What are Our Priorities?

On Wednesday I read a tweet by Albert Mohler. He stated: There are now 7 billion people in the world. 6 billion of them have access to a cell phone. Only 4.5 billion have access to a working toilet.

The content of the tweet grabbed my attention. I did some research and found a short article from Time that offered more information(More People have Cell Phones than Toilets). The article quoted U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson describing these numbers as a global crisis people “don’t like to talk about.” That comment sparked more of my attention.

I did not take the time to study the history of toilets, but I am pretty confident in making the assertion that toilets have been around much longer than cell phones, at least at a popular, everyday, consumer kind of level. If that is true, why is it that so many more people have access to a cell phone than a toilet? Especially given that toilets offer consider health benefits to all people?

I wonder if part of the reason is one of priorities. We live in a world that values certain things. We value the appearance of cool. Having the latest cell phone in the US can give you a cool factor. Perhaps in places like Haiti having any cell phone makes you cool. I am not sure that we ever make a connection between cool and toilets. Maybe we need to change that perception.

Another issue we tend to value is money. Though I do not know for sure, I am under the impression that companies involved with cell phones have made a great deal of money as the cell phone market has expanded. Though there is a considerable capital investment in developing and then expanding a cell phone network, the return on the investment has certainly been profitable for many. And with continued usage of cell phones, cell phone service providers generate a noted level of income. Much like the coolness factor, toilets do not seem to be an income generating commodity. We will apply effort and resources if it leads to income, but will we do the same for the health and benefit of others?

The tweet I read on Wednesday has led to considerable personal reflection. What are my priorities? How important is money or having at least some measure of coolness? Perhaps one way to begin addressing this global crisis is by addressing the personal issue of priority. I wonder if Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:33 – “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” – need to be re-visited by each of us. If we need to re-align our values and priorities with the Great Commandment found in Matthew 22:34-40 of loving God and loving people. Maybe we need to think about how Philippians 2:3-4 could be applied in our lives the next time we touch our cell phones, and the next time we use the restrooms.

Philippians 2:3-4 – Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of us look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Prayerfully, we will see a dramatic increase in people with access to toilets in the next five years. For that to happen, I think our priorities will need to be addressed.

Boston Thoughts

My usual thoughts on the third Monday of April, after the news reports how fast the winners of the Boston Marathon completed the 26 mile course is how fast they can run, and how slow I jog. This year, that thought never crossed my mind. Rather, I was simply shocked when I heard the news. Later on Monday evening I had the chance to watch a portion of the news coverage and see a video of the explosion. I went to bed pondering how is it that people can do those kinds of things to other people. Then this morning, I heard on the radio warnings about how some people were malevolently pretending to raise money for people impacted by the explosion. How can people manipulate the good will of other in response to tragedy?

Judges 21:25 came to mind as I was walking from the car into my office this morning. It reads:

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

Two things stood out in the verse as I thought about it. The first part of the verse speaks of a disregard for God’s leadership. Israel may not have had a human king during the period of the Judges, but they did have God, the One they were in a covenant with. Yet they operated without regard for God. And as the second part of the verse points toward, they also operated without regard for God’s commands.

In their contempt for God, brought themselves heart and grief God never intended for them. In fact, in Deuteronomy 12:28, God had promised them a much better life, if they would do what was good and right in the sight of God. God’s commands were not intended to hinder life; they were intended to enhance life.

How should I respond two days after Boston? I believe the words of the Great Commandment offer us great wisdom. Matthew 22:37-40 read:

And he said to them, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

To respond to things like want happened in Boston on Monday or in Newtown on December 14 or in Aurora this past summer, we need to be people who love God and love people. We need to follow God’s leadership by honoring His commands.

Why is Judgment Our Default?

Near the end of my message on Sunday, I commented that it is easier for us to understand judgment than mercy. We like to receive mercy, but judgment makes sense to us. Following the message I was asked: Why does judgment make sense to us? Why is judgment our default setting?

In thinking about that question, I was reminded of something I had just read a few days in the book, Faithmapping by Daniel Montgomery and Mike Cosper. They noted how “American audiences have a deep love for tales of revenge.”[1] For examples of this love they offered Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Supremacy, Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, NBC’s Vengeance, The Godfather, and Taken.

Why do we watch those kinds of shows and go to those kinds of movies? Montgomery and Cosper suggested that though we might be slightly twisted in wanting revenge, our desire for revenge is connected to a God-given sense of justice. Within us, there is a desire to make sure that wrongs will be set right, that justice will be brought. Our default setting for justice is something that God has given us.

Our God-given desire for justice is in part a pointer for us to God. Ultimately, God is the One who will bring judgment. We may want judgment, but it is not our job. It is God’s job, and He has promised that He will set everything right (Rom. 12:19).

Something that is amazing to me, a very clear statement of God setting everything right – 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 – is found in the chapter in the Bible that highlights the Gospel, that speaks very directly to us about Jesus’ death and resurrection. God’s judgment and dealing with evil is not separate from His grace and mercy. Judgment is part of our default setting, but mercy and judgment are a part of God’s default setting.  Perhaps as I receive God’s mercy, I will find that not only is judgment a God-given desire, but so is mercy.

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[1]Daniel Montgomery and Mike Cosper, Faithmapping: A Gospel Atlas for Your Spiritual Journey (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013), 69.

Sad Beyond Measure

Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey wrote a book together in 1980 entitled, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. This book made a noted impact on me as a high school student who was trying to make sense of a bunch of things including life and God. Title of the book was taken from Psalm 139:13-16, which read:

For you formed my inward parts;
    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴ I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

As I high school I struggled a great deal with issues like self-image and self-esteem. God used the Brand-Yancey book and Psalm 139, particularly the verses noted above to challenge me to re-consider God’s incredible value of life, even my life. I believe from the moment of concept forward, human life of is incredible value to God. I also believe it should be value to us as people created in the image of God.

 I truly wish it was not the case, but in what seems like increasing ways, we as citizens of the world, are growing to less and less regard for life. This morning, through a news briefing email I subscribe to, I saw two articles that I believe are sad in a manner that is almost beyond measure. One concerns an incident in China (China one child policy enforcer runs over baby), the other references an article in a British medical ethics journal (Killing babies no different from abortion experts say).  

I do not believe our world will improve if we continue to embrace values that degenerate and disregard life as precious.  Please join me in praying for God to convict us of our disdain and derision of His values. May we come to know the truth of Psalm 139:13-16.

Am I Inconsistent with the Bible?

Last week, the United States Supreme Court held two days of oral arguments related to same-sex marriage. As has become common in the last few years, social media exploded with comments on the topic. On the Monday evening, my newsfeed on Facebook displayed a lively discussion among a group of college-aged young people expressing their views on same-sex marriage. A number of times in the 40 or so postings that I saw made mention of the Bible. Some were saying the Bible makes the issue clear, whereas others were suggesting that the Bible was being used inconsistently. How can you say homosexuality or same-sex marriage is wrong, if you disregard some of God’s commands about food, and eat ham or shellfish?

Though no one stated it in a post, there were questions being asked in the background. Questions like: Are we inconsistent in how we read the Bible? Why do we try to follow some of the Old Testament commands but not all of them?

Though answering those questions could require taking a semester long class in a theological seminary and reading a number of books and papers, I would like to try and offer some quick handles to help us read and follow our Bible consistently, and to have a way to answer people when they ask if we are being inconsistent.

Handle #1 – Some Commands had a built in Expiration Date

Exodus 25:40 is a short verse that we could easily pass over in reading our Bibles. But it is a verse that we should pay attention to carefully when answering these questions. It reads:

And see that you make them after the pattern for them, which is being show you on the mountain.

The point of the verse was that Moses and the people building the tabernacle and all its stuff were actually building a model, patterned after the real thing. God was telling Moses, the builders, and all readers since that there was a built in obsolescence to the tabernacle and everything related to it. In case the readers did not catch that in verse 40, God had already said the same thing in Exodus 25:9, and then repeated it again in Exodus 26:30 and 27:8.

Why bring that up? The tabernacle, and later the temple, was the place where people went to meet with God in the Old Testament. A large number of commands in the first part of the Old Testament were given so that people would know how to approach the Holy God. They needed to be purified. We call those commands the ceremonial law. Those laws, which touched on issues like food and clothing, were given so people could be pure and could approach God. But since the tabernacle was a model, not the real thing, those commands, like certain foods we know today, had an expiration date. They were valid for a time, but not for forever.

When was the expiration date? Matthew 27:51 says:

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.

The curtain of the temple served as a physical barrier between God’s presence and the people. When Jesus died on the cross, God, torn that curtain from top to bottom. God declared that the way we come to Him, the Holy God was no longer through ceremonial laws, but through the purification that comes through trusting the Lord Jesus. Hebrews 10:19-22 calls us to draw near to God through Jesus.

When we no longer follow the ceremonial law, we are not being inconsistent; we are being obedient to God. We are coming to God the way He says we should. The ceremonial law served its purpose, but that purpose was brought to completion in the Lord Jesus.

Handle #2 – Some Commands are non-perishable

In a number of places in the New Testament, commands from the Old Testament are clarified, re-stated, or re-affirmed. The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 and Romans 13:8:10 are just two examples where God underlines that some of the commands He made in the Old Testament are still valid and binding. They are non-perishable. We still are called by God to conform our sexual lives to His standards, to honor life as He honors life, to contribute to others rather than take from them and desire to have their stuff, instead of them having their stuff.

I pray these handles offer you some help in reading and following the Bible. Clearly I did not address every issue, please let me know other questions and issues you might have concerning reading and following the Bible