Respectable bums

“Even if my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will hold me close (Psalm 27:10)”.

Francis Phelan is a bum. That’s what he calls himself and his comrades on the streets of Albany, New York. Today, we call people like Francis homeless.

Francis is the lead character in the book “Ironweed” by William Kennedy. The book won a Pulitzer Prize.

In addition, the story was made into a movie by the same name. Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep were both nominated for Academy Awards for their roles as Francis and his girlfriend Helen.

The story is a moving and troubling one. It’s 1939 and Francis has been running from his past since 1910, when he dropped his infant son, resulting in his death.

His life had once been promising. Francis had even played Major League baseball.

Now he goes from place to place in Albany, trying to find a place to sleep for himself and Helen. Francis scrounges a dollar  or two out of odd jobs mainly to buy booze.

Helen is seemingly the more responsible of the two. She is better with money anyway, and chastizes Francis for his free ways with a buck.

Yet, she is also haunted by her past. Helen came from a good family and appeared to have a career as a singer or pianist in view.

However, she was eventually abandoned by her married piano teacher, a man who also seduced her. Helen, like Francis, ended up on the street.

“Ironweed” portrays the plight of the homeless from day to day. If it is true, as F. Scott Fitgerald wrote, that the rich are not like you and I,  then you could say the same about the homeless.

Out on the streets, it’s open season.  The hobos of Ironweed have a tough existence.

Before he returned to Albany, Francis rode the rails, a common occurrence in the Depression. During one episode in a boxcar, a man who admires his shoes tells Francis”I’m gonna cut off your feet” and proceeds to go after him with a meat cleaver.

Helen has her purse snatched on Halloween by a group of masked urchins. She had what amounted to her life savings in the bag -15 dollars.

Helen also suffers indignities no woman should have to face. Francis, seeking a place for her to sleep, puts her up in a car with a bum who spends his nights in an old wreck of a car.

Francis knows Helen will have to do more for the man than just be pleasant. However, in his mind he doesn’t have many options for her.

Both Francis and Helen are subject to incidents of mental illness. Francis hallucinates that the men he has killed in his travels, including the meat cleaver bearer, are in his presence taunting him.

Helen is invited to sing at a gin house by the bartender, a former renouned singer himself. As she sings, she imagines the audience is hailing her performance with cheers and great applause.

The truth is, when she finishes, Helen receives a mild clap or two. She idly leaves the stage with a sense of disappointment.

The life of the bum includes poverty, crime, mental disability and addictions. A good many of us have never experienced lives like those of Francis or Helen and can’t imagine having to live that way. However, in our current times  having to scramble hour after hour to exist isn’t beyond the realm of possibility.

It’s not just the extremists and conspiracy theorists who are warning of potential economic collapse. Every day, I read some report in which a reputable government official or business  person  is decrying the state of the world economy and hinting at a future of economic hardhsip at least as difficult as the Depression.

I’ve never been homeless or extremely poor, although I’ve come close a time or two. It is a hopeless and powerless place to be.

At times I have been  poor enough not to be able to afford health coverage for my family, but with enough income to not be eligible for assistance from the government. During one of those periods, it was extremely frustrating to not be able to find medical care for a sick daughter at a free clinic because we didn’t live in the county offering it. (Our county was next door and didn’t offer such a service.)

When you are homeless and in poverty, or close to it, you feel abandoned. And you are to some degree.

In once scene from “Ironweed”, a drunken woman is sick and drunk outside a city mission. The preacher who runs it is a good man, but he refuses to  take people who are not sober in over night.

Francis tries to help her, but he is powerless except to ask for a blanket and some soup for the woman from the mission. When he returns, he and Helen find her being eaten by wild dogs.

The Bible describes such happenings. People in dire straits are subject to the attack of wild animals (Psalm 79:1-2).

Sometimes the predators are human.  Jesus desribed them as “dogs” (Psalm 22:16).”  Wild beasts of all varieties are out there who would like nothing better to make a feast of some vulnerable person on the street.

We may not have the greatest digs in the world, and might even end up homeless, but the person who follows Jesus can know one thing: they have not been abandoned.

In fact, every day we can live, at least spiritually, in a mansion. The Psalmist wrote:

“One thing I ask from the LORD,
   this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
   all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
   and to seek him in his temple. 
For in the day of trouble
   he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
   and set me high upon a rock.

  Then my head will be exalted
   above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
   I will sing and make music to the LORD. (Psalm 27:4-6)”

Governments, corporations and corrupt people may try to take away our dignity. That’s impossible though because the source of our self respect is in our relationship with God.

Developing a master plan from the Master

“My child, don’t lose sight of good planning and insight. Hang on to them, for they fill you with life and bring you honor and respect.  They keep you safe on your way and keep your feet from stumbling (Proverbs 3:21-23).” (New Living Translation)

My nature is to shoot from the hip. In the past decade I have lived up to that aspect of my personality to the hilt.

I have moved myself and/or my family to about 11 different domiciles and back and forth to three different countries. I suppose my career as a teacher of English to speakers of foreign languages can be blamed.

However, there is more to it than that. Lot’s more. Probably more than I can go into here without getting off the point in this post.

Over 10 years ago I quit my job in the States and took one in Finland. Three years later I moved back to the States.

After one year, watching my income dwindle to nothing in super rich California, I moved to the oil laden Middle East, where I was paid handsomely and my bank account stabilized — for a time.  But again, after one year, having endured enough of an unsuitable situation, my family and I moved back to Finland.

Three years later it was back to the States. This time I was hopeful that this would be it. I intended to spend the rest of my life in the hills of southwest Virginia, the land of my childhood.

It was not to be. My job status went sour and it was back to Finland after about 20 months, this time sans fam.

The common thread in all this job switching is the  ”last minute” nature of it all. In some cases,  I felt like a man on a rocket ship barely escaping Planet Earth as it explodes.

I already alluded to my poverty in one of those circumstances which led me to desperate action. In another, I decided to stay in Finland and not return to the Middle East the night before my plane was to leave. The stress release after that decision was palpable.

In all of this hopping around I have had the viewpoint that God rescued me “just in time”, a term used by Henry Cloud and John Townsend in their book “God Can Make a Way”. Perhaps, but now I am not so sure that  my “rescue” was what the Lord was up to.

How much of the pond jumping was due to my flighty persona and how much was due to God’s intervention I may never know. However, another potential spontaneous job switch which popped up last month has made me reconsider God’s role in such maneuvers.

Not particularly caring for my seperation from my wife and kids at holiday time recently, I went to be with them. While there I truly prayed my guts out that I could stay home for good. (In fact, this prayer had been sent up regularly BEFORE  I arrived back in the States at Christmas.)

Because of the nature of my work, which is not tenured, I tell people that my “second job” is looking for employment. While home I spotted a job in my field within 45 minutes of my home and jumped at it.

I got a message back right away. The interview, held the week before my scheduled return to Finland, went well. It appeared I had a job offer and could return home.

I was excited when a colleague in Finland who knew about my possible departure sent me a message via social media and told me not to worry. There was a ready replacement for me, I was assured, so I was advised that I shouldn’t feel as if I was leaving my employer in the lurch.

Right after I read my coworker’s note, I checked my Email. Sitting in the the inbox was a message from my interviewer.

*Wow! Here we go again,” I thought.  Nope.

It was a “Dear John” letter. Something went awry in the 48 hours between the interview and message from the person I thought could be my future boss.

I can’t say I was devastated, as accepting the job had its obstacles. However, I was definitely disappointed. My normal modus operandi of last minute salvation went belly up this time and the opportunity of remaining with my family with it.

I have been reflecting back on a whisper I believed God put in my ear before going home for the holidays. I had read a commentary in the Life Recovery Bible which had described the weaknesses of Abraham and Sarah as twofold.

One flaw in the lives of these patriarchs was there tendency to take action before God had revealed Himself on a matter. Another mistake they seemed to make was to not plan. God spoke to me that these were failures I myself needed to avoid. 

I believe He told me that any move back to the States on my part needed to be well thought out. While reflecting on these matters pre-Christmas, I also had no specific direction from the Lord that I was to up and go home.

Indeed, even if the job had been offered I would have had great pause. I had legal, contractual and ethical commitments to consider which would have been difficult to extricate myself from.

One night in the midst of pondering all these grey areas, my wife read the Bible to me out loud. One of the verses she read was this one:

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him (I John 4:16).”

I determined as I heard this that I could rely on God’s love. Again, Abraham came to mind.

He had been told by God to take his son of promise Isaac up to a mountain and sacrifice him. Abraham trusted God so much that he did it, believing that even if Isaac died God would raise him up again (Hebrews 11:17-19).

I figured that even if I had to get back on that plane and come to Finland and resume my life without my family, God could fix matters so I could turn back around. As I sit here a few days later, that hasn’t happened.

However, it is clear to me that being away from my wife and kids is less than optimum. I still believe God can make a way.

It just may involve a little more detailed and orderly program of action than what I am used to. In fact, I am coming to believe God intends to rescue me through this kind of planning, and not via a rocket ship this time around.

Jet lagged and sleepless last night, I lay awake at 3 am worrying. Then I got up and read my Bible.

Knowing God wants and has a plan and wants me  involved in the details actually comforted me. While I might have preferred a last minute phone call or cash infusion to make things right, I think in the long run this way is better.

Seeking God and planning for a while  offers possibilities for stability. It also has potential for producing a much more rewarding future in a lot of areas.

Drawing up a game plan for action may not be as thrilling as my previous impulsive decisionaking, but it seems to be more in line with the Master’s plan. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t do things “just in time”.

Indeed, I saw this during the Psalm that was my main source throughout the holidays. The Psalmist writes:

 I waited patiently for the LORD;
   he turned to me and heard my cry. 

 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
   and gave me a firm place to stand (Psalm 40:1-2).

However, in the same song he cries,

 Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD;
   may your love and faithfulness always protect me. 
For troubles without number surround me;
   my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
   and my heart fails within me. 
Be pleased to save me, LORD;
   come quickly, LORD, to help me (Psalm 40:11-13).

AND

 But as for me, I am poor and needy;
   may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
   you are my God, do not delay (Psalm 40:17).

The man is desperate and believes he needs quick relief. However, he is willing to wait for God’s “just in time” moment within his desperation.

That’s not a contradiction. That’s a message that God works through, outside and (just) in time. In my case, He has decided to involve me and my participation a little more than usual.

The “3 Rs” of Jesus

 Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel? When the Lord restores his people,  Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice (Psalm 14:7 New Living Translation).

Personal crisis is the engine that makes a story go.  What “sells” a viewer or reader is the dysfunction of their fellow human beings.

This is why over the last 7 plus seasons the TV show “House” has been so popular. It features a gifted, yet deeply flawed diagnostic physician by the name of Gregory House. At the end of last season we were left with the good doctor having crashed his car into his girlfriend’s house (she also was his boss) and fleeing the country to some remote tropical location.

As season 8 opens, House is in jail. He has been there for 8 months.

House is a middle-aged man with a cane who doesn’t have the physical skills to deal with the potential harm he faces in prison. As he did on the outside, he survives by his wits.

With 5 days left before parole, he is told to stay out of trouble. For House, as all fans of the show know, this is well nigh impossible.

Indeed, he gets to the final day and messes up. Seeing the prison doctor making a stupid decision that is endangering  a patient’s life, House breaks prison rules, causes a scene and ends up with 8 more months in jail

In the next epidode of the new season, House is told that he has a visitor, his former hospital’s dean of medicine. This would be in House’s mind Lisa Cuddy, the aforementioned boss and girlfriend.

However, it turns out to be Dr. Eric Foreman, an African American physician who has been at odds with House for the entire series and now has replaced Cuddy. He is there to “rescue” House.

In exchange for working as a diagnostician again at the hospital, Foreman offers House a “get out of jail free” card. At first reluctant, House finally accepts.

House’s return to the hospital isn’t joyful. His former team has moved on. Furthermore his best friend, Dr. James Wilson, who House injured in the car incident at Cuddy’s home, has no intention of renewing their old ties.

In additon, House is getting paid minimum wage, has a broom closet for an office, and is told by Foreman that if he slips up once, he will go back to jail.  Despite the temptation to go back to his usual contrary ways, House manages to toe the line and do what he does best: he solves the case Foreman yanked him out of jail for.

Along the way, he also inspires courage in his old friend Wilson. The patient House is dealing with is his, and Wilson lacks the fortitude to get the patient to make a decision that could save their life. 

House convinces Wilson of what he has to do. Wilson does what House tells him to do and the patient makes a painful, but correct, choice and is saved.

During their professional interactions, House tries to be his old playful self with Wilson, overtures which his friend rejects. House tells him,”Look, I like you. We have fun together. Do whatever you have to do to get over this.”

At shows end, with his old friend having proved his professional and personal mettle, Wilson walks into House’s new office (actually, part of the old one which Foreman has returned to him) and punches him in the nose. Wilson then looks at House and asks,”Dinner later?”

House’s recovery has begun. He has regained his job and his best friend. The smile on his face is also the first sign of the possibility of some semblance joy coming back into House’s life.

Over two thousand years ago, God’s people were in a prison of their own making. Despite having a special role in God’s plan, the Jewish people had regularly rejected Him and were currently under a harsh Roman occupation.

In the midst of this mess Jesus Christ was born. God’s purpose in the birth was told to his mother Mary beforehand (Luke 1:26-38).

Mark Lowry asks the question about how much Mary really understood of just who her son was in these lyrics:

Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you’ve delivered, will soon deliver you.

Mary did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God.

The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again.
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.

Mary did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven’s perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you’re holding is the great I am.

 

I don’t think Mary really grasped the significance of who Jesus was, at least not until later. But who did? And who does today?

 

It has taken me a lifetime to see. Lowry’s lyrics accompanied by Buddy Greene’s music summarizes in my heart and my emotions something I have known mostly in my intellect up until now.

 

This Jesus has rescued me. He has me on the road to recovery in my life.  I know Him more today than I ever have before, but that’s because I have had to cling to Him for dear life.

 

It has taken time in my own personal jail. It has taken metaphorical punches in the nose. But I think I finally get it.

 

Why did it take so long? 

 

Kathy Mattea says in an introduction to “Mary, Did You Know”:

 

“The first time I heard this song, it instantly became my favorite Christmas song of all time. And to me, this song is exactly what Christmas is all about.”

 

This weekend ”Mary, Did You Know”  has instantly become my favorite Christmas song as well. In one fell swoop it has shown me my need for forgiveness for not grasping just who this Jesus man is and put into words what my heart now comprehends.

 

Before, I gave lip service to believing in Him. Today, I understand that this man, this Jesus, is the living God who has rescued me, helped me on the path to restoration and given me the hope of rejoicing with Him now and forever.

 

He isn’t to be trifled with. Who knew?

Some words for both the 99 percent and the 1 percent

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? (Matthew 5:43-46).”

 

We keep hearing about “the 1 percent” and “the 99 percent” these days. This is because of the “Occupy” movement, which is seeking to trumpet the growing disparity between the rich and the poor.

The gap in wealth between these two is said to be growing in these tough times.  Money isn’t the only thing that seems to seperate these two groups.

The rich seem to think of the occupiers as smelly unwashed deadbeats who should get a job. The 99 percenters think of the other 1 percent as greedy so and sos who came by their position in life unfairly.

This week a large number of Ferraris were involved in a rather high profile smash up in Japan. When I saw the images of these expensive vehicles showing how they had been mangled, I posted a story about them on my Facebook wall and noted,”I bet the 99 percent are clapping.”

You can’t get away from a discussion on the “percenter” these days. Even in Finland, the little country I presently work in, there was a story this week which published the names of the 100 richest people in the country.

What characterizes the debate is acrimony. The rich believe they have earned their money fair and square through hard work and effort and dismiss the 99 percenters as lazy riff raff who could join them if they only made the effort.

The 1 percenters, on the other hand, think the rich have been special privileges which gave them an advantage. They resent the fact that some people come by their money through inheritances, tax breaks or speculation.

One Newsweek article I glanced at asked the question whether or not all the hubub would cause the rich to stop spending their dough. Not hardly, said the magazine.

 The Occupy Wall Street website has this point of view:

“We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we’re working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent.”

I sympathize with these comments. Just about everything they describe above has happened to me.

It is easy to become envious when your friends are off to the Canary Islands during the holidays while you have the choice of paying your rent or the airfare needed to go see your family. This is the choice I had to make recently.

When you are poor, you dare not make a mistake. I lost my flat key yesterday.

It cost me 20 euros to replace it. That’s food money for me, man!

One friend has written a novel and wants me to write a review on Amazon for him.  “Just download it. It will cost you 3.99.” 

I think a lot of the 99 percenters know that 3.99 can sometimes be a lot of money. The wealthy just don’t get it.

The last time I was here in Finland, I left my little boring city twice in three years for a total of a day and a half. I couldn’t afford the transportation costs to go anywhere.

My summers were spent down at the harbor reading my books and living vicariously through the people on their lounging on their boats and drinking at the boat bars. I got the same ambience they did. I just didn’t pay as much!

I could go on and discuss ”why” I am in the financial condition I am in and the 1 percenters are better off. I suppose I could find pros and cons when it comes to my own decisionmaking and theirs.

However, that’s not my purpose here. What I want to relay is what I see the Scriptures as having to say on this subject of being in the top echelons or as one belonging  to the group that barely scrapes by. There are some lessons on this in I and II Kings in the Old Testament.

The latter part otf I Kings describes the most wicked king Israel had had up to his reign. His name was Ahab (I Kings 16:29-30).

Ahab was king during a severe famine.Yet, he himself had plenty of livestock, silver and gold, and an apparently healthy family (I Kings 17:1, I Kings 18:1-6; I Kings 20:1-7).

Ahab was in the 1 percent. However, it wasn’t enough for him.

He wanted to buy a vineyard from a man named Naboth. However, the latter did not want to sell because it was part of the family farm handed down from generations.

When Ahab’s wife caught him sulking like an 8-year old over this rejection, she did something about it. Jezebel had Naboth killed so Ahab could take control of the property (I Kings 21:1-16).

At this point God had had enough of Ahab’s shenanigans and sent Elijah to pronounce judgement. However, a funny thing happened as a result of the prophet’s rebuke.

The wicked Ahab humbled himself before God.  As a result, God postponed the judgment to after Ahab’s death (I Kings 21:17-29).

If I were in the 99 percent back then, I would really be perturbed at God. “Why Lord, how could you let this greedy, murderous 1 percenter off because of a little sackloth and ashes?!”, I would say.

The thing here to acknowledge is that God loves the one percent, too. Jesus didn’t just die for the 99.

Indeed, he taught this lesson to his disciples. He told them:

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?  And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.  In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” Matthew 18:12-14

Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey popularized a song written about this passage in the late 19th century at their revivals:

 There were ninety and nine that safely lay
In the shelter of the fold.
But one was out on the hills away,
Far off from the gates of gold.
Away on the mountains wild and bare.
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.
Away from the tender Shepherd’s care.

“Lord, Thou hast here Thy ninety and nine;
Are they not enough for Thee?”
But the Shepherd made answer: “This of Mine
Has wandered away from Me;
And although the road be rough and steep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep,
I go to the desert to find My sheep.”

But none of the ransomed ever knew
How deep were the waters crossed;
Nor how dark was the night the Lord passed through
Ere He found His sheep that was lost.
Out in the desert He heard its cry,
Sick and helpless and ready to die;
Sick and helpless and ready to die.

“Lord, whence are those blood drops all the way
That mark out the mountain’s track?”
“They were shed for one who had gone astray
Ere the Shepherd could bring him back.”
“Lord, whence are Thy hands so rent and torn?”
“They are pierced tonight by many a thorn;
They are pierced tonight by many a thorn.”

And all through the mountains, thunder riven
And up from the rocky steep,
There arose a glad cry to the gate of Heaven,
“Rejoice! I have found My sheep!”
And the angels echoed around the throne,
“Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!
Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!” (Words by Elizabeth C. Clephane)

If we are in the 99 percent, we ought to be praying for the 1 percenters. We can pray God sends an Elijah to them and they turn to God and do His will.

Lately  on my prayer list I have put a request that my ongoing financial struggles would end. I am tired of being a 99 percenter.

However, the Lord seems to be telling me that I am already loaded. I don’t have a huge nest egg or money under my pillow, though.

What He has reminded me is that I have access to Him, who is the richest and most powerful Being in the universe. It is nothing for Him to provide for me, or to even give me a little fun once in a while!

Look at what He did for the people in the time of Ahab’s and his wicked son. Through Elijah and Elisha he provided more than enough for those who came to them, knowing they were representatives of the Lord.

Through them God provided nutritious food, enough money and clean water. In addition, by the miracles of these godly men He protected them from the poor health their poverty could produce (I Kings 17:7-24;  II Kings 2:19-21; 4:1-7, 38-43; ).

However, God didn’t forget the 1 percent. He provided the best health care of a kind not even available to them. He brought a rich woman’s son back from the dead (II Kings 4:8-37).

The truth is that this woman supported Elisha, God’s prophet. She’s proof, you 99 percenters, that there are godly people among the 1 percent and that they suffer the world’s ills just as we do.

In God’s economy, there isn’t a 99 percent or a 1 percent. We’re His children and He takes care of us one way or another.

Perhaps if we thought that way in this day and age, we wouldn’t be doing so much shouting at each other.

 

    

 

She’s in Jesus’s boat

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (I Corinthians 15:55)

My niece Bethany Fowler-Jimenez died this week. She was 33 years old.

I was heartbroken when I learned the news and I have been in that state since. This morning I asked myself why. After all, I hardly ever saw Beth.

Sitting on my sofa and weeping (and I am not ashamed to write this), I think I came to understand why her passing hurts so much. There are several reasons for the sense of loss I feel.

First, Beth was family. She was the daughter of my only brother, himself very dear to me.

In this day and age, you would think the word ‘family’ doesn’t mean what it used to. Still, as the old German proverb says, blood is thicker than water.

There’s something almost mystical in relationships between those who share the same DNA. Beth and I were joined by mutual histories, triumphs and failures carried down to us from previous generations.

Second, as an adult Beth had become my friend. Once when my family and I were thinking of coming to her area, she learned of it and made a point to contact me and invite us into her home with open arms.

We did come and we did spend a weekend with her and her family. It was a fun and enjoyable experience as we got to know her husband and kids, and even her multiple dogs!

Beth not only was my niece and my friend, but she was a person who treated me with honor. In recent years, this one especially, she has contacted me for advice and made no secret of her respect and love for me. Indeed, when Beth told you she loved you, somehow you knew she truly meant it.

Her young son and I share a name together. Blood is thicker than water; names connect us.

William Shakespeare wrote,”If it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul.” Beth honored me and that fed my spirit.

Speaking of spirituality, there was a time this year when Beth caught me on Facebook and began a chat with me. She asked me how I sensed my calling in life was from God.

Beth told me she was asking this because the older she got, the more she found herself turning to Scripture and prayer. “I have learned to let go and let God a little bit more”, she wrote.

She related to me a meeting she had had with a female chaplain recently. This woman touched her so greatly that it had made her cry.

Beth wrote to me:

“The cry was a good cry because I almost felt like the conversation we had cleansed my soul and took me further into my faith and it renewed  my hope that God has a plan for me.  Im just not sure what it is and how do I know that’s it..I don’t wanna miss the boat!”

Beth talked about how she felt drawn to helping people since she was 18. She became an emergency medical technician as a result of that.

Her posts told me that she was thinking of going to nursing school. Her motivation came from this passage from Matthew in which Jesus is telling a parable:

 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

   “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

   “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

   “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’(Matthew 25:31-40).

For me, Bethany didn’t miss any boats. Unbeknownst to her, she had already loved me in the manner Jesus describes here and made Him proud.

Beth told me she loved the Psalms. This morning as I was thinking on her life, I read Psalm 91. I believe the Psalmist had her in mind when he wrote these words:

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you  from the fowler’s snare [AND IF I MAY PAUSE HERE, WE FOWLER’S HAVE A LOT OF THEM) and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day,  nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, Nor the plague that destroys at midday.  A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes  and see the punishment of the wicked.

If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”  and you make the Most High your dwelling, ¹no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. ¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands,so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra;    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

 “Because (s)he^[loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue her    I will protect her, for she acknowledges my name.  She will call on me, and I will answer her;    I will be with her in trouble,  I will deliver her and honor her.  With long life I will satisfy her  and show her my salvation.”

Beth, you are in Jesus’s boat now. Knowing this has lessened the sting the scorpion wanted to make of your passing. See you on the other side.

Uncle Tim

Front and Follow

“You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain (Psalm 139:5,6).”

Jimmy McNulty  is a detective enjoying a Saturday out with his two boys. Theyare browsing around a Baltimore farmer’s market when McNulty spots Stringer Bell, an elusive leader of the Barksdale drug gang.

In an episode of the hit TV series “The Wire”  called “Lessons”, McNulty tells his sons to employ a game he has taught them called “Front and Follow”.  One boy walks in the path Bell is facing while the other tails him from behind.

McNulty doesn’t follow Bell himself. The crook knows who he is.

Bell leads them out into the street outside the market area. There he gets into his car.

One of the boys steps aside and takes out a pen and paper. He writes down the license number of Bell’s car before the mobster drives away.

The technique their Dad taught them has proven to be quite effective. There was no way they were going to lose sight of Stringer Bell.

The kids are so good at this spy game that not only do they get valuable information about a criminal, but they lose their father.  McNulty, having lost sight of his boys, ends up having to get the market management to help him find them.

With the boys’ effective strategy, Bell has no idea that he is being followed. He has no clue that  people who are perilous to his welfare are lurking around.

In this world, believers in Jesus Christ have the same problem as Bell. We are being tailed by some expert followers of Satan who wish to do us harm.

According to the Apostle Paul, Satan is pretty good at blinding people, especially those who have chosen to ignore God and reside under his authority. The devil and his minions are out of sight, but they are doing their own version of “Front and Follow” in order to get the goods on their targets (II Corinthians 4:4).

If you you think Satan is not alive or well today, or some guy parodied at a Halloween party, think again. Better yet, pick up a copy of Bill Scott’s book “The Day Satan Called.”

In this book Scott relates a true story of his encounter with a demon at the radio station where he once worked. The call was initially handled by a colleague.

When Scott first met with the situation, the coworker had just gotten off the phone and was white as a ghost. He related to Scott that he had just talked to a demon.

Scott was skeptical at first. However, once he took one of the calls, he too was quite scared.

The actual calls were placed by a 16-year old girl who claimed she was living in a witches coven and would be sacrificed on Halloween, which was coming in a few days. She would then be interrupted by a demon, who would come on the line in a voice that was not human and spit out venom, blasphemy and threats.

While not blind to spiritual things like those who do not follow God, believers are still subject to Satan’s “Front and Follow” techniques.  Paul himself didn’t see the devil visually, but he felt him. Paul wrote,”We are hard pressed on every side (II Corinthians 4:8a)”.

The Scriptures discuss not only our openness to the devices of Satan, but also to the world system under his control (I John 2: 15-17; I John 5:19). We are surrounded by an increasingly chaotic culture in which right and wrong have been turned upside down.

David Jeremiah notes that believers are under a lot of pressure to conform to the culture today. In a message calling for the Christian to be totally consumed by commitment to Jesus Christ he says:

“We are in a very vulnerable place in our nation and in our churches. If we continue down the road of just trying to be Christian enough so that we can get counted on the roll, we are going to be victimized by the culture in which we live.”

It is as if the believer is a submarine being hunted by an enemy on the surface whom they cannot see.  However, the “ping, ping, ping” of the sonar is there.

When the attacks come, our boat is subject to collapse under the pressure.  If we don’t have internal fortitude, the stress will kill us if the external bombs don’t.

Thus, not only do we have to battle against Satan and the world system, but also fight our own selves. This is why it is so necessary to have the radical commitment to Christ Jeremiah talks about.

He summarizes one of Paul’s arguments for this: “If we’re going to function, if we’re going to be faithful in this culture, you have to present everything there is about you to everything you know about Him.”

One of the things I do know about God is that He is omnipresent. He is present everywhere.

God is not controlled by space. He is not limited by time. Thus, there is no ability for us to  slip out of His sight (Jeremiah 23:23,24; Hebrews 4:13).

God also doesn’t fall asleep at the switch. He constantly has His eye on things. The Psalmist writes:

 He will not let your foot slip—
   he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.

  The LORD watches over you—
   the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
   nor the moon by night.

  The LORD will keep you from all harm—
   he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
   both now and forevermore. (Psalm 121:3-8).

Another thing I know about God is that He calls Himself our Father. However, he is not a Dad cut in the mode of a Jimmy McNulty.

He is completely “all that”. Our Father will not lose track of us. In fact, He wouldn’t put young boys up to a dangerous surveillance mission of a mobster either.

Indeed, God has His own version of “Front and Follow” which He engages in on His own. While Satan and his demons are out there spying on us, God has His own eyes on those evil beings on our behalf.

The only difference is that God doesn’t need two of Himself to play the game! It’s mind boggling.

Walking the mucky corridors of power

“The one whose walk is blameless is kept safe, but the one whose ways are perverse will fall into the pit (Proverbs 28:18).”

On January 30, 1972 a large number of people in Northern Ireland decided to thwart the British government’s ban on public protests in their area and took  to the streets.  By the end of the day, 26 people were dead.

The event, known as “Bloody Sunday”, shook Ireland. Meant to be a nonviolent protest against discrimination along the lines of those held by Martin Luther King, Jr. in America,  the protest was just the opposite.

British soldiers stormed through the predominantly Catholic crowd shooting protestors. Official accounts immediately following the massacre cleared the British troops of wrongdoing.

According to the soldiers involved, the killings were justified because the protestors were armed and using their weapons against them. Most eyewitnesses disputed these claims, but to not avail, at least at the time.

As depicted in the movie, “Bloody Sunday”, the truth was that the British troops went crazy. They basically murdered many unarmed civilians without cause.

The film reveals wounded people in the  crowd being targeted by the soldiers. In one instance, one of them shoots a protestor lying on the ground at point blank range.

The movie’s portrayal of events are true. Later government investigations determined that the killings were out-and-out murder.

One cannot help but become angry watching “Bloody Sunday”.  How could the government allow such a thing to happen?

Surely, the protest was illegal. In addition, there had been violence between radical IRA elements and British troops. However, nothing justified the murders which occurred on “Bloody Sunday”.

Most of my life I have witnessed such protests as this one on television and generally thought the government was in the right. After all, they are there to protect us and ensure the common good.

In fact, I have always been something of a “good soldier”. I am not one to rock the boat or hold contests with authorities.

However, in the last year something has changed in my attitude.  This is because I have begun to be personally affected by what is nothing more than corruption in high places.

For the first time in my life, I have experienced moral rot in high places that has impacted me. I haven’t dealt with the experience very well. In fact, I have at times squealed like a pig.

I think part of this sense of injustice comes from my having originally been one who trusts established institutions and authorities. As  a Christian, I have subscribed to biblical teachings that tell me to submit to these powers (I Peter 2:13-21; Romans 13:1-7).  

I have understood that those in authority arent’t perfect. I understand that they are human.

However, what I have found is that they are in fact not always worthy of my trust, which to me is something needed for respect to happen. I have seen in my own deaslings what I interpret as either chosen ignorance, or perhaps worse, cowardice by people entrusted with power over me.

It has been very disheartening. People who I thought had my back did not.

We humans are created in God’s image.  Yet, I should not be surprised that we don’t carry it very well. God has told us that in His Word:

God presides in the great assembly;
   he renders judgment among the “gods”:

 “How long will you defend the unjust
   and show partiality to the wicked?
Defend the weak and the fatherless;
   uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
Rescue the weak and the needy;
   deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
   They walk about in darkness;
   all the foundations of the earth are shaken. (Psalm 82:1-5)

When the corrupt are in power over you, your world gets rocked. No wonder the Bible tells us that people in such a condition lay low, hoping to avoid trouble (Proverbs 28:12,28).

Oh, how wonderful it would be to be surrounded by people like David’s mighty men. These fellas had his back.

They looked out for him and kept his enemies at bay. When most people deserted David, they hung tough. These guys are described in II Samuel 23.

For example, Eleazar killed Philistines alone with David until he was too tired to hold his weapon anymore. Of course, the rest of the army only showed up to collect the benefts (v 9,10).

Then there was Shammah. He stood alone in a field when once again the Israelite army had fled. Shammah, however, held his ground and the Lord gave him a great victory (11,12).

When David wistfully longed for a drink of water from the well of his hometown, a troika of  these boys snuck by the Philistine garrison there and brought some back to him. David was so awestruck by this action that he refused to drink the water.

He gave it in worship to the Lord in thankfulness for men who would risk their lives for him on a minor whim (v. 13-17). David knew these men were rare, and a gift from God. 

My favorite “Mighty Man” was Benaiah.  He is described as having done “many mighty deeds”.

My favorite of these  is when he chased a lion down into a pit with only a club. Benaiah scrambled down this muddy hole and killed the beast (v 20). How many people do you know that actually run TOWARD a dangerous animal?

The Scriptures indicate that corrupt authorities who have power over you are similar to a menacing predator. The wise man of Proverbs describes them as “like a roaring lion or charging bear” (Proverbs 28:15).

It is difficult to know what to do when you are faced with people like this. My own prayer of late has been the Serenity Prayer:

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

Behind all this tainted behavior in high places is a menace the Scriptures describe as a lion: the Devil himself (I Peter 5:8). He is mad as hell because he knows the jig is up, so he is out there ready to take it out on believers like me (Revelation 12:12).

I am willing to follow the biblical admonitions to stay alert and resist him when he attacks . However, I don’t think I have the wherewithal or the courage to actually chase him down into his hole as Benaiah did.

This would mean I’d have to go on the offensive against Satan and his power grab around me. That’s asking a lot from one person.

However, there is a Mighty Man willing to take on the task I can’t. It is the almighty and all powerful king of kings and lord of lord: namely, Jesus Christ.

As I walk the unclean halls of power in my life, which for me are unmanageable, I can trust Him to keep the devil down in his hole there. There is no doubt He will give me the insight to do business that will glorify Him, help me keep my footing on those slippery paths, and protect me along the way.

Wahoo! Jesus says,”I choose you!”

” ‘I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.’  The Lord, the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel, says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,  to the one who is the servant of rulers: ‘Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.Princes will bow low because Lord has chosen you. He, the faithful Lord, the Holy One of Israel, chooses you’ ((Isaiah 49:6b-7, New Living Translation, Life Recovery Bible).”

The time between the first and second world wars of the 20th century was a period of languishing for some military officers.  This included the famous George S. Patton of the United States Army.

Patton chose as his career field the area of tanks. Unfortunately, until World War II, they went unappreciated.

Less well know was Fredric “Johnny” Walker of the Royal Navy. He devoted himself to anti-submarine warfare, which also was not held in high regard.

Indeed, when Walker went to a specialist course in this area after World War I, he was consigning himself to a backwater of military prestige.  The field of anti-submarine warfare was a dead end when it came to glamour and promotion.

Walker spent years on the Big Ships. He became disillusioned with his peacetime service.

What was worse for Walker was the view his superiors had toward him in the 1930s prior to World War II. He received poor evaluation reports.

One of these was given  by a commander-in-chief in the Far East. Walker was the commander of his personal yacht, a post not suited for the purposeful officer.

Eventually, Walker was able to get back into anti-submarine research prior to the outbreak of hostilities. However, it was not until German U-boats began to strangle Britain that the military brass began to pay attention to him and his area of expertise.

In the biography of Walker called “The Fighting Captain”, author Alan Burns says that no one did more than Captain Walker to regain control of the North Atlantic. In the Foreword to the book, Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin writes, “Captain Johnny Walker’s contribution to the winning of the shipping war was immeasurable.”

Indeed, Walker was something of an unsung hero of World War II. Burns notes that no one generally knows how close Britain was to being brought to its knees because of the success of the U-boats. 

In summary, Frederic Walker was a disrespected nobody until he was reborn during the greatest challenge of his life and his generation. His role during World War II changed everything for him.

When you are young as Walker was when he was an ambitious young midshipman, you are full of hopes about the future. Greatness lies before you.

Then “life happens” and you find yourself in middle age (or worse) staring at the walls and wondering what happened. All those hopes and dreams never materialized, and your kids are closer to 30 than you are.

The Bible is full of the stories of men and women who received promises and dreams from God, and then came up against reality. As they moved out into life, these messages from the Lord seemed to be a distant drummer.

For example, Abraham was told to move his brood to Palestine. It is commonly called “The Promised Land” because God has promised it to him.

The Life Recovery Bible notes that Abraham didn’t see much when he arrived. The country was ravaged by famine. He must have had a few questions.

Joseph had a dream as a teenager that he would be lord of his brothers. The next thing he knew, he was stewing in a prison in Egypt for several years.

To his credit, the Life Recovery Bible says of Joseph,”…through all his trials, Joseph remained faithful to God. It would have been easy for him to start playing the victim and just give up.”

It is impossible to know how Jesus felt exactly in the Garden of Gethsemane. However, the Scriptures give us some idea.

Jesus sweated blood. Matthew 26 tells us he said to his closest friends,”My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”

The friends of Jesus fell asleep. They were a nonfactor in his suffering. This wasn’t very helpful to a man with a crushed soul.

Jesus was alone. His anguish was so great he asked His Father if perhaps there could be a Plan B, something other than dying for the sins of the whole world.

Theologians make note that Jesus took the shame and guilt of our failures on Himself at the Cross. Could it be that those emotions of taking the sin of the world on Himself began in the Garden, as He experienced insurmountable grief and hopelessness?

Jesus didn’t deserve such treatment, but like Joseph he did not give up.  He fulfilled His mission, rose from the dead and can offer eternal life to us instead of the death he was facing in the Garden.

Jesus knew that in this life that He had to die before life would come. He said before His crucificixion:

“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” (John 12:23-25)

 It seem in this temporal life that we do have to face death as Jesus did, before we reach the promised resurrection, and we have to do it every day. All the self-made garbage has to go. (Luke 9:23; I Corinthians 15:31).

Letting go of this stuff is painful and gut wrenching. We have to face it and feel the shame over it before we dispense with it. We have to die.

Jesus added to the above statement about the necessity of His death: “Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” (John 12:26)

For some of us, resurrection and honor seem to take a lifetime. We feel like Frederic Walker must have felt between the wars. We feel like life has passed us by and the hope of being useful to our God has vanished.

Here’s the hope people like us have. The Scriptures say that God does have a purpose for us and that we will glorify Him.

We don’t know how. Yet, the truth is that God has us in His quiver, as it were, holding back this special arrow. He’s waiting for the right moment to use it (Isaiah 49:1-3).

In the meantime, He polishes us, retools us, shapes us.  

Our experience in this sharpening and rebuilding in the plan of God is one of grief and frustration. God has given us His promises, but their fulfillment is nowhere to be found. Our whole lives seem to have been a waste:

 He said to me, “You are my servant,
   Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
But I said, “I have labored in vain;
   I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand,
   and my reward is with my God. (Isaiah 49:3,4)

We’re stuffed in God’s bag, with no light and no hope or purpose. What is God’s reply to this complaint?

 He says,”You’re time will come. Hang on. You’re an arrow in my quiver.”

Paul spent his life barking down the wrong tree until he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. Through our Lord’s grace, he redirected Paul in a moment of time and made him His messenger to the world of His day and ours (Acts 9:1-15).

To his world Paul was the missionary to the Gentiles, who did not know anything about God. To us, he is the author of a great deal of the New Testament by which we live.

Remember the pickup games as a child when captains chose their teammates? In the game of life, Jesus chose Paul. He chose Abraham and Joseph, too.

Guess what? Today, He chooses you and me, also. You can’t lose if you are on Jesus’s team!

 It’s tough feeling like a loser. The University of Virginia football team, the Wahoos, usually mediocre, won a big game against a ranked opponent yesterday.

Their coach Mike London told Sports Illustrated of the effect of the victory:

“This is one of those wins that can change the perception of what you think about yourself,” the second-year coach said. “Last-second play against Indiana. Last-second play against Idaho. Overtime. But this is one of those wins against a good team with a lot of accomplishments that you can try to turn the corner on, about how you think about yourself.”

This is how I feel about the truth that Jesus chooses me. I have gone from being one of the world’s all time losers to a winner. It changes everything I think about myself and my future.

Wahoo!

It had better be worth it

“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres (I Corinthians 13:6,7).”

I am teaching my student’s in my academic writing class about plagiarism these days. If you don’t recall your university days or aren’t a best selling author, plagiarism is when you take someone else’s ideas and use them as your own.

There are a lot of conventions in academic writing for acceptable, non-plagiarized work. Here is an exercise from John Swales and Chris Feak which help delineate what they are.

 ”Here are some approaches to writing, beginning with a plagiarizing approach and ending with an acceptable quoting technique.  Where does plagiarism stop? Draw a line between the last approach that would produce plagiarism and the first approach that would produce acceptable work.

 1)Copying a paragraph as it is from the source without any acknowledgement.

 2)Copying a paragraph making only small changes, such as replacing a few verbs or adjectives with synonyms.

 3)Cutting and pasting a paragraph by using the sentences of the original and leaving one or two out, or by putting one or two sentences in a different order.

 4)Composing a paragraph by taking short standard phrases from a number of sources and putting them together with some words of  your own.

 5)Paraphrasing a paragraph by rewriting with substantial changes in language and organization, amount of detail, and examples.

 6)Quoting a paragraph by placing it in block format with the source cited.”

(John N. Swales & Christine B. Feak, Academic Writing for Graduate Students (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1994), 126.)

Swales draws a line after number 3. Feak draws hers after number 4. Numbers 1-3 are plagiarism in academia.

The authors note that when plagiarism comes up, an issue that is regularly discussed is “intent to deceive.” In other words, did the writer knowingly violate the conventions, or did they cheat in ignorance.

This “intent to deceive” issue is one reason I cover the issue of plagiarism and show them how to avoid it. After that, I hold them accountable.

They have to learn how to paraphrase and summarize. These are skills, and I do not expect perfection in their papers. However, I at least expect a decent attempt to give credit where credit is due and put ideas in their own words.

Occasionally I will come across students who blatantly cut and paste material from the Internet and not change anything. This is where the “fun” begins. It is a “weeping and gnashing of teeth” scenario for both me and the student, and sometimes even the school administration.

As I said above, the rule for me is that they have been taught about plagiarism and the ways to keep away from it. If they still clearly copy from someone else, they’re in big trouble.

In this “everyone gets a smiley face” and “everyone plays” society, far different from the one of my youth, it seems to me that students are given a lot of slack on this “intent to deceive” issue. In my experience, the words “mistake” and “clarification” have been used as a defense for what I see as clear plagiarism.

I do know that some people in this world think that lying is not only acceptable, but actually a virtue if the falsehood is meant to benefit them in some way.  Thus, cheating on an exam or an academic paper is seen as within the realm of honorable behavior.

When the cheater is caught, the lying is also thought to be all right as a strategy for avoiding punishment. It is extremely frustrating.

Even Christians have a hard time making decisions about what to do when faced with two competing agendas.  The choices involve doing what is right for themselves or their loved ones, or obeying some authority such as the government.

I even recall reading some Christian book on situation ethics in church youth group when I was a teenager.  I think it was called “It Really All Depends” or some similar title. This was the heyday of that philosophy, as proposed by Joseph Fletcher.

An introduction to Fletcher’s book “Situation Ethics: The New Morality” reads:

Igniting a firestorm of controversy upon its publication in 1966, Joseph Fletcher’sSituation Ethicswas hailed by many as a much-needed reformation of morality–and as an invitation to anarchy by others. Proposing an ethic of loving concern, Fletcher suggests that certain acts–such as lying, premarital sex, adultery, or even murder–might be morally right, depending on the circumstances. Hotly debated on television, in magazines and newspapers, in churches, and in the classroom, Fletcher’s provocative thesis remains a powerful force in contemporary discussions of morality.

Here is the question in my mind:”When is one person’s lying and deception honorable (or at least tolerable) and another’s unacceptable (or intolerable)?”I believe Fletcher would save that what we do must be done out of ”love” to be honorable.   

One Bible story that always engenders a lot of discussion is the story of the Hebrew midwives. These ladies saved the lives of  Israelite babies (including Moses) in counter to the orders of the Egyptian government.

The Egyptian ruler ordered up a form of what Hitler called “The Final Solution” when it came to the treatment of Jews.  He told the midwives to kill the babies on the birthing stool.

The Hebrew midwives did nothing of the kind. They let the children live, and had to deal with the wrath of the king.

When called to task, the midwives lied, saying that the Hebrew mothers were so energetic that they gave birth before they could participate. The Scriptures say that God blessed the midwives for their actions (Exodus 1:1-21).

In another story, one that doesn’t have a commentary which says that God was pleased or not pleased, an advisor to King David deceives the monarch’s rebellious son Absalom, who has begun a civil war with his father.  Hushai is planted in the court of Absalom to give bad advice, and he does so.

The good news for David was that his son took Hushai’s advice over that of a highly regarded advisor named Ahithophel, whose counsel was thought to be almost a “word from the Lord”. This led to David’s escape from Absalom when he was in a weakened state and eventual victory in the civil war ((II Samuel 16:23-18:16).

In this story, it seems God again favored the lying and deceitful party. The Scriptures say “…the LORD had determined to frustrate the good advice of Ahithophel in order to bring disaster on Absalom (II Samuel 17:14).

In both the case of the Hebrew midwives and Hushai, the “intent to deceive” was clear. Both parties sought to give false impressions, and both gained God’s support.

Yet, God has his own set of rules we call The Ten Commandments. One of them says,”You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16).” How do we  reconcile God’s seeming support of deception over and against His command, this one in particular.

This is not the place for a long theological treatise, but here are some thoughts:

In some respects, I believe Joseph Fletcher was correct. Sometimes, when we are caught between a rock (obeying God’s commands) and a hard place (an extremely damaging circumstance), we may need to deceive and lie. It may in fact be the “loving” thing  to do.

On the other hand, we ought to give the matter a lot of prayer. To me, the matter almost has to be “life and death”, as illustrated by the biblical cases above, to consider lying or deceiving.

Furthermore, we should be willing to accept the consequences of our deception if we are caught. Righteous people in World War II sought to hide the Jews from the Nazis, and paid the price for it when found out.

Consider even the case of a professional American football player when he was fined for a flagrant violation of the rules. His story was reported this week in Sports Illustrated:

“Saints safety Roman Harper says he does not regret a late hit on Carolina receiver Steve Smith that drew a $15,000 fine from the NFL this week.

Harper says the fine was worth it and that his decision to shove Smith as the receiver slowly crossed the goal line last Sunday was good for his team and got his point across.

Harper had said after Sunday’s 30-27 Saints victory that if a player is going to score on the Saints, he’s not going allow anyone to just ‘walk it in’ the end zone.”

Harper thought his punishment was acceptable when compared with the return he and his team garnered through his actions.

 

All I can say is, when we think about deceiving and lying to authorities or other institutions or persons, it ought to be out of love for other people. It had better be worth it!

Our dirty little secret

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed (James 5:16a).”

“When I eat I feel like a failure.”

“I take more than the suggested dose.”

“My family is rich, but I shoplift every day.”`

“I am a peaceful person who happens to be filled with violent rage.”

Those are just some of the messages placed on postcards in a video made by a band appropriately called “The All American Rejects”. Their song is “Dirty Little Secret.”

Here are some more of the messages:

“I hate feeling alone.”

“I’m afraid to take the next step.” 

“I fear I have an undiagnosed mental ilness.”

“I had gay sex at church camp-3 times.”

“Three years ago I tried to kill myself..now I’m 18 & people say I’m happy…but I still want to die.”

The messages in the video came from the Post Secret website. Post Secret is an organization where people send their confessions anonymously.(Source: Wikipedia)

A review of their website shows that some of the confessions are silly, some are minor, and others are deadly serious. If you have any kind of heart, you can’t help but be moved when you watch the video made by the All American Rejects.

What these messages say is that there are a lot of hurting people in this world. Unfortunately, they can’t tell their secrets to anyone, so they have to put them on a postcard and send it to some faceless organization to post on their website.

While the song “Dirty Little Secret” isn’t particularly uplifting in the inferences made, some of the lyrics are telling. As this line says, people are afraid in the supposed glitz and glamour of this world to admit who they really are and what they struggle with:

“When we live such fragile lives,
It’s the best way we survive..”

The effects of all this secrecy and dishonesty is mind boggling:

Who has to know?
The way she feels inside.
Those thoughts I can’t deny.
These sleeping thoughts won’t lie.
And all I’ve tried to hide
It’s eating me apart
Trace this life back!

It’s just outrageous. 

My experience is that the only place you can go to get true help with your own “dirty little secrets” is a counselor or a recovery program like Alchoholics Anonymous.  These programs are not necessarily “Christian”, although they give aknowledgment to a “higher power” in their steps to recovery.

Who thinks of the church as a place to go for help with addictions, suicidal thoughts and out of control rage if you are a Christian?  Why, these behaviors are just unacceptable there.

It’s fine if you demonstrate such weakness as a non-believer. The church will just tell you to step right up and get saved and all will be well.  NOT!

The above charge against the “church” is, to be fair,  rather vague and anecdotal. There are exceptions.

One megachurch in California sponsors a recovery program that has mushroomed and gone worldwide. I attended a meeting in my local community in the States and was impressed with the transparency and focus on Christ as the answer to our problems. 

The truth is, though, that programs of this nature seem to be a little like the illegitimate child in the church family. We acknowledge their necessity, and even feel a little sorry for the folks involved in them, but the general church goer will not admit to the need to attend themselves.

Baloney! My educated guess is that most of us need to be sitting in those circles in the recovery meetings.

A recent report indicates that 40 percent of Europeans suffer some form of mental illness. Given that North America is part of the western world, I would surmise that the statistics in the United States and Canada are similar.

The other 60 percent may not be “officially” mentally ill, but that doesn’t mean peope don’t suffer from moral, spiritual and emotional disorders. They are all part of the human condition. We just don’t want to admit it!

Here’s another postcard message from the All American Reject’s video:

“I haven’t spoken to my Dad in 10 years… and it kills me every day.”

Absalom could have written a similar sentence. He was estranged from his father David for five years.

If there were a Post Secret organization in ancient Israel, Absalom could have written these postcards”

“My father committed adultery and had the husband of the woman murdered.”

“My brother raped my sister.”

For the last “secret”, Absalom murdered his brother Amnon. The young man had sexually assaulted Absalom’s sister Tamar (II Samuel 13:1-19).

Absalom developed very bad feelings over this. His postcard would have read:

“I am the king’s son and I am filled with hate and rage”. (II Samuel 13:22).

Absalom’s father David was angry about the rape of Tamar, but he did nothing. It was his family’s own “dirty little secret”.  As a result, Abasolom took matters into his own hands:

“I murdered my brother.” (II Samuel 13:28,29).

When he did, Absalom fled. When David finally relented and let him back in his kingdom, he refused to see him, until he softened (a little) after 2 years and met with his son.

My fellow believers, this game playing is so wrong. The words of Billy Joel explain what I feel about you:

If you search for tenderness
it isn’t hard to find.
You can have the love you need to live.
But if you look for truthfulness
You might just as well be blind.
It always seems to be so hard to give.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

I can always find someone
to say they sympathize.
If I wear my heart out on my sleeve.
But I don’t want some pretty face
to tell me pretty lies.
All I want is someone to believe.

Honesty is such a lonely word.
Everyone is so untrue.
Honesty is hardly ever heard.
And mostly what I need from you.

I can find a lover.
I can find a friend.
I can have security until the bitter end.
Anyone can comfort me
with promises again.
I know, I know.

When I’m deep inside of me
don’t be too concerned.
I won’t ask for nothin’ while I’m gone.
But when I want sincerity
tell me where else can I turn.
Because you’re the one I depend upon. 

If I can’t get my brothers and sisters in Christ to honestly tell me who they are, and to give me listen t my much as well, where shall I go. Frankly, unbelievers do a better job of being honest about themselves than we Christians do. 

The reason we aren’t honest with each other, I suppose, is that we are afraid. Afraid of rejection.

In an ideal world, we would behave toward each other as Billy Joel suggests:

Don’t go changing, to try and please me
You never let me down before
Don’t imagine you’re too familiar
And I don’t see you anymore
I wouldn’t leave you in times of trouble
We never could have come this far
I took the good times, I’ll take the bad times
I’ll take you just the way you are

Don’t go trying some new fashion
Don’t change the color of your hair
You always have my unspoken passion
Although I might not seem to care

I don’t want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are.

I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew
What will it take till you to believe in me
The way that I believe in you.

I said I love you and that’s forever
And this I promise from the heart
I could not love you any better
I love you just the way you are.

Until we get to this, we will be far away from each other, and in reality, from God as well. And revival? Forget about that.

One more postcard on the All American Rejects video says this:

“I miss feeling close to God.”

My postcard this hour to you is this:

“I miss feeling close to you.”

I hate Satan for what he has done to us and this world. How about you?

Let’s do something about it. The first step it seems is to be honest with each other about the impact he has made on our lives.