Tag Archives: generous

Who Gets The Washcloth?

Bible Study, , , ,

WHO GETS THE WASHCLOTH?

“He quoted a proverb: ‘Can a blind man guide a blind man?’ Wouldn’t they both end up in a ditch? An apprentice doesn’t lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher.

“It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbour’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbour.'” Luke 6:39-42 (The Message).

Isn’t it amazing how right we all think we are! The world is full of blind guides who think they can see, and are leading blind people into ditches everywhere.

Jesus warned His hearers to be careful who they followed. The scribes and Pharisees,  the religious “experts” of His day, fitted His description very well — blind guides who thought they were right, so right in fact that they were ready to destroy truth for the sake of their right-ness.

Take, for example, the scientific fraternity that teaches the ridiculous theory of evolution as proven fact when every intricate detail of creation (a word they freely use, yet deny the Creator), screams out the truth that there has to be a Designer. Yet most of the people in the educated world believe they are right!

And where has that got us? Into the ditch of utter moral darkness! To accept evolution as fact and follow its ramifications is to be just like the apes we are supposed to have evolved from, devoid of common sense and reason. It takes a huge leap of faith into a deep, dark void of foolishness to believe that, in spite of the fact that every simple thing humans make needs a design, the whole of creation just “happened” by chance! Really?

How can we be safeguarded from the boffins who insist they are right regardless of the facts? Weigh up the evidence! In the Apostle Paul’s day, the Bereans were applauded for their good sense. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” Acts 17:11 (NIV).

What does it take to weigh up the evidence and come to an informed conclusion? It takes a humble admission that I don’t know everything, I can’t explain everything but someone else does, and I’ll take the trouble to find out from an authoritative source.

Jesus laid the problem at the door of our innate human pride. We are so blind to our own pitiful ignorance that we dare to sneer at others and offer to wash the spots off their faces when our own are blotched with contempt because we think we know better.

Test your own heart. What lies underneath those judgmental, critical thoughts, even if they are never uttered? “I’m not like that! I don’t do that! I’m better than you! I know more than you do! I’m right and you’re wrong!”

Humility is a great leveller and it opens the door to many things that pride excludes us from — wisdom, knowledge and understanding, friendship, peace and harmony with others, just for a start and, most important of all, God’s grace. “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another because, “God opposes the proud but shows favour to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:5b (NIV).

There is one source of truth upon which we can stand with great confidence, the Word of God. Truth needs no defence. It needs only to be spoken. It will endure while lies, false teaching, and wrong thinking will all disappear because they have no substance. The Scriptures admonish us to test everything and to hold fast to that which is good.

Are you a fool or do you do that?

How To Destroy Your Enemy!

Christian Life, , ,

HOW TO DESTROY YOUR ENEMY!

“‘To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love you enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.'” Luke 6:27-30 (The Message).

“What are you saying, Jesus? You can’t be serious!”

Oh, but He was. If you want to know what power is, this is real power. There is no true power in retaliation. It only takes a bit of physical or emotional energy to hit back when someone hurts or offends you. But what kind of power does it take to absorb the blows and respond with kindness and generosity? It takes power over one’s own self not to give back blow for blow.

But it takes far more than sheer will-power to stop oneself from hitting back. That is a perfectly natural reaction coming from a human point of view, but Jesus was talking about an attitude that is far more than what comes out of our fallen human nature. He was talking about a changed disposition that comes from a completely different perspective.

What will it take to change us from reacting to responding? Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that, to “see” and enter the kingdom of God will take the equivalent of going back to the beginning of our life and starting over again with a new nature. That is impossible in the natural, as Nicodemus discovered, but God can do it through His power at work in our spirits.

Paul speaks of this supernatural event as “being raised from the dead” — a spiritual resurrection that is like waking up to a new realm where we understand everything from God’s point of view.

God is not a tit-for-tat God. He treats us according to who He is, not according to the way we speak or behave. That’s the way His rule operates. Human parents would understand this. If your son misbehaves, he is still you son, no matter what. A good parent will address the behaviour, not bully or disown the child because he has behaved badly.

When we were born from above, God gave us the potential and the power to respond to situations out of who we are in Christ, not out of who we were in Adam. And He gives us opportunities to show the ones who offend us what He is like by absorbing the wrongdoing and not adding to it by retaliating.

But it’s even more than that. Jesus said that it’s not about non-retaliation. It’s about actively responding with generosity. That’s how God treats us. The best way to “destroy” your enemy is not to beat him up or kill him but to make him your friend. He will cease to exist as an enemy and come alongside you instead of standing against you.

What kind of perspective can change our attitude towards the ones we perceive as enemies? There are two things that have helped me see things from God’s point of view. Firstly, God wants us to treat everyone with dignity because we have all been created in His image. To dish out cruelty to another human being is to treat God with the same attitude. Who would want to do that?

Secondly, people’s words and behaviour reveal who they are, not who I am. I don’t have to mirror who they are by retaliating. I want to mirror who God is by offering kindness and generosity for unkindness and meanness. Absorbing the blows will stop them right there and offer your enemy the opportunity to change his mind as well.

Have you tried it? You can, with God’s grace.

Enter Cornelius

Christian Life, , ,

ENTER CORNELIUS

“There was a man named Cornelius who lived in Caesarea — captain of the Italian Guard stationed there. He was a thoroughly good man. He led everyone in his house to live worshipfully before God, was always helping people in need, and had the habit of prayer. One day about three o’clock in the afternoon he had a vision. An angel of God, as real as his next door neighbour, came in and said, ‘Cornelius,'” Acts 10:1-3 (NIV).

What a resume’ of upright living! It is heartening to know that there were people like Cornelius, a Roman soldier, usually hated and feared in Israel for their ruthless cruelty, who was the exception. He was one of those who were called “God-fearers”. He was a Jewish proselyte who had abandoned his idolatrous upbringing and embraced the God of the Jews.

But he was not one in name only. He also lived out in practice the teachings of the God he followed. He carried out the three primary responsibilities of a faithful Jew — he led his family in godly living:

“These commandments I give you are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NIV).

He was generous to those in need:

“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 23:22 (NIV).

He took part in the regular prayer times of the Jewish people.

“One day at about three o’clock in the afternoon he had a vision…” Acts 10:3 (NIV).

It was at this time of the day that Peter and John went to join the regular daily recitation of prayer in Jerusalem and encountered the crippled beggar sitting at the Beautiful Gate of the temple (Acts 4).

These activities did not necessarily qualify him for what happened next. They were an indication of his heart’s desire to know God. He worshipped God with in sincere heart in the way he understood best.

Cornelius lived in a way that many believers in Jesus neglect in our modern world. These may have been God’s prescription for a godly life for His ancient people but His standards have not changed.

The fruit of a vital relationship with the Living God is still the same — a home life that honours Him and trains the next generation to do the same; a generous disposition that willing shares the resources God lends to us with those who have less than we have; and a heart that seeks after God and spends time with Him in prayer.

Although Cornelius faithfully did these things, there was still something missing in his life. He had not yet met the living Christ and been given the gift of forgiveness, faith and the assurance of sonship and access to the Father through Jesus.

As we step into Acts 10, we are witnessing God’s behind-the-scenes preparation to manoeuvre one of His sons into position so the He can set up a meeting with Cornelius. Such is the love and mercy of our God that He always hears the bleat of a lost lamb. He heard this man who, in spite of his background and upbringing, was crying out to be rescued.

Furious!

Christian Life, , , ,

FURIOUS!

“The meeting-place president, furious because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the congregation, ‘Six days have been defined as work days. Come on one of the six if you want to be healed, but not on the seventh, the Sabbath.'” Luke 13:14 (The Message).

Strange, isn’t it, how reason, logic and even basic human kindness, leave the brain when a good deed is done that violates a religious scruple! According to this synagogue ruler, Jesus had done work on the Sabbath. First it was the Pharisees and now the synagogue ruler who was infected with the same ‘brain-damaged’ thinking.

On a previous occasion, when Jesus was attacked for healing on the Sabbath, (when in fact He had only spoken a word, and the man with a withered hand had been healed), He challenged their twisted logic by asking, “Which is right, to do good or to do evil on the Sabbath?” To Jesus, doing evil meant doing nothing, when someone was in need, because it was the Sabbath. He hated it when rules cancelled out mercy.

But there was something far deeper than a religious rule that aroused this man’s anger. There was a fundamental flaw in his character which reflects the whole human race. It rears its ugly head more vehemently in those who are driven by religion rather than a restored relationship with God as Father.

Because God’s essential nature is love, He is lavishly generous to everyone, even to those who refuse to acknowledge Him. “…The Most High…is kind to the ungrateful and wicked…” Luke 6:35 (NIV). This kind of treatment to undeserving people sticks in the throat of those who hate God because it is so contrary to their own nature.

Jesus told a story about a farmer who went to the market place early in the morning to hire labourers. He negotiated their wages with them to which they agreed. During the day he hired more men and finally engaged the last few stragglers an hour before knock-off time. Those who had worked from early morning were furious with him when he paid the latecomers the same wage as they had received for a day’s labour.

The farmer’s response was, “Are you envious because I am generous?” The farmer’s generosity towards the men who had only worked for one hour brought out the true nature of the other labourers – envy. What is envy? It is not interchangeable with jealousy. It is the attitude that wants to destroy the one who, by acting contrary to their nature, shows them up for who they really are. It murders the one who does not bow to their command. It is the worst form of control. “Do what I tell you or die.”

Surprisingly, it was Pilate who accurately diagnosed the true motive of the religious leaders who delivered Jesus to him to be condemned and crucified. “‘Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?’ asked Pilate, knowing that it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to them.” Mark 15:10 (NIV).

Envy is a powerfully destructive force that drives religious people to what is contrary to the image of God. It cancels out sane thinking, defies logic and motivates to murder rather than to submit to the truth.

Jesus chose to remain true to His own nature rather than bow to the scruples of religious people because He had come to put His Father’s glory on display. Being true to oneself is a risky business because it incurs a cost when it crosses the demands of religion.

We have to decide what will direct our lives – rigid adherence to rules because that’s what controls our lives, or the flexibility that comes with a heart of mercy. Living God’s way is not about trying to gain His approval but about living out of who we are, sons of God who have the nature of God and are free to live according to His love, mercy and compassion.

Rich Toward God – The Answer

Christian Life, , ,

RICH TOWARDS GOD – THE ANSWER

Paul has an answer to the danger that owning stuff brings, and his answer to the question, “What is ‘rich towards God’?” is, “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” 1 Timothy 6:18 (NIV).

Being rich without the counter-balance of knowing how God intends us to use it brings with it three misconceptions – that money gives us status, that our money is ours to use as we please and that we have a long time to spend it. Paul’s counsel puts riches is their correct perspective in the kingdom of God and teaches us God’s purpose for entrusting it to us.

Three simple instructions summarise our responsibility to be faithful stewards of what we have been given: Do good, be rich in good deeds, and be generous and willing to share. This brings us to the issue of righteousness in Scripture.

According to God’s Word, wage earners have four groups of people to care for financially, our spiritual authority, our church, our families and the poor. In the Old Testament God taught them to give by percentage to discharge each of these responsibilities. The first one-fortieth of their harvest belonged to God. It was called the first fruits which God commanded His people to give to Him as a ‘terumah’ – an offering, which was then given to the high priest to support him and his family.

After the terumah was deducted, the balance of the harvest was divided into ten portions. One portion, one tenth, was taken to the temple to take care of the needs of those who served in the temple. After paying their taxes out of the balance, it was again divided into tenths, and one tenth was set aside to take care of the family’s needs in the future, it could be eaten or sold and the money saved for the children and grandchildren. Every third year, the family tithe was given to the poor.

The balance of the harvest was theirs to be used in whatever way they chose without guilt. In this way, collectively, if everyone played their part, everyone in the nation was provided for and no-one was excluded. This was called ‘tsidaqah’ – tsidaq (righteousness) + h  which became tsidaqah (righteousness revealed).

God is smart. He knows that the love of money closes our hearts and destroys society. His economic system breaks the cycle of greed as well as takes care of the needs of everyone in a nation. The Apostle Paul was trained as a rabbi. He understood God’s economic system and how it worked in society if the people faithfully carried it out. His counsel contains the principle which the Old Testament constitution has already fleshed out in detail.

One of the first indications of transformed hearts in the early church was the generosity among believers that took care of everyone’s needs in the believing community. “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their goods and possessions, they gave to anyone as he had need.” Acts 2:44, 45. There was an infectious joy in this community born of generosity which attracted outsiders to them and swelled the numbers of those who believed in Jesus.

Could this not be the missing element in the church today? There has been a subtle shift from being rich to getting rich which is, unfortunately, fuelling the very spirit of greed in believers which God’s way of generosity is intended to overcome.

(To be concluded…)