Lindsay the timekeeper
When our family lived in Colorado, I worked with a number of small church plants, and I was invited to speak at one near Denver on a Sunday morning. It was meeting in a school. We got there early, and they were just finishing setting up the chairs in the make-shift sanctuary. We stood and talked with the pastor before things got started.
Lindsay, our youngest, was eleven years old at the time. She is responsible and likes to know what’s coming, so she asked when church was over. The pastor said I could speak until about noon, and then we’d be done.
The worship leader got there late and had to set up, so we started very late that morning. So all the times were off. And then, when the pastor introduced me he took way too long, so I didn’t even start until ten minutes to twelve o’clock. So, I begin and I’m just getting started, I had been speaking about as long as I have been this morning, and I look in the back where my family is sitting. Lindsay is sitting back there pointing to her watch and then making a ‘cut’ motion with her hand across her throat. I kept right on going. I learned early on how to preach through distractions.
That is one of my favorite church stories. Today we are going to talk about church. On this quest with Solomon through different aspects of life looking for meaning and purpose the church is certainly not immune.
“Be Satisfied” by Warren Wiersbe
One of my commentaries put it this way:
Solomon had visited the courtroom, the marketplace, the highway, and the palace. Now he paid a visit to the temple, that magnificent building whose construction he had supervised. He watched the worshipers come and go, praising God, praying, sacrificing, and making vows. He noted that many of them were not at all sincere in their worship, and they left the sacred precincts in worse spiritual condition than when they had entered. What was their sin? They were robbing God of the reverence and honor that He deserved. Their acts of worship were perfunctory, insincere, and hypocritical.[1]
High Definition close-ups
Are you ready as the focus of evaluation turns to us? Can we handle the truth? I read an article a while back about some changes that may be brought to broadcasting because of high definition televisions. With larger screens and clearer pictures the article said that it will be the end of the really close, close-ups. In the old days, they could get close, tight pictures on newscasters and tv stars. But now, with High Def, those close-ups show a lot more flaws and unflattering features that they didn’t show before. Stars are not willing to let their flaws show, so don’t get so close.
Well, today Solomon takes a high definition, close up approach to the church.
Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 (NKJV) 1 Walk prudently when you go to the house of God; and draw near to hear rather than to give the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they do evil. 2 Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. 3 For a dream comes through much activity, And a fool’s voice is known by his many words. 4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed— 5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity. But fear God.
“Walk prudently” are the opening words of this passage. Other versions say, “Guard your steps”, “Be careful”, and in the King James version, “Keep thy foot.” I really like the New Living Translation which says, “Keep your ears open and your mouth shut.”
“Keep thy foot”: Watch your step
The idea here is our common phrase, “Watch your step.” It can be literal, but more commonly metaphorically. It isn’t speaking of a rug on your way in that you might trip over, but an awareness of the reality of where you’re going. Be careful.
The exact same sense is found in Ephesians 5:15 where it says, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise” which is followed by common sense counsel on living a godly life, not on the mechanics of walking.
Holy ground
Moses learned this idea when he turned aside to see a bush that burned but wasn’t consumed. When he got close he heard a voice say, “Take the sandals off your feet, because the place where you stand is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5) What made the bush holy? God’s presence.
Watch your step.
When Joshua entered the Promised Land, before taking Jericho, he got the same lesson. The Commander of the Lord’s army (the Lord Himself) said to Joshua, “Take off your sandal, because you are on holy ground.” (Joshua 5:15) God’s presence, moving into God’s promises, is holy ground. Watch your step. Keep your feet.
WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?
Standing near a bush. Outside a city you’ve never been to before. On the corner of Cordon and Swegle Roads or in a high school in Keizer. These aren’t ordinary places, not when we stand in God’s presence and stand upon His promises. They are holy ground. The failure to understand this is a great failure. It has caused many to become careless in the way they approach God.
So, when you go to church, where do you think you’re going? Do you fully consider and weigh the reality?
A disclaimer
Before I begin, I must give you the following disclaimer: I am a big fan of the church. I mean a BIG fan. I know that may come as a shock to some of you. Not just of this church (though it is my favorite), but of The Church, that Jesus established and promised He would work through. Does that mean I think it’s perfect? No way. It couldn’t be because I’m in it. (And you’re in it.) Yeah, it is imperfect. When God’s presence is there, it is holy ground.
It’s kind of popular these days to bash the church. I just received notice of a new book just out called, “They like Jesus, but not the church.” I’m not going in that direction. (Remember, the church is Jesus’ bride. Careful what you say about her.)
1. The Church isn’t for:
· Empty sacrifices
“Don’t give the sacrifice of fools.” (verse 1)
Here is the ultimate in foolishness: thinking you can fool God or pull one over on God. In Acts 5 a couple known as Annaias and Sapphira sold some land and brought the money to the Apostle Peter saying, “Here is the money. We are sacrificing everything! God gets it all!” When, in fact, they withheld a good portion for themselves.
Annaias and Sapphira dropped dead right on the spot. They were the first casualties of the Christian church. They had brought the sacrifice of fools, thinking they could fool God with an appearance of sacrifice and godliness. They were the original church hypocrites. They put on a façade to look good, but inside they were hollow.
Another fool’s sacrifice - Nabal
In 1 Samuel 25 is the story of a man named Nabal. (His name means, “Fool”.) David and his men protected his livestock and his shepherds for him, so that he benefited from their presence and their protection, but when they asked for a small gift in return, Nabal said, “No way. It’s mine.” Nabal met the same fate as Annaias and Sapphira. Benefiting from God’s presence and protection and giving nothing back is a fool’s sacrifice.
Don’t worry. Our church council has voted against killing people for this offense at this church. Though there has been some strong debate.
· Empty criticisms
“For a dream comes through much activity, and a fool’s voice is known by his many words.” (verse 3)
There are those people who have a dream of how things ought to be, or how things should be. They are not satisfied with how things are but not willing to do anything about making it any different. It is activity that makes a difference, not many words. Criticism is not a spiritual gift.
Verse seven: “For in the multitude of dreams and many words there is also vanity.” Get in and do something to make a difference, or keep your dreams and opinions to yourself.
· Empty promises
“When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; For He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed — Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.” (verses 4 & 5)
Never mind, God
I heard a story about a man who was late and desperately trying to find a parking spot to go in to a business meeting. He prayed, “Lord, if you will just give me a parking spot I promise to be in church every Sunday.” Just then a car backed out of the spot right in front of the building where he was going. So he said, “Never mind, God. I found one.”
Have you made any promises to God that you have failed to keep? (Weddings, baptisms, ministry related, “deals”.) Don’t be a fool.
Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?
2. The Church is:
Remember the significance of the Temple to Solomon (traditionally held to be the writer of Ecclesiastes). Who built the Temple? Solomon did. Before that the nation of Israel had the tabernacle, a tent that housed God’s presence. King David said, “I have this beautiful house but God only has a tent. I’m going to build a temple for God.” God said, “Thanks all the same, but no. Not you. You’re a man of war. Your son, the son of David, a prince, not a prince of war but a prince of peace, he will build Me a temple.” (Note the significant Messianic reference. It has DEEP meaning.)
Solomon knew what the temple, the church, was supposed to be:
· The House of God.
“When you go to the house of God.” (verse 1)
Solomon had a problem when he started building God’s house. He said, “Wait a minute… what size house do you need God? Heaven cannot contain you, or the heavens of heavens. How can I build a house big enough for you?” (2 Chronicles 2:5-6)
A building, or a church, cannot contain God. You can’t box Him in and say, “Here He is. We have Him and you don’t,” or “He’s there at church and I’ll go and visit Him from time to time but He isn’t at my home, or at my school, or at work. He’s there at church.”
It can’t contain Him, but it can be a place of His Presence. God inhabits the praises of His people and, wherever two or three gather in His name, He is there.
A prototype
What Solomon may not have known is that he was actually building a prototype. (‘Proto’ meaning first or before and ‘type’ meaning picture or illustration.) This Temple was a foreshadowing of the real temple that would be built later, not with human hands. The real Son of David, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, came to build a temple not out of stone and mortar but out of flesh and bone.
Now, God’s dwelling place is in you, if you give Him access to your heart. Scripture says that we are the living stones that make up His new Temple. You are the Temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you.
You may be a fixer-upper, but you are the most valuable real estate in the universe.
· To draw near to God.
“Draw near to hear” (verse 1)
When we come together, we would be wise to draw near to hear. In other words, God has something to say to you. Do you realize that? Are you attentive?
Sometimes we need to hear a word of encouragement. I talked with a lot of people this past week who are going through some tough stuff, some even life and death situations. I couldn’t answer any of their ‘why’ questions, but my words could be encouragement to them. I know that God spoke encouragement through me to them. I have found most often encouragement is a greater need than answers.
I hear God all the time here. Sometimes through His Word. Sometimes by His Spirit. Very often it is something one of you says to me. Draw near to hear God in this place.
· To put faith into action.
“For a dream comes through much activity” (verse 3)
This is a monumental need of the church. We need to learn to put faith to action. For a dream comes through much activity. Think about these words.
Joseph and Pharoah’s dreams (Genesis 41)
Remember Joseph in the Old Testament? Joseph was a slave and a prisoner in Egypt who was brought before Pharoah, the king of the land, to hear his dreams. Pharoah shared his dreams with Joseph, hoping that Joseph could understand his dreams. Joseph did understand his dreams and knew the dreams meant that there would be great abundance in the land for seven years and then an even greater famine for another seven years. Joseph was done, right? No.
Joseph did something else. Instead of just understanding Pharoah’s dream, he also had a plan. He said, “Here’s what you do. Appoint someone over things that can store up during the good years to give to those who have need when the famine comes. Those people enjoying the good life won’t even know of their need until it’s too late. Someone needs to tell them. Someone needs to give them what they need. There has to be action along with Pharoah’s dream to save the people.”
So then Pharoah said, “You do it.” Joseph understood Pharoah’s dream, had a plan based on Pharoah’s dream and put it into action. He stored up the life-giving grain and was there to give it out when there was need.
“For a dream comes through much activity.”
The church is to fulfill God’s dreams, not mine or yours. Like Pharoah, God has a dream for His people. His dream is for an abundant life. God is looking for Josephs. The name Joseph means “He adds”. God is looking for people who will add. A Joseph is a person who will hear God and understand His dream to give life to others. But not stop there. A Joseph makes a plan to meet people at their place of need and care for their need. A Joseph then is ready to go into action and be one who adds.
No one is to shoulder the whole load, but each one is to add their own part. Are you adding? Are you putting faith into action?
We, the Church, have the life-giving grain stored up and there’s plenty for everyone. People of action are needed to get it out to where it is needed. They won’t even know until it’s too late unless someone tells them. Joseph, will you add? Will you act?
· To fear God.
“But fear God” (verse 7)
There is a lot that can be said about fearing God, but just let me say this: Church isn’t a game. It isn’t a drill. It isn’t a social event. This is the real thing. He is serious.
There is a famine. People are in great need. Let’s do something about it, together.
Conclusion
It has been said that the church is the only organization that exists for the sole purpose of those who are not members.
The church is minimized by what we make it, not by what God has made it.
[1]Wiersbe, Warren W.: Be Satisfied. Wheaton, Ill. : Victor Books, 1996, c1990, S. Ec 5:1
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Life. success
To succeed is literally ‘to go after’. (As in: John Adams succeeded George Washington as president.)
More practically, the question of success is, “What do you go after?” What is your idea of success? How about John Adams?
John Adams
Adams' two terms as Vice President were frustrating experiences for a man of his vigor, intellect, and vanity. He complained to his wife Abigail, "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."
On November 1, 1800, Adams arrived in the new Capital City to take up his residence in the White House. On his second evening in its damp, unfinished rooms, he wrote his wife, "Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof." Isn’t that a great prayer?
Statistics on American views of success
A 2006 study conducted by Success magazine uncovered some surprising insights into the way Americans view success. For example, in response to the phrase, "Success in business means…," 60 percent of the respondents selected "Adding value to the lives of others." Only 18.8 percent said success meant "Making a lot of money."
The following are results for the question, "What is the single most important element for success?"
• Faith (41%)
• Family (25%)
• Balanced life (12%)
• Happiness (7%)
In addition, respondents were asked to identify "The most important factors for success":
• Good relationship with family (90%)
• Good relationship with spouse (89%)
• Good relationship with God (86%)
• Freedom to do what you want (62%)
• Financial security (57%)
• Good career (47%)
• Leaving a legacy (43%)
• Money/wealth (32%)
"The New American Dream," Success (Summer 2006), p. 88
How do you define success? What are you looking for?
Let’s take this discussion back to Ecclesiastes for consideration by Solomon, traditionally held to be the writer of Ecclesiastes and certainly one of the most successful people, by most standards, ever to have lived. If anybody can give us an accurate assessment of success, he can. Can success, and the determined pursuit of success, give meaning and purpose to life?
Ecclesiastes 4:4-8 (NKJV)
4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. 6 Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. 7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun: 8 There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-20 (NKJV)
10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. 13 There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. 14 But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? 17 All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. 18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. 19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
There are three questions that Solomon asks while observing the value of success. One is in 4:8, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” In 5:11 the question is asked, “So what profit have the owners?” And in 5:16 a similar question, “What profit has he who has labored for the wind?”
The first and most important application I would like to make today is:
Question Success
You have probably seen the bumper sticker: Question Authority. I’m not a big fan of that bumper sticker or of that philosophy in general, but it is a popular idea. Question authority. Don’t just go along and do what your told without speaking up and saying, “Why? What am I doing this for?” Otherwise you may be forced into doing something that really isn’t in your best interest.
My idea is a different bumper sticker: Question Success. For many people success – the promise and pursuit of success – is really their greatest authority. Many of us follow the path of success without question as to where it may lead us. All I know is I’ve got to have more. I’ve got to beat that guy out. I’ve got to climb the corporate ladder of success.
Solomon teaches us to question success, don’t just following blindly along. Where is your pursuit of success leading you? What is the impact on those around you? To use and old saying, “Is the juice really worth the squeeze?”
THREE QUESTIONS ABOUT SUCCESS
Let’s look at these three questions as we, like Solomon, question the pursuit of success.
1. Who benefits from my success? (Circle the word ‘Who’)
Chapter 4 verse 8 says, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?”
This is an important question. Who am I benefiting? Is it really the person or people that I want to be benefiting?
This is the crux of the classic tragedy regarding people who pour themselves into their work to get ahead and be a success. Most would probably say to the one who is feeling neglected, “But I’m doing it for you” or “It’s all for you and the kids.” Is that really true? Then give them what they really want – you.
• Who really matters in your life?
What you pursue to be successful at communicates what really matters to you. And who you spend your efforts on communicates who really matters. What are you communicating?
If you spent the same time and resources on your marriage as you do on your work, how great would your marriage be?
2. What is the immediate benefit? (Circle the word ‘immediate’)
Ecclesiases 5:11, “So what profit have the owners?” (‘Have’ is in the present tense)
Many, many people give their entire life to pursuing great success through fame, fortune or fantastic accomplishment. Success in the here and now is what they’re after. According to Solomon’s observations, what do they get for their troubles?
The ‘benefits’ of success:
• Envy (Eccl 4:4 “Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.”)
Drive for success creates competition. In most of our minds, being successful means being the best, or at least among the best. I have to be the prettiest, or get the best grades, or receive promotions the fastest, etc. When someone else is more successful, it just means I have to work that much harder. When someone else receives recognition for their success it can create envy in me. When I receive recognition above another then it can create envy in them.
With a craving for success comes envy. If it weren’t for the competition to succeed, there would be no envy.
For some people, undoubtedly, the very definition of success is the envy of your neighbors.
• Dissatisfaction (Eccl 5:10 “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.”)
It’s a trick! You may think that success will satisfy, but it doesn’t. It keeps you wanting more.
Quarterback Tom Brady seeks more
Tom Brady, the quarterback of the New England Patriots, is not only one of the NFL's best players, he is also one of the NFL's best stories.
At the tender age of 28, he has already won three Super Bowls, an accomplishment that ranks him with some of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game. Brady's loss to the Denver Broncos in the 2005 playoffs was his first in the playoffs, compared with 10 playoff wins in the last four years.
But with all of Brady's fame and career accomplishments, he told 60 Minutes: "Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life.' Me, I think, God, it's got to be more than this. I mean this isn't, this can't be, what it's all cracked up to be."
"What's the answer?" asked interviewer Steve Kroft. "I wish I knew," Brady replied. "I wish I knew."
• More Responsibility (Eccl 5:11 “When goods increase, They increase who eat them”)
In other words, the more you have the more mouths to feed and the more bills to pay. The more successful you are the more people are counting on you. Your actions don’t just affect you, they affect other people as well.
• Sleeplessness (Eccl 5:12 “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.”)
This could be speaking of working longer hours or of worry. Both apply here. A desperate drive for material success takes away one of the most valuable commodities that we have – sleep. First, you stay up nights trying to get ahead and worried that you may never make it. Then there is the constant press to maintain what you have. What if the market drops? What if the overtime hours dissapear?
When God is your source, there is nothing to fear.
• Selfishness (Eccl 5:13 “There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.”)
A drive for success becomes necessarily selfish. Selfishness is to my own hurt. Selfishness will isolate me from others until I am all alone. When possessions are more important than people, it is a severe evil. Scripture says that what you have – in gifts, resources and time – are not for you but are given to you by God for those in need. They are to bring us together, not to isolate us. Selfishness is like stealing from God.
• Same troubles (Eccl 5:17 “All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.”)
Great success and riches do not provide immunity from life’s problems that affect all of us. In fact, it probably increases them. You still have pain. You still experience heartache. You still face death. You still face the same problems.
Just this last week were were reminded of this with the death of Anna Nicole Smith. She wanted to be the next Marilyn Monroe and went to great lengths for fame and fortune. She died and tragic and mysterious death. No one is immune.
3. What is the eternal benefit? (Circle the word ‘eternal’)
The final question is in verse 16 of chapter 5, “And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?” The two verb tenses ‘shall he go’ and ‘who has labored’ gives us a different perspective. Now the question is asked from the standpoint of the future (shall he) over completed actions (has labored).
• Look from an eternal perspective.
Every question of success should include the question, “What impact will this have for eternity?”
Ray Romano goes to work on his soul
After nine seasons, the popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond broadcast its final episode in May of 2005. The star of the show, Ray Romano, went from life as a struggling stand-up comedian to one of the highest-paid actors on television.
At the conclusion of the last day’s filming, Romano spoke to the studio audience, reflecting on his past and his future. He read from a note his brothers had stuck in his luggage the day he moved from New York to Hollywood, nine years earlier.
“My older brother Richard wrote, ‘What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul?’” said a tearful Romano. “Now I’m going to work on my soul.”
Ray Romano, "Biography," A&E
• Jesus radically redefined success.
All we have to do is look at Jesus to be challenged in our understanding of success.
The words of Jesus
Jesus describes success and blessing in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12). He said blessed (successful) are those who are poor in spirit, and those who mourn, and the meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those things would need a serious rewrite today to describe our ideas of success.
Jesus said if you want to be great in God’s kingdom, a real success, than you be the servant of all. (Mark 9:35)
Jesus didn’t go along with the idea that riches show God’s favor and poverty is His punishment. He told a story about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The beggar spent eternity in comfort and the rich man was in torment.
Jesus told the rich, young ruler, “One thing you lack. Give everything away.” (Luke 18:18-27). How radical is that?
And it was Jesus who Ray Romano’s brother quoted from Matthew 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
The life of Jesus
One final question: Was Jesus a success? If you would have been standing by the cross that day, would you have said, “Now, there is a success?” In worldly standards, He wasn’t a success at all. In eternity standards, the greatest success ever.
Now, let’s go and be that kind of success.
CONCLUSION
Consider your life. Has the pursuit of success, in any form, distracted you from who and what is really important?
More practically, the question of success is, “What do you go after?” What is your idea of success? How about John Adams?
John Adams
Adams' two terms as Vice President were frustrating experiences for a man of his vigor, intellect, and vanity. He complained to his wife Abigail, "My country has in its wisdom contrived for me the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived or his imagination conceived."
On November 1, 1800, Adams arrived in the new Capital City to take up his residence in the White House. On his second evening in its damp, unfinished rooms, he wrote his wife, "Before I end my letter, I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof." Isn’t that a great prayer?
Statistics on American views of success
A 2006 study conducted by Success magazine uncovered some surprising insights into the way Americans view success. For example, in response to the phrase, "Success in business means…," 60 percent of the respondents selected "Adding value to the lives of others." Only 18.8 percent said success meant "Making a lot of money."
The following are results for the question, "What is the single most important element for success?"
• Faith (41%)
• Family (25%)
• Balanced life (12%)
• Happiness (7%)
In addition, respondents were asked to identify "The most important factors for success":
• Good relationship with family (90%)
• Good relationship with spouse (89%)
• Good relationship with God (86%)
• Freedom to do what you want (62%)
• Financial security (57%)
• Good career (47%)
• Leaving a legacy (43%)
• Money/wealth (32%)
"The New American Dream," Success (Summer 2006), p. 88
How do you define success? What are you looking for?
Let’s take this discussion back to Ecclesiastes for consideration by Solomon, traditionally held to be the writer of Ecclesiastes and certainly one of the most successful people, by most standards, ever to have lived. If anybody can give us an accurate assessment of success, he can. Can success, and the determined pursuit of success, give meaning and purpose to life?
Ecclesiastes 4:4-8 (NKJV)
4 Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind. 5 The fool folds his hands and consumes his own flesh. 6 Better a handful with quietness than both hands full, together with toil and grasping for the wind. 7 Then I returned, and I saw vanity under the sun: 8 There is one alone, without companion: He has neither son nor brother. Yet there is no end to all his labors, Nor is his eye satisfied with riches. But he never asks, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” This also is vanity and a grave misfortune.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-20 (NKJV)
10 He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, They increase who eat them; So what profit have the owners Except to see them with their eyes? 12 The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. 13 There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. 14 But those riches perish through misfortune; When he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother’s womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? 17 All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. 18 Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. 19 As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. 20 For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.
There are three questions that Solomon asks while observing the value of success. One is in 4:8, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?” In 5:11 the question is asked, “So what profit have the owners?” And in 5:16 a similar question, “What profit has he who has labored for the wind?”
The first and most important application I would like to make today is:
Question Success
You have probably seen the bumper sticker: Question Authority. I’m not a big fan of that bumper sticker or of that philosophy in general, but it is a popular idea. Question authority. Don’t just go along and do what your told without speaking up and saying, “Why? What am I doing this for?” Otherwise you may be forced into doing something that really isn’t in your best interest.
My idea is a different bumper sticker: Question Success. For many people success – the promise and pursuit of success – is really their greatest authority. Many of us follow the path of success without question as to where it may lead us. All I know is I’ve got to have more. I’ve got to beat that guy out. I’ve got to climb the corporate ladder of success.
Solomon teaches us to question success, don’t just following blindly along. Where is your pursuit of success leading you? What is the impact on those around you? To use and old saying, “Is the juice really worth the squeeze?”
THREE QUESTIONS ABOUT SUCCESS
Let’s look at these three questions as we, like Solomon, question the pursuit of success.
1. Who benefits from my success? (Circle the word ‘Who’)
Chapter 4 verse 8 says, “For whom do I toil and deprive myself of good?”
This is an important question. Who am I benefiting? Is it really the person or people that I want to be benefiting?
This is the crux of the classic tragedy regarding people who pour themselves into their work to get ahead and be a success. Most would probably say to the one who is feeling neglected, “But I’m doing it for you” or “It’s all for you and the kids.” Is that really true? Then give them what they really want – you.
• Who really matters in your life?
What you pursue to be successful at communicates what really matters to you. And who you spend your efforts on communicates who really matters. What are you communicating?
If you spent the same time and resources on your marriage as you do on your work, how great would your marriage be?
2. What is the immediate benefit? (Circle the word ‘immediate’)
Ecclesiases 5:11, “So what profit have the owners?” (‘Have’ is in the present tense)
Many, many people give their entire life to pursuing great success through fame, fortune or fantastic accomplishment. Success in the here and now is what they’re after. According to Solomon’s observations, what do they get for their troubles?
The ‘benefits’ of success:
• Envy (Eccl 4:4 “Again, I saw that for all toil and every skillful work a man is envied by his neighbor. This also is vanity and grasping for the wind.”)
Drive for success creates competition. In most of our minds, being successful means being the best, or at least among the best. I have to be the prettiest, or get the best grades, or receive promotions the fastest, etc. When someone else is more successful, it just means I have to work that much harder. When someone else receives recognition for their success it can create envy in me. When I receive recognition above another then it can create envy in them.
With a craving for success comes envy. If it weren’t for the competition to succeed, there would be no envy.
For some people, undoubtedly, the very definition of success is the envy of your neighbors.
• Dissatisfaction (Eccl 5:10 “He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver; Nor he who loves abundance, with increase. This also is vanity.”)
It’s a trick! You may think that success will satisfy, but it doesn’t. It keeps you wanting more.
Quarterback Tom Brady seeks more
Tom Brady, the quarterback of the New England Patriots, is not only one of the NFL's best players, he is also one of the NFL's best stories.
At the tender age of 28, he has already won three Super Bowls, an accomplishment that ranks him with some of the best quarterbacks ever to play the game. Brady's loss to the Denver Broncos in the 2005 playoffs was his first in the playoffs, compared with 10 playoff wins in the last four years.
But with all of Brady's fame and career accomplishments, he told 60 Minutes: "Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there's something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, 'Hey man, this is what is. I reached my goal, my dream, my life.' Me, I think, God, it's got to be more than this. I mean this isn't, this can't be, what it's all cracked up to be."
"What's the answer?" asked interviewer Steve Kroft. "I wish I knew," Brady replied. "I wish I knew."
• More Responsibility (Eccl 5:11 “When goods increase, They increase who eat them”)
In other words, the more you have the more mouths to feed and the more bills to pay. The more successful you are the more people are counting on you. Your actions don’t just affect you, they affect other people as well.
• Sleeplessness (Eccl 5:12 “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep.”)
This could be speaking of working longer hours or of worry. Both apply here. A desperate drive for material success takes away one of the most valuable commodities that we have – sleep. First, you stay up nights trying to get ahead and worried that you may never make it. Then there is the constant press to maintain what you have. What if the market drops? What if the overtime hours dissapear?
When God is your source, there is nothing to fear.
• Selfishness (Eccl 5:13 “There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt.”)
A drive for success becomes necessarily selfish. Selfishness is to my own hurt. Selfishness will isolate me from others until I am all alone. When possessions are more important than people, it is a severe evil. Scripture says that what you have – in gifts, resources and time – are not for you but are given to you by God for those in need. They are to bring us together, not to isolate us. Selfishness is like stealing from God.
• Same troubles (Eccl 5:17 “All his days he also eats in darkness, And he has much sorrow and sickness and anger.”)
Great success and riches do not provide immunity from life’s problems that affect all of us. In fact, it probably increases them. You still have pain. You still experience heartache. You still face death. You still face the same problems.
Just this last week were were reminded of this with the death of Anna Nicole Smith. She wanted to be the next Marilyn Monroe and went to great lengths for fame and fortune. She died and tragic and mysterious death. No one is immune.
3. What is the eternal benefit? (Circle the word ‘eternal’)
The final question is in verse 16 of chapter 5, “And this also is a severe evil— Just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind?” The two verb tenses ‘shall he go’ and ‘who has labored’ gives us a different perspective. Now the question is asked from the standpoint of the future (shall he) over completed actions (has labored).
• Look from an eternal perspective.
Every question of success should include the question, “What impact will this have for eternity?”
Ray Romano goes to work on his soul
After nine seasons, the popular sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond broadcast its final episode in May of 2005. The star of the show, Ray Romano, went from life as a struggling stand-up comedian to one of the highest-paid actors on television.
At the conclusion of the last day’s filming, Romano spoke to the studio audience, reflecting on his past and his future. He read from a note his brothers had stuck in his luggage the day he moved from New York to Hollywood, nine years earlier.
“My older brother Richard wrote, ‘What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul?’” said a tearful Romano. “Now I’m going to work on my soul.”
Ray Romano, "Biography," A&E
• Jesus radically redefined success.
All we have to do is look at Jesus to be challenged in our understanding of success.
The words of Jesus
Jesus describes success and blessing in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12). He said blessed (successful) are those who are poor in spirit, and those who mourn, and the meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those things would need a serious rewrite today to describe our ideas of success.
Jesus said if you want to be great in God’s kingdom, a real success, than you be the servant of all. (Mark 9:35)
Jesus didn’t go along with the idea that riches show God’s favor and poverty is His punishment. He told a story about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The beggar spent eternity in comfort and the rich man was in torment.
Jesus told the rich, young ruler, “One thing you lack. Give everything away.” (Luke 18:18-27). How radical is that?
And it was Jesus who Ray Romano’s brother quoted from Matthew 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
The life of Jesus
One final question: Was Jesus a success? If you would have been standing by the cross that day, would you have said, “Now, there is a success?” In worldly standards, He wasn’t a success at all. In eternity standards, the greatest success ever.
Now, let’s go and be that kind of success.
CONCLUSION
Consider your life. Has the pursuit of success, in any form, distracted you from who and what is really important?
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Life. right & wrong
Stupid criminals
Today we are talking about right and wrong. Before we begin, here are some of my favorite stories about some wrongdoers who can’t do anything right:
Louisiana: A man walked into a Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled-- leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer? Fifteen dollars.
San Francisco: It seems a man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the branch and wrote, "This iz a stikkup. Put all your muny in this bag." While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to Wells Fargo. After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and, surmising from his spelling errors that he was not the brightest light in the harbour, told him that she could not accept his stick up note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America. Looking somewhat defeated, the man said "OK" and left. The Wells Fargo teller then called the police who seized the man as he waited a the back of the line at Bank of America.
Oklahoma City: Dennis Newton was on trial for the armed robbery of a convenience store in a district court this week when he fired his lawyer. Assistant district attorney Larry Jones said Newton, 47, was doing a fair job of defending himself until the store manager testified that Newton was the robber. Newton jumped up, accused the woman of lying and then said, "I should of blown your [expletive] head off." The defendant paused, then quickly added, "-if I'd been the one that was there." The jury took 20 minutes to convict Newton and recommended a 30 year sentence.
Michigan: A pair of robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers. The first one shouted, "Nobody move!" When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.
My dad is retired from law enforcement. He always said that he had good job security because there will always be criminals. Maybe not smart criminals…
THE ETHICS DILEMMA
Good and bad. Right and wrong. Moral and immoral. Ethical and unethical. What do these terms mean? Are they just subjective and abstract ideas or something more than that? Let’s look to the book of Ecclesiastes on this topic.
Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 (NKJV) 16 Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there. 17 I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
Remember, the phrase “under the sun” means “in this life, if there were no eternity.” It applies to this entire passage. As it turns out, eternity has a huge impact on issues of right and wrong.
The first observation is:
Things are not how they ought to be.
Now, this is interesting, because the writer talks about wickedness in the place of good judgment and iniquity (sin) where there should be righteousness. (This was three thousand years ago. Do you see any correlations to today?)
How can we say how things ought to be? Where does that ‘ought’ come from? If there is no God and no eternity, then there is no such thing as ought or sin or righteousness. If we are the result of random cosmic actions resulting in our accidental existence, then there is no bigger plan and no ‘ought’. Things just are.
Let’s read on:
Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 (NKJV) 18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” 19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. 21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? 22 So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
Knowing right from wrong separates us from animals.
If there is no ‘ought’ then there just is ‘is’. If I want something I should just take it from you, like an animal would. If you are just an accident of nature and there is no eternity just this life to live, then might makes right.
If we follow this philosophy, we come to one unavoidable end:
Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 (NKJV) 1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter— On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter. 2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive. 3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
Without God there is only despair.
If we follow this road all the way to the end it goes to a place called ‘Nihilism’, literally the belief in nothing (From Latin ‘nihil’: “nothing). If there really is no God, no plan, no purpose, no eternity, no reason for ethical behavior, we can really believe and trust in nothing at all.
The meaningless life of an athiest
As an athiest writer, Greta Christina realizes she has a problem with facing death and disbelieving in an afterlife. Writing in a magazine popular with skeptics called the Skeptical Inquirer, she admits:
Death can be an appalling thing to think about. Not just frightening, not just painful. It can be paralyzing. The fact that your life span is an infinitesimally tiny fragment in the life of the universe, that there is, at the very least, a strong possibility that when you die, you disappear completely and forever, and that in 500 years nobody will remember you and in five billion years Earth will fall into the Sun—this can be a profound and defining truth about your existence that you reflexively repulse, that you flinch away from and refuse to accept or even think about, consistently pushing it to the back of your mind whenever it sneaks up for fear that if you allow it to sit in your mind even for a minute, it will swallow everything else. It can make everything you do, and anything anyone else does, seem meaningless, trivial to the point of absurdity. It can make you feel erased, wipe out joy, make your life seem like ashes in your hands.
She does find some hope, however. "What matters is that we get to be alive. We get to be conscious. We get to be connected with each other and with the world, and we get to be aware of that connection and to spend a few years mucking around in its possibilities. We get to have a slice of time and space that's ours." [Greta Christina, "Comforting Thoughts about Death That Have Nothing To Do With God", Skeptical Inquirer (March/April 2005), pp 50-51]
Is that it? Is that enough? Is that really all there is? Are you satisfied with that?
THE ETHICS SOLUTION
Things are not as they ought to be. Knowing right from wrong makes me different from the animals. Without God and His instructions for right and wrong there is only despair. Ethical questions can be so difficult sometimes. How do we break free from this ethical dilemma that we find ourselves in?
There is a simple answer to this dilemma of ethics. You’ll be amazed at how simple it is. I didn’t think of it myself. Jesus did, and it is recorded in the book of Matthew.
Be perfect.
Matthew 5:48 (NKJV) 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Isn’t that simple? We just need to be perfect. Why didn’t I think of that?
PERFECT ETHICS
What did Jesus mean by “be perfect”? Does it mean be better than anyone else? Does it mean don’t make a single mistake? What does it mean?
The word ‘perfect’ here is the word ‘telos’ which means complete, finished or perfect. It gives the idea of being self-contained – not lacking anything. When you talk about the perfect tense in grammar, it is something that has already been completed.
Read Matthew 5:38-48 and you get a clear sense of what Jesus is saying. Here is the idea: When you do what’s right, let that be the end of things. Do right just because you know its right, no other reason. The doing of what’s right is an end in itself. What we often talk about as ethics and morality really isn’t because it has an unfinished element – what’s in it for me? If I am nice to those who are nice to me, it is imperfect because something from outside is needed: someone else being nice to me. If I am nice no matter what because it’s right, no matter how nasty the person is to me, that’s perfect.
When I do what’s right for no earthly reason, with heaven in mind, that is perfect.
1. Take your eyes off conditions. (“I’ll do it if the conditions are just right.”)
Reject ‘conditional ethics’.
If something is right do it no matter what, not just when the conditions are right. Sometimes people say to me, “I would come to church, but it’s really hard with my schedule” or “I would tithe but my financial situation is kind of tight.”
Like mom used to say, “No if’s, and’s or but’s.”
Returned money
Did you read the story in the paper last week about the employee at the Grocery Outlet in The Dalles who noticed an elderly couple left their wallet behind? She looked inside the wallet. There was no ID, but inside was $10,000 in cash. She could have easily said, “Wallet? What wallet?” I’m sure she could have used the money. But she didn’t keep it. She turned it into her manager. By checking the store video cameras and going back to the bank, they were able to identify the couple and give them their money back.
The employee said she never felt the least temptation to keep the money because giving it back was the right thing to do. It was that simple.
2. Take your eyes off potential outcomes. (“What will benefit me the most?”)
Reject ‘beneficial ethics’.
Joseph and Potiphar’s wife
Remember the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39? She continued to ask him to sleep with her but he wouldn’t do it. He said, “How could I do such a thing and sin against God?” Finally she got him in her hands and he had to struggle out of his coat to get away. She said he tried to rape her, and Joseph was thrown in jail.
I was reading about that in my Life Journal recently and I had this thought: “I wonder… if Joseph would have known at the time that by not sleeping with her he would be accused of sleeping with her and be thrown in jail, would he have still made the same choice?” I know that the answer is yes! Because character doesn’t negotiate. He did what was right no matter what the outcome would be. That’s perfect.
Confusion over outcomes
So many times we bring additional difficulty in decision making by trying to predict the future. I talk to many people who say, “If I do this, then this will happen… If I do that, than that will happen. So, what should I do?” Just do what is right. You’re not as good a fortune teller as you think you are.
The right parenting decision
I’m so proud of my daughter and son-in-law. As many of you know, they are going to be making us grandparents soon. My daughter told me that during an appointment, they were asked if they wanted to come in for some tests that can give an indication whether the child may be born with birth defects or not. They asked, “Could the problems be treated then?” “No,” was the answer. “Then why have the tests? What would our options be?” They were told, “Terminating the pregnancy.” “Then we don’t need the tests,” they said, “because that’s not going to happen.” Simple.
3. Take your eyes off the other person.
Reject ‘selective ethics’.
If you are good to certain people only, then don’t think of yourself as an ethical person. That isn’t ethics. That is politics.
Marriage and divorce
Let’s apply this to marriage.
A woman came in to see me about her marriage. She really wanted to be a godly wife and have a happy marriage, it was evident. The problem was that she didn’t respect her husband anymore. Some things had happened that had really changed how she respected him. She wanted some biblical input.
I told her that the Bible doesn’t say that respect is conditional. We seem to think it is, but it isn’t. The Bible says to respect your husband, not to respect him if he is deserving of respect. Respect him because it is the right thing to do, period.
That simple truth seemed to lift a great weight from her. It simplified everything.
I hear this all the time: “I don’t believe in divorce, but…” then they tell me all of the terrible things about their marriage. ‘Being perfect’ means that all that other stuff is absolutely irrelevant. What’s right, staying married or getting divorced? Staying married. It makes is very simple, doesn’t it?
Once that is answered then the real question can be asked, “What can I do to make this the most amazing marriage possible?” That’s the right question.
Conclusion
For many people, ethics is like a game of billards. You have to play the angles. Every decision has to be calculated. “What will happen if I play this bank shot?” “If I do this for him, what will he do for me?” “If I serve in this way, what will I get out of it?”
Stop playing the angles and shoot straight.
Take your eyes off of conditions, and outcomes and other people. Where should we put our eyes?
Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him [eternity] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
He came into our lowly condition and gave himself to the worst possible outcome to die for people who didn’t deserve it. Jesus did everything perfectly.
Today we are talking about right and wrong. Before we begin, here are some of my favorite stories about some wrongdoers who can’t do anything right:
Louisiana: A man walked into a Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled-- leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he got from the drawer? Fifteen dollars.
San Francisco: It seems a man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the branch and wrote, "This iz a stikkup. Put all your muny in this bag." While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to Wells Fargo. After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and, surmising from his spelling errors that he was not the brightest light in the harbour, told him that she could not accept his stick up note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Fargo deposit slip or go back to Bank of America. Looking somewhat defeated, the man said "OK" and left. The Wells Fargo teller then called the police who seized the man as he waited a the back of the line at Bank of America.
Oklahoma City: Dennis Newton was on trial for the armed robbery of a convenience store in a district court this week when he fired his lawyer. Assistant district attorney Larry Jones said Newton, 47, was doing a fair job of defending himself until the store manager testified that Newton was the robber. Newton jumped up, accused the woman of lying and then said, "I should of blown your [expletive] head off." The defendant paused, then quickly added, "-if I'd been the one that was there." The jury took 20 minutes to convict Newton and recommended a 30 year sentence.
Michigan: A pair of robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers. The first one shouted, "Nobody move!" When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.
My dad is retired from law enforcement. He always said that he had good job security because there will always be criminals. Maybe not smart criminals…
THE ETHICS DILEMMA
Good and bad. Right and wrong. Moral and immoral. Ethical and unethical. What do these terms mean? Are they just subjective and abstract ideas or something more than that? Let’s look to the book of Ecclesiastes on this topic.
Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 (NKJV) 16 Moreover I saw under the sun: In the place of judgment, Wickedness was there; And in the place of righteousness, Iniquity was there. 17 I said in my heart, “God shall judge the righteous and the wicked, For there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
Remember, the phrase “under the sun” means “in this life, if there were no eternity.” It applies to this entire passage. As it turns out, eternity has a huge impact on issues of right and wrong.
The first observation is:
Things are not how they ought to be.
Now, this is interesting, because the writer talks about wickedness in the place of good judgment and iniquity (sin) where there should be righteousness. (This was three thousand years ago. Do you see any correlations to today?)
How can we say how things ought to be? Where does that ‘ought’ come from? If there is no God and no eternity, then there is no such thing as ought or sin or righteousness. If we are the result of random cosmic actions resulting in our accidental existence, then there is no bigger plan and no ‘ought’. Things just are.
Let’s read on:
Ecclesiastes 3:18-22 (NKJV) 18 I said in my heart, “Concerning the condition of the sons of men, God tests them, that they may see that they themselves are like animals.” 19 For what happens to the sons of men also happens to animals; one thing befalls them: as one dies, so dies the other. Surely, they all have one breath; man has no advantage over animals, for all is vanity. 20 All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. 21 Who knows the spirit of the sons of men, which goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, which goes down to the earth? 22 So I perceived that nothing is better than that a man should rejoice in his own works, for that is his heritage. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?
Knowing right from wrong separates us from animals.
If there is no ‘ought’ then there just is ‘is’. If I want something I should just take it from you, like an animal would. If you are just an accident of nature and there is no eternity just this life to live, then might makes right.
If we follow this philosophy, we come to one unavoidable end:
Ecclesiastes 4:1-3 (NKJV) 1 Then I returned and considered all the oppression that is done under the sun: And look! The tears of the oppressed, But they have no comforter— On the side of their oppressors there is power, But they have no comforter. 2 Therefore I praised the dead who were already dead, More than the living who are still alive. 3 Yet, better than both is he who has never existed, Who has not seen the evil work that is done under the sun.
Without God there is only despair.
If we follow this road all the way to the end it goes to a place called ‘Nihilism’, literally the belief in nothing (From Latin ‘nihil’: “nothing). If there really is no God, no plan, no purpose, no eternity, no reason for ethical behavior, we can really believe and trust in nothing at all.
The meaningless life of an athiest
As an athiest writer, Greta Christina realizes she has a problem with facing death and disbelieving in an afterlife. Writing in a magazine popular with skeptics called the Skeptical Inquirer, she admits:
Death can be an appalling thing to think about. Not just frightening, not just painful. It can be paralyzing. The fact that your life span is an infinitesimally tiny fragment in the life of the universe, that there is, at the very least, a strong possibility that when you die, you disappear completely and forever, and that in 500 years nobody will remember you and in five billion years Earth will fall into the Sun—this can be a profound and defining truth about your existence that you reflexively repulse, that you flinch away from and refuse to accept or even think about, consistently pushing it to the back of your mind whenever it sneaks up for fear that if you allow it to sit in your mind even for a minute, it will swallow everything else. It can make everything you do, and anything anyone else does, seem meaningless, trivial to the point of absurdity. It can make you feel erased, wipe out joy, make your life seem like ashes in your hands.
She does find some hope, however. "What matters is that we get to be alive. We get to be conscious. We get to be connected with each other and with the world, and we get to be aware of that connection and to spend a few years mucking around in its possibilities. We get to have a slice of time and space that's ours." [Greta Christina, "Comforting Thoughts about Death That Have Nothing To Do With God", Skeptical Inquirer (March/April 2005), pp 50-51]
Is that it? Is that enough? Is that really all there is? Are you satisfied with that?
THE ETHICS SOLUTION
Things are not as they ought to be. Knowing right from wrong makes me different from the animals. Without God and His instructions for right and wrong there is only despair. Ethical questions can be so difficult sometimes. How do we break free from this ethical dilemma that we find ourselves in?
There is a simple answer to this dilemma of ethics. You’ll be amazed at how simple it is. I didn’t think of it myself. Jesus did, and it is recorded in the book of Matthew.
Be perfect.
Matthew 5:48 (NKJV) 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.
Isn’t that simple? We just need to be perfect. Why didn’t I think of that?
PERFECT ETHICS
What did Jesus mean by “be perfect”? Does it mean be better than anyone else? Does it mean don’t make a single mistake? What does it mean?
The word ‘perfect’ here is the word ‘telos’ which means complete, finished or perfect. It gives the idea of being self-contained – not lacking anything. When you talk about the perfect tense in grammar, it is something that has already been completed.
Read Matthew 5:38-48 and you get a clear sense of what Jesus is saying. Here is the idea: When you do what’s right, let that be the end of things. Do right just because you know its right, no other reason. The doing of what’s right is an end in itself. What we often talk about as ethics and morality really isn’t because it has an unfinished element – what’s in it for me? If I am nice to those who are nice to me, it is imperfect because something from outside is needed: someone else being nice to me. If I am nice no matter what because it’s right, no matter how nasty the person is to me, that’s perfect.
When I do what’s right for no earthly reason, with heaven in mind, that is perfect.
1. Take your eyes off conditions. (“I’ll do it if the conditions are just right.”)
Reject ‘conditional ethics’.
If something is right do it no matter what, not just when the conditions are right. Sometimes people say to me, “I would come to church, but it’s really hard with my schedule” or “I would tithe but my financial situation is kind of tight.”
Like mom used to say, “No if’s, and’s or but’s.”
Returned money
Did you read the story in the paper last week about the employee at the Grocery Outlet in The Dalles who noticed an elderly couple left their wallet behind? She looked inside the wallet. There was no ID, but inside was $10,000 in cash. She could have easily said, “Wallet? What wallet?” I’m sure she could have used the money. But she didn’t keep it. She turned it into her manager. By checking the store video cameras and going back to the bank, they were able to identify the couple and give them their money back.
The employee said she never felt the least temptation to keep the money because giving it back was the right thing to do. It was that simple.
2. Take your eyes off potential outcomes. (“What will benefit me the most?”)
Reject ‘beneficial ethics’.
Joseph and Potiphar’s wife
Remember the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife in Genesis 39? She continued to ask him to sleep with her but he wouldn’t do it. He said, “How could I do such a thing and sin against God?” Finally she got him in her hands and he had to struggle out of his coat to get away. She said he tried to rape her, and Joseph was thrown in jail.
I was reading about that in my Life Journal recently and I had this thought: “I wonder… if Joseph would have known at the time that by not sleeping with her he would be accused of sleeping with her and be thrown in jail, would he have still made the same choice?” I know that the answer is yes! Because character doesn’t negotiate. He did what was right no matter what the outcome would be. That’s perfect.
Confusion over outcomes
So many times we bring additional difficulty in decision making by trying to predict the future. I talk to many people who say, “If I do this, then this will happen… If I do that, than that will happen. So, what should I do?” Just do what is right. You’re not as good a fortune teller as you think you are.
The right parenting decision
I’m so proud of my daughter and son-in-law. As many of you know, they are going to be making us grandparents soon. My daughter told me that during an appointment, they were asked if they wanted to come in for some tests that can give an indication whether the child may be born with birth defects or not. They asked, “Could the problems be treated then?” “No,” was the answer. “Then why have the tests? What would our options be?” They were told, “Terminating the pregnancy.” “Then we don’t need the tests,” they said, “because that’s not going to happen.” Simple.
3. Take your eyes off the other person.
Reject ‘selective ethics’.
If you are good to certain people only, then don’t think of yourself as an ethical person. That isn’t ethics. That is politics.
Marriage and divorce
Let’s apply this to marriage.
A woman came in to see me about her marriage. She really wanted to be a godly wife and have a happy marriage, it was evident. The problem was that she didn’t respect her husband anymore. Some things had happened that had really changed how she respected him. She wanted some biblical input.
I told her that the Bible doesn’t say that respect is conditional. We seem to think it is, but it isn’t. The Bible says to respect your husband, not to respect him if he is deserving of respect. Respect him because it is the right thing to do, period.
That simple truth seemed to lift a great weight from her. It simplified everything.
I hear this all the time: “I don’t believe in divorce, but…” then they tell me all of the terrible things about their marriage. ‘Being perfect’ means that all that other stuff is absolutely irrelevant. What’s right, staying married or getting divorced? Staying married. It makes is very simple, doesn’t it?
Once that is answered then the real question can be asked, “What can I do to make this the most amazing marriage possible?” That’s the right question.
Conclusion
For many people, ethics is like a game of billards. You have to play the angles. Every decision has to be calculated. “What will happen if I play this bank shot?” “If I do this for him, what will he do for me?” “If I serve in this way, what will I get out of it?”
Stop playing the angles and shoot straight.
Take your eyes off of conditions, and outcomes and other people. Where should we put our eyes?
Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV) 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him [eternity] endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
He came into our lowly condition and gave himself to the worst possible outcome to die for people who didn’t deserve it. Jesus did everything perfectly.
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