The End of Greed

There’s a lot of talk about greed in our society these days – the greed of the rich, the greed of politicians – even the greed of the unproductive.

We get agitated about the enormity of greed that surrounds (and infects) us; and when it leads to illegal and unethical activity, which it often does, our hearts cry out for justice. Well  – ahem – except for our own case. Then we have a few ready rationalizations…

While we might like to think that we live in a uniquely depraved time, in fact, there truly is nothing new under the sun. If we look back through human history, for however many thousands of years, two of the underlying bass notes of the performance have always been pride and greed.

And death. While government will never be able to “fix” greed, there is one sure-fire cure.

Here’s how it was put, many generations ago, in Psalm 49:

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together…Even wise men die; the stupid and senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Their inner thought is that their houses are forever…but man in his pomp will not endure; he is like the beasts that perish…Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not descend after him.

Stark, yes? And unavoidably true.

When our eyes ascend to the feeble and temporary heights achieved by those who accumulate wealth and power, we often feel a sense of fear, of outrage – and a need to bring them down. But this is because our gaze does not ascend high enough – to a just and holy God who looks with far keener eyes upon the pride and pitiful wealth of men. Rich and poor alike are like a flower in spring – vibrant but for a moment, then soon gone. Not a single greedy, wealthy, arrogant baron who elevated himself a few millimeters above his fellow man in the 1800′s is still around to be feared. And when we look around at the living faces of people in our generation – they, and we, will soon be gone.

God, however, remains – unmoved, unchanged, unsullied by our sin. He is the one to fear. He is the one to depend on. His justice will make things right.

We can’t “fix” greed – all attempts to do so by human means are misguided. We can enforce laws against illegal behavior, but a pure heart is beyond the reach of societal and governmental enforcement.

We can, however, look ahead to the end of greed, and see that it cannot and will not endure. The Lord, our Redeemer, will see to that.

There’s plenty enough for our attention to be cleansed of the greed that infests our own hearts. God can see to that, too.

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Blessed Confusion

“Hail, blessed woman! The Lord is with you.”

Huh??

Mary was just minding her own business. A virgin, engaged to Joseph, she very likely did not view herself as a potential world-changer. As a uniquely and highly favored person in the sight of the Lord. As one who would know a “God with us” in a way that, body and soul, no-one else ever could.

Via an unanticipated without-Joseph pregnancy, she would bear a Son whose impact on the following generations would be unfathomable. One whose kingdom would have no end.

“How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

While the angel gives her an answer, it’s the summary statement, the exclamation point at the end, that resonates through the ages even to us today, in all of our confusing difficulties: “Nothing will be impossible with God.”

Whatever perplexities we’re facing, if God is with us, we’re richly blessed. If the Lord has favored us with his nearness, and chosen us for His service, we are wealthy beyond measure, even if poor in this world’s goods.

And He calls us to mind-boggling things. Forsaking treasured sins. Giving up self-direction. Turning our backs on the allure of the world. Holiness. Singleness of heart. Things impossible for mere men.

But possible with God. Only possible with God.

Some people deny the existence, or presence, or activity of God. When you see a follower of Jesus with a submissive and trusting heart, a former slave to selfishness and sin who now (even just in part) walks a different path out of worship and love, you are seeing a divine work. You are seeing the life of God implanted in a chosen one. You are seeing Emmanuel – God with us.

For those who will not see God, there are always alternative explanations to be manufactured. Denial is the daily lot of the unbeliever. Unbroken natural process is the dogma that defines what is possible.

For those who believe but know the confusions (and even tragedies <–I never knew this backstory until this morning) that swirl about in our fallen world, there will always be unresolved questions (esp. the ones starting in “Why….?). But there is one exclamation point that is simply self-evident regarding the one God who has created heaven and earth and all that is in them.

The Unlimited One doesn’t feel the handcuffs of “the impossible.” As King, He does whatever He chooses. Even if it involves sovereignly blessing His chosen servants, and bypassing the laws by which He set up His universe.

Confusing at times? Yes. But a blessed confusion.

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50 Shades of Great

I decided, this morning, to see how many of the 150 Psalms I’d need to go through to find 50 shades of God’s greatness – a far more uplifting topic than that other “50 Shades” currently making the rounds…

Starting with Psalm 1, and being pretty selective…

1. God prospers those who delight in His law.
2. God knows the way of the righteous.
3. God ensures that the wicked will not, ultimately, prosper.
4. God is King way above all earthly kings; He rules.
5. He is wrathful toward sin, yet also the refuge from wrath.
6. The nations are, and will be, His inheritance.
7. God is a shield.
8. He lifts up the head of His trusting people.
9. He sustains His people and delivers them from fear.
10. Salvation and blessing belong to the Lord.
11. He relieves us in our distress.
12. He is gracious and hears the prayers of His people.
13. He sets apart the godly man/woman for Himself.
14. God’s countenance is of light, shining on His people.
15. He puts gladness in our hearts.
16. He makes His people dwell in safety.
17. He gives ear to our words and groanings.
18. God takes no pleasure in wickedness; the boastful will not stand before Him.
19. He is a God of abundant lovingkindness.
20. He has given us a “house” in which we have access to His presence.
21. God is righteous.
22. Those who take refuge in Him are glad.
23. The Lord blesses the righteous person.
24. He is gracious and heals.
25. The Lord judges all the peoples; vindicating the righteous.
26. He tries the hearts and the minds; and saves the upright in heart.
27. As the Lord Most High, He is worthy of praise.
28. His Name is majestic in all the earth.
29. His splendor is displayed above the heavens.
30. The heavens are the work of His fingers.
31. Though He is vast and all-powerful, He takes thought of/care of mere men; He makes us special above all other creatures.
32. He is a God of wonders.
33. He rebukes and uproots those who oppose Him.
34. He abides forever.
35. God does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
36. He lifts us up from the gates of death, that we may tell His praises.
37. The Lord has made Himself known.
38. When men say, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it” – that’s a pure delusion.
39. God hears the desire of the humble, and vindicates the orphan and the oppressed.
40. The upright will behold His face.
41. The words of the Lord are pure, as silver tried in a furnace, refined seven times.
42. The Lord deals bountifully with those who trust in His lovingkindness.
43. God is with the righteous generation.
44. The Lord restores His captive people and makes them glad.
45. We may abide in His tent, and dwell on His holy hill.
46. He is the source and fountain of all good.
47. The Lord is our inheritance.
48. He counsels His people.
49. He is at our right hand.
50. In His presence is fulness of joy; in His right hand there are pleasures forever.

And that brings us all the way through…just Psalm 16. Let alone the other 134 Psalms, and the rest of the Scriptures!

Of course, to be on the wrong side of righteousness and justice and purity of heart is a frightening thought – because, as each hour of every day abundantly reveals, we are all thoroughly corrupt. Yet, in Christ, God Himself clothes us in forgiveness and a righteousness that only He can impart.

We are urged to “set our minds on the things above.” These bright shades of greatness, and many, many others in the Scriptures, are for more edifying than anything else. They are riches given us to make our hearts glad – let’s do just that today!

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Riches and Poverty: From Palestine to Haiti

And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44 NASB)

One thing that is striking about this passage is that Jesus makes a completely unexpected valuation. Bypassing the (relatively) large donations of those with disposable income, He highlights the poor, anonymous, insignificant person who gives sacrificially out of loving devotion – not out of ostentatious excess.

I love the fact that Jesus notices what matters. What folly for us to measure ourselves by our wallets! Jesus sees right through all that and gazes at the heart.

Here in Haiti, the poverty is immense. Yet there are many Haitian people who are cheerful and kind givers. And while those of us who come over from a first-world country are relatively wealthy, when you view the vast need, you truly feel like the poor widow, about to cast a penny into a vast landscape of brokenness.

We are all impoverished before God, especially in anything relating to spiritual life and genuine holiness. My comfort is, that in any place, any circumstance, we can take our tiny little donations of ourselves – poor as we are – and God will receive us. Not only in Haiti, but in any pathway we all find ourselves today.

May the poverty out of which we give lead to true riches for others.

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Iridescent

Dancing and shimmering in the cool breeze, a fresh spider web reflected the dawn’s rays from its perch in the red maple above our deck.

It looked, for all the world, like the wings of a dragonfly – shades of electric blue and seductive purple and shameless red, pulsating to an unseen rhythm with the reflecting sun playing off its silken strands.

The arachnid architect had no awareness of the beauty it had spun. This, to him, was a meal ticket. But to his Designer, it was art – an intricate blueprint of glorious structure, made to capture not only flies, but also human eyes and imagination. It was a symphony of silk, a rainbow captured and displayed in strands instinctively woven overnight by an 8-legged maestro.

A web of wonder, made to fill human eyes and souls with a sense of their glorious Creator. He who is a generous and imaginative Artist, even when the masterpiece is for trolling the sky for unwitting insects.

For the spider, a fresh dinner will be the reward. For us, the reward is exceedingly greater. A fresh opportunity to worship.

Photo credit: Anne Campisi via Flickr

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Isaiah’s Keyboard

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
(Isaiah 55:6-7 ESV)

With open arms and abundant forgiving grace, God invites every one of us – any one of us – to return to Him. That for which you hit the Delete key in repentance (which is part of the turning/returning) is worthless compared to lifelong fellowship with the God who made you.

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Jesus the Disruptive

I like a certain amount of predictability in my life. Like anyone else, I’ll cling to the illusion of control. Tomorrow will be like today, which was like yesterday; and, here’s my planned to-do list.

Like a clock, the hands will move inexorably, predictably. As with the old vinyl record players, the turntable will move at a predictable speed, the needle will move along the groove, the next verse of the song will follow just like it always does.

Except when it doesn’t.

The well-documented life of Jesus was one continuous string of disruptions – overturning the natural order (healing the sick, raising the dead); upsetting the religious apple cart (love for God is from the depth of the heart, not a mere external show of conformity). Lovers of the religious, social, and political status quo did not appreciate this disruptive rabbi – He made claims that they considered blasphemous and seditious. Caesar alone is King. God alone is God. Who is this usurper claiming to be a divine king, dressed in the robe of an ordinary man?

Except He kept doing inconvenient and disruptive things. God-things. He taught with authority, forgave sins, healed lepers, opened blind eyes. How dare He defy our religious laws and scientific assumptions. None of the contemporary eyewitnesses could deny the reality of His disruptive actions or ignore the audacity of His breathtaking claims. All they could do is plot to get rid of Him. A little regicide and we can get rid of this inconvenience source of interruption.

Then He had the audacity to rise from the grave. That really got some people torqued off! Haven’t you heard of natural laws, Jesus??

You see, we want our status quo straight up, please. Which doesn’t include God coming in the flesh to reveal His brightness and expose our darkness.

And that’s the real point, isn’t it? I can put on the blinders and go my predictable, self-directed way if I pretend that there is no disruptive King who is above all creation, including me. I can ignore the reliable testimony of eyewitnesses of old, I can deny the evidence of God that surrounds me – but ultimately, that changes nothing. We may as well put a Lego piece in front of a bulldozer, for all the good our denial will do us.

Jesus is still in the disruption business. And – thankfully – His divine disruptions are a sign of His mercy and favor. God utterly shook up the world by sending Jesus 2,000 years ago. Pray that He will shake up your world right now.

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Faith-infused

Two cups of tea, side by side.

Both darkening as they steep. Both with a curl of steam rising. Each with a tea bag, imparting the flavor and scent and color of its tea leaves as the hot water draws it out.

Yet, as you get closer, they are different. One smells like…well, plain tea. The other is infused with a scent that is more transcendent.

Two people, made in the image of God.

One sees the surface of life only. Life with its ups and downs, its trials and successes – but no known purpose, no clear direction, no guiding hand. Just a dark, hard-to-see-through brew of daily existence.

The other is infused with something different, a substance that transcends. Mingled with the aroma of this world is the fragrance of another. There is faith in the leaves.

Like ancient Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt and falsely accused of uncommitted crimes (yet still faithful to his God), faith percolates through even the darkest times. And, like Joseph, light and purpose and divine wisdom break out to show that this is no ordinary life. God is at work. The aroma of faith is unmistakeable.

Very few of God’s children will be billboard-visible. Most of us will look a lot like any other cup of tea – except that the infusion of the grace of Jesus Christ produces something very different. Faith infused leads to renewed hope, to self-giving love, to feeble yet sincere worship. The apostle Paul called it an aroma of life to life – though for those who despise God and His ways, it becomes like an aroma of death. When Christians are despised, not for their quirks, but for their faith, it only reveals the hostility of those who oppose God for what it is. Death at work.

But infused faith is God at work. Giving life. And even making that life flavorful.

Today, O Lord, infuse me with Yourself. Even in the tumult of this life, may faith arise from this cracked and stained cup, to Your glory.

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For or Against

For those who love the Lord, the answer is quite simple. “If God be for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Case closed. God is for us.

But what about those times when His hand seems to be against us? When a job is lost, a child is sick, a parent dies, a cloud of mental illness descends – has God changed His disposition?

Faith embraces the promise, and sees past the circumstance. God being for us means that He remains on our side, and by our side, through the inevitable rough patches that are designed for our (ultimate) good.

In other words, God’s heart is for us even when, to our puny vision, it seems like His hand is against us. We cannot read His heart by the events of today, or tomorrow. We know His heart by His Word

If Tim Tebow helps his team win a football game, does that mean God is for him – but then when the Denver Broncos are blown out by the New England Patriots, as they were this weekend – is God any less for him?

Nonsense. God is just as much for Tim Tebow if he has a successful 15-year career, or if he suffers a catastrophic injury and never plays again.

Just as He is for you, child of God, when life has more rocks and thorns than clear, wide paths.

Today, put the Word in front of your mind and say, “God is for me.” Then, put all your troubling circumstances in a pile and say it again.

Be grateful that you are not among those who reject His love, who set themselves against Him, and who do not know the comfort of a God who is for them.

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The Waiting Room

“I hate waiting…”

A favorite line from a favorite movie (The Princess Bride), when Inigo, at the top of Cliffs of Insanity, waits for the man in black to reach the summit so he can try to defeat him in a sword fight.

I can relate. I’m all for action – but I hate waiting.

God, on the other hand, is quite content to put a lag time between promise and fulfillment. He has an entirely different view of time and eternity. And He is determined that we learn faith and patience, especially in a posture of – waiting.

I hate waiting.

Reading in recent days about the story of Abraham and Sarah as they wait to have a son named Isaac (Genesis chapters 12-21), I am reminded about how long we, at times, must wait for the fulfillment. Abe and his wife were old; she was barren and long past the years of even being able to conceive. God promised that Abraham would have as many descendants as the countless stars in the skies, yet the years kept stretching on. Human impossibility awoke each morning to another day of unfulfilled promise. Where was this Isaac, to be (miraculously) born to aged Sarah??

Finally, in chapter 18, when Abraham was 99 years old, God appeared to him and got specific about the promise. “I will return to you at this time next year, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.” The years of waiting would come to an end. And so it occurred, exactly on the timetable God had in mind.

I have, deep within, various huge life-mission desires that have brewed in my soul for decades. I can picture them, and can almost fast-forward to a time of joy and meaning in fulfilling some things that I have (seemingly forever) felt that I was meant to do. And while I’m taking steps to arrive at those destinations – I hate waiting. “We are men of action,” said Westley in the above-referenced movie. And life is a curious mix of action and initiative, curiously joined to waiting patiently for the right time and the right door to open.

I hate waiting. And in this always-on, instant fulfillment digital generation, I believe that patient waiting will become even more of a lost art. The last thing we are used to enduring is a time lag.

God, however, doesn’t change. The time between promise and fulfillment is of His design, and no application of Google and broadband and mobile devices will hasten it.

Maybe someday, I’ll love waiting. Or, at least, not hate it. Abraham had the long-promised son when he was 100. Maybe I still have a few years to wait.

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