Okay, this is an odd title for a post that focuses on spiritual truths and nuggets, which I hope helps and encourages each one in their walk with God. But by the time I am done, I hope you not only get the wisdom buried in the title but you will also see the dangers that sometimes hide in the most seemingly innocuous places.
For those who are not Trekkies, here is a brief description of transporters. In Star Trek, you could beam from one place to another instantly by having your atoms dematerialized in one location and reconstituted in another. Within seconds, you could travel across thousands of miles.
But here’s the problem… technology does not always make things perfect. Before cars, people were late to events. And I suppose that when people bought their first cars, the same people who were late riding in a horse and buggy were also late when they drove cars. And if we had the ability to transport ourselves across the country in a matter of seconds, the same people who would have arrived for a dinner invitation late driving a car would also beam themselves to their dinner late.
Why is this? I believe it lies in our human nature. Some people are simply people who run late. No technology will ever fix that for them because the problem isn’t technological. It’s a character trait. It’s also why some people will always be early for a meeting, whether they arrive in a horse and buggy, a car, or via a transporter.
Talking about people who perpetually run late or arrive early is a minor example to illustrate a more serious issue. Sometimes, we think things have to be perfect, or at least better, before our lives will be where it needs to be.
Just like our faith in technology, we think if we can create a perfect utopia, we wouldn’t have all the ills of society.
Or if our spouse is more in tune with our needs, we’d have the perfect marriage.
Or if we had just a little more money, we’d be able to serve others more.
Or if we had a little more time, we could be the father or mother to our children we want to be.
But the problem isn’t in our environment, it’s in our character. Sure, living in a utopian society would make things easier. Having a selfless spouse would aid in creating a wonderful marriage. Having more money would ease the stress when the bills are due and give us more to share with others. And having more time would be a wonderful gift we could use with our children.
But just like technology, these things wouldn’t guarantee we’d get the benefit we are so sure they would give.
If we built the perfect society, it still wouldn’t change the hearts of murderers, rapists, and thieves.
If we lived with the perfect spouse, that wouldn’t mean we would be the spouse needed to create the perfect marriage.
If we had millions of dollars, that wouldn’t make us hospitable or a servant.
If we were to retire with all the time in the world, that wouldn’t make us prone to sacrifice the time we do have for the people in our lives.
If you are like me, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that if only things were “different,” were “better,” were “more,” then our lives would be the way we want them to be. But that doesn’t take into account that these are just environmental considerations. They do nothing to change the character traits that are really behind the things we are trying to fix.
Listen to what Jesus says:
“Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24 ESV).
“And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15 ESV).
“And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”'
But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'“ (Luke 12:19-20 ESV).
“But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.
Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” (Matthew 5:39-42 ESV).
All of these verses deal with character traits and not just environmental conditions being just right. In fact, many people with the “best” environment are some of the people that Jesus condemns because their character isn’t what it needs to be, and the people with challenging environments are often some of the most blessed people by our King.
I understand we all would like to have some things in our lives better than what they are now. But having that wouldn’t change who we are. We are who we are regardless of the environment or circumstances we are in. That’s why Paul can say,
“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11-13 ESV).
Yes, we can pray for better circumstances and a better environment. In fact, God encourages us to do that. But let’s not be under any delusions that an external change will automatically make the internal change we are waiting for. Chances are, without focusing on the character when things are not perfect, our character will not be any different when our environment changes.
We will still be late to the party, even if we travel via a transporter.
I am in Jeremiah in my daily Bible reading. Babylon had just defeated Judah as God poured out His fierce anger upon His disobedient people.
Nebuchadnezzar had taken the best people captive and left the poorest people in the land. Jeremiah was given the choice to live with ease in Babylon because he had prophesized in favor of the Babylonians, but he chose to stay with God's remnant.
The people left in the land...
“...said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Let our plea for mercy come before you, and pray to the LORD your God for us, for all this remnant--because we are left with but a few, as your eyes see us--
that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do.” (Jeremiah 42:2-3 ESV).
In ten days, God answered the people and extended His grace with the caveat that they stay in the land. God warns that if they run to Egypt to avoid war and famine, God will send war and famine to them there.
But human nature hasn't changed much, has it? Just like we often do today, the people insisted on following their own way and not God's way.
“Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say, 'Do not go to Egypt to live there,'
but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.”
So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the LORD, to remain in the land of Judah.” (Jeremiah 43:2-4 ESV).
So, they despised the very word of the Lord they sought, went to Egypt, and paid the price for disobeying God. What a sad state when we seek the Lord's counsel only to reject it because we don't like what it says.
How many times do we search the Lord's word, trying to find in it confirmation for what we want, and when we see something we don't like, we do what we want anyway? And this often happens even when we are in great need of deliverance.
True wisdom seeks the Lord with a heart to hear and obey and not just to pay lip service to God. When we are in dire need of the Lord's deliverance, are we going to Him with a preconceived notion of what we expect Him to do for us, or are we ready to humble ourselves to what the Lord has revealed to us in His word?
We can measure our hearts by reflecting on how we respond to God's will for us. Do we act in humble submission, or do we scoff and go our own way? God has no pleasure in our destruction, but if we spurn His way, the only place for us to travel is the road leading to our destruction.
May we learn the lesson of Judah and be people who not only seek the Lord's will but humble ourselves to the point of obedience when we find it.
My focus for the rest of the week is to reestablish the good routines that illness and family losses have broken in the last couple of weeks. Routines are so important for me to have the consistency I need in my walk with Jesus.
I am in Jeremiah in my daily Bible reading. It is full of judgment against the nations. Critics of the Bible and atheists will be quick to use books like this to paint God as a cruel, violent God that proves He is nothing more than a creation of man.
But it misses the veins of sorrow and grace that spreads through the messages of judgment. It ignores centuries of longsuffering while God puts up with the evil of nations before finally putting a stop to evil's spread.
If anything, Jeremiah shows God's patience and tremendous hope that man will choose good and turn from the path of destruction. Only when the nations are beyond remedy does God contain evil and judge the nations.
Yet the critic refuses to see this about God. They only look to condemn God as a hateful creation of man. They see Him as a cruel, petulant being Who is not worthy of emulation or worship.
But Jeremiah shows us the justice that is part of God's nature. If He allowed evil to continue with impunity, then He would not be a God in whom we could put our trust. Our God is not only full of grace and mercy but also Someone we can trust to right the wrong, uphold righteousness, and draw a line in the sand that contains evil before it gets out of control.
When we read Jeremiah, we can find many things to use to condemn God if that is what we seek. But the very things we point to in order to condemn God are actually the things that show us how much above us He truly is.
If God acted in the way critics claimed He should act, our world would be a most pitiable place to live. Evil would run unchecked, and the innocent would be victims forever. The depravity of man would make our lives hell on earth.
Yet God's judgments upon evil, as longsuffering as He is, is what keeps life bearable. It's because God exercises His judgment when man's sins become full that provides a remedy for the righteous. The judgments in Jeremiah show the righteous that we can count on our God to contain the evil one and remain sovereign over His creation.
Let us always seek to remain on the right side of the balance of power between good and evil. Jeremiah teaches us that while evil may have its day, in the end, there will be an accounting for the unrepentant.
I am in the book of Lamentations. This is the book Jeremiah wrote that describes the prophet's exceeding sorrow over the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of his people.
Lamentations is where the grace and longsuffering of the Lord meet judgment and justice. It's the severity of the Lord that exists next to the goodness of God.
Lamentation is the shadow of the end times when Jesus will return, and the angels will separate the sheep and the goats.
While we focus on the love and mercy of God, our sins and rebellion will lead to a great cry of lamentation if we continue to spurn God.
Right now, each of us is waiting for the Bridegroom with our oil lamps. Have we prepared? Are we ready? Are they full? Or are we indulging in the world's distractions with plans to prepare for the Lord's imminent return tomorrow?
Jeremiah's lamentations will be ours if we witness the return of the King and His judgment unprepared.
In Matthew 5, Jesus teaches in a way that surprises the Jews, and if we are honest, perhaps it surprises us at times as well. Let's look at what He says about retaliation:
“But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.” (Matthew 5:39-41 ESV).
Sometimes, we read this and think that Jesus is telling us to be a pushover and to let people walk all over us. We read into this passivity. But could Jesus be teaching something more basic and more powerful?
May I suggest that we consider His teachings here in a different light? Instead of passivity, could Jesus be teaching that we should go out of our way to turn our enemies into our friends?
In each of these passages, people are doing what they feel they have a right to do to us. Rather than fight them, what would happen if we returned to them more than what they were seeking from us?
If we did that, our enemies would not rest in their sense of justice because we would have given them more than they sought. Their whole disposition toward us may change. Instead of seeing us as enemies or someone they have a right to extract what is due them, we have offered them excess.
When we offer an imbalance of benefits and gifts, perhaps their sense of justice will be replaced with a sense of gratitude or amazement. Perhaps they will develop a more friendly disposition toward us.
I understand that there are people in the world who will always selfishly seek any advantage they can get from people and will use our actions in Jesus' message against us, but could it be that most people would react in a positive way to us?
Instead of seeing Jesus' words as a passivist action, what if we saw it as a way to bridge the gap between enemies to turn those against us into friends? If this is the case, I would argue that the Gospel's power on people is even greater than we could imagine.
I cannot wait to see the day that Death dies.
“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:14 ESV).
I am in the book of Ezekiel in my daily Bible reading. In chapter 12, Ezekiel says,
“Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house.” (Ezekiel 12:2 ESV).
We see similar language in the New Testament when Jesus speaks in parables and says that people have ears but do not hear and eyes but do not see. In fact, Jesus says this is the reason He speaks to people in parable:
“This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:13 ESV).
When Jesus teaches great truths wrapped in stories, those who are rebellious have no inclination to understand His words. But those who desire to follow the Lord will have a heart that seeks to understand what God is teaching.
Even today, if we are rebellious, we will have difficulty finding truth in God's message, but if we seek Him, we shall find Him. If we have a heart of rebellion, we will have ears without hearing and eyes without seeing.
But if our hearts are inclined to the Lord, then we will see with eyes and hear with ears because we will have a heart open to His words.