New Thoughts (01/27/10-01/29/10)
As Jesus continues to address the matter of anxiety, He is moving our attention ever heavenward. This has been clear throughout this section of Scripture. Over and over again, the eyes are turned towards the kingdom, away from the earth and all its stuff. What these verses begin to amplify, however, is the degree of attention. Two terms come into play in this regard, and both rather lose their power in translation.
The first of these terms is translated by the phrase ‘eagerly seek’. Now, I can see very benign intent behind such a phrase. It does not seem so bad a thing if, for instance, I am speaking of an athlete seeking to win, or an artist seeking to better his craft. It is good to eagerly seek improvement, is it not? But, there is more behind this than is well expressed by that phrase. The intensity that is implicit in the Greek is lost. We are talking about craving, and more than craving. Strong speaks of it as intense craving. We might think of that “can’t live without it” feeling that comes upon us with regard to certain things. But, Thayer takes it even further, and indicates that this eager seeking amounts to noisy demanding. Now I am in mind of a hungry infant, focused solely on one goal, interested only in that one matter of FOOD!!! That infant cares nothing for what anybody else may be doing. It cares nothing for any other aspect of life. It wants food, and as far as that baby is concerned, that settles the matter. Food had best be presented here and now.
That’s the sort of attitude we are shown in regard to the worldly example. The Gentiles, the nations of the world, those outside the fold: They are forever making their noisy demands after their provisions. They are never satisfied. Their craving is so intense that no other thought can penetrate. It’s all about the stuff. This is the particular disease of the avaricious, don’t you see? Their craving after wealth has become so strong as to be insatiable. It has so shaped their thinking that, like that baby looking for food, they have become convinced that their desire is reason enough that they ought to have. It has so shaped their thinking that they deem that acquisition their right, and be damned to any who would prevent it. Intensity and demanding – these are the sad aspect of this eager seeking.
Now, whereas Matthew continues to point to the issue of anxiety, Luke senses the shift in focus in what Jesus has been saying, and changes the expression slightly: “Do not seek.” What? We shouldn’t be good stewards after all? No, of course that is not what Jesus is saying. He would not teach us to be one way today and another tomorrow. Again, the key lies in unburying the meaning of that word in the ears of the audience. Strong is again helpful in this regard, pointing out a specifically Hebrew sense given to this matter of seeking. Here, the concept is to worship as a god. Don’t make this stuff into idols. Don’t let food become more to you than God. Don’t let clothing come to mean more to you than God. Don’t let provision be lifted up above the Provider.
This is of a piece with the message regarding God and mammon (Mt 6:24, Lk 16:13), which Matthew includes in this teaching and Luke places elsewhere. It’s those two opposing goals presented again. You cannot chase one and still claim to be pursuing the other. You cannot lift one up without setting the other down. You either believe God is your perfect provider, or you believe that it’s all up to you to take care of yourself. You can’t have it both ways. As I said in looking at that passage, it is inevitable that one shall become your goal, your aim, and the other will be reduced to no more than a tool to be used towards achieving your aim. Either God is the point and provision the tool, or provision is the point and God is a tool. Obviously, however we may behave, God is the point. He is the aim, whether we act as though this is the case or not.
Herein lies the issue for us, or at least one key issue: It is well and good to say we are Christians and we worship God exclusively. But, the real question is what does our lifestyle and habit proclaim? I recall a clip quoted in an old DC Talk tune, concerned about those who proclaim Christ with their lips, but deny Him by their lifestyle. It’s not just the clearly reprobate that are in sight here. It’s not just the guy who comes to church on Sunday, but hangs out at the brothel and the bar throughout the week. It’s not just the guy who robs the bank on Monday and comes to church the next week as if nothing were wrong. It’s not just the ‘social Christians’ who seem to think that the church is not much different than the Grange.
It’s all of us! It’s every last one of us, as we deal with the pressures of life. It’s every last one of us, when we allow ourselves to slip into anxious concern because maybe this week’s paycheck wasn’t quite as robust as the last. It’s every last one of us, when we become so caught up in how we will manage to put food on our own table next week that we no longer have the least bit of compassion for those who are far and away worse off than ourselves. It’s every last one of us as we become wrapped up in the “me, me, me” of worldly thinking, when the Scriptural instruction is, “count yourself as the least,” make it all about, “you, you, you.” The servant’s heart is the heart God loves, but it’s a heart that is most uncomfortable in our bodies. It’s a transplant, and without the constant infusion of the Holy Spirit, we are inclined to reject it.
This becomes especially hard when all around us are folks who are caught up in exactly this sort of idolatry of stuff. Think about the common jokes regarding those who drool after every announced product coming from Apple, or those who just have to have the latest model of smart phone. Think about the urgent need so many feel to have the right car, the nice house, the proper style in clothing and hair style and so on. You and I both know it’s not something that only the teenagers feel, not something unique to youth. It’s what we are being taught by every means the world has at its disposal. But, God comes and says, “Enough! This isn’t what it’s all about. This stuff just plain doesn’t matter. I know what you need, and I have already seen to it. The rest of this fluff? Will it improve your soul or impoverish it?” The stuff isn’t evil. Let’s get that straight. There is nothing inherently ungodly about Iphones or three-bedroom houses or this year’s model of Lexus. It’s what you do with it, or what you allow it to do with you, that makes the measure. The stuff is not guilty of sin. The one who has made that stuff an idol is guilty of sin.
Which one is the goal and which one the tool? That is the ever-present question in the life of an earnest believer. Be careful! Don’t be so sure that you’ve got it nailed. Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall, for the wiles of the world are terrible, and the weakness of the flesh all but incurable. Keep checking. Check it daily, hourly even. And, don’t suppose that your merely turning your thoughts to it for a moment will satisfy the need. No, our hearts are deceptively wicked. We need the dangerous prayer, the prayer of, “show me my heart, o God, as ugly as it is.” Show us the truth about ourselves. Make us face the facts. Let there be no false sense of security, but only the certain hope that He Who has begun the work in us is working still, making us willing and able to abide the change that He must bring.
[01/28/10] Something crossed my mind as I was getting set to start my studies for this morning. I have outlined this section as first pointing us to the example of nature, then to the example of man, and finally to the example of heaven. Now, isn’t it something that for all our understanding of nature and science, man has failed to discern this most powerful lesson? Think about it! When Jesus turns our attention to nature, the example we are given is positive. Do you see them worrying about everything? No! Be like that. Then, he turns to the example of mankind, and the message is reversed. See how they worry about everything? Don’t be like that. Truly, the God who says that He will make the wisdom of this world foolishness has long since done so. The very fact that we can abide in a world in which the Creator’s provision is so constantly in evidence, and still become so caught up in the pursuit of stuff has done it already.
With that in mind, think about that message we find at the end of Luke 12:29. Do not keep worrying. What does it mean to worry? Of course, our thoughts go back to that business of being concerned about outcomes, focused on the what ifs. But, I find the underlying Greek in this term to be most telling. Don’t be up in the air. That’s the literal sense of this: to be suspended (without any means of support) in mid-air. In such a condition, every least influence of wind will shift one’s progress in a new direction. There is no stability whatsoever. There’s nothing to push off from that one might go higher, and nothing to stop one from sinking lower. There’s nothing to hold onto at all. So, one thus suspended wavers. With the first negative thought, he moves a little towards fear. With the least whisper of good news, he leans back towards hope. Unsteady. Double-minded. In short, faithless. This is the very meaning of faithlessness. There is no certainty, no trust. There is only response to the latest circumstance.
Consider a couple of the looser translations of this message. “Do not waver between hope and fear.” Thus, the Weymouth translation gets at the instability of worry. Stop ‘living in suspense,’ says Wuest. This business of worrying – and we’re all subject to it, unfortunately – is reminiscent of that old ‘hang in there’ poster, with the cat suspended from the limb of a tree by its front paws. Except there’s no tree. We’re living in suspense, stuck in freeze-frame, like Wile Coyote in that moment when he sees his plans have failed again. He’s run off the edge of the cliff, but gravity hasn’t quite kicked in yet. Suspended. The hope of dinner replaced by the fear of the plunge. Living in suspense.
This is another return to the image of the goal-posts of God and mammon, but with a slightly different accent. You know, you’re there on the fifty yard line, and there is the goal-post of hope in one direction and the goal-post of fear in the other, and it’s up to you to run towards one or the other. But, the one caught up in worry can’t decide which way to go. It’s a step towards hope, but followed by two steps towards fear, and so the worrier oscillates – always in motion but never making progress. It’s a madness, and it’s a madness that is most unbecoming in the life of one who claims to be a believer. That’s what Jesus is driving at here. Stop the madness! If you believe God is God, then live it. This business of worrying when you are a child of the Provider is utter psychosis. You’re dancing between hope and fear, with the dazed gait of a drunkard, wobbling first one way then the next. You know there’s no reason for it. Yet, you want to be in control. Yet, you know that if you are in control, then there’s every reason for fear. Yet, you know that you aren’t in control, God is. And you know that if He is in control, there is no reason for fear. Yet, you want to be in control… And round and round it goes. Jesus says, “STOP!” Which is it going to be? Do you hope in Christ or fear your weakness? Do you trust God or is He so untrustworthy that you dare not, leaning on your own strength to sustain you instead? Which is it?
Like God and mammon, it can’t be both. Either we trust Him and find contentment, or we distrust Him and take matters into our own hands. Don’t think this is some new influence of modern materialism or capitalism or such. Abraam and Sarai knew the same sorry unsteadiness. We have this promise from God! Huzzah! But, it’s been so long. I guess He’s not going to come through after all. Sigh. Guess we’d better help Him out. Oh, yes! And that worked out particularly well, didn’t it? Yet, we with our great benefit of modern insight look to their example and find it worthy of copying for ourselves. God’s too slow, we better help Him out. You know, we’re so smart that we are on God’s advisory counsel. He surely wouldn’t make a move without seeking our approval first! And there we are, back in the dance. Hoping it goes our way, and fearful that we are wrong. Doubtful. Full of motion, but all is vanity.
What is the cure? Well, we shall look to that in the next study, but it should be clear by now: Kingdom first! Stop trying to tell God how to do His job and ask Him how to do yours! Stop taking your cues from the world around you and start standing up as the ambassador you were appointed to be. Fear not, for God is with you. Act like you know that! Ask in faith! Leave no room for doubts, for the one who doubts, James says, is like a storm-tossed sea, moved anew by every passing wind (Jas 1:6). Suspended in mid-air with nothing to hold onto. Now, let me be very, very clear here: The only prayers that you can pray with no least doubt are those prayers that are prompted and powered by the Holy Spirit of God. These are not the, “Please, Lord, let me make the grade,” prayers. These are not the, “Get me out of this, Mr. Wizard,” prayers of the one who has gotten himself in yet another jam. These are the, “Thy will be done,” prayers; the, “show me my heart, Lord,” prayers; the ‘dangerous’ prayers that the cynics tell us to avoid.
The prayer that has the kingdom first and stuff wholly out of sight is the prayer that God honors. This is the prayer of a man after God’s own heart. This is the cry that pierces the heavens. Understanding that, “Why be like the heathen? For they take pride in all these things and are deeply concerned about them.” That’s the Living Bible translation for Matthew 6:31. Why, indeed? Why should we, the children of God, the sons of heaven, be indistinguishable from these worldly wretches? How is it that the atheist next door is setting a better example of confidence than me? How is it that the lifestyle and custom of the average churchgoer is no different, in the end, than the one who has no traffic with the church? Why is it that our divorce rates are no different, who have God’s promises? Why is it that we are just as ruthless in our employments, just as ready to put in a lazy day at work and accept full pay, just as eager to look to government to be our salvation in times of need? It makes no sense!
Matters of filling our storehouses, making sure the larder is full and the closet well stocked with the latest fashions: “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs.” There, I am turning to the New Living Translation. These things dominate the unbeliever’s thoughts for a reason: they do not see anything else to depend on but their own weakness. You and I? What reason have we to be so dominated by concerns. Your Father already knows your needs, and you know it! If you know it, live it! Frankly, He’s got their needs covered, too, but they don’t understand. You do. You are in a position to stand up as an ambassador of contentment in life. But, do you do it? Or do you run around like another stress puppy?
For myself, I know the answer is that maintaining the true perspective on these matters is something that requires great effort. I can hold onto it for awhile, but then something comes up, and I’m right back into that place of self-reliance, trying to deal with it from the dry well of my own strength and wisdom. To borrow from Phil Keaggy, when will I ever learn to live in God? Or, if I might put it a bit differently, when will I finally settle into the fact that apart from Him, I can do nothing?
How often do we find that great mystery played out for us? Here we are, totally devoid of strength or talent to meet whatever need has arisen, and it is in this condition that we discover the need met and most gloriously. It is then that we see ourselves doing what we had no idea we could do. We had no idea we could do it because we can’t. But, God can when once we accept our incapacity and get out of the way! My wife was commenting last night on an experience of this nature that she had yesterday. Physically, she was in no shape for ministry, but pressed on anyway, and God took over to great effect. As she told me of this last night, she was noticing that it always seemed to work this way, that the greatest experiences of God using her came when she was at her worst.
Oh, how familiar that is! I recall how many times the worship team would feel totally unprepared, totally out of sorts, and yet, service was starting. How often did we go through this only to find that the worship which followed was the most powerful, the most God-centered we had experienced in some time? Of course it was! We had finally gotten our talents and our self-sufficiency out of the way. No. That would be more accurate if I said that God had finally gotten our talents and self-sufficiency out of the way. Even that much lies beyond our capacity! How well I know it, just from those worship experiences! The moments of suddenly realizing there are things pouring out through my instrument that are beyond my doing. There’s that moment of joyful recognition, but it is sadly followed by the thought of, “Wow! Look what I’m doing!” That, at least for me, was ever the moment when things crashed and burned. It was like an unconscious denial of the Truth, and Truth would not be denied, certainly not in the course of worship.
You see, it’s not just these matters of provision that Jesus is pointing out. They count as the greater example, the sources of worry that will most resonate with our experience, and certainly the worries that are common the all. But, it’s everything. It’s our labors and our pleasures. It’s our provisions and our relationships. It’s even our worship and ministry. “These are the things the pagans are always concerned about,” as the Good News Translation has it. Yes, even worship and ministry. For, even the pagans worship something, whether they confess that or not. Even the atheists wish to minister their atheism to others.
Questions of how shall I obtain this, what shall I do about that, how shall I accomplish what needs doing, what should I say to impress so and so? All of these are questions that Gentiles are always asking. They may ask their gods. They may ask their governments. They may ask themselves. But they are asking. And, so are we. Yet, the reality that we know to be real (even if we fail to live like it) is this: “Your Heavenly Father knows.” He knows all this. He knows it before you think to wonder about it yourself. Not only does He know. He has provided. Already. Before you were born or even conceived, He has provided. Before Abraham was; before the world began, He has provided for all that you are facing today and all that you will face tomorrow, for all the tomorrows that shall be.
This is the understanding that we are called to operate from. As we go about our vocations, it is not in the desperate effort to earn a paycheck, and it is not in order to please a boss. It is done in the full knowledge that He has provided, and this is but the current means. His name is on our pay stub, and we shall be here in this employ so long as He has determined. If it is in His power to determine the course of nations and empires, how hard can we suppose it is for Him to manage our case? It’s nothing! He has set the planets in their course. He maintains the stars in their places. He has determined the forces that bring about the tides, the seasons, the wind in the trees, and the trees themselves! And, we wonder if He can see to our provisions? Please!
I have noted this already, but it needs to be said again. To our sorrow, we who are the pinnacle of creation have made of ourselves the negative example. It is sad that we must look to birds and grasses to be taught of them how we ought to live, but it is true. It is true, at least, so long as we are laboring through life apart from God. But, we have come to Him. He has called us and we are His. He has taught us of Himself, caused us to look upon the lessons of nature and to realize that our situation is not as we had thought.
To put it plainly: We children of God are set out as the example, not to follow the example of these others around us. And yet, we fall into acting just like they do. This is what Jesus is forcing us to confront here. Just like the Jews, we have that sense of superiority in our Christian faith. We try not to, but it’s there in us. “Thank God I’m not like them!” Phew! I may not be better than they, but at least I’m in a better situation. Yes, I suppose that’s even true, but the problem lies in this: In spite of that truth, I still live by their example instead of setting them God’s example. I still fall into that place of worry, rather than being the pillar of peace. I still walk in the arrogance of self rather than the contentment of God’s peace.
That’s what Jesus is saying here. He’s actually saying that all throughout this chapter, particularly in Matthew’s organizing of the material. You’re acting just like they do! Don’t you see it? Well, stop it! Don’t be like them! Don’t let their misconceptions become your model.
It’s a lesson we must take to heart on the personal level, to be sure. But, it’s also a lesson for the corporate level. Consider Matthew 6:8, wherein Jesus is teaching us the nature of prayer. “Don’t be like them!” He instructs us. It’s not about quantity of prayer or volume of prayer. It’s not about careful attention to specific phrases. It’s not about ‘repeat after me’. It’s about an earnest expression of the heart. It’s about communicating with God and trusting God. You know, if I understand Him, if I really accept that He knows already, then I don’t need to go into some long harangue to get His attention. His eye is ever on me. It seems to me that 90% of prayer is really getting our thoughts back on track.
Look at that passage (Mt 6:5-13). Don’t pray like a hypocrite. It’s not about being seen by man. It’s about having access to God. Don’t pray to impress. Pray to express. It’s about talking to God, not dropping His name before your neighbors. It’s not a matter of going on and on, as if you can better cajole God into responding by spending hours on end telling Him what He already knows. Honestly! The power of prayer has as much, if not more, to do with reminding yourself that He already knows.
Consider the model Jesus sets out. Our Father, holy in heaven. He already knows who He is and where He is. It is we who tend to forget. Let Your will be our rule as it is heaven’s rule. Frankly, as I have said many a time, His will will be done. The cry is on our behalf. We need to know His working in us that we might move in concord with His will. Meet our needs today. See, even that is not a matter of moving God to take action. Do you not see the lesson Jesus has been teaching us here? He sees to your needs every moment, just like the birds, just like the grass. But you need reminding. You need to be put in mind of the fact. Forgive us as we forgive. My! That is probably the most damning and dangerous thing we ever say to God, because it’s asking Him to be like us. We dare not pray that without the deep understanding that the real request is that He make us like Him. How can we ask Him to forgive us like we forgive others without fear and trembling? No! It’s ever and always, bring me to the place where I can forgive others as You have forgiven me. After all, that, too, is part of the example we were placed here to demonstrate.
Lord God! I know I come to you often and often with this request, yet I make it again. Set me as Your example. So work in me that I am the example You desire, and not the example I know I shall be in my own strength. Teach me, once for all, my Jesus, how to walk humbly with You. Bring me to the place of loving justice and doing righteousness. Strengthen me in mind, soul and spirit to be resolute in Your power. Keep me attentive, Holy Spirit, to guard against the incursions of the world’s example, whether it be in habits or humors, whether it be in labors or ministering. Let all be according to Your example without compromise, that You might be seen, and You be glorified.
