Crave Freedom

Then a wind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground. And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague. Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah, because there they buried the people who had the craving. (Numbers 11:31–34)

The people wanted meat like they had before He rescued them from bondage in Egypt. So God gave them meat, but with it came His anger at their desire for that which represented sin. In their consumption, this ‘meat’ meant judgment and death. The place where they died was called Kibroth-hattaavah, meaning graves of craving.

This event points to what happens if I let my sinful desires become so important that I cry out to God to do for me what I want rather than be thankful for all that He provides. My spiritual life is damaged. In their case, it was a physical death. In mine, it is a separation from God and just as deadly. I cannot function when filled with sinful selfishness.

Yesterday I talked with someone who professes faith in Christ but is off on a tangent over worldly matters. Some of it reminded me of this NT warning:

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:10)

It was not that person who was caught up in a love of money, but he is listening to several people who seem to be and they have clouded his judgment. This reminds me of another truth:

Let God be true though every one were a liar. . . .  (Romans 3:4)

How do we know that our human sources are telling truth? The Lord calls Satan a liar and the father of lies, and says he can disguise himself as an angel of light. That means we need to listen to the One who says “I am the truth” lest we are deceived.

Going back to that event in Numbers, the root of their sin was a craving for the perks of their old life. They seemed to forget the bondage and focused only on what they were missing, at least for a time. As I listened to the views of the person I talked with yesterday, it came out that his views were rooted in wanting a prosperity rather than seeing the dangers of craving and the consequences of insisting his views were truth. (Long story for this short space.)

For me, the bottom line is: How do I know if something is truth? Jesus said if I know the truth, it will set me free, free to trust Him, free from anxiety about events and the way other humans behave, free from trying to figure out the ‘whys’ of life and free to let God take care of those who live contrary to His will. Truth is found in Christ and in His Word. People who are duped need prayer and His light because they cannot see it without the Holy Spirit opening their eyes. 

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1 John 4:2–6)

Jesus, I know I can fall for lies too. That is why I run to You every day. You never lie to me. I might get it wrong, but eventually You sort it out and keep me listening to You. The main truth is Your incredible faithfulness to keep Your people from being overpowered by that Liar. 

God’s thoughts are higher than mine

Human ideas consistently run contrary to God’s truth. At the very least, we misquote Him. For instance, the Bible says that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). But those who shake their fingers at the rich say that “money is the root of all evil.” This shifts the blame for evil from the human heart to inert pieces of paper.

We also think better of ourselves than what God’s Word says of us. Solomon, in his quest for wisdom wrote… 

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11)

In our quest for dominance, we say that we control our own destiny and that “the race is to the swift and the battle is to the strong.” In my own thoughts I tend to say that the wise person prospers and those who lack knowledge and intelligence do not do so well. But this is simply not true.

The best are not always the winners. Things happen. Events interfere. As today’s devotional reading says, there are “incalculable powers abroad, balancing, adjusting, compensating, so that turn where one would in human affairs, there (are) unexpected and dramatic outcomes.”

Whether a person calls this chance, luck, providence or God, life is not controlled by human value systems. Outcomes are not predictable and I cannot control what happens by my intelligence or effort, nor can anyone else.

At the time of Jesus Christ, consider the emperor, Tiberius. He was a powerful person with no limits to his rule or wealth, no barriers to he wanted or did. He lived on a beautiful island in a lovely climate and should have been happy. But one historian says he was a gloomy man.

Compare that to Jesus. He had with no home where He could lay his head, no wealth, was hated and rejected, mocked and put to death even though He did nothing wrong. Yet He could offer His followers joy and peace “not as the world gives” and that could not be taken from them. Who won that race? Caesar or Jesus?

 As I think about the value system of God, I am encouraged. At least now I am. It used to frustrate me to read verses like these:

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. (1 Corinthians 1:27–29)

At one time, I thought I was the exception to this and was thankful to be chosen anyway. Now I realize that my estimation of myself was that “the race is to the swift” instead of God’s estimation that “the race is not to the swift.” Translation: my pride made me foolish and weak in God’s sight, not wise and strong.

However, there is hope. As today’s devotional says, when weakness dominates and life is overwhelming, I can be glad that the battle is not always to the strong. God helps those who are helpless and comes to the aid of the weak. He is “near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

This truth also puts down pride and builds humility, and humility opens the door of my heart so that the King of Glory can come in. 

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.” (Isaiah 57:15)

Being weak puts me where I can know and rely on God, where I can discover His wisdom and power. Only a fool would say that their virtue is greater than that. If my own strengths were of any use and made me certain of winning my battles and being on top of things, I would have no room in my life for Jesus. Being slow, weak and unable is not shameful. Instead, it ensures that I will cling tightly to my Almighty Savior.

What makes me tick?

The shooting in Connecticut raises the question of what makes people do what they do? While no one can get into the minds of others, we can understand what drives someone else if we have similar motivations or have at least thought of doing the same things.

Last Sunday I heard a sermon about motivation, the first one I can remember on that topic. Even though it was delivered with grace, I felt a little uncomfortable. Is that because I don’t want anyone to know what makes me do what I do? I’m not sure.

Being challenged about my motivations must be a good thing because God challenges me often on this topic. I’m to be motivated by love, just as the sermon indicated, but Jesus had lots to say about other motivations, for instance, money.

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

While some intend with their resources for good, the Bible warns that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:10). It can be the means by which we satisfy our desires, gain power, or become well-known and well-liked. These motivations go deeper and God warns me about them too.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. (1 John 2:15–16)

To those who respond to Jesus in faith, He offers a different way of life. He gives us new motivations along with a new citizenship. Because of that, we find ourselves aliens in this world.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:19)

This is not very comfortable. Humanly, we want to be friends with everyone, not rejected because we love Jesus and belong to His kingdom. Not only that, as a Christian how do I respond to God’s command to love others when they hate me? How can I love people without getting involved in the things that motivate them? Why is being separate from the world so important to God and so difficult for His people? We live here. This is not an easy assignment.

Today’s devotional verses add a further warning to show that this is no small command. Instead, it is vital in my relationship with the Lord.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the Spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:4–7)

The devotional writer says that being friends with the world is like ivy growing on an oak tree. The ivy may give the oak a beautiful appearance, but is actually feeding on its vitals. This is what the world can do to me. These verses also suggest that the devil is behind this motivation.

I have to ask myself if I am compromising with this enemy. Am I motivated by the world? By its honors? Its pleasures? Its applause? Those things might add to my appearance in the world’s estimation, but they suck away my spiritual strength.

Other examples come to mind: the desire to be smartest or the best, one-upmanship, quick answers or the desire to be noticed by what clothes and accessories I select, how and when I talk, what I do or don’t do. These are convicting and conviction is why most of us are not excited to talk or even think about what makes us tick. Yet there is an alternative…

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

My greatest resource is my only resource

Randy Alcorn wrote a book called Money, Possessions and Eternity. I’m about halfway through reading it. I’m impressed with his thorough biblical research and how he ties God’s truth to human experience and attitudes. He clearly shows how money is not the root of all evil, but that, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” and that “it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Jesus said that no one can love both money and God. Alcorn shows how that love for money draws people away from trusting the Lord, for lovers of money think that money will supply all their needs and be the source of their happiness. This is a claim for God alone. When the prophet Jeremiah was sent to speak to those who were well off, he told them:

I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from your youth, that you have not obeyed my voice. (Jeremiah 22:21)

These prosperous people would not listen to their Creator God, but they had listened to their idol god, cash in the bank. So also did Solomon, the writer of many Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes. He had seen prosperity. He may have been the richest man of his time, but he realized the vanity of riches. They did not give him the satisfaction he sought. He learned the hard way that staying close to God was far more important than prosperity. In his compilation of wisdom, he included these words of Agur…

Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:8–9)

As I reflect on these words, I think of many family members and friends who have followed the same allure. However, I cannot point fingers for I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of putting too much focus on my cash flow. As a very poor new Christian, God showed me that I didn’t have to worry about money, that He would take care of me. Now I have all that I need, even more, I know the temptations that go with prosperity. Money is far easier to spend than to earn. 

However, as Alcorn’s book says, when I die, none of my money or stuff will go into eternity with me. I can “lay up treasure in heaven” but hoarding it here is folly, as is spending it on stuff I don’t need and cannot use. 

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God, I’m thankful for Your care, but aware that I need to focus on You rather than what You do for me. When life is over, You remain as my greatest and only asset. Help me to always remember and rely on You, not on anything else.

To Live is Christ — taking care of business

A few years ago a woman started coming to our Bible study. She was a new Christian but an angry one. She took every opportunity to speak against the people that had wronged her. If not that, she broke each moment of silence to talk about herself.

Nevertheless, she sincerely wanted to grow and be a better person. One day when alone with her, the Holy Spirit put on my heart to suggest that she would not grow as long as her focus was on herself. A long silence. Then she said, “You are right.” She took that suggestion seriously. Her life began to change in remarkable way. She is now a joyful, happy person.

I need to remember my own advice. The last part of today’s devotional reading asks, “How much do you grow in the Lord when you have vindictive or spiteful thoughts?” This comes from the middle of this passage . . . 

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. (1 Peter 3:8–9)

My answer to that question? Not very much. Growth is not about filling my head with Bible knowledge. Some say that knowledge must go from my head to my heart. I say it has to go from knowing it to obeying it.

I can make excuses for getting upset with people. I’ve had some nasty things done to me. Anyone else would be angry and want to get even, or at least think unkind thoughts. Yet the Bible is clear. Vengeance and retaliation are God’s business. My business is to bless people.

Sometimes blessing others means telling them the truth in love, which motivated my suggestion to that new Christian. Sometimes blessing is keeping my mouth shut. Regardless of how it is expressed or shown to others, a blessing comes from a sympathetic and loving heart. It is tenderness coupled with humility. Whatever I say to others comes from “been there, done that” humility, besides a deep desire that they prosper, move forward and know Christ better.

Some people narrow the meaning of blessing. For them, it is feel-good situations and/or money. They like the Bible verses that promise a blessing to generous people, interpreting these to mean that God wants them rich. While money is not evil in itself, the love of it is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10). So also is love of self, ease, power and control. Evil has many motivations and definitions.

Likewise, blessing has many descriptions, all opposite to the words that describe evil or sin. Stuff like retaliation, spite, pride, a contrary or harsh spirit, lack of affection, hardness of heart, name-calling, and selfishness cannot produce words or actions of blessing.

Not only that, things like this are a barricade. They stop the love of God from flowing to me and through me, and keep me from becoming more like Jesus. God wants every part of me clean and prepared to take care of the business He has given me. I cannot grow if I hang on to even a hint of stinky thinking.