Less is More: The Buzz of Busy-ness!

Over and against The Sound of Silence (my 9/9/07 sermon) there is the Buzz of Busy-ness: the seemingly infinite list of things vying for attention. Tasks to be finished. Duties to be performed. Accounts to be settled.

St. Augustine argued that no material thing could be inherently good or bad; only our abuse of an object could turn it into something bad as we make it an idol or pervert its original purpose. Many of the voices clamoring for attention are potentially good—even noble—activities worthy of our best effort (e.g. parenting, marriage, jobs, civic duties, church) but how do we keep our priorities straight amid the clamor?

Luke 10:38-42

Commentary

v40 Truly a bad translation. The NIV takes the Greek word diakonia and translates it as "the preparations that had to be made." Diakonia is a common NT word meaning "humble acts of service," ranging from serving food to widows (Acts 6:1) to ministry within a church (Acts 6:4). Do you see the word "deacon" in diakonia? Deacons are the ones performing acts of service within the church.

What would you do if Jesus came to your house for dinner? Martha sees herself as serving Jesus even as a priest serves God in the temple. Food preparation, cleaning, decorating, etc. has all taken on a high, exalted purpose in Martha’s mind ... but has she made it into something more than it should be?

Martha confronts Jesus: Do you care? This question lurks behind many confrontations with Jesus; sometimes the question is explicit (e.g. Jesus calming the storm) and sometimes the question is implied (e.g. Lazarus, blind Bartimaeus, or the Syro-Phoenician woman). Like Martha, when we find ourselves feeling abandoned, the question, "Do you care?" leads to doubt, "Does it make any difference?"

v42 "Taken away" is not nearly aggressive enough to convey the force here. Sins (Luke 1:25), jobs (Luke 16:3), God’s word & salvation (Rev. 22:19) ... even ears (Luke 22:50) are taken away by force. The busy-ness of life—even busy-ness of good deeds and service to God—must not be allowed to rob us of time spent with God.

Application

Only one thing is needed—not what we bring to God, but what God brings to us: a word from God which makes the Spirit of Christ abound in us. A word of forgiveness: You are forgiven. A word of instruction: Blessed are the children of God. A word of correction: Let it be. A word of hope: I know you. The word must be fresh each day, for the word is for today’s walk, today’s troubles, today’s encouragement.

Points to Ponder

What is your heart attitude when you are busy at church?

What are your good and noble duties in the world? Check your heart attitude. What drives you now?

Would your attitude about spending time with God change if you realized how much God cares about you and the time you spend with him? Ask God to show you how much he DOES care!

End Notes

1 - Talk about serendipity. A Christianity Today article this week was on this exact topic: The Good Life: Augustine says we must love the very best the most.

Less is More: Looking out for #1

There is a saying: Pray as if everything depends on God, but work as if everything depends on you. Our spiritual growth comes from keeping these two—both very necessary—perspectives in balance. When life comes at us as a series of non-stop, high-priority demands, we respond to the stress by shutting down. We start looking out for #1: ourselves! We forget that our success does not just depend on us. On the other hand, even as we ask God to be #1 in our lives, there is an essential chore for us to perform in order to manifest God’s power at work in us ...

Luke 12:22-34

Commentary

This discourse also appears in Matthew 6:19-34 (although the order of verses differs slightly). The contexts of the two accounts also differ; Matthew’s account in the Sermon on the Mount is one of many exhortations there to an ethical lifestyle. In Luke’s account, the discourse is preceded by the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:13-21, i.e. last week's sermon, "Because Enough is Never Enough") and is followed by an warning to be watchful and ready (Luke 12:35-48).

v25 "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" How you interpret this verse will affect your interpretation of the entire discourse. Or does Jesus mean that nothing you do makes any difference? That’s pretty fatalistic: it’s all in God’s hands, and I can do nothing about it. Or does Jesus mean that of all the things that can add to your life—e.g. exercise—worry is not one of them? Think of the Serenity Prayer:

Lord, grant me
serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can, and
wisdom to know the difference.

When we worry, are we eschewing serenity, courage, and wisdom in favor of anxiety that accomplishes nothing?

v29 Luke says, "Do no set your heart on ..." (or "Do not seek ...") while Matt. 6:31 says, "Do not worry ..."

How do seeking our own solutions vs. worrying about problems differ as human responses to trouble? Which tends to take you further from God?

v31 What is the kingdom of God? What you give as an answer will make a huge difference in how you respond to God in your life. If the kingdom of God is off in the future, then changing your life today will never be a high priority. However, Jesus says that the kingdom of God is at work now wherever the power of God is at work; hence the chance to change your life today is a real, immediate priority!

Matt. 6:33 says, "Seek first his kingdom ..." Although Luke’s account doesn’t include the word "first", what in Luke’s account indicates that seeking God’s kingdom is still supposed to be our first priority?

v32 Only Luke mentions this. The key point is the assurance that God is pleased to make the kingdom a reality for us.

v33-34 Matthew puts these verses at the beginning of his account. By putting them here at the end, Luke is emphasizing the practical outworking of v31 and counseling against passivity. If v22-30 is praying as if everything depends on God, then perhaps v33-34 is working as if everything depends on you.

Application

In the Lord’s Prayer, we plead to God, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Do we really mean what we’re saying?

How would our lives change if God’s rule—the kingdom of God—became a reality today? [1]

Seeking the kingdom of God (v31) is the pursuit of this reality. However, when you find this reality, you will be there ... and everything in your life must come under the rule of God, or it’s not really the kingdom of God being manifested! [2]

I’ve said before I think we’re all closet Pentecostals—we want God to work on us magically & directly without affecting our relationships with others or with the world. If only God worked that way, we think, maybe—maybe!—we could be changed and our worldly lives would remain unaffected. Wrong!

To follow God is to change; to not change is to not follow God.

When we give our worries and cares over to God, we are praying as if everything depends on God. We’re making God #1. That’s a good start! However, the practical outworking of our desire requires real work on our part, letting God’s kingdom—God’s rule—change how we live in the world. Our tendency is to give our cares to God and then try to wrest control back when God moves too slowly. When we try to take control, we’re saying, "My will, not Thy will, be done!" We’ve reverted to making ourselves #1.

More and more, I wonder if some of the verses about selling off possessions [3] are intended to help us remove the temptations to reverting to old behaviors, counting on our ability to provide comfort for ourselves. Burn your bridges behind you, as it were, making sure that you can’t go back to your old life.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

Points to Ponder

What if you took the material thing that you treasure most in the world and got rid of it? Is that too radical an interpretation of v33? What if you sold your brand new 42" HDTV, your $30,000 truck, your family heirlooms, etc. and gave the money to the poor? Elsewhere Jesus says:

"If your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out," (Mark 9:47), and

"Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me," (Mark 17:21)

Do you miss God’s full blessing by refusing a radical faith?

If you had less in the way of possessions to distract you, where do you think God’s rule would be more evident in your life?

Nothing will change in our lives as long as we live in fear. v29-30 is a reminder that God knows what we need and is ready & willing to give it to us. Dare we trust him?

Could it be that, once we start giving our possessions away, they lose their power to possess us?
End Notes:

1 - Amos 5:18-27 suggests that those who wish most fervently for God’s coming might be in for a rude shock when God’s rule finally manifests itself! We try to have it both ways, worshipping God with our mouths even as we worship ourselves with our wallets. God knows the score.

2 - In all fairness, this is a lifetime struggle, because we are depraved, selfish critters despite our most sincere intentions. But we can get close (Jesus frequently praises those who are close, e.g. Mark 12:28-34), and we are exhorted to work at making this kingdom a reality. We delude ourselves as to what the kingdom looks like, but Jesus is clear that manifestation of the kingdom of God is a radical change from our present age Luke 11:20.

3 - For example, look at the story of the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30) or the parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl (Matt. 13:44-46). Certainly there are other motivations for giving money away in a radical manner. Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), Mary anointing Jesus’ feet (John 12:1-8), and the early church (Acts 2:42-47) are examples of where the kingdom of God is truly manifest.

Less is More: Because Enough is Never Enough

We are not designed for a life of non-stop crises. When life comes at us as a series of non-stop, high-priority demands, we respond to the stress by shutting down. We become reactive, responding to either the most recent demand, or the one which makes us feel the best. American consumerism overwhelms us with its non-stop demands (Buy now!) challenges to our vanity (Be the first!) and appeals to our guilt (If you really love them ...). We have lost our capacity to say, "No," to the non-essentials.

Luke 12:13-21 (contrast this with Luke 12:32-34)

Commentary

This story is so typical of Jesus. The issue taken to Jesus—an appeal for an ethical ruling involving a 3rd party—is not addressed by Jesus. Rather he goes after the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s underlying spiritual condition. When we have a problem,

how frequently do we blame something else, and

how frequently do we blame ourselves?

The anonymous person in crowd is complaining about his brother, but Jesus says, in effect, "You can deal with your problem with your brother after you deal with the problem in your own heart."

v15 Brian McLaren says this is the defining verse for 21st Century American culture.

v16 Note that the rich man has no role in producing the crop. It is a blessing from God, something that the ground does on its own.

v17 Strangely, it never occurs to the rich man to give his surplus away, or even to sell it. His every thought is for himself. His concern is not for what he needs—he is, after all, already rich—but rather how best to hoard this windfall for later.

v19 A better translation of v19 is:

And I will say to my soul: Soul, you have plenty of good things stored up for plenty of years. Rest! Eat! Drink! Be merry!

Three words of note here:

soul (psyche): the innermost being (sometimes translated "self" or "person"); hence v19 denotes a private reflection revealing a spiritual flaw (the repetition of the word twice in the verse when it might have been rephrased differently emphasizes that this is a window into the inner person).

plenty (polus): the rich man has made a judgment that he has a sufficiency; by making this judgment, he sets himself up as lord of his own life (specifically he is neither trusting God to provide nor seeking God’s guidance for what to do with his bounty).

rest (anapauo): (sometimes translated "refresh") this is the only instance of the word in the NT where God is NOT the source of rest or the direct agent through whom rest comes (Matt. 11:28; Matt. 26:45; Mark 6:31; Mark 14:41; 1 Cor. 16:18; 2 Cor. 7:13; Philemon 7, 20; 1 Peter 4:14; Rev. 6:11; Rev. 14:13). Seeking to find rest in anything apart from God is idolatry, pure & simple.

v21 "rich toward God" is better translated as either "rich in God" or "generous to God." Each better describes a life oriented around God. In the NT, earthly possessions are always an offering which you lay up in service to your god: yourself, your family, your church, or something else (e.g. Matt. 6:19,20; Romans 2:5;1 Cor. 16:2; James 5:3). The rich man has laid his treasure on the altar to himself. There is always an accounting for how we spend what God has given us.

Application

Enough is never enough. Best guess is that the rich man’s barns were already big enough for more than he needed; however, he (like us) wanted just a little bit more. We continually lie to ourselves, claiming that, "Really, I just need a bit more ..." But our hunger never ends. Our words reveal our orientation: we continually try to gratify ourselves and find comfort (rest) in our own indulgence. In the story, God demands the man’s life; but what if the man had been given one more year, what would have happened? If he had another bumper crop, would he have said, "I have enough," or would he have built even bigger barns?

We’re approaching the season of excess & runaway consumerism. Over the next 3 months, think on this:

your loved ones, family, and friends don’t need your money or your stuff ...

they need a relationship with Jesus & a relationship with you.

The holidays leave us dissatisfied, because we seek to be rich in stuff instead of being rich in God. We seek comfort from stuff, but God has wired us to find comfort in relationships—with him first and foremost and with each other. Seeking comfort from earthly goods is idolatry and will never satisfy ... when are we going to repent of it and seek another way?

The holidays leave us dissatisfied, because we seek to use the stuff to supply something that is missing in the relationship. We buy stuff, because we think the stuff is a quantifiable expression of our love; the more we buy, the logic goes, the more we love. We buy stuff, because we feel guilty about what is wrong in the relationship. Money and material gifts cannot heal what is wrong with a relationship ... when are we going to repent of it and seek another way?

The tip-off that our materialist approach to the holidays is sick and wrong comes in the mail in January in the form of bills we cannot immediately pay. Every year I hear stories of people that cannot pay their oil bills, cannot buy food, cannot tithe, etc. because of their credit card bills. Yet we repeatedly do the same thing year after year ... are you ready to seek another way?

The tip-off that our materialist approach to the holidays is sick and wrong is evident every year when we have to rearrange our old stuff to make room for our new stuff. In doing so, we make a prophet out of George Carlin, who quips, "A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff." We are dangerously like the rich man in today’s story ... are you ready to seek another way?

Points to Ponder

You have something more precious than money and stuff: time. Money and material goods can be replaced; time can never be replaced. Once spent, time is gone. Time is the much more valuable gift to give those you love. Curiously, time together is probably the thing most missing and most needed in your relationships with the ones you love.

Are you ready to try making relationships (with Jesus, with loved ones) the priority this year over stuff? The lie is that the treasure is the stuff; you know the truth: the treasure comes through the time spent with those you love.

Make a list of those you love. What would happen if you gave them a relational gift (e.g. time, understanding, or comfort) instead of a material gift? What fears come up for you? These fears hold you in bondage. What has more power in your life, the fears or a God who says, "Behold, I make all things new!" (Rev 21:5)?

At the end of it all, there is still one person you must deal with: yourself. Nothing in your life is going to change is you do not face the fears, hungers, and anxieties which drive you to try to spend your way to happiness. I ask you to look at your relationship with God:

There is no material gift you can give to God which will make him love you more, and

There is no material gift God can give to you which will make you love him more.

Look at the rich man in today’s story: if material blessings could make somebody love God, that man would have been first in line to love God. Our love of God comes through relational gifts—forgiveness, understanding, comfort, solidarity, etc.—not material gifts. Since we are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) why would we think that our love for one another could be any different?

Less is More: The Sound of Silence

With Labor Day behind us, we’ll now turn from baseball-themed sermons to something a bit more serious. For a long time, I have been concerned that we are losing our ability to discriminate between:

the crucial issues of life, which we must address, and

the lesser issues of life, which necessarily must take a back seat from time to time.

Everything comes to us as a top priority; everything is marked "Urgent!"; everything demands to be handled ASAP. Many troubles call themselves crises simply to get our attention—this is the devil’s lie to get us off our spiritual path. Now, more than ever, we need to be able to distinguish between what the real and the illusory, the important and the unimportant, the essential and the merely nice-to-have. Even as Christians we are failing to say, "No," to the non-essentials cluttering our lives.

We are not designed for a life of non-stop crises. When life comes at us as a series of non-stop, high-priority demands, we respond to the stress by shutting down. We become reactive, responding to either the most recent demand, or the one which makes us feel the best. We lose our capacity to say, "Yes," to the essentials and to say, "No," to the non-essentials.

1 Kings 19:9-18

Commentary

After confronting & killing the priests of Baal at Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:16ff), priests brought into Israel by Queen Jezebel and acceded to by King Ahab, one might have thought that Elijah would not fear human reprisals. However, Jezebel vowed to kill Elijah, and Elijah ran for his life (1 Kings 19:3) and after a journey of 40 days & nights (symbolic of what?) Elijah found himself on Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God.

The Bible uses scores of names & titles for God: Adonai, El Shaddai, Lord of Hosts, etc. However, the most important name was a name so holy that no Jew would utter it aloud: the name revealed to Moses at the burning bush (go to Exodus 3, & study v13-15). In essence, God said to Moses, "I have heard the suffering of my people, and to those who doubt that I am even out there, I AM!"

The Hebrew for "I am" became Yahweh, the holiest name for God. The name Yahweh was a reminder of God’s love & care for his people. In the NIV, this name is always spelled in upper case.

Where does this holiest name for God appear most frequently? Why?

The gentle whisper in v13 is more accurately translated "a sound of silence." Simon & Garfunkel and Henri Nouwen describe this divine silence better than I ever could.

Points to Ponder

God rarely demands attention. He rarely announces, "This is urgent." In my experience, God speaks most forcefully during quiet times & with very few words. If we are driven by the loud demands that came like fire, wind, and earthquake, how likely are we to miss the quiet voice of God?

The Gospel of Baseball: Don't Look Back

Satchel Paige, the greatest pitcher in the former Negro Leagues, never had a chance to play major league baseball until 1948 when he was 42. He played in the major leagues through 1953, and then bounced around in the minor leagues until he was 60. However, in 1965, when Paige was 59, Charles O. Finley, owner of the Kansas City Athletics, signed Paige to a 1-game contract, and on September 25, 1965, Paige started and pitched 3 shutout innings against the Boston Red Sox, facing only 10 batters. The ancient Paige offered up the following as his "Rules for Staying Young":

Avoid fried meats which angry up the blood.

If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts.

Keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move.

Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society—the social ramble ain't restful.

Avoid running at all times.

And don't look back—something might be gaining on you.

Philippians 3:12-16

Commentary

We’re coming in on the middle of a plea by Paul. In v1-11, Paul lists off all the worldly successes he has achieved, and then he declares all of his achievements "rubbish" (v8). He concludes (v10-11):

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

v12 The above is what Paul says he has not yet fully obtained. Let’s break the above down: (1) knowing Christ; (2) knowing the power of his resurrection; (3) knowing (having) fellowship with Christ in suffering; (4) becoming like Christ in death; (5) being resurrected from the dead.

What on this list would Paul say he has achieved?

What would Paul say he is striving to achieve?

v13 Remember last week’s sermon about trials and temptations, "Don’t Put up Crooked Numbers"? Temptations are all about going backwards in life, while trials are all about going forward to what God is called you to be and to do. The ordeal is the same, but in your troubles know that God is calling you forward—to transform into some new thing. Backwards glances buy us nothing.

v14 What is the prize for which God calls Paul, or me, or you? I believe a lot of us settle for thinking of eternal life as our prize. [1] In pop culture, eternal life in heaven is everyone’s birthright; in evangelical Christianty, eternal life is a gift received by prayer after asking Jesus into our lives. Does either of these notions match how Paul is talking here? He seems to be working awfully hard if the prize is automatic, or a gift. Don’t conclude that Paul has to earn eternal life! Rather, I think Paul is talking about a different prize—one without which eternal life is worthless.

v15 Remember the sermon a few weeks back about perfection, "We Did Everything Right but Win"? Here again in v12 and v15 we see teleios, the common adjective for perfection, translated differently; in v12, it’s translated as "perfect" (although I think "complete" fits more with the point that Paul is making) and in v15 it’s translated as "mature".

In v12-16, Paul is talking about sanctification, the process whereby God changes us from what we were into a new creation. In this verse, although Paul urges everyone to adopt his perspective, he allows for different points of view. What do you think Paul means when he says, "If on some point you think differently that too God will make clear to you"?

v16 Regardless of whether we agree or not, Paul says, we must live out what we have attained. In v17-21, Paul contrasts those who live in a worldly manner with those who are living as citizens of heaven even now.

Application

Yogi Berra, once said, "I never blame myself when I'm not hitting ... If it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn't my fault that I'm not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?" Frequently a batter mired in a hitting slump will say stuff like, "I’m hitting the ball well—I’m just hitting it at people." To the uninitiated, this may sound like a rationalization, but to a ballplayer confidence that one is, in fact, making good contact is more important than the actual hits. If one is swinging well, logic says, the hits will eventually come.

Likewise, in our spiritual life, there are no guarantees that doing the right thing—loving our enemies, forgiving those we’d prefer to punish, telling the truth, etc.—will always get us the results we want at that time. Love your enemy? Your enemy may well try to take advantage of your good nature. Forgiveness? The one you forgive may well do the same thing again. Telling the truth frequently makes it easy for others to know where to ascribe blame. The Bible even warns us that such will happen (Matthew 5:38-38, Matthew 18:21-35, and 1 Kings 22, respectively). There is go guarantee that doing the right thing will get us a "hit", spiritually.

Here is why it’s important to know:

that God has called us to follow him,

where God has called us to follow,

what God has called us to do, and most of all,

what success looks like as we are following him.

We want success to look like prosperity, peace, happiness, etc.—all those good things that are part of shalom. God does want us to have all that, right? But the prize is Christ-likeness that comes only as Christ is alive in us and transforming us from the inside out. Peace without Christ in our lives is a false, and temporary, peace. On the other hand, turmoil in our lives we can accept if, and only if, Christ is at work in us. Just as hits will eventually come to the batter who is making good contact, peace and all the rest will come to those who are "making good contact" with God—i.e. have the Spirit of Christ at work in us.

The temptation during troubles is always to look back. See in this a regression—something that takes you further away from Christ. Rather, the challenge—and the prize—is to be changed through your ordeals into something new: a version of you that is more Christ-like than you were before, more mature, more complete, closer to being perfect.

Points to Ponder

So you want to live forever—good! Now, why would you want to live forever in heaven with God if you’re not working now to be a heavenly person?

Consider Luke 9:61-62:

[Someone] said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

How does this story fit into today’s lesson?

End Notes:

1 - Eternal life, in and of itself, is not what God has called us to. Consider the Greek myth of Tithonus, lover of Eos, goddess of the dawn. Eos asked Zeus to give her lover eternal life, but she forgot to ask for eternal life. As time passed, Tithonus became continually weaker and more demented. Finally an exasperated Eos turned him into a grasshopper, and he lived forever, chirping in his dementia for death to take him. God offers us eternal life, but that life comes as we are conformed to the image of Christ. Eternal life without Christ-likeness would be no better than the fate of Tithonus.