basically, he's saying, "You know what God: I've thought about this, and I still don't like it. Your plan scares the heck out of me. But knowing how you've worked things out for Your people in the past, I know that ultimately you are going to work all this out for good." It's the Romans 8:28 of the Old Testament! :)

And then this:

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength.

[Sigh]. Beautiful.

Thank you, Mr. McGuiggan, for teaching me about Habakkuk.

15 Shekels of Silver and a Homer and a Half of Barley

I've quickly taken to this practice of blogging. It's fun to write my thoughts on any given subject under the sun. And it's also therapeutic for me. I'm one of those kinds of people who will hold in & hold in thoughts and feelings (good and bad) until I'm full and then it explodes. This has helped me get them out on a regular basis.

In Bible Class Sunday, I briefly told the story of Hosea. Only one man, a preacher himself, actually knew the story himself. I had to smile and preface the story by saying, "You're going think I'm making this up, but every word I'm about to tell you is true."

I first heard of this story from my friend Matthew. My first impression when I met Matthew was that he was a Minor Prophets junky -- he loved to point out in Bible class how whatever we were talking about related to Hosea, or Micha, or some other book that we Christians pay lend no attention to. So I heard of it, but didn't pay it much mind.

I then heard more about it from Birmingham, AL preacher named Wayne Kilpatrick. My interest was stirred. I then heard about a novel that was an embellishment & modernization of the story. It was called Redeeming Love, and it was written by Francine Rivers. I'll warn you now: you will never pick up a more addictive book. You won't hardly be able to set it down except for when your drooping eyelids force it upon you. My studies suffered for a couple weeks because I was reading this instead of my assignments. Careful! :)

My appreciation for this story has grown over the last several years. Different folks find different parts of the story fascinating, and each person has a favorite part of the story. Some folks love the faith of Hosea to take on Gomer as his wife in the first place -- knowing full well her background and her lifestyle, but trusting that God had something big in mind. Others are drawn to the lovely poetry in Hosea 11, where God struggles with what he should do with his beloved Israel.

My favorite part? It happens in chapter three. Gomer has had three children, none of them by Hosea. And she's gone back to prostitution; God's sick little experiment appears to have run it's course. But then there is the scene described in chapter 3. Gomer is on the auction block, and Hosea shows up. Who knows what's running through his mind. As the first bids come in, I can only wonder about the passions that were stirred within him: for his wife & against the other men who would sleep with his wife. And then the incredible happens. Hosea enters the bidding. And he enters the highest bid, winning his wife for 15 shekels of silver and a homer and a half of barley.

I sometimes wonder how a secular therapist might label a modern-day scenario like this. Unworkable. Dysfunctional. Unhealthy. And yet this is what God calls love. When anyone else would give up, God reaches that much further to pluck His beloved from hopelessness. The totality of His grace is always "A Little More" than the sum of our sin.