Content with whatever God puts on my plate . . .

The third chapter of James begins with a warning to those wanting to be teachers, then several reminders about the power of speech, and ends with a definition of wisdom. The section is too long to consider every verse, yet an overview gives me a good idea of what God is saying to me today.

I’ve been a Bible study leader for years, but not lately. In 2012 we moved and began attending a church near our new home. Then God led me to take a master’s degree in ‘biblical and theological studies.’ During that time, I was invited to teach, but the class didn’t go well, partly because I was trying to teach at the level I was learning. Since then, God has me leading a small prayer group, but I’ve missed teaching a class. Today, He says to me:

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (James 3:1)

The transition to the next section on speaking is abrupt, prompting research. I discovered that most commentaries are analytical rather than devotional with the authors trying to discern the author’s reasoning rather than listening for God’s voice. While correct exegesis is important in devotions, they were not helpful.

I did find an interesting statistic (that I cannot verify); the average human spends 1/5 of their life talking. If we wrote what we talk, that could be a 50-page book every day of our lives. Since teachers talk more than average, this is putting a lot of ideas in front of people, never mind the responsibility of knowing what we talk about.

The other thing that helps me with this verse is that this cannot refer to God’s judgment in the sense of being under condemnation. Jesus has already taken that from us. It might be about the Bema judgment where God will discern the eternal value of our works (and our words). It also could be about the judgment of others. Teachers are up front meaning their speech is more likely to be picked apart in a stricter way than the average talker.

That said, I’m rethinking my desire to teach again! Is that what I want? I don’t mind the occasional jibe from someone reading these posts, but realize that most pastors, Bible teachers, professors and so on receive a great deal of criticism, often unfounded and often from less educated people who have not done their homework. This is not very appealing.

The rest of James 3 builds on this reality. He writes about the power of the tongue, comparing it to other ‘small’ things that have great influence. He points out how hard it is to tame — doesn’t everyone blurt out things they later wish they could take back? He writes also about the inconsistency of our speech. Sometimes we are filled with the Spirit and with gracious words, but sometimes we are filled with ourselves and with unkind and thoughtless words. The warning to those who wish to be teachers is valid and needs thoughtful consideration.

The last part of this chapter (remembering that chapter divisions are man-made and not in the original text) is about wisdom. It is from God and in great contrast to those who don’t have it. Lack of wisdom is characterized by jealousy and selfish ambition. He even calls it ‘earthly, unspiritual, demonic’ causing ‘disorder and every vile practice.’ As I read this, I recall twinges of envy when others are teaching, and recognize selfish ambition. This is not from God and is not His motivation for teaching others.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, You are the model for teachers. James says wisdom is ‘pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.’ Those who have make peace and sow a harvest of righteousness. This describes You. I have a long way to go.

Today’s thankful list . . .

Good thoughts and advice every day from God’s Word.

A nice long walk on another beautiful fall day.

Being able to sleep so soundly that the telephone does not wake me!

The freedom to vote.

Chicken stir fry and ice cream sandwiches.

The television has an ‘off’ button.

Blurry Morals?

My current topic of study is Christian ethics. For eight weeks, we are looking at the question: If salvation is a free gift from God rather than having anything to do with good works, why then are Christians required to do good deeds? This question has been more than an academic debate. In many cases, its interpretation can affect a person’s eternal destiny.

If anyone bases their relationship to God on what they are doing for God, they are in danger. But if anyone claims faith in Jesus Christ but are not doing anything for God, they also are in danger. Obviously, our moral life is important and this is an important question.

The short answer is this: if a person genuinely believes in Christ for their salvation and has received His gift of eternal life, then Christ lives in them and they cannot help but behave differently. This means that a declaration of faith is important, but the test of faith is what happens to the human heart because of it. Faith is not easy to measure, but the life of a person who humbly depends on God should be visible.

All that said, Jesus challenges His people to think eternally. Instead of bowing before the idols of this life that will eventually perish, He said that giving up temporal stuff, or attachment to temporal stuff, to follow Him would have visible results in this life and eternal results in the next . . .  

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? (Mark 8:34–37)

What does it mean to deny myself? God is not saying to fast all the time, to give away all my possessions, to never have any fun, as some would interpret this. He is talking about my inner motivations and desires. Do they come from Jesus Christ who lives in me? Or are they from my old nature that wants things my way? When I make plans, do I consult the Lord? Or do I just make plans?

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. (James 4:13–17)

Thinking from an eternal perspective is also very practical when it comes to fighting temptation. Sin is always about the temporary. Whatever I might gain from yielding to it will eventually be lost, but obedience to God results in eternal gain. That is why the Bible tells me to think about eternity and is quite specific in how that works and what it looks like . . .  

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices (Colossians 3:2–9)  . . . For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:26)

My hardest fought spiritual battles have been to do as these verses describe. I tend to be a “right now” thinker, not dwelling on the past (which can be good, but is sometimes needed to learn lessons from mistakes) or planning much for the future. While controlling the future is out of my hands, thinking of what I do now in the light of eternity has become an important part of saying no to temporary sinful pleasures and worthless activities.

How can I know what has value and what is worthless? The only way is by knowing what prompts my interest. Is it Jesus through the Holy Spirit? Or does it come from my empty and sinful self? Have I prayed about it? What does the Bible say about it? What have other Christians discovered? What do those in authority over me say?

God does not leave His people without the resources to know His will concerning morality. As I’m learning, Christian ethics is not a fuzzy topic!

To Live is Christ — knowing who is in charge

Imagine yourself the president of a major country. You want to be a good leader and you want your nation to prosper. Suppose you cannot sleep so you wander to the local chapel and ponder how best to govern and what to do about the current economy. Suddenly God walks beside you and begins to tell you what to do.

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:12–14)

Sometimes I read the letters to the editor section of the local newspaper and find at least one person complaining about the government, either local, provincial or federal. In their mind, everything that goes wrong is the fault of the leader, whatever his jurisdiction. They threaten to vote him or her out of office unless great change happens.

In some cases and some situations, they could be right. Leaders make mistakes and the results grieve their people. However, these Old Testament verses take a different view. God tells Solomon to be a good king in other passages, but here He says that if trouble happens, He is sending it as a warning or a punishment to the people. The way that their trouble can be “fixed” is if the people turn from what they are doing wrong and seek God and His forgiveness.

Many countries will not tolerate a mixture of religion and politics. In ancient Rome, the church was the state. It didn’t work very well. Many modern countries are ruled by their current religious ideals and the zealots who hold them. This isn’t working either.

In history, the Christian church has been government controlled. That was never the intention of God. While Christians need to submit to laws and legislation, our leader is Jesus Christ, not the current head of government or any governing body. He tells us to obey our leaders, but we obey because He says so; He is our leader. At the same time, separation of church and state should never forbid a political leader from having religious views and beliefs. Those nations whose leaders are atheists have suffered greatly under that rule.

However, not all national calamities are the fault of the leaders, as God says in this passage. God is bigger than government. What political entity can shut up heaven and stop the rain? What politician can tell locusts to eat up the crops, or send a virus to destroy lives? God reigns over all political systems and leaders. If He sees a people group going a certain direction, He has the power to influence a change or even stop them. Government might try, but they do not have the omnipotence of God.

Beyond that, God is most concerned with how His people behave. As a Christian, I am aware of my responsibility toward government, but also toward God. While these verses are directed to Solomon and Israel, they show what God is like and describe His power and His values. What I do, and what those in my church and the church at large do, can affect how God deals with our entire nation.

These and other verses also tell me that God controls climate and natural disaster. Much of the world panics and struggles to be good stewards of our environment. Our failures in that area could be a part of the problem, but perhaps the greater bottom line is that nations and people groups are simply ignoring God. When we try doing what we think needs to be done — as if we have no moral or spiritual responsibilities toward God — then we can expect Him to demonstrate who is actually in charge.