Monday, September 29, 2008
Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton, the British theologian, noted: “There are two ways to get enough: One is to accumulate more and more, the other is to desire less.”
Greed
America has a problem: WE ARE GREEDY! Greed makes us blind to what we have. Greed is a prison that locks you in and God and others out. Living in greed you can never rejoice because you never have enough. The greedy feel that they have ownership. It is about control. As long as I have money in the bank I am secure the greedy person convinces themselves. As long as my money makes me happy then I am safe. The greedy see a “For Sale” sign on all of life. They themselves have been for sale for so long that they cannot imagine anyone or anything that is not for sale.
The greedy may even give of their money to a certain cause like helping someone in the community who needs assistance. They don’t help out of generosity. They give hoping to discover some goodness in themselves. By doing something good they hope to find what they long ago sold. There is little mercy among the greedy. The greedy are defined by what they own and the loss of a single cent is a threat to their identity.
If greed is a prison then generosity is freedom. Aggressive generosity demonstrates a trust in God. It is life lived with gratitude of what one has. Greed focuses on what I do not have, generosity focuses on what I have. The secret to life is learning to be content. Contentment demonstrates a trust in God. Whether rich or poor I know God is in control. Aggressive generosity demonstrates a life of contentment.
A "bail out" from the government does not solve the problem as long as greed is the governing factor.
The greedy may even give of their money to a certain cause like helping someone in the community who needs assistance. They don’t help out of generosity. They give hoping to discover some goodness in themselves. By doing something good they hope to find what they long ago sold. There is little mercy among the greedy. The greedy are defined by what they own and the loss of a single cent is a threat to their identity.
If greed is a prison then generosity is freedom. Aggressive generosity demonstrates a trust in God. It is life lived with gratitude of what one has. Greed focuses on what I do not have, generosity focuses on what I have. The secret to life is learning to be content. Contentment demonstrates a trust in God. Whether rich or poor I know God is in control. Aggressive generosity demonstrates a life of contentment.
A "bail out" from the government does not solve the problem as long as greed is the governing factor.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Shame VS. Guilt
I remember sitting in elementary school and hearing the voice of the principal calling out over the intercom the name of some child in my class. My first response was "wonder what he/she did wrong." The reason we have such a response is because we live in a "guilt" based culture. In our culture so much of our thinking is wrapped up in guilt. Almost every issue we struggle with is deciding whether something is right or wrong. We create this dichotomy of right verses wrong. The result is since we don't like to feel guilty we go through great length to make more and more things acceptable.
In the biblical world (and modern Middle East) the issue was not guilt but rather shame. In a guilt based culture the issue is innocence in a shame based culture the issue is honor. Honor is the word for worth, value, prestige, and reputation which an individual claims and which is acknowledged by others. In this type of society shame can be seen as a virtue. For if a person has shame it means they are willing to fully participate in the societal dynamics. They value what others think of them. A "shameless" person doesn't care what others think of them. Shamelessness means that one does not participate in the game of reputation.
A shame based culture values conformity where a guilt based culture values individualism.
It is through the lenses of honor/shame that we must read the Prodigal Son. It is also helps us understand Jesus' teaching on community discipline in Matthew 18: 15ff. The story goes to great lengths to keep a persons honor intact. When a person who claims to profess the belief of the community and acts contrary to those beliefs that brings shame on the community.
Instead of always asking if something is "right or wrong" there are many occasions where the ethical debate depends on whether something is honorable or not.
In the biblical world (and modern Middle East) the issue was not guilt but rather shame. In a guilt based culture the issue is innocence in a shame based culture the issue is honor. Honor is the word for worth, value, prestige, and reputation which an individual claims and which is acknowledged by others. In this type of society shame can be seen as a virtue. For if a person has shame it means they are willing to fully participate in the societal dynamics. They value what others think of them. A "shameless" person doesn't care what others think of them. Shamelessness means that one does not participate in the game of reputation.
A shame based culture values conformity where a guilt based culture values individualism.
It is through the lenses of honor/shame that we must read the Prodigal Son. It is also helps us understand Jesus' teaching on community discipline in Matthew 18: 15ff. The story goes to great lengths to keep a persons honor intact. When a person who claims to profess the belief of the community and acts contrary to those beliefs that brings shame on the community.
Instead of always asking if something is "right or wrong" there are many occasions where the ethical debate depends on whether something is honorable or not.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Fred Craddock Story
Fred Craddock is one of my favorite preachers and storytellers. From time to time I will share a story from Craddock that I find interesting. Here is one of those stories!
"A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One morning they were eating breakfast in a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here." But sure enough, the man came over to their table."Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice."Oklahoma," they answered."Great to have you here in Tennessee," the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?""I teach at a seminary," he replied."Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really good story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down.The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great. Just what I need -- another preacher story!"The man started, "See that mountain over there?" He pointed out the restaurant window. "Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up because every place he went, he was always asked the same question: 'Hey, boy, who's your daddy?' Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question: 'Who's your daddy?' He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so bad. When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?' But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast, he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?' The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?'The new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to the scared little boy: 'Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.' With that, he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, 'Boy, you've got a great inheritance -- go and claim it.'With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your daddy?' he'd just tell them, 'I'm a child of God.'The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn't that a great story?"The professor responded that it really was a great story.As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably would never have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked, "Do you know that man who was just sitting at our table?" The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!"
"A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. One morning they were eating breakfast in a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn't come over here." But sure enough, the man came over to their table."Where are you folks from?" he asked in a friendly voice."Oklahoma," they answered."Great to have you here in Tennessee," the stranger said. "What do you do for a living?""I teach at a seminary," he replied."Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really good story for you." And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down.The professor groaned and thought to himself, "Great. Just what I need -- another preacher story!"The man started, "See that mountain over there?" He pointed out the restaurant window. "Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up because every place he went, he was always asked the same question: 'Hey, boy, who's your daddy?' Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question: 'Who's your daddy?' He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so bad. When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?' But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast, he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?' The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?'The new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to the scared little boy: 'Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God.' With that, he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, 'Boy, you've got a great inheritance -- go and claim it.'With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your daddy?' he'd just tell them, 'I'm a child of God.'The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, "Isn't that a great story?"The professor responded that it really was a great story.As the man turned to leave, he said, "You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably would never have amounted to anything!" And he walked away.The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked, "Do you know that man who was just sitting at our table?" The waitress grinned and said, "Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's the former governor of Tennessee!"
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Woman at the Well
This upcoming Sunday I will be using the story of the Woman at the Well in John 4 to discuss the challenges of forgiveness. Tired from his journey, Jesus sits down at Jacob's well, then realizes that he has no cup to drink from much less a bucket to draw water from. But there is someone out in the desert making her way to the well and she is carrying a bucket. It is about noon. There are no shades, no comfort, and no relief from the desert heat. For her, hell was not someplace she had to go to; it was as close to the watering hole in her hometown. It was there she confronted her loneliness. It was there she escaped from the ridicule. It was there that she ran from her past. And it was there, at Jacob's well that she discovered Jesus. The change in her comes about because Jesus reveals himself to her, not because she did something about her own sin. Jesus is the one in whose presence we know who we really are - the good and the bad. Jesus is the one who shows us who we are by showing us who he is. He crosses boundaries, breaks all the rules, drops all disquises. He offers the living waters of forgiveness so that we can go back and face people we thought we could never face again and speak forgiveness as boldly to them as it was spoken to us.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)