The Bible speaks of beauty. It often says that a woman was beautiful in form and appearance. It says of men that they are handsome and admirable in strength and stature. The Bible speaks of physical beauty as something that God has made. Because God is perfect and pure in his beauty, all that He has made reflects His beauty. Man is drawn, notices and is captured by beauty. Our eyes see and become fixed on something beautiful. Our hearts think and daydream and dream about beautiful things. We watch the sunrise and sunset because they’re beautiful. Some enjoy the beauty of nature. Others the beauty of the heavens, the sky. Others see animals as beautiful. All of us recognize beautiful people. The things we make have a beauty, an admirable quality about them that we desire. God is beauty and His beauty is seen all around and because we are created in His image, we love beauty. It takes our breath away.
A Newsweek article states that women start to spend a significant amount of money on their hair, face and body, as early as their ‘tween’ years, the few years before they become a teenager. The report suggests that tweens spend an average of $7,170 throughout this phase, just to look and feel better about themselves. Over the course of a lifetime, the average woman spends nearly half a million dollars on beauty and hair treatments alone, say the editors at Newsweek. Additionally, Americans (men and women) spend around $7 billion on cosmetics a year, not including cosmetic surgery, diets and weight loss programs. We love our beauty. It takes their breath away.
I am convinced that we’ll never rid ourselves of the nagging thought, “How do I look?”. If I think I look good, I feel good about myself. If I know others think I look good, I feel even better about myself. We pursue beauty in order to be accepted. It’s possible to place so much emphasis on feeling good about myself that “how do I look” consumes my life. Clothing has a major part to play in this.
How we dress and undress our bodies speaks to how we view our image and the purpose of our beauty.
THE ORGIN AND PURPOSE OF CLOTHING AND BEAUTY
The concern over our image is a result of the fall of sin. Adam and Eve were not ashamed of their bodies and they did not need clothes, until after they sinned. Sin ushered in a need for clothing because of the shame over being naked. The origin of clothing should tell you everything about the purpose of clothing. Covering.
Genesis 3:21 states that God made clothing. Clothing is God’s idea. Every person since Adam and Eve wears God’s idea. Being clothed is God’s intent to cover our bodies; to cover our shame; to keep and guard and cherish our bodies. Clothing is not intended to consume us, but to remind us.
While clothing was a consequence of sin, it was also a demonstration of the grace and mercy of God in covering shame due to sin. The body reflects God, but clothing speaks to God’s care for the body and his promise of grace for our sin. Shame in being naked before others is, I believe, the physical counterpart to the spiritual reality of shame in being exposed in our sin before a holy God. Clothing is the physical counterpart to the grace given us in Christ. Many people, though, do not hesitate to undress their bodies. This is because they have no shame or fear over their sin before a holy God. A Christian engaged in sensuality does so because they have ceased feeling conviction over their sin. What once brought them shame to do now they do without delay or regret.
THE TWISTING AND RUINING OF THE PURPOSE OF CLOTHING AND BEAUTY
Proverbs 11:22 says, “Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.” In other words, if a woman dresses seductively, her beauty is as a gold ring in a pig's snout. What is seductively? To sexually stimulate another. This would be a waste of her beauty. But this is not a waste by the cultural standards of our day. Rather it is the height of achievement: how many men can you get to notice you and lust after you. The purpose of image and beauty has been twisted and ruined. Why do stores use half-naked people to sell clothes?! To make us feel as attractive and desirable as the people in the picture. Whereas God designed clothing to cover us, now we design clothing to be taken off.
In Peter’s day, the external use of adornment and cosmetics could be seen as an attempt to seduce. So, if a married woman left her home adorned and alone there was great suspicion. But writing to Christian wives whose husbands were not Christians but allowed them to go to Church, Peter asks them to consider their external appearance. (1 Peter 3:3-4) If she was to leave home without her husband to go to church, that would be questionable. But if she left the home without her husband, but also without adornment or cosmetic, her intent to go to church to worship God would be all the more clear. So, while today you don’t have to leave your home un-adorned, please understand that by the way that you look your intent is either confirmed or denied. Quite simply, your intent to follow Jesus is upheld or torn down by how you present yourself.
Tim Keller says that men perceive beauty as something to be prized. Women desire to be prized. Men feel powerful if they have many beautiful possessions. Women feel secure if they are treated as beautiful. The combination of these two factors makes for a dangerous scenario because men use power to acquire and women use beauty to be acquired - men take by force, while women want to be “purchased” or carefully chosen.
The twisting of a man’s natural desire and of the woman’s natural need results in men stealing and rejecting and in women seducing and disrespecting. The more a person calls attention to their body, the more they are going against God’s intent. To take off your clothes (or to wear hardly none at all) is to go against God by taking off what He has put on. To call attention to yourself beyond how God has made you is to go against God’s design.
THE RESTORING OF THE PURPOSE OF CLOTHING AND BEAUTY
The body is an image. The body is a temple. It is an image in the sense that it reflects something or someone it is in the likeness of. For the Christian this is Christ. It is a temple in the sense that it is the dwelling place of the presence of God. This is the Holy Spirit. This doesn’t mean that Christians should be the worse dressed and ugliest people on the planet! Not at all. But it does mean that we are not consumed with our image and by the things that will make us look and feel better. We will not draw attention to ourselves out of sinful motivations, namely pride and sensuality.
1 Thessalonians 4:4 says that we should control our body in holiness. This means controlling and using it in a way that is set apart for God and for His glory. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says that our whole body, along with our spirit and soul, should be kept blameless. This means that we should take care and preserve our bodies in the knowledge of and recognition that Jesus is coming back.
Inward beauty determines outward beauty. An inner submission to God will result in an exterior obedience to Him. If you are submitted to God, in your heart, then your external beauty will reflect that. Why you dress will be pleasing to Him above being pleasing to any man or woman. When a person turns to Christ they begin to have a sense of His love for them and in turn they begin to do all things out of love for Him. While before they used their image to gain acceptance, now they use their image as a reflection of God. How you dress is a reflection of your heart’s desires. If you dress fashionably seductive, your heart is pursuing attention and affection. If you dress fashionably modest, your heart is content with or without attention and affection. We must empty ourselves of the desire to be beautiful for the purpose of being noticed and praised and having the power over someone. We must fill ourselves with the desire to be beautiful for the purpose of reflecting God, the true object of the desire of our heart. Internal beauty makes external beauty possible, not the other way around.
We would do well to remember Paul’s words in Romans 12:1-2. We are called to present our bodies as worship to God. We are called to not be conformed to the worldly way of thinking about our bodies, but to be transformed to the godly way of thinking. The mind, how we think, is critical. Our mind must be consumed with God, then we will be able to think and discern what is the will of God and how we should act, reflecting Him in a good, acceptable and perfect way.
“The Beauty Breakdown: What a Lifetime of Cosmetic Maintenance Will Cost a Modern Diva.” Newsweek 2010. Web. 20 April 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Friday, September 24, 2010
Reality vs. fiction - SENSUALITY
THE REALITY IS that sex is everywhere promoted and flaunted and paraded in our homes and streets. But sex is not the problem. Sensuality is. Sex is being exalted by sensuality. Corrupted and offered without restraint, sex is nothing more than something you do - like getting ice cream or a value meal, i.e. there’s a ton of options and they’re all cheap. Yet, sex is created by God. Sex is good. Sex is holy, an act set apart by God for a specific time and purpose. But like all that God has created, sin has distorted the act and purpose of sex. God is clear that when a man and woman are married, sex is not only then permitted, but is to be enjoyed fully. The banks of a river are not just to hold back destruction, like a flood, but to also ensure that the river be a constant source of life and growth. God’s boundaries for sex are both to prevent and to enable, to protect and to nourish. But sensuality promotes sex without boundaries. It’s false advertising of the worse kind. Sensuality erodes away the beauty of sex. It gnaws away at a right understanding of sex. What is left is sex disfigured, twisted and far from God’s design for it. As Christians we rejoice in all that God has made, remembering that when God creates something He also designs how it will live and flourish. In other words, we cannot take away or add to God’s design for sex, otherwise it dies. Today, the danger is that the church, the Christian, can begin to entertain sensuality and as a result give in to it and be shaped by it in understanding and practice.
In Numbers 25:1-3 we see that Israel was enticed by the women of Moab and eventually began to fornicate with them. This also amounted to spiritual adultery since Israel began to worship another god named Baal. But this process of being seduced by sensuality occurred in three phases.
1. Israel entertained an invitation by Moab to the sacrifices of their gods.
2. Israel sat down to eat with them
3. Israel bowed down to their gods
First, Israel began to share in the desires of Moab. (Numbers 25:2) They began to exchange their desires for others. Sin is deceptive, always attempting to get you to think that the pursuit of holiness and righteousness is empty and pointless. For example, there are always new fads, the new thing, that everyone wants to collect. Someone wants this thing in the worst way, diligently saving their money in order to purchase it. But if this desire is a craving or a lust as soon as that thing is held in your hand satisfaction slips from your grasp. All your left with is this thing. You actually dislike it now! You want the next best thing or you want to trade what you have for something that you think is better.
This is also seen in the story of Amnon and Tamar. Amnon is David’s son and loves his sister Tamar. But he doesn’t love her in the sense that he wants what is best for her. He loves her in the sense that he desires her sexually. Amnon ends up being consumed by his lust and after deceiving Tamar he rapes her. Listen to what the Bible says happened next: “Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.” (2 Samuel 13:15) The object Amnon loved and desired he now hated and could not look at. This is sensuality. It was in the same way that Israel began to love (or desire) the Moabite women. What they were being offered was attractive and was beginning to both satisfy their sinful desires and grow those desires beyond being satisfied.
Second, Israel begin to succumb to the desires of Moab. (Numbers 25:2) The moment sensuality can get you to accept it’s invitation to consider sex outside of the God-given context, that thought has been planted into your mind. It begins to grow toward bearing fruit. Sensuality begins in the dark when one entertains cravings and lusts, fantasies and thoughts. If such feelings and thoughts are welcomed in they begin to spread across the heart and mind. This is similar in my mind to mold. I’m allergic to it. I can tell by my breathing that I am near mold. Most of the time, though, I can’t see it. It’s hidden somewhere dark and damp. Those who begin to succumb and surrender to sensual thoughts begin to show it in their treatment of others, primarily the opposite sex. Their spiritual life suffers as it is choked by sin. Yet, they refuse to bring their sin out of the dark and into the light. Light and heat does wonders for someone allergic to mold! So the light and heat of repentance and confession does wonders for someone battling sensual thoughts.
Practically, it’s usually when you are alone that sensual thoughts come knocking on the door of your heart. When that happens pull open the curtains, let the sunlight in. Walk out into the daylight. Or if it's night, turn on all the lights in the room you're in, and maybe even in the surrounding rooms. Do something that enables light to shine. This helps the mind and heart to chase away the dark thoughts of sensuality. If we don’t keep sensuality away from our hearts, sensuality will keep our hearts away from God and others. It will manifest itself sooner or later. Jesus teaches this in Mark 7:21: sensuality comes from out of the heart. When Israel exchanged desires with Moab, Moab’s desires became Israel’s and began to manifest in Israel's willingness to sit down and eat with the Moabites. This was a step toward outwardly committing a sin that had already been inwardly committed in the heart. At this point the battle was lost. We should not even entertain sensuality’s invitation to think it’s thoughts, because if we do we will next find ourselves sitting at it’s table as it lays out a feast for us. Most Christians think that the battle is lost when they sin, but most don’t realize that the battle is lost when they succumb to sinful desires by choosing to entertain them in a darkened mind. Run towards the light.
Third, Israel was shaped by it’s desires. (Numbers 25:2-3) The desires that were Moab’s became Israel’s desires now. Their lifestyle changed. Bad company corrupts good character and one’s character is seen in everything he or she does. Many want to blame others for their sin and the consequence of their sin. But in reality they’re reaping what they’ve sown into their character. If we go back to the story of Amnon, we find that Amnon was tormented because he did not know what do with his sensual, unstoppable desires. 2 Samuel 13:3 says, “But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab...” From Jonadab, Amnon received counsel outlining how he could get what he wanted. But what kind of friend is this?! The raping of Tamar was the result of Amnon sowing into his character the advice of his friend Jonadab. What friends do you have? Sin is not your friend. Satan is not your friend. Sensuality is not your friend. But yet, do you run to these? Do you let them give you ungodly counsel and do you then receive it?
We see that Israel bowed down to other gods by their own choosing. They were not forced to worship Baal. They did so knowingly and willingly because they had surrendered themselves to sensuality and now sensuality had given birth to sin in their lives. Not only were they committing spiritual adultery, but in their idolatry they were also committing fornication. Throughout the Bible their is a strong connection between idolatry and fornication. Whereas the worship of the true and living God brings holiness, purity, right understanding and right thinking regarding sex, false worship of another god brings the total opposite. Paul makes this clear throughout the first chapter of Romans.
Notice also, that now Israel is parading itself and flaunting itself sexually, for this is what sensuality does - sex becomes the object of uncontrolled lust. They are openly engaged with Moab in joint worship of Baal. For this God judges them by sending a plague and 24,000 die. Sensuality has deceived and killed it’s thousands. Our lifestyles are shaped by our desires. Our desires rule our hearts.
Today, as represented by two men in this story, each of us will respond to sensuality in one of two ways:
1.) While all Israel is weeping for sorrow, a man named Zimri strolls through the Israelite camp with a woman. In plain view of Moses and Israel, before the Tent of Meeting Zimri committs fornication in his tent. This is the epitome of sin: to commit sin before a God we know has commanded us to not sin. I am sure that what Zimri did in broad daylight was a result of what he had been doing in the dark for a long time.
2.) There was another man named Phinehas. He was zealous for God and the glory of God in Israel. As he watched Zimri enter his tent with the woman, Phineas became jealous with God’s jealousy (Numbers 25:10-11). Taking his spear he followed them into the tent, pierced Zimri and the woman and killed them. (Numbers 25:7-8) This is graphic. This is sin. Zimri died joined together with his sin. So it is for many given over to sensuality and it’s insatiable appetite: they will be devoured. They cannot get enough of their sin as Satan cannot get enough of his victims. But Phinehas was blessed by God because of his jealousy. God’s covenant blessing of peace rested not only upon him, but also upon his descendants. (Numbers 25:12-13)
By which man are we represented?
Have we begun to entertain sensuality and share in it’s desires? Are we sitting at it’s table, delighting in the feast before our eyes, succumbing to temptation? Are we shaped by it, bowing and worshipping it’s god, sex? We need to know the story of Israel and Zimri and learn to be like Phinehas. This culture is a Zimri-like culture, therefore we need a Phinehas-like Church. We need to be those who will not entertain or share in sensual desires. We need to be those who will not succumb and surrender to sensual thoughts and images. We need to be those who will not bow down to sensuality or be shaped by “friendly” advice. We will either be cursed like Zimri or be blessed like Phinehas.
In Numbers 25:1-3 we see that Israel was enticed by the women of Moab and eventually began to fornicate with them. This also amounted to spiritual adultery since Israel began to worship another god named Baal. But this process of being seduced by sensuality occurred in three phases.
1. Israel entertained an invitation by Moab to the sacrifices of their gods.
2. Israel sat down to eat with them
3. Israel bowed down to their gods
First, Israel began to share in the desires of Moab. (Numbers 25:2) They began to exchange their desires for others. Sin is deceptive, always attempting to get you to think that the pursuit of holiness and righteousness is empty and pointless. For example, there are always new fads, the new thing, that everyone wants to collect. Someone wants this thing in the worst way, diligently saving their money in order to purchase it. But if this desire is a craving or a lust as soon as that thing is held in your hand satisfaction slips from your grasp. All your left with is this thing. You actually dislike it now! You want the next best thing or you want to trade what you have for something that you think is better.
This is also seen in the story of Amnon and Tamar. Amnon is David’s son and loves his sister Tamar. But he doesn’t love her in the sense that he wants what is best for her. He loves her in the sense that he desires her sexually. Amnon ends up being consumed by his lust and after deceiving Tamar he rapes her. Listen to what the Bible says happened next: “Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.” (2 Samuel 13:15) The object Amnon loved and desired he now hated and could not look at. This is sensuality. It was in the same way that Israel began to love (or desire) the Moabite women. What they were being offered was attractive and was beginning to both satisfy their sinful desires and grow those desires beyond being satisfied.
Second, Israel begin to succumb to the desires of Moab. (Numbers 25:2) The moment sensuality can get you to accept it’s invitation to consider sex outside of the God-given context, that thought has been planted into your mind. It begins to grow toward bearing fruit. Sensuality begins in the dark when one entertains cravings and lusts, fantasies and thoughts. If such feelings and thoughts are welcomed in they begin to spread across the heart and mind. This is similar in my mind to mold. I’m allergic to it. I can tell by my breathing that I am near mold. Most of the time, though, I can’t see it. It’s hidden somewhere dark and damp. Those who begin to succumb and surrender to sensual thoughts begin to show it in their treatment of others, primarily the opposite sex. Their spiritual life suffers as it is choked by sin. Yet, they refuse to bring their sin out of the dark and into the light. Light and heat does wonders for someone allergic to mold! So the light and heat of repentance and confession does wonders for someone battling sensual thoughts.
Practically, it’s usually when you are alone that sensual thoughts come knocking on the door of your heart. When that happens pull open the curtains, let the sunlight in. Walk out into the daylight. Or if it's night, turn on all the lights in the room you're in, and maybe even in the surrounding rooms. Do something that enables light to shine. This helps the mind and heart to chase away the dark thoughts of sensuality. If we don’t keep sensuality away from our hearts, sensuality will keep our hearts away from God and others. It will manifest itself sooner or later. Jesus teaches this in Mark 7:21: sensuality comes from out of the heart. When Israel exchanged desires with Moab, Moab’s desires became Israel’s and began to manifest in Israel's willingness to sit down and eat with the Moabites. This was a step toward outwardly committing a sin that had already been inwardly committed in the heart. At this point the battle was lost. We should not even entertain sensuality’s invitation to think it’s thoughts, because if we do we will next find ourselves sitting at it’s table as it lays out a feast for us. Most Christians think that the battle is lost when they sin, but most don’t realize that the battle is lost when they succumb to sinful desires by choosing to entertain them in a darkened mind. Run towards the light.
Third, Israel was shaped by it’s desires. (Numbers 25:2-3) The desires that were Moab’s became Israel’s desires now. Their lifestyle changed. Bad company corrupts good character and one’s character is seen in everything he or she does. Many want to blame others for their sin and the consequence of their sin. But in reality they’re reaping what they’ve sown into their character. If we go back to the story of Amnon, we find that Amnon was tormented because he did not know what do with his sensual, unstoppable desires. 2 Samuel 13:3 says, “But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab...” From Jonadab, Amnon received counsel outlining how he could get what he wanted. But what kind of friend is this?! The raping of Tamar was the result of Amnon sowing into his character the advice of his friend Jonadab. What friends do you have? Sin is not your friend. Satan is not your friend. Sensuality is not your friend. But yet, do you run to these? Do you let them give you ungodly counsel and do you then receive it?
We see that Israel bowed down to other gods by their own choosing. They were not forced to worship Baal. They did so knowingly and willingly because they had surrendered themselves to sensuality and now sensuality had given birth to sin in their lives. Not only were they committing spiritual adultery, but in their idolatry they were also committing fornication. Throughout the Bible their is a strong connection between idolatry and fornication. Whereas the worship of the true and living God brings holiness, purity, right understanding and right thinking regarding sex, false worship of another god brings the total opposite. Paul makes this clear throughout the first chapter of Romans.
Notice also, that now Israel is parading itself and flaunting itself sexually, for this is what sensuality does - sex becomes the object of uncontrolled lust. They are openly engaged with Moab in joint worship of Baal. For this God judges them by sending a plague and 24,000 die. Sensuality has deceived and killed it’s thousands. Our lifestyles are shaped by our desires. Our desires rule our hearts.
Today, as represented by two men in this story, each of us will respond to sensuality in one of two ways:
1.) While all Israel is weeping for sorrow, a man named Zimri strolls through the Israelite camp with a woman. In plain view of Moses and Israel, before the Tent of Meeting Zimri committs fornication in his tent. This is the epitome of sin: to commit sin before a God we know has commanded us to not sin. I am sure that what Zimri did in broad daylight was a result of what he had been doing in the dark for a long time.
2.) There was another man named Phinehas. He was zealous for God and the glory of God in Israel. As he watched Zimri enter his tent with the woman, Phineas became jealous with God’s jealousy (Numbers 25:10-11). Taking his spear he followed them into the tent, pierced Zimri and the woman and killed them. (Numbers 25:7-8) This is graphic. This is sin. Zimri died joined together with his sin. So it is for many given over to sensuality and it’s insatiable appetite: they will be devoured. They cannot get enough of their sin as Satan cannot get enough of his victims. But Phinehas was blessed by God because of his jealousy. God’s covenant blessing of peace rested not only upon him, but also upon his descendants. (Numbers 25:12-13)
By which man are we represented?
Have we begun to entertain sensuality and share in it’s desires? Are we sitting at it’s table, delighting in the feast before our eyes, succumbing to temptation? Are we shaped by it, bowing and worshipping it’s god, sex? We need to know the story of Israel and Zimri and learn to be like Phinehas. This culture is a Zimri-like culture, therefore we need a Phinehas-like Church. We need to be those who will not entertain or share in sensual desires. We need to be those who will not succumb and surrender to sensual thoughts and images. We need to be those who will not bow down to sensuality or be shaped by “friendly” advice. We will either be cursed like Zimri or be blessed like Phinehas.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Reality vs. fiction - MAGIC AND THE OCCULT
FICTION is invented either to entertain or to deceive.
REALITY is the state of things as they actually exist.
A list of bestselling books for teens on Amazon includes the following: “The Necromancer” (A necromancer is one who speaks to the dead); “The Sorceress”; “Spirit Bound” (The cover has a young lady offering her neck to a vampire); “Hex Hall” (A young lady discovers she’s the daughter of a warlock and that she has powers); “Dark Flame” (It is described as the author’s “most darkly seductive Immortals novel yet”); “Love Bites” (The main character wonders whether or not her vampire boyfriend will ever bite her and make their love immortal); “Spells” (One critic calls it, “Brilliant and Lovely”); “The Demonata #10: Hells Heroes”; the “Twilight” series.
American teens are fascinated with magic and the occult. But this is not exclusively a teenage interest. Humanity has always been intrigued by supernatural power and the spiritual realm. But why? Many times we have no idea why we’re attracted to something or someone. There’s something about “it” that raises our curiosity. This can be dangerous. To blindly follow someone only because there’s something about them that you like is probably not a good idea. We are attracted for unexplainable reasons sometimes. Our knowledge is limited and when something is beyond what we can understand we are intrigued by it. We have an innate desire for the unknown. This is good when we use discernment, but bad when we don’t. Do we consider what it might mean to read some of the above mentioned books or to watch some of the top grossing movies? Are they really harmless? Maybe we think we know, but are we really strong enough Christians to not be influenced? Or, more to the point, should Christians even take part in these things?
Magic is a predominant and widely accepted manifestation of the occult in our culture. But being predominant and accepted doesn’t make it profitable. Because it is appealing does not mean that we should pursue to engage it.
Do you think that Satan only speaks through the outspoken and self-appointed witch, warlock, and sorcerer? Or just through the demonstrably and visibly evil person or just through the hideous and grotesque? Think again. Satan is an Angel of Light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) and a blood-thirsty lion (1 Peter 5:8). He is both and, therefore, subtly disguises his intent through desirable appearances. He speaks through people whom are held captive to his ideas and words. His servants appear innocent, as do his methods. Satan takes things out of the spiritual realm and puts them into the entertainment realm. Revelation 12:9, describes Satan as the Deceiver of the whole world. All of this amounts to another gospel: good news about how you or I can attain to happiness, success, joy, romance, riches, power, eternal life and god-likeness, all the while sowing to reap our own destruction. Any other gospel that does not preach Jesus as the source, center and goal of life and salvation is false. Any gospel that does not honor and glorify Jesus as King and Lord over all else is false. Paul writes in Galatians 1:9, that even if “an angel”, whether Satan or another, or a person comes preaching (proclaiming) words that are contrary to the Word of God, then that messenger should be handed over to God for judgment and their message should be discerned as being deceitful.
To not be deceived by lies, we need to know the truth. A biblically illiterate Church is a deceived church. The same could be said of any Christian. Hence, the great and urgent need of the church today is to teach and preach the Word of God - the Truth. Christians need to know what God says about what they need to believe. That being said, Christians live their lives under the banner (bumper sticker?) of What Would Jesus Do?. This is good and wise, but this is not learned apart from the Bible and the Work of the Spirit. So, concerning magic and the occult, here is the one BIG question that stands over all the others: DID JESUS USE MAGIC? If the answer is yes, then let’s define magic:
1. DICTIONARY.com says, MAGIC is “the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.” The key here is HUMAN CONTROL. But from whom and where does a person acquire this control?
2. Collegiate Dictionary says, MAGIC is “the use of means (as charms or spells) believed to have supernatural power.” But how and from where are these means acquired?
3. MAGIC is a skill that is developed in secret. “According to magical theory, the potency of a spell is bound up with it’s secrecy; if it be divulged, it becomes ineffective.” (F.F. Bruce, ACTS) The greater the skill the greater the level of secrecy. But who teaches this skill?
Back to our question. Did Jesus use magic? If we define magic as above, then the answer is no. Jesus did not use magic. Magic is always associated in the Bible with Astrology; Necromancy (speaking with the dead); Sorcery (divination by an alleged assistance of evil spirits); Witchcraft (the use of sorcery or magic). Magic is the power and witchcraft is the use of magic or sorcery. The key here is human control through demonic control.
What about witchcraft? What does “witch” mean? “One that is credited with malignant supernatural powers; practicing black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil.” What does “craft” mean? “An occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill.” Witchcraft is the learned craft (skill or art) and occupation of using supernatural power that is demonic in nature.
DID JESUS USE WITCHCRAFT? No. Jesus did not practice witchcraft. Jesus did not consult the heavens and he did not try to discern something by the assistance of evil spirits. Jesus was not a wizard. His craft or occupation was not supernatural power. Furthermore, Jesus did not speak to dead people. Dead people do not talk. Demons pretend to be dead people and talk. Magic is occult and the occult is not just magic, but much much more. The occult speaks of what is hidden, and things hide in the darkness, not in the light.
Consider these questions:
1. Does God ever speak of His power as witchcraft or magic?
2. Does God ever use spells or books or command anyone in the Bible to use such?
3. Does God ever put a spell on a person or does He ever use potions?
4. Are the words magic, sorcery, spells, witchcraft, etc. ever used in the Bible with reference to God?
In the Bible magic (withcraft):
-is rebellion (1 Samuel 15:23) Opposition to one in authority
-is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:20) They will not inherit the Kingdom of God
-is deception (Revelation 18:23) God’s face will not shine on them, His voice will not be heard by them
-is immoral (Revelation 21:8) Their portion will be in the lake of fire that burns with fire and sulfur.
-is under punishment of death (Deuteronomy 18:9-22) Whoever speaks in the name of other gods shall surely die.
-is idolatry (Leviticus 19:31) I am the LORD (Yahweh) your God.
-is as murder (Ezekiel 13:17-23) It is like hunting souls.
-is secret (hidden), imitation and impersonation (Exodus 7:11; Exodus 8:7) God will expose you.
-is another teaching (1 Timothy 4:1)
Clearly, the Bible does not condone magic and witchcraft and will surely punish those who practice it. God has power, not magic. God does mighty works and does not work spells. God has always judged magic, not used it or excused it.
In addition, there’s an interesting story in Acts 19:18 that speaks to the sinfulness of magic. Paul comes preaching the Gospel to Ephesus and as a result many come to believe in Jesus that formerly were practicing magic. We read that “the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.” (Acts 19:20) The Word of the Lord grew and became greater in influence. It spread. The Word of the Lord was strong to overcome with great power. It increased in strength. The Gospel increased and prevailed, but over what? In general over wicked acts, but in context over magical practices. The influence the magicians had in the culture was great and the power of their magic over the people’s hearts was also great. But the influence that God had through His Word increased above all other influences and the power of His Word prevailed over all other strongholds and strangleholds of Satan. Those who practiced magic arts brought and burned their books in the sight of all. There was bold confession of Christ as their new Lord and Savior. There was clear repentance from their old and sinful practices, i.e. those things they devoted themselves to, things they were busy with. There was unmistakable joy as they abandoned their sin to abandon themselves to Christ and His work.
As Christians, we are to walk in power like Jesus and Jesus never used magic. He destroyed it, as seen above. But like Jesus did, we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that we pursue power. Rather, the Holy spirit is given so that we can continue to do the works of Jesus on earth, where we are. But at the opposite end of this, magic is pursuing power through the learning and developing of secret and hidden techniques and means to acquire power and to control super natural forces. Any power that does not come from the Holy Spirit comes from an evil spirit and, therefore, Satan. There are only two powers in the world: God and Satan.
Satan deceives through culture and engages our hearts. How many Christians would grow in their faith if they simply exercised discernment in their daily lives. Instead they are starving themselves. When we hear that Jospeh Smith, Jr., founder of Mormonism, received a secret, sacred text of faith from an angel; that the text was written in an ancient Egyptian language and needed to be translated by a seer stone, we would be quick to dismiss that message as false. But when we hear that author Stephanie Meyer, who is also a Mormon, received the idea for Twilight in a very vivid dream; that the vampire she saw was “fantastically beautiful”; that she couldn’t stop thinking about the dream; that the character’s were, “quite literally”, voices in her head and “They simply wouldn’t shut up”; that these conversations were continually happening, we are quick to accept it as fiction. When a messenger appears supernaturally with a secret message, or a new revelation or idea comes to us in an extraordinary way, what are we to make of it? Who were these literal voices speaking to the author? Where did they come from and where does their message come from? Is it possible that if one person follows the teaching of a man who was visited by an angel, that that person, believing in receiving messages via angels or visions or dreams, will be more susceptible to such a thing occurring to them? But more importantly, does what you believe in make you either more vulnerable to being deceived or better equipped not to be? Yes. Since the Bible speaks of Satan and lies and of God and truth, to not believe in God and to believe in something or someone else is to be victim to all forms and degrees of deception under Satan. But to believe in God and to follow Him is to be set free from Satan’s lies, and to be brought to a knowledge of the truth of God and of Jesus Christ. We cannot be bewitched by the many “angels” or beautiful things that appear, for it is then that we are seduced. If we yield to them we come under the power of untruth. Satan speaks through people that he deceives - people to do his every beckoning, promoting his desires in fantastically attractive ways. While some are outspoken in their service to Satan and knowingly advance his purposes, others are simply blinded to the fact that they are being used by him and for him. But it’s not the former that we have trouble identifying. It’s the latter. It’s through seemingly harmless things that we are destroyed and beautiful things that we are deceived.
Why should a Christian knowingly associate with Satan? Why should a Christian engage with evil power? Why should a Christian share in demonic desires through entertainment? All these things arouse and awaken ungodly desires and thoughts in our hearts. In fact, a good indicator and media filter for Christians is the fruit that results from something. We need discernment. We need the Word of God to increase and prevail over every tendency toward sin in our hearts, every hint of evil in the church and every stronghold of Satan in the world. We need to guard our hearts and our minds with godly wisdom and healthy fear, not blissful ignorance and blind arrogance. We need to be aware that magic and the occult are a doorway to demonic activity and influence, and that they are everywhere and everyday presented to us in a light that makes them appear on the surface what they are not in reality.
REALITY is the state of things as they actually exist.
A list of bestselling books for teens on Amazon includes the following: “The Necromancer” (A necromancer is one who speaks to the dead); “The Sorceress”; “Spirit Bound” (The cover has a young lady offering her neck to a vampire); “Hex Hall” (A young lady discovers she’s the daughter of a warlock and that she has powers); “Dark Flame” (It is described as the author’s “most darkly seductive Immortals novel yet”); “Love Bites” (The main character wonders whether or not her vampire boyfriend will ever bite her and make their love immortal); “Spells” (One critic calls it, “Brilliant and Lovely”); “The Demonata #10: Hells Heroes”; the “Twilight” series.
American teens are fascinated with magic and the occult. But this is not exclusively a teenage interest. Humanity has always been intrigued by supernatural power and the spiritual realm. But why? Many times we have no idea why we’re attracted to something or someone. There’s something about “it” that raises our curiosity. This can be dangerous. To blindly follow someone only because there’s something about them that you like is probably not a good idea. We are attracted for unexplainable reasons sometimes. Our knowledge is limited and when something is beyond what we can understand we are intrigued by it. We have an innate desire for the unknown. This is good when we use discernment, but bad when we don’t. Do we consider what it might mean to read some of the above mentioned books or to watch some of the top grossing movies? Are they really harmless? Maybe we think we know, but are we really strong enough Christians to not be influenced? Or, more to the point, should Christians even take part in these things?
Magic is a predominant and widely accepted manifestation of the occult in our culture. But being predominant and accepted doesn’t make it profitable. Because it is appealing does not mean that we should pursue to engage it.
Do you think that Satan only speaks through the outspoken and self-appointed witch, warlock, and sorcerer? Or just through the demonstrably and visibly evil person or just through the hideous and grotesque? Think again. Satan is an Angel of Light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) and a blood-thirsty lion (1 Peter 5:8). He is both and, therefore, subtly disguises his intent through desirable appearances. He speaks through people whom are held captive to his ideas and words. His servants appear innocent, as do his methods. Satan takes things out of the spiritual realm and puts them into the entertainment realm. Revelation 12:9, describes Satan as the Deceiver of the whole world. All of this amounts to another gospel: good news about how you or I can attain to happiness, success, joy, romance, riches, power, eternal life and god-likeness, all the while sowing to reap our own destruction. Any other gospel that does not preach Jesus as the source, center and goal of life and salvation is false. Any gospel that does not honor and glorify Jesus as King and Lord over all else is false. Paul writes in Galatians 1:9, that even if “an angel”, whether Satan or another, or a person comes preaching (proclaiming) words that are contrary to the Word of God, then that messenger should be handed over to God for judgment and their message should be discerned as being deceitful.
To not be deceived by lies, we need to know the truth. A biblically illiterate Church is a deceived church. The same could be said of any Christian. Hence, the great and urgent need of the church today is to teach and preach the Word of God - the Truth. Christians need to know what God says about what they need to believe. That being said, Christians live their lives under the banner (bumper sticker?) of What Would Jesus Do?. This is good and wise, but this is not learned apart from the Bible and the Work of the Spirit. So, concerning magic and the occult, here is the one BIG question that stands over all the others: DID JESUS USE MAGIC? If the answer is yes, then let’s define magic:
1. DICTIONARY.com says, MAGIC is “the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature.” The key here is HUMAN CONTROL. But from whom and where does a person acquire this control?
2. Collegiate Dictionary says, MAGIC is “the use of means (as charms or spells) believed to have supernatural power.” But how and from where are these means acquired?
3. MAGIC is a skill that is developed in secret. “According to magical theory, the potency of a spell is bound up with it’s secrecy; if it be divulged, it becomes ineffective.” (F.F. Bruce, ACTS) The greater the skill the greater the level of secrecy. But who teaches this skill?
Back to our question. Did Jesus use magic? If we define magic as above, then the answer is no. Jesus did not use magic. Magic is always associated in the Bible with Astrology; Necromancy (speaking with the dead); Sorcery (divination by an alleged assistance of evil spirits); Witchcraft (the use of sorcery or magic). Magic is the power and witchcraft is the use of magic or sorcery. The key here is human control through demonic control.
What about witchcraft? What does “witch” mean? “One that is credited with malignant supernatural powers; practicing black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil.” What does “craft” mean? “An occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill.” Witchcraft is the learned craft (skill or art) and occupation of using supernatural power that is demonic in nature.
DID JESUS USE WITCHCRAFT? No. Jesus did not practice witchcraft. Jesus did not consult the heavens and he did not try to discern something by the assistance of evil spirits. Jesus was not a wizard. His craft or occupation was not supernatural power. Furthermore, Jesus did not speak to dead people. Dead people do not talk. Demons pretend to be dead people and talk. Magic is occult and the occult is not just magic, but much much more. The occult speaks of what is hidden, and things hide in the darkness, not in the light.
Consider these questions:
1. Does God ever speak of His power as witchcraft or magic?
2. Does God ever use spells or books or command anyone in the Bible to use such?
3. Does God ever put a spell on a person or does He ever use potions?
4. Are the words magic, sorcery, spells, witchcraft, etc. ever used in the Bible with reference to God?
In the Bible magic (withcraft):
-is rebellion (1 Samuel 15:23) Opposition to one in authority
-is a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:20) They will not inherit the Kingdom of God
-is deception (Revelation 18:23) God’s face will not shine on them, His voice will not be heard by them
-is immoral (Revelation 21:8) Their portion will be in the lake of fire that burns with fire and sulfur.
-is under punishment of death (Deuteronomy 18:9-22) Whoever speaks in the name of other gods shall surely die.
-is idolatry (Leviticus 19:31) I am the LORD (Yahweh) your God.
-is as murder (Ezekiel 13:17-23) It is like hunting souls.
-is secret (hidden), imitation and impersonation (Exodus 7:11; Exodus 8:7) God will expose you.
-is another teaching (1 Timothy 4:1)
Clearly, the Bible does not condone magic and witchcraft and will surely punish those who practice it. God has power, not magic. God does mighty works and does not work spells. God has always judged magic, not used it or excused it.
In addition, there’s an interesting story in Acts 19:18 that speaks to the sinfulness of magic. Paul comes preaching the Gospel to Ephesus and as a result many come to believe in Jesus that formerly were practicing magic. We read that “the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.” (Acts 19:20) The Word of the Lord grew and became greater in influence. It spread. The Word of the Lord was strong to overcome with great power. It increased in strength. The Gospel increased and prevailed, but over what? In general over wicked acts, but in context over magical practices. The influence the magicians had in the culture was great and the power of their magic over the people’s hearts was also great. But the influence that God had through His Word increased above all other influences and the power of His Word prevailed over all other strongholds and strangleholds of Satan. Those who practiced magic arts brought and burned their books in the sight of all. There was bold confession of Christ as their new Lord and Savior. There was clear repentance from their old and sinful practices, i.e. those things they devoted themselves to, things they were busy with. There was unmistakable joy as they abandoned their sin to abandon themselves to Christ and His work.
As Christians, we are to walk in power like Jesus and Jesus never used magic. He destroyed it, as seen above. But like Jesus did, we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that we pursue power. Rather, the Holy spirit is given so that we can continue to do the works of Jesus on earth, where we are. But at the opposite end of this, magic is pursuing power through the learning and developing of secret and hidden techniques and means to acquire power and to control super natural forces. Any power that does not come from the Holy Spirit comes from an evil spirit and, therefore, Satan. There are only two powers in the world: God and Satan.
Satan deceives through culture and engages our hearts. How many Christians would grow in their faith if they simply exercised discernment in their daily lives. Instead they are starving themselves. When we hear that Jospeh Smith, Jr., founder of Mormonism, received a secret, sacred text of faith from an angel; that the text was written in an ancient Egyptian language and needed to be translated by a seer stone, we would be quick to dismiss that message as false. But when we hear that author Stephanie Meyer, who is also a Mormon, received the idea for Twilight in a very vivid dream; that the vampire she saw was “fantastically beautiful”; that she couldn’t stop thinking about the dream; that the character’s were, “quite literally”, voices in her head and “They simply wouldn’t shut up”; that these conversations were continually happening, we are quick to accept it as fiction. When a messenger appears supernaturally with a secret message, or a new revelation or idea comes to us in an extraordinary way, what are we to make of it? Who were these literal voices speaking to the author? Where did they come from and where does their message come from? Is it possible that if one person follows the teaching of a man who was visited by an angel, that that person, believing in receiving messages via angels or visions or dreams, will be more susceptible to such a thing occurring to them? But more importantly, does what you believe in make you either more vulnerable to being deceived or better equipped not to be? Yes. Since the Bible speaks of Satan and lies and of God and truth, to not believe in God and to believe in something or someone else is to be victim to all forms and degrees of deception under Satan. But to believe in God and to follow Him is to be set free from Satan’s lies, and to be brought to a knowledge of the truth of God and of Jesus Christ. We cannot be bewitched by the many “angels” or beautiful things that appear, for it is then that we are seduced. If we yield to them we come under the power of untruth. Satan speaks through people that he deceives - people to do his every beckoning, promoting his desires in fantastically attractive ways. While some are outspoken in their service to Satan and knowingly advance his purposes, others are simply blinded to the fact that they are being used by him and for him. But it’s not the former that we have trouble identifying. It’s the latter. It’s through seemingly harmless things that we are destroyed and beautiful things that we are deceived.
Why should a Christian knowingly associate with Satan? Why should a Christian engage with evil power? Why should a Christian share in demonic desires through entertainment? All these things arouse and awaken ungodly desires and thoughts in our hearts. In fact, a good indicator and media filter for Christians is the fruit that results from something. We need discernment. We need the Word of God to increase and prevail over every tendency toward sin in our hearts, every hint of evil in the church and every stronghold of Satan in the world. We need to guard our hearts and our minds with godly wisdom and healthy fear, not blissful ignorance and blind arrogance. We need to be aware that magic and the occult are a doorway to demonic activity and influence, and that they are everywhere and everyday presented to us in a light that makes them appear on the surface what they are not in reality.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Reality vs. fiction - GREED
FICTION is invented either to entertain or to deceive.
REALITY is the state of things as they actually exist.
My wife and I recently went on vacation and along the way visited a very wealthy town. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect for taking a walk. Oddly enough, I began to feel a tug and began to take notice of the town, the houses, the vehicles - the wealth. I began to daydream, “What would it be like if lived here? What would it be like to drive that? What would it be like to be able to buy that?” My attitude began to change and, somehow, so did the scenery. After leaving, the residue left by what I encountered was with me for a couple of hours. It sunk an arrow that I couldn’t seem to pull out. What was that residue? What was it that penetrated me? It wasn’t the wealth itself. Rather, it was a desire for wealth. It was a growing dis-satisfaction with what I had and a lusting for what I didn’t have. Here was a wealthy town, but more specifically, here was a spirit of greed.
Greed is the accumulation of money and/or possessions for one’s sole personal use at the expense or exclusion of another. Greed doesn’t consider others, not even in the same house or office or building or state or nation or world. Greed gathers, it hoards, in complete disregard of one’s own health or the danger to another. Greed is selfishness. Greed is worship - idolatry. Greed is serving another god - slavery. Greed is sin, therefore, greed is death. Greed will keep you from eternal joy, but deliver you to eternal misery. The greedy will not inherit eternal life. In other words, the greedy will not inherit Jesus Christ. (John 17:3)
Generosity, on the other hand, is giving. Generosity is kindness - sacrifice. Generosity is meeting the needs of another, at times even at the expense of one’s own needs. Generosity is love, because it does not seek anything for it’s own sake. It seeks another’s well being. Generosity is being like Jesus - it is a fruit of the Spirit - an attribute of God. Generosity finds it’s happiness in another’s happiness. Similarly, God rejoices when we rejoice over Him. Because we are satisfied by what God has given us, He is satisfied. He is glorified when He is received by us as supremely glorious and beautiful. Generosity is the heart of God. Greed is the heart of Satan, since Satan seeks the destruction of the glory of God in the joy of man. All that Satan does is evil from beginning to end. All that God does is good from beginning to end. Greed is evil because it is not love. Generosity is good because it is love. Love, then, is the difference between God and Satan, greed and generosity, good and evil.
Love is the motivation for not being greedy. Generosity is the antidote for greed, the great weapon in our arsenal in the battle against it. Hospitality is the armor-bearer. Inviting someone in to your home puts you in the position of a servant and being able to share in the burdens and meet the needs of another. Greed isolates you and numbs you down. In this country we spend approximately $7 billion dollars on our face. So this doesn’t include the rest of our body! With $7 billion dollars we could feed 7 billion people in the world for one week. They live on less than a dollar a day. Most of us would say, “One week is not really a long time. It won’t make that big of a difference. It’s just not worth it.” It’s just not worth it?! Only greed would rather spend $7 billion dollars on it’s face than fill the stomach of billions of people for a whole week. Greed is demonic. When you or I can stand by and watch someone in need and think that we are better served by our money than them, then we are sharing in demonic desires. Satan destroys. Closer to home, if you pursue a job to primarily provide for your family, that is good. If you pursue a job so you can primarily have more stuff, that is wrong. Really, the amount of money is not under consideration, but the spirit behind it is. The desire for wealth is a stumbling block for many and, in fact, like we’ve mentioned already is a reason why many will not follow and serve Jesus.
How badly does Jesus want us to give? When the rich young ruler came to Him and asked how eternal life could be inherited, Mark 10:21 points us, first, to the love that Jesus had for him and, second, to the words that Jesus would speak to him. But why? Mark establishes Jesus’ love as the reason for what Jesus is about to say. WHY DID JESUS LOVE HIM? Because a person cannot trust in riches and Jesus, cannot love riches and Jesus and cannot serve riches and Jesus. Jesus wanted all of the young man’s heart!!!! What was Jesus answer? It was to go and sell all that he had and give it to the poor. The young man was concerned about eternal life. So was Jesus. But the young man could not see that it was only by giving up all that he had - abandoning the pursuit and accumulation of earthly treasures - that he could gain eternal life and heavenly treasures. What does this mean? Salvation is the forgiveness of our transgressions against a Holy God, but it is also the forsaking of all other loves, idols, and gods. When Jesus forgives us He also cleanses us from the stains that sin has left and creates new desires in us for Him that overcome all others desires for anything other than him. It’s not that we don’t desire money anymore. It’s that we don’t desire it first for all the benefits it affords us, but first for the glory that it brings Christ by using it in a way that pleases Him. This is the transformation that Jesus brings to a heart. Whereas greed sought it’s own pleasure, now generosity seeks to please Christ, which brings the giver more pleasure than if he was a hoarder!
Many say that they will begin giving when they have enough to give. Some say that they will work until they don’t have to work and then they can give the abundance away and “build the kingdom of God”. That’s shallow, selfish and sinful. God has restrained His wrath from the beginning, in order to give mercy. He has always been generous. Giving begins the moment the need for giving arises. A Christian becomes a Christian the day he (or she) is born again, not the day he attains a certain measure of maturity. The moment a disciple begins learning at the feet of the Master, he begins to imitate his teacher and apply what he has learned. The worshipper begins serving God the instant he recognize God’s worth. Every Christian takes up his cross, denies himself and follows Jesus the day he confesses with his mouth Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. (Romans 10:9) To not be greedy and to live a generous lifestyle will mean living an uncomfortable lifestyle of not getting, but giving NOW. Being a disciple of Jesus begins where you are and with what you have.
So Jesus told the man to sell all that he had. This wasn’t metaphorical. This was literal. And it wasn’t to finally push him over the minimal requirements necessary for earning eternal life. Clearly, the young man was a good keeper of the law. But the end of the law is Jesus. The fulfillment of keeping the law is found in Jesus. He stands at the end of the law as the reward for having kept the entire law. But if anything, Jesus taught the opposite. No man, as good as he is, even comes close to earning salvation. All men have sinned. All men are under the wrath of God. But Jesus stands as the sacrificial, wrath-absorbing, law-satisfying, perfect and pure Lamb of God. To go and sell all that he had was only possible if the young man believed that it wasn’t a means to an end, but a demonstration of love for Jesus and of trust in Him. Would Jesus be ALL that he wanted? We do not forsake all things in order to gain Christ, we forsake all things because we have gained Christ. The man sold his field because he had a treasure worth more than all the possessions in his possession. (Matthew 13:44) Joy was born in that field, not sorrow. But sorrow was born in the heart of this man, not joy. Mark says that he went away “disheartened”. (Mark 10:22) This man became sad. The sky of his heart became covered with dark clouds and Jesus face that was filled with love was hidden from his sight. He could not let go of all that he was holding onto and all that he was going after. He could not understand that to love Jesus was to, like Jesus, furnish the empty lives of people by supplying what they needed. God is love. Those who love God are known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:3) We come to love Jesus because He first loved us. We come to love others because we first love Jesus. If we do not love Jesus more than our possessions we will not, we cannot, love others.
Only God can give a person a generous heart and remove the greedy heart. Furthermore, generosity only becomes possible if and when Jesus becomes Lord of our possessions. And Jesus only becomes Lord of our possessions when He becomes the King of our hearts. Greed is our throne. Generosity is His throne. We cannot serve two masters.
In these days we must remember that Generosity is a sign of those who are going to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17), but greed is a sign of those who are not going to inherit eternal life. (1 Corinthians 6:10) We must honestly look at our giving and our hospitality. We must search our hearts. If I held up a $100 dollar bill in front of a group of Christians, chances are pretty good that someone would run up to snatch it for themselves. But if I first read of a husband and wife with three small children moving to northern Tibet where their new home does not include running water or electricity, but only a wooden stove, and that they will have to build their own outhouse, my hope would be that then no one would run up to snatch it away. Maybe my hope is ill founded. But maybe the context would curtail greed. Maybe having a different perspective puts things into reality. Maybe if the church had a higher and more eternal perspective of possessions and earthly and heavenly treasures, we would have more weight in the world.
After the young rich man left Jesus went on to teach His disciples that there is no one who has left everything to follow Him that will not have everything they need. Though it may be little, they will be content. Though it may not seem like enough, it will be enough, somehow. May we as Christian’s spend less time being consumed with hoarding for ourselves all that we want and think we need. And may God give us mercy and deliver us from the spirit of greed, so that we might lay our gold in the dust and declare that He has become our gold. (Job 22:24-25)
REALITY is the state of things as they actually exist.
My wife and I recently went on vacation and along the way visited a very wealthy town. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect for taking a walk. Oddly enough, I began to feel a tug and began to take notice of the town, the houses, the vehicles - the wealth. I began to daydream, “What would it be like if lived here? What would it be like to drive that? What would it be like to be able to buy that?” My attitude began to change and, somehow, so did the scenery. After leaving, the residue left by what I encountered was with me for a couple of hours. It sunk an arrow that I couldn’t seem to pull out. What was that residue? What was it that penetrated me? It wasn’t the wealth itself. Rather, it was a desire for wealth. It was a growing dis-satisfaction with what I had and a lusting for what I didn’t have. Here was a wealthy town, but more specifically, here was a spirit of greed.
Greed is the accumulation of money and/or possessions for one’s sole personal use at the expense or exclusion of another. Greed doesn’t consider others, not even in the same house or office or building or state or nation or world. Greed gathers, it hoards, in complete disregard of one’s own health or the danger to another. Greed is selfishness. Greed is worship - idolatry. Greed is serving another god - slavery. Greed is sin, therefore, greed is death. Greed will keep you from eternal joy, but deliver you to eternal misery. The greedy will not inherit eternal life. In other words, the greedy will not inherit Jesus Christ. (John 17:3)
Generosity, on the other hand, is giving. Generosity is kindness - sacrifice. Generosity is meeting the needs of another, at times even at the expense of one’s own needs. Generosity is love, because it does not seek anything for it’s own sake. It seeks another’s well being. Generosity is being like Jesus - it is a fruit of the Spirit - an attribute of God. Generosity finds it’s happiness in another’s happiness. Similarly, God rejoices when we rejoice over Him. Because we are satisfied by what God has given us, He is satisfied. He is glorified when He is received by us as supremely glorious and beautiful. Generosity is the heart of God. Greed is the heart of Satan, since Satan seeks the destruction of the glory of God in the joy of man. All that Satan does is evil from beginning to end. All that God does is good from beginning to end. Greed is evil because it is not love. Generosity is good because it is love. Love, then, is the difference between God and Satan, greed and generosity, good and evil.
Love is the motivation for not being greedy. Generosity is the antidote for greed, the great weapon in our arsenal in the battle against it. Hospitality is the armor-bearer. Inviting someone in to your home puts you in the position of a servant and being able to share in the burdens and meet the needs of another. Greed isolates you and numbs you down. In this country we spend approximately $7 billion dollars on our face. So this doesn’t include the rest of our body! With $7 billion dollars we could feed 7 billion people in the world for one week. They live on less than a dollar a day. Most of us would say, “One week is not really a long time. It won’t make that big of a difference. It’s just not worth it.” It’s just not worth it?! Only greed would rather spend $7 billion dollars on it’s face than fill the stomach of billions of people for a whole week. Greed is demonic. When you or I can stand by and watch someone in need and think that we are better served by our money than them, then we are sharing in demonic desires. Satan destroys. Closer to home, if you pursue a job to primarily provide for your family, that is good. If you pursue a job so you can primarily have more stuff, that is wrong. Really, the amount of money is not under consideration, but the spirit behind it is. The desire for wealth is a stumbling block for many and, in fact, like we’ve mentioned already is a reason why many will not follow and serve Jesus.
How badly does Jesus want us to give? When the rich young ruler came to Him and asked how eternal life could be inherited, Mark 10:21 points us, first, to the love that Jesus had for him and, second, to the words that Jesus would speak to him. But why? Mark establishes Jesus’ love as the reason for what Jesus is about to say. WHY DID JESUS LOVE HIM? Because a person cannot trust in riches and Jesus, cannot love riches and Jesus and cannot serve riches and Jesus. Jesus wanted all of the young man’s heart!!!! What was Jesus answer? It was to go and sell all that he had and give it to the poor. The young man was concerned about eternal life. So was Jesus. But the young man could not see that it was only by giving up all that he had - abandoning the pursuit and accumulation of earthly treasures - that he could gain eternal life and heavenly treasures. What does this mean? Salvation is the forgiveness of our transgressions against a Holy God, but it is also the forsaking of all other loves, idols, and gods. When Jesus forgives us He also cleanses us from the stains that sin has left and creates new desires in us for Him that overcome all others desires for anything other than him. It’s not that we don’t desire money anymore. It’s that we don’t desire it first for all the benefits it affords us, but first for the glory that it brings Christ by using it in a way that pleases Him. This is the transformation that Jesus brings to a heart. Whereas greed sought it’s own pleasure, now generosity seeks to please Christ, which brings the giver more pleasure than if he was a hoarder!
Many say that they will begin giving when they have enough to give. Some say that they will work until they don’t have to work and then they can give the abundance away and “build the kingdom of God”. That’s shallow, selfish and sinful. God has restrained His wrath from the beginning, in order to give mercy. He has always been generous. Giving begins the moment the need for giving arises. A Christian becomes a Christian the day he (or she) is born again, not the day he attains a certain measure of maturity. The moment a disciple begins learning at the feet of the Master, he begins to imitate his teacher and apply what he has learned. The worshipper begins serving God the instant he recognize God’s worth. Every Christian takes up his cross, denies himself and follows Jesus the day he confesses with his mouth Jesus is Lord and believes in his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead. (Romans 10:9) To not be greedy and to live a generous lifestyle will mean living an uncomfortable lifestyle of not getting, but giving NOW. Being a disciple of Jesus begins where you are and with what you have.
So Jesus told the man to sell all that he had. This wasn’t metaphorical. This was literal. And it wasn’t to finally push him over the minimal requirements necessary for earning eternal life. Clearly, the young man was a good keeper of the law. But the end of the law is Jesus. The fulfillment of keeping the law is found in Jesus. He stands at the end of the law as the reward for having kept the entire law. But if anything, Jesus taught the opposite. No man, as good as he is, even comes close to earning salvation. All men have sinned. All men are under the wrath of God. But Jesus stands as the sacrificial, wrath-absorbing, law-satisfying, perfect and pure Lamb of God. To go and sell all that he had was only possible if the young man believed that it wasn’t a means to an end, but a demonstration of love for Jesus and of trust in Him. Would Jesus be ALL that he wanted? We do not forsake all things in order to gain Christ, we forsake all things because we have gained Christ. The man sold his field because he had a treasure worth more than all the possessions in his possession. (Matthew 13:44) Joy was born in that field, not sorrow. But sorrow was born in the heart of this man, not joy. Mark says that he went away “disheartened”. (Mark 10:22) This man became sad. The sky of his heart became covered with dark clouds and Jesus face that was filled with love was hidden from his sight. He could not let go of all that he was holding onto and all that he was going after. He could not understand that to love Jesus was to, like Jesus, furnish the empty lives of people by supplying what they needed. God is love. Those who love God are known by God. (1 Corinthians 8:3) We come to love Jesus because He first loved us. We come to love others because we first love Jesus. If we do not love Jesus more than our possessions we will not, we cannot, love others.
Only God can give a person a generous heart and remove the greedy heart. Furthermore, generosity only becomes possible if and when Jesus becomes Lord of our possessions. And Jesus only becomes Lord of our possessions when He becomes the King of our hearts. Greed is our throne. Generosity is His throne. We cannot serve two masters.
In these days we must remember that Generosity is a sign of those who are going to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17), but greed is a sign of those who are not going to inherit eternal life. (1 Corinthians 6:10) We must honestly look at our giving and our hospitality. We must search our hearts. If I held up a $100 dollar bill in front of a group of Christians, chances are pretty good that someone would run up to snatch it for themselves. But if I first read of a husband and wife with three small children moving to northern Tibet where their new home does not include running water or electricity, but only a wooden stove, and that they will have to build their own outhouse, my hope would be that then no one would run up to snatch it away. Maybe my hope is ill founded. But maybe the context would curtail greed. Maybe having a different perspective puts things into reality. Maybe if the church had a higher and more eternal perspective of possessions and earthly and heavenly treasures, we would have more weight in the world.
After the young rich man left Jesus went on to teach His disciples that there is no one who has left everything to follow Him that will not have everything they need. Though it may be little, they will be content. Though it may not seem like enough, it will be enough, somehow. May we as Christian’s spend less time being consumed with hoarding for ourselves all that we want and think we need. And may God give us mercy and deliver us from the spirit of greed, so that we might lay our gold in the dust and declare that He has become our gold. (Job 22:24-25)
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