Persecution

Rule One:  Every Group Has Stories of Persecution. 

Christians were persecuted by the Jews and Romans (2,000 years ago), Jews were persecuted by Christians (most of the rest of the 2,000 years).  Muslims were persecuted by Christians during the Crusades, Christians are persecuted by the Muslims in many Muslim countries today. 

Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons have been persecuted by main stream Christians and secular citizens of the U.S.  I did talk to an Evangelical Christian girl who grew up in Salt Lake City (Mormon country) who said she was persecuted by the Mormons in her school.

I think every group has stories of persecution.  As humans who group together and build certain identities within our groups, we come into contact with and conflict with other groups who, like us, are forging out their own identities.  As a result, we persecute others as others persecute us, but because we are self centered - even as groups - we see those persecutions that come from others more than we see the persecution we dish out.

Rule Two:  Groups Do not Like Those Who Are Different

When we come into contact with others who are different, something inside feels threatened.  It is a law of nature.  We prefer people who are like us, who are in our group.  Similarity implies safety.  No matter if we are Christian or Muslim, we prefer people who are like us.  We trust people who are like us and we gravitate toward those who are most like us. 

People who are different threaten us, and for that reason, we feel the need to bring them into our fold or get rid of them some way or another.  This holds true for one group against another, and it is true for people within one's own group who are different.  We can learn to accept others, and we can be trained to be kind toward the outsider, but instinctively, with few exceptions, we are uncomfortable with those who are different or unknown. 

This is also true for those who are becoming a group that identifies itself as being open to all.  That openness and diversity becomes the center that needs to be fought for and protected.  For this "open" and diverse group, any other person or group that does not embrace openness and diversity is a threat.

Rule Three:  Groups Focus on and See Their Own Persecutions More than Others

Many Christians see very clearly how they are persecuted.  When I bring up the matter in classes, I hear of stories in Egypt and in many other parts of the world, where there are real problems.  Students may even mention a case or two in the U.S., but are hard pressed to find any big level of persecution in the U.S.  Nevertheless, many of them believe there is persecution going on in the U.S. against Christianity.  For them the persecution comes from those who think differently and are trying to make us think like they do.

Jews focus tremendously on the injustices they have experienced (which are real) but may be hard pressed to acknowledge the amount of damage they have done to others.  Why?  Because groups see what threatens them, more than how they threaten others.

Many Gays feel persecuted by Christians who do not believe they are persecuting anybody. 

Mormons live under the umbrella of persecution.  It permeates their entire identity.  From the days of their founder Joseph Smith, who was martyred for his beliefs, until now, Mormons struggle with a society that has called them a dangerous cult.

Because we see our own persecution more than others, we can live under the illusion that we and we alone are persecuted for our faith, while we remain blind to the persecution others receive.

Rule Four:  Persecution Begets Persecution

Persecution hits hardest with those groups and people who struggle to survive.  However, eventually a persecuted group not only survives, but becomes strong - strong enough to become those who persecute other groups struggling to survive.   But as mentioned earlier, because a group's identity is so wrapped up in its own struggle and battles to survive, it doesn't acknowledge the need for other groups to survive.  It also doesn't see what persecution it is dishing out.

The most viscous animals are mothers protecting their young or any animal protecting itself. 

Hitler convinced Germany that they were under attack from Poland in order to get them fighting.

The U.S. leaders convinced Americans that we were under attack in Viet Nam to get us fighting there.

The perception of protection is a huge instigator of violence.  The Hutus of Rwanda murdered the Tutsis in mass in 1994 because they believed the Tutsis wanted to enslave them.

Rule Five:  Political Battles Are Not the Same as Persecution in the U.S.

Many Christians who wrap themselves too tightly in politics (who believe that spiritual solutions can be resolved through political power, who believe that God is on the side of one party over another, and who are seduced by the political powers) believe that any political attack on their opinions is persecution.

We can say the same about power struggles between groups vying for power in history, politics, taxes, etc.  But these are usually not persecution as Jesus defined it.  For Jesus' followers, persecution came about because of their identification with him, not because of political stands.

For example:
1.  The protection of the unborn vs. the protection of the mother to choose.
2.  The protection of speech vs. the protection of those discriminated against.
3.  The protection of lifestyle vs. the protection of a nation's values.
4.  The protection of self can take two directions - no selling of weapons (to get them off the street) vs. the right to own weapons (to protect me and my family).
5.  The protection of the idea that there are absolutes vs. the protection of the view that promotes relativism.

When someone wants to take "In God We Trust" off the dollar bill, they are trying to protect their own belief system that wants to include atheists and agnostics into full and equal citizenship.   

Someone may want to place Christianity at the center of American history, and in order to do so, a lot of history will need to be ignored or justified, but it is the protection of an idea that is being sought.  The idea is that this country was founded upon Christian principles and godly men and women.  The person who seeks to do this may feel very threatened when someone else writes a history of the U.S. that focuses on the brutality and the ungodliness of our fore-fathers.  In reality, both were there, and a careful study of American history will find both.

Rule Six:  Some Excuse Bad Behavior Behind Persecution


I don't find too much of this, but I do see it from time to time.  Someone who is purely incompetent will blame it on persecution of their group.
1.  It's because I'm Black.
2.  It's because I'm Christian.
3.  It's because I'm....

By all means, there are injustices directed to one group or another, but I am talking here about those who will not look at themselves and say, "Its because I screwed up" or, "It's because I suck."  On American Idol, bad singers blame the judges, saying that they are only looking for a certain type of look. In reality, most of those people simply can't sing. 

1 Peter 2:20 saw the difference between suffering for doing wrong and for doing right:

But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.

Rule Seven:  Persecution is not Always About Religion

Let me explain.  There is a very stupid saying that claims that religion is the cause of every war and the world would be better without religion.  I say its stupid, because it is not well thought through.  Religion has been the cause of many problems, wars and divisions, but it is not religion itself that has caused this as much as the difference of one group against another.  Even if there were no such thing as religion, we would fight and war with each other.  We would fear other groups and do what we could to diminish their influence and promote our own. We would fear their way of thinking and do what we could to demote it. In reality, fear of other is the cause of most war and persecution.

In reality, people do not fight because of religion, but because of identity.  Religion is one expression of a group's identity, and because religion is important, it gets a lot of attention.  But think this through.  In the U.S. many of the Religious Right believe that Mormonism is a cult (meaning that it is demonic) will vote for Mitt Romney who is a Mormon, because he is Republican.  They will reject a Christian President, not because he is the wrong kind of Christian (speaking of faith, he is a lot closer to the Religious Right than a Mormon), but because:
1. He is Black
2. He has an Arabic name
3. He is Democrat
4. He has a Muslim father

I have said it before, and I will say it again.  It's all about fear of what is different.  Groups read bad and evil into other groups that practice different customs, that speak a different language, that believe differently, that live differently.  When I worked with people from a South Sudanese tribe, I was told that their tribe's name is translated, "the people," implying that other tribes were not people.  The particular African who told me this was embarrassed that his ancestors called themselves "the people," but that is not any different than the 16th Century Western world wondering if the American Indians had souls, or the 19th Century Western world believing that Africans had the mark of Cain on them (actually, there are still people who believe that today).

Rule Eight:  The Story of Persecution Should not Define a Group

Stories help define us as individuals and as groups.  Stories have to do with our place in society, our history, our vision of what should be and what can be.  Among the myriads of stories each group has, persecution stories help define each group, and some groups allow their persecution stories to become the dominant story of who they are. 

When persecution becomes the dominant story, a group will turn quickly to violence in order to protect themselves.  Why?  Because they believe they are fighting for survival.  Even when they become the dominant group, they may still be very violent, believing themselves to be the underdog, when in fact they are no longer the underdog, but have become the dominant group.

The Religious Right in the U.S. has a hard time facing the fact that they are as powerful as they are.  They are so use to fighting for and usually losing major issues, that they all too often do not see that they are the most powerful voting block in the U.S. (in the first decade of the 21st Century).  The Religious Right sees itself as persecuted and the underdog in a society that fights their values.

Even though many of the Religious Right consider themselves persecuted for their faith, their battles are not related to faith, but rather values, ownership, and dominance in a society where each group is battling for their own values that they believe are more important. 

I am not saying that everybody's right.  I am just saying that the Religious Right does not battle for the Gospel like they think they do.  Their fight is not about following Jesus, its about protecting their group's values, and because they are so powerful, smaller groups feel threatened by the Religious Right, fighting the Religious Right in order to protect themselves from the onslaught of the its agenda to "take back" the United States.

How to Get Away from the Persecution Complex

Mormons are trying to move away from the persecution complex they have, because their identity has been very wrapped up in persecution.  They are seeking to change their identity, to get out from under the persecution blanket.  They have seen how the Religious Right has become popular, and how Evangelicals (from whom many of the Religious Right come) have become very popular in America.  I would dare to say that Mormons are jealous of Evangelical popularity and acceptance in society.

So lately there has been a campaign by the Mormon Church to convince the rest of the U.S. that they are not a cult, but are good people.  There have been loads of commercials promoting Mormonism and showing normal and successful people who are Mormon and identify themselves as Mormons.  Mormon leaders have tried to remove the name "Mormon" and use a more neutral one, "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."  But this has proved futile, because  of the length of the name they want.  By the way, many Baptist churches have been doing this exact thing - they remove the name Baptist from their name because it has a bad reputation.  As a result, today a lot of members in those churches have no clue that their church is still Baptist.

The Mormon battle is not as big as their leaders think.  They have a lot going for them that most other groups don't.  Most Mormons hold the same values as Evangelicals.  They are generally conservative in the political realms, they are family centered, they are very middle class (and have many in the upper class), and they are mostly White.  These are all in their favor, for the purpose of getting into American world.

Politically speaking, Rev. Jerry Falwell has helped them to get on the same side years ago.  This has helped them to reach the goal of acceptance. But this is a whole new subject.

Conclusions

I think I bit off more than I can chew with this subject.  There is simply too much to say about this, and there are so many examples.  I would simply summarize by saying that any group that is struggling to survive has its share of persecution stories, but those same groups are pretty ignorant of the amount of persecution they are dishing out to other groups who hold different values.  And if they know how much they are pouring out, they have long since decided that the suffering they are dishing out is just and proper.

I believe that in the human race there are goods and evils with a small case "g" and "e," and Good with a capital "G."  Good and evil with a little "g" and "e," relate to us as humans.  If a person or group is bad toward me or my group, it is evil with a small "e."  The same goes for good toward me or my group.

Good and Evil with the capital "G" and "E," are always God centered.  So there may be things that are good for me, but Evil toward God as well as the opposite.  Mark 8:33 exemplifies this.  After Peter received the revelation from God that Jesus was the Christ, he rebuked Jesus for suggesting that the messiah had to suffer.  Jesus in turn rebuked Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

We are (I am) self centered and see good and evil in relationship to my group and to me.  But in fact, Good and Evil have to do with God.  Sometimes my good lines up with God's good, but sometimes, it does not.  The same goes for groups.

Getting Angry with God

There are times in everybody's lives that tragedy hits.   Sooner or later everybody has to deal with some unwelcomed visitor such as death, divorce, betrayal, disappointed dreams, failure, loss of job, or whatever.

Some tragedies are easily mended and some last for years.

In some we find comfort from those around us, who help us and encourage us, but in some we walk alone.

In some, the peace of God is ever present, lifting us up and helping us through our difficulties.  In others, however, God seems to abandon us completely.

REACTIONS - WHEN GOD SEEMINGLY ABANDONS US

A.  Assassinating God 
A professor once told me that Atheists are really not as athiestic as they claim, but rather, Athiests are angry at God.  So down deep, they believe in God, but out of anger, deny His existence, thereby getting even with God for whatever He did to them.

Personally, I don't think Atheist is a closet believer, but I definately believe that there are a lot of Atheists out there who do fit this scenario.   

Denial of God can be a form of assassination.  The theory follows this emotional pattern:
1.  God wants to be known and believed in - I assume this because in my very core, as a member of the human race, I want to be known and recognized.  If I want to be known and recognized, I assume that God does as well.  I believe this is at the core of every human who has any sense of a higher power.
2.  Things went bad for me.
3.  God could have helped because He is powerful enough.
4.  God did not help.
5.  I am angry at God.
6.  I will take away what He wants (to be acknowledged).
7.  God does not exist.

B.  Assassinating Devotion to God

This same pattern, mentioned above, gets more complex when people hold on to the idea that God exists.

I was close to a missionary couple who spent several years in Central African Republic helping other missionaries, from other denominations and other countries, who were fleeing war torn countries.  My friends had to take care of the other missionaries, sacrificing their family's solitude, food, space, and sanity.  The host couple faced an unbearably stressful situation without any gratitude or offers of help from the visiting missionaries.  At least this is the story I got.

The stress got the better of the host wife (Lisa) who turned away from her faith, her church, her husband and left the mission field.  Anger got the better of her and dictated actions - actions she would never have thought possible before. 

Here is what I believe Lisa went through, although this is based on my own struggles during hard times:
1.  God wants me to live above my passions and baser nature.  He wants me to be holy and dedicated to Him, denying my feelings for fornication, hate, and so on.
2.  Things went bad for me.
3.  God could have helped.
4.  God did not help.
5.  I am angry at God. 
6.  I will take away what God wants.
7.  Screw holiness.

C.  Other Forms of Assassination

Some people get really angry with God because He disappoints them for some reason or another, and so they decide that God is not so powerful after all, or maybe he is not so loving after all; but they will still believe in Him and maybe even follow Him.

D..Covering Up Anger


A lot of Believers cannot face the reality that they are angry with God.  Here's some scenerios:
1.  God disappointed me.
2.  God would never disappoint me.
3.  I love God.

This may go another way:
1.  God disappointed me.
2.  God would not like me to be angry at Him.
3.  Therefore, I am not angry at God.

Or this:
1.  God would never disappoint me, because He is God.
2.  God loves me and would never do anything wrong.
3.  My feelings make no sense to me.

However, underneath the facades of Christian piety that covers what is really going on, there are emotions that are following this scenerio:
1.  God disappointed me.
2.  I am angry at God.
3.  If God changes and behaves Himself as I think He should behave, my anger will go away.
4.  If God does not change things, my anger will either smoulder or get worse.

Our emotions don't always line up with our reason.  In fact, they often are in conflict, and because they conflict, we tend to choose the more noble of the two, denying that part that is so contrary to what we believe.  So I may be down right angry with God, but cannot admit it because my values and beliefs are so strongly against being angry at God.

SOLUTIONS

1.  Face the fact that you are angry with God.  Or,
2.  Face the fact that that you are assassinating your faith or the attributes of God.
3.  Admit that God disappointed you.
4.  Tell God He disappointed you - this will be uncomfortable at first, if you are use to hiding your anger from God, which of course makes no sense because He knows our hearts, and knows the anger that's there already.
5.  Tell God you need to forgive Him - granted, we know that by definition, God does everything for our good, but try telling that to your emotions.  Let your emotions speak on this one.  For your emotions to be crucified, they need to be brought into the light.  Forgiving God is more for us than it is for God.
6.  Work on the process of forgiveness, which may take some time.

I find a lot of people have a hard time admitting that they need to forgive God.  But I will tell you, most of us have to sooner or later.  It doesn't mean that God really did anything wrong, it just means that our emotions believe that God disappoints us.

If you are in a relationship with God, that means that sometimes you will be disappointed with Him.  In any relationship there are arguments and disappointments.  And in any relationship, there needs to be forgiveness.

Forgiveness does not always mean the other partner did something wrong.  It just means that we are going to let go of our anger and our emotion that is angry at God, and to do so, we need to forgive God, weather we believe He wronged us or believe that He does no wrong.

A Philosophy of Worship

THE OBJECT OF WORSHIP

My body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water (Psalm 63:1).

The inner need to worship is found in every group, every culture and in every individual.  Everybody has a need to look beyond oneself, weather it is looking to humans, a group of people, or to deity/deities.  Christian worship helps direct that need to the proper place, to the one God who made us.  True worship is directed to Him and only Him.

The God who created us revealed Himself to us through the writings of the Old and New Testament and ultimately through His Son Jesus, who together with the Father and the Holy Spirit are the proper objects of our worship.

FORMS OF WORSHIP

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:2).

Although true worship is directed to the one God through His Son, worship takes on different forms for each individual, for each church, for each generation, and for each culture.  However diverse forms worship may take, the above mentioned scripture defines the universal elements of worship. 

THE TIMES OF WORSHIP

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his/her own mind (Romans 14:5).

The Law of Moses set aside days or weeks for the Sabbath and for festivals.  During the Church’s 2,000 year history, some generations, groups or individuals focused on certain times to worship (in chapter 8:1-3, the Didache set aside 3 times a day for prayer and 2 days a week for fasting).   The New Testament, however, gives no preference for one day over the others, but rather suggests that each person walk according to his/her own convictions.

THE PLACES OF WORSHIP

…For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20).

And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near (Hebrews 10:25).

Although we can worship God any time and in any place, individually and corporately, the Bible encourages regular corporate worship.  When Paul said you are the temple of the Holy Spirit, he did not say “you” as an individual are the temple, he said “you (plural)” are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16 & 2 Corinthians 6:16).

THE DISCIPLINES OF WORSHIP

We worship in many ways which include devotions, in prayer, fasting, preaching of sermons, sacraments, reading and in times set apart for God such as church attendance and involvement in church activities.

THE GENERATIONS OF WORSHIP

Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy (Ezra 6:16).

Tradition connects present and oncoming generations with generations of the past.  Tradition also connects us to our own past in that when we get older we like to connect to what we grew up in.  When young and old worked together on God’s house in the Book of Ezra, there was a division between generations, so that when work had begun on the temple, the older generation wept while the younger one celebrated (see chapter 3).  When the temple was finished, they all celebrated together.  As we worship and build the kingdom together, we find unity in worship.

THE QUALITY OF WORSHIP

When Moses was building the tabernacle, God chose certain people who were filled with the Spirit of God and with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs (Exodus 35:31).  God is still concerned about the craftsmanship, about excellence, and about the creative details of worship today. 

According to Pope John Paul II:

Today, as yesterday, musicians, composers, liturgical chapel cantors, church organists and instrumentalists must feel the necessity of serious and rigorous professional training. They should be especially conscious of the fact that each of their creations or interpretations cannot escape the requirement of being a work that is inspired, appropriate and attentive to aesthetic dignity, transformed into a prayer of worship when, in the course of the liturgy, it expresses the mystery of faith in sound.

(Hakim, Naji (2003). "Music in the Catholic liturgy in France at the end of the 20th century". Retrieved 2010-08-16)

THE RELEVANCE OF WORSHIP

21^st Century cultures are changing faster than at any other time in all of history.  Because we are facing such speed in change, the church cannot hold on tightly to what worked in the past.  For sure, we must learn from the past, build upon what the past has accomplished, and  use many of the tools past generations has given to us; but we must change with the times.  We are continuously moving into a new world and we must be able to adjust with the changes in our culture, or we will lose much of the next generation.

In this generation, media and technology has dominated our culture and changed the way we work, the way we play and the way we live.  It is no surprise that the churches that grow the most have learned how to use these tools for the glory of God.

THE SACRIFICE OF WORSHIP

Believers in the Old Testament offered sacrifices that were costly for most people of the day, giving from their flocks and from their crops.  Although they gave for different reasons (such as for sin, fellowship, thanksgiving, and tithing), there was one dynamic that was the same for every sacrifice.  Every sacrifice cost the giver something they needed connected to their survival.  Givers sacrificed for the work of God in their lives and in the lives of the worshiping community.

Sacrificing animals and crops is no longer a Biblical command, as Jesus has become our supreme sacrifice, but we still sacrifice financially by tithing according to the command of Jesus (Matthew 23:23).

THE CHALLENGES OF 21ST CENTURY WORSHIP

1. Remaining theologically sound while focusing on being relevant.
2. Bringing in past traditions and forms and staying relevant.
3. Connecting worship of the individual to the entire body.  We are not simply a Church of individuals with each person individually worshiping God.  We are a body of believers connected in faith and in corporate worship.  
4. Using neglected forms of worship.  Many of the psalms praise God, and most churches focus every service around praise, but there are also psalms of lament, psalms of thanksgiving, and psalms of supplication.  The challenge today to find ways to include these other forms psalms into worship.
5. Not falling into the traps of the culture the 21^st Century American culture.  While much in our culture can be used for good and can be used for God’s glory in worship, there are some things that can hinder growth in our faith.  Some examples include our American individualism and “can do” spirit.  Although there is a lot of good in these cultural values, we must be careful to bring Christ and the Bible into these cultural principles and not let these values to become preeminent in our faith.
6. Teaching and experiencing the holiness and the fear of God. 

Humble Yourselves Before the Lord

DAVID

When King David murdered a man and took his wife, he hid what he did as well as he could.  But one day his personal prophet told him a parable revealing that what David had done was not secret.  This left David with certain options in how to deal with the issue. 
1.  He could have denied the affair, fired or killed the prophet for blashemy, and told the people around him that Nathan was lying.
2.  He could have admitted the affair and turn to the Law of Moses for the correct response - which would have himself killed for the murder of another man during the time of peace.
3.  He could do something else that was not in the letter of the Law...which he did.

What David did was not given to him through the Law, it was not Biblical in his day, but was a common practice.  When things got out of control, rather than maddly scrambling around, trying to fix what could not be fixed, David humbled himself before God and commited his way to Him.  It was a form of ultimate abandonment of self and self's abilities, and giving complete control to God; seeking and searching for his mercy and his forgiveness.

David knew he stood no chance with the Law.  He was guilty and deserved the death sentance, and yet he desired to be renewed into God's favor.  It was a tall order, but David did what was needed.

Where David Learned It

By David's day, humbling oneself before the Lord was common for any situation that was out of control.

I believe that the practice started with the death of loved ones.  When someone died, the living wailed, wept, and humbled oneself by fasting, throwing dirt on self, wearing sackcloth and even lying in a bed of ashes.  Even today, when someone near to a person dies, that person punishes himself/herself in a gut reaction.  This reaction can and did turn into custom for the people, so that widows wore certain dark/dreary clothing for long periods of time. 

Eventually, such grovelling and throwing self into emotional and physical debasement, became a way of life, not only in the face of death, but in the face of anything that was deathlike, that was out of one's control.  When plague, famine or other uncontrollable events took place, people reacted by refusing to celebrate, denying self-gratification, fun or happiness.

Over 200 years before David ruled, while living in the desert, Israel wept as a nation, when they wanted better food, but couldn't get any.

A few generations before David ruled, Israel had already wept together as united tribes (Judges 21) when they lost a battle against the tribe of Benjamin.  They wept again when they realized that Benjamin lost the war and was in danger of perishing entirely.

When David was faced with his own personal disaster, he broke his heart before God, fasted, prayed and sought the Lord.  Psalm 51 is taken from his own personal journey during this time.

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart,

O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:16-17).

THE PROPHETS

Many of the prophets told the people to repent (turn around).  As one studies the reaction of those who did repent, one sees that repentance was more than a simple "O.k. I won't do it any more."  Repentance was defined by more than that.  It was a turning around, but it was also a breaking of the heart and fasting before God.

When Jonah told Nineveh to repent (3:5-9), they and their animals fasted.

The Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. Then he issued a proclamation in Nineveh:

“By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let any man or beast, herd or flock, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.  But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.  Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

When Joel (2:12-13) asked the people to turn to God and to repent (during a natural disaster that was not due to anyone's sin) they fasted and with weeping:

“Even now,” declares the LORD,

“return to me with all your heart,

with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

Rend your heart

and not your garments.

Return to the LORD your God,

for he is gracious and compassionate,....

In the days of Isaiah, Jerusalem was facing a disaster.  Every other  city was taken and destroyed in Israel and in Judah except Jerusalem, which was surrounded by the enemy.  There were a lot of animals and people in Jerusalem as people from the countryside brought their livestock and food into the city for hopes of safety.  The people inside the city had a lot of food that would perish in a short time; and they had a lot of sheep and other cattle that would need the same food the people had to survive.

Everyone knew that this siege would last for months if not years, and they knew that there was nowhere to go to refresh their stock of food.  In other words, they knew that if God did not deliver them, they were going to slowly die, bound up in their city without freedom to go out into the fields.

Months after the city walls closed, silence filled the nights with occasional cries as someone in some house was discovered dead from starvation.   But in the early days, right after the walls were closed with an army beginning to surround the city, the nights were filled with the noises of sheep, oxen, goats, and people singing and celebrating.

This is bazaar, but there was food that needed to be eaten or it would be wasted.  And people knew that death was coming soon, so they celebrated while they could.  And during these early days they sang. This is what Isaiah said about all of this in 22:12-13:

The Lord, the LORD Almighty,

called you on that day

to weep and to wail,

to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.

But see, there is joy and revelry,

slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep,

eating of meat and drinking of wine!

“Let us eat and drink,” you say,

“for tomorrow we die!”

JAMES AND PETER

Both James and Peter addressed their letters to Christians, telling them that there was too much sin going on.  Both James and Peter told those Christians to turn to God:

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.   Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.   Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up (James 4:7-10).

And 1 Peter 5:5-9:

“God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.”

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

When things are out of control, or when you have utterly made a fool of yourself spiritaully or in any other way, humble yourself before God, and in time He will lift you up.

Entitlement

Before I start, I want to assign "entitlement" not to those who are in the 47% who do not pay federal income tax, but to people of all classes who believe they are entitled to certain rights or rewards.

When I studied and taught Ethics at a local college, I first came across an interesting word called "entitlement".  I found the word fascinating on several levels.  For one, I had never related entitlement to ethics before, for two, it seemed to have a lot more behind it than one first sees.

I think I was intrigued because we live in a society that honors, respects and even promotes entitlement.  T.V. commercials capitalize on how you deserve something - a break, a product, vacation, or whatever needs to be sold. 

The heart of America's story is built around hard work and the reward that is entitled to those who work hard.

I was intrigued because entitlement is usually right and good.  Even the Bible says that "the worker deserves his food".

Because entitlement is so promoted in society and because it is so right in so many areas, entitlement is possibly one of the best covers for unethical behavior that has ever existed.  Entitlement says, "You deserve", or "You earned the right to something".  Entitlement says, 'It is good".  Entitlement beautifully hides every evil it can produce.

THE PROPHETS OF ISRAEL

The Old Testament prophets preached that Israel and Judah fell because of their sins.  Most Christians today believe that the sins were sexual sins or sins of rejecting God.  But that is not the case.  Even though these may be sin, they were not the focus of what the prophets preached against.  Sexual sins were not the main reason that Isreal and Judah fell.

Before I go on, I need to spell out that when modern preachers refer to the sin of rejecting God, they are right in doing so.  This is biblical and within the context of Isaiah.  I have no quarrel with this.  What I do have an issue with is their complete ignorance of what the prophets said about the poor and the powerless, and that the same sin permeates our society today with little or nothing said about it from the pulpits.

The prophets who spoke before the fall of Israel and the fall of Judah said very little about sex.  When they did mention adultery, it usually was related to people worshipping other gods.  Idolatry was the adultery that was hurting the God of the prophets.  This is not to say adultery is o.k.  I am just stating a fact - the prophets were not as concerned about sexual sins as they were about other sins that come a lot closer to us than we realize.

Before Israel and Judah fell, prophets preached most of all against idolatry (worshipping other gods) and economic injustice. 

Look at Isaiah.  Thousands of preachers have preached, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Is. 1:18)".   I have never heard any preacher bring in the context of this verse.  Every one I have heard focused on modern sins such as abortion and homosexuality and sexually impure thoughts, anger, or more often than not, just plain old undefined "sin".   I have yet to hear any message that focuses on the real reason that Israel and Judah fell.

When Isaiah preached his sermon about sin and forgiveness in Isaiah 1:18 (quoted above), he was standing before the rulers of Judah telling them that they were judging in favor of the rich and powerful and against the poor and powerless.  They were taking bribes.  This theme is repeated over and over in the first few chapters of Isaiah.

The prophets did not stop with the rulers of Judah and Israel; they also spoke out against the rich who were rich while the poor were getting poorer.  There was a direct correlation between the two in the prophets.  This is contrary to the view of entitlement.

Entitlement says that we deserve what we get and even more.  Entitlement says we deserve what we get and that if others were as brilliant, or as hard working, or as good, or as righteous, then they too would be entitled.

Sometimes there is some truth to this.  In fact, there are enough examples to make this seem to be a very legitimate template.  But it is far from universal.  In other words, entitlement hides behind those few examples that serve its needs.  Entitlement champions itself.

During the prophet's day, the rich (many of who considered their money as a reward for their righteousness) lent money to the poor, to those who had a bad year or two, to those who were facing hard times.  In return they received interest paid on top of their returns.  The lenders were entitled to extra money, just as bankers are today, and when people couldn't pay back, they lost their children to slavery.  Eventually, they were also sold into slavery.

This is what the LORD says: "For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not turn back {my wrath}. They sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals (Amos 2:6).

The rich did not see it the same way that Amos did.  They believed that they were entitled to the interest and that the poor deserved the problems they had.  It is the same today.

NOT ALL ENTITLEMENT IS THE SAME

Entitlement comes in many forms, but always has the same central theme - "I deserve."  Entitlement does not share the whole story with one who is entitled.  It does not enable one to see what it does to others either directly or indirectly.  

There are also different levels of entitlement.  Some are entitled temporarily or for the rest of their life for something they earned, and some believe they are entitled for the rest of their life for being who they are. 

Some grasp for the entitlement they have, fearing its loss; while others grasp for entitlement they believe they deserve, but cannot get.

Some are legitimately entitled to something, but get so used to it, that they expect it, become proud, and/or hold on to it, even when it is time to let go.

JESUS AND ENTITLEMENT

Jesus was entitled to his position in heaven, but emptied himself of all of his entitlement in order to serve us. 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

(Philippians 2:5-11)

Jesus set the example that we should abandon self-entitlement for the sake of others.  Whether we are entitled to a way of life, or to certain rewards, we should sacrifice.

CONCLUSION

Is all entitlement evil?  No.

If I deserve to be entitled, can it ever be wrong?  Yes.  Sometimes, we need to sacrifice entitlement for the sake of others just like Jesus did.

Does anybody always see the difference between good and bad entitlement?  No.  Entitlement serves self-interest too much.  But make no mistake, we will be judged on Judgment Day according to how we have followed in Jesus' footsteps and sacrificed what was our due.

Is It Spiritual or Is It Physical?

THE STUDY

A New York Times piece came out yesterday (April 11, 2012) with new findings about addictions.  It seems that exercise opens up the brain to learn new things, and pick up or quit habits - good or bad.

So lets say for example, you want to stop smoking or stop drugs.  If you start exercising when you stop, the exercise will help you learn new behaviors and overcome your addiction more than if you had not been exercising.  The article says its because your brain is producing more new cells when you exercise, and those new cells are connecting to your new life style choices.

On the other had, if you already exercise, and you pick up a bad habit or continue a bad habit, your new brain cells are soaking up all that bad stuff, and you will have a far more difficult time overcoming.

LESSON

If you already exercise, don't pick up a new addiction.
If you don't exercise, pick an addiction to quit and work out while you quit.

THE RELATION BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND SPIRITUAL

Life is filled with spiritual challenges.  Unfortuneately, the physical and the mental get involved as well.  Sometimes the best thing you can do for your spiritual life is related to what you do for your physical or your mental life.  Addictions and exercise is like this.

As a young Christian I learned very early on that if I didn't get proper sleep and if I didn't sit down and relax occasionally, my stress level went up, and my spiritual life suffered.  The point of all this is that I believe that the spiritual life and the physical life are intertwined more than we realize. 

I have also seen that people who are considered demon possessed have psychological issues that they need to work out with a trained counselor after they get delivered.  In fact, to be honest, the cases I have seen where people have come to me for freedom from some kind of demonic oppression (in one place possession), I have had a hard time differentiating between what was demonic and what was psychological.  I am convinced they work hand in hand. 

The same goes for addicts - the spiritual and the psychological get intertwined.

CONCLUSIONS

For the best spiritual life:

-Eat healthy
-Exercise regularly
-Read your bible daily
-Pray daily
-If your life is a mess, get counseling

Fame and the Bible

In 1970, when I was 17, I was visiting one of my parents' friends who liked to smoke pot and help out kids. One of those kids who was likewise around 17, told me that he was going to be a famous drummer one day - I told him I was going to be a famous guitarist because I was told that while I was on LSD (which is something I did in High School).  Fortunately, I had enough reality to be able to plan for real life besides playing guitar.

I never saw that guy after that, but lately, I have seen a myriad of teens with aspirations of becoming famous. It is so real to them, that they have no other plans in life. 

I have also seen reality T.V. shows where fame is the goal and the only goal for a myriad of untalented (and rarely talented) people.  My sister and her husband are good friends with one of the couples from the show called "The Bachelor".  She tells me that fame is the obsession with the bachelors and bachelorettes. 

From what I see on T.V. and the internet, I would say that fame as a goal in life has become an epidemic in this nation.  Every year, thousands of people move to Hollywood, New York or Nashville in hopes of becoming famous.  The vast majority of these people will never experience their dreams. 

The opportunities have widened since I was younger.  You no longer have to have any skill to be famous. And, you no longer have to be part of the inner circles or in the families of famous people.  If you are in the right place at the right time, you can be a reality T.V. star.  You can put out your own YouTube video and find fame.  You can write your own music and with a common computer produce your own song, and with enough auto tuning even some bad singers can sound pretty good.   You can be one of hundreds of thousands who compete in American Idol or a dozen other music shows.

When I was young there were 3 T.V. channels; now there are hundreds.  Even so,  there is only so much fame to go around.  If everybody is famous, then no one is.  By nature, fame has limited access. 
And to top it off, by nature, fame is short lived.  Many people find temporary or a good shot at fame only to watch it quickly die.  As the saying goes, "Everybody has their 15 minutes of fame". 

CHRISTIAN FAME

There are also Evangelical avenues to fame that are available now that were not as common when I was younger.  Evangelicalism has produced its own subculture which includes its own fame.  Book writers, musicians, speakers, and T.V. preachers are all given opportunity to become famous in the Evangelical world.  Any one of these can pack out a large arena and make loads of money (although, I must warn all fame seekers that many of these famous Christians have a whole lot less money than you would think). 

WHAT DOES BIBLE SAY ABOUT FAME THAT IS GOOD?

In his day, King David was a rock star who was famous not for throwing rock concerts, but for throwing a rock at a big man.  The teenage girls - his fans - lined up in Jerusalem streets to cheer, and to admire him.  The famous people of his day were not in the entertainment industry, they were in the war business - they were warriors and rulers. 

The book of Judges is filled with famous Hebrews who started armies and led into battle.
Joseph, Deberah, Solomon and Daniel were famous beyond Israel for their wisdom.
Esther was celebrated for her beauty and for saving her people from an arrogant attempt to destroy Israelites.  She entered an ancient beauty contest and for winning she married the most powerful man in the world - at that time.

Barnabas found fame, access into the inner circle of the Apostles, and new work when he donated his property to the Apostles for distribution among the believers.

Hebrews 11 mentions a bunch of people who were famous for their faith as well as for their accomplishments.  Some were rejected by the world; but others were famous in both realms.

The Bible celebrates these people, their fame and their accomplishments.

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT FAME THAT IS NOT GOOD

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.  The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever (1 John 2:15-17). 

Fame (the attention this world gives) will pass away and be gone forever.  Good deeds in obedience to God and following God are eternal.  For that reason, we are not to seek after fame, but to seek after God.

For this next example, I need to explain that seeking fame and seeking attention are the same, except in seeking fame, one hopes to get the attention of many rather than a person or two or three.  When people are famous, they get a lot of people's attention.  Fame seekers want a lot of attention.  There are several examples of attention seekers in Genesis.

Reuben slept with his step mom in order to shame his dad who unjustly gave attention to the youngest brothers.  Reuben was the oldest and should have been the brother to receive attntion.  The other brothers sold Joseph into slavery and almost killed him for the same reason.

Cain killed Abel in order to get God's attention.  There is a lot of info that can be gathered from Cain, which could fill books, but I will limit it.  Cain teaches us that:
1.  People can get competitive in the area of spirituality.
2.  When people seek attention, competition can get ruthless.
3.  Abel got God's attention by doing something right and well.
4.  Cain sought God's attention and got it (not in a good way) through murder.

Cain and Abel teach us that there is a good way to get attention and there is a bad way.  The same is true with fame.  There are people who do not seek it but find it because they deserved it.  Then there are those who seek it and do evil to obtain or keep it.  King Saul got fame with humility and action.  Once he had it, he tried so hard to protect it that he became evil and did many evil things.

Even if you get famous in a good way, you can fall into evil (as King Saul did) by trying to hold on to / protecting that fame.  Fame is elusive.  Very few people will become permanently famous.  Most people who are famous will fall out of that fame.  With few exceptions, football and basketball players last a few short years and then the honeymoon is over.  Most actors and actresses have a few good moments, and sometimes years, when the limelight is on them.  Then it is either permanently or temporarily over.  King Saul saw his fame and the hopes for his son were receding while David's was growing.  To protect his own, he tried to kill David and remove his competition.

You can also do evil trying to protect your famous reputation (as King David did when he killed the husband of Bethsheba).  I knew a youth pastor who covered up her pregnancy (she was unmarried) by getting an abortion.  She did this because she wanted to protect her good Christian reputation and witness with the kids.

In the book of Esther, Haman spent a lot of time boasting about his fame, using his fame and his power to further promote his fame.  When Mordecai refused to bow before him, he sought to kill Mordecai and destroy Mordecai's people.  Mordecai is an example of when fame gets to one's head and how evil seeking fame can get.

WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT CHRISTIAN FAME?

We've already seen in Cain that people can get competitive in the realm of faith.  This is no less true in churches and the Christian community.   I believe that many of us equate Evangelical fame with strong spirituality.  The more famous people are in the Evangelical world, the more godly they are.  Even though this is obviously not true, I believe that many Evangelicals wrongly equate Christian fame with deeper spirituality. 

When Barnabas sold his property and gave it to the Apostles (for giving to the poor), he became an instant celebrity.  He entered the circles of the elite, was treated like any other apostle, and he was given the same responsibilities as an apostle.  When Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5) saw this, they too sold land and gave it to the Apostles.  However, they lied to the Apostles, telling them that they gave all the money they had to the Apostles, when in fact they had given only a portion to them.  Ananias and Saphira were trying to buy their way into Christian fame as Barnabas had done.  There was one difference, however.  Barnabas was not seeking fame, he was only following the teachings of Jesus.

After Ananias and Saphira died in trying to become one of the elite, the Bible says that no one dared to join them (the Apostles) after that.  God was warning the people not to seek fame for fame's sake.

MY CONCLUSIONS

I think there is a lot more to say and a lot more Bible to study, but it's all going to point to the same thing.  If you seek fame for fame's sake, it is an evil sin that can cause much damage.  There are also many temptations that come with fame which all boil down to the same thing - protecting the fame you have or seek to have.

Despite the huge pitfalls of fame, if you do what is right and you become famous as a result, it is good.   Fame is not a sin, the things people do to grasp for fame is evil.

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:11).

When Paul wrote this, he was referring to his roller coaster ride with life, money and possessions.  He had ups and he had downs.  Paul learned to be content with both . So it is with fame - their are ups and there are downs.  Be content with both.