You Want Me To Do What?

The Japanese people are the most polite people I have ever met. This is woven into the fabric of their culture in so many ways, ways I can only imagine at this point since we arrived here in Okinawa only six hours ago.

Here is an example from the flight from Tokyo to Okinawa. As the flight attendants started to do the safety briefing ( you know the one about exits, oxygen masks and life jacket’s) they gave us the gentle bow or respect. They turned and in unison bowed to those of us who had entered their airplane. In that moment I felt very respected, important, honored.

I know it is part of their job. I did some things when the boss told me to that were different from my inclinations. The Army consistently told me to show up much earlier that I ever wanted to! We called it “zero dark thirty.” It always seemed earlier than any rational human being would show up. But I would be there, along with a few of my closest new friends.

We often do things in life that seem to us out of place.

Jesus was talking to His disciples one day He told them to do something very unusual. In Matthew five He was giving them insight into the extent of the reach of the Gospel into the human heart and will. Or as they say in the South, He started meddling.

Retribution isn’t the answer. Neither was justice. “38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’” Justice is nice. Retribution might even feed some deep part of us that gets hungry when justice seems slow.

But Jesus tells them to stop resisting the evil person’s actions.

“39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.”

I can hear those listening say, “You want me to do what?” “This is crazy. They will take advantage of us.” “No way I’m doing that! I have my dignity to consider. I have my rights.”

Our enemies, Satan, sin and selfishness, want us to hold onto our dignity, our property and our time.But that is the lie. We don’t deserve respect, being the confirmed sinners that we are. The things we have aren’t ours to keep, since heaven is our new home. And our time is not our own, we were bought with a price.

As followers of Jesus we must live as Jesus did. “42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

Yikes, this is hard! No it is impossible. We might be able to do it once or twice, but to do it consistently and with the right attitude, that is another story. And that is what I see as I encounter the Japanese people. They didn’t have to bow, but they did. They know from seeing Western values and culture that life doesn’t consist in the bows given or received. And yet they continue to bow. Even as we walked through the airport. Every time an encounter with another person started, there was the bow.

How can I bring this bow into my heart and mind? How can I prefer the other person ahead of myself? 

Stand Up for What’s Right

Psalm 15:4-5

          Most people want to live in a just world, a world where everyone gets a fair shake. Unless of course you are one of the corrupt people, and want to hang onto your power, the power you obtained by doing injustice. Then you want things to stay just the way they are, but put on a good show by saying that things must change. In order for things to actually change, the evil power-grabbers would have to give up most of their power, like that is going to happen!

          In order for justice on a less global scale to happen, a scale closer to home, we must do four things, according to this psalm. Each is presented in a pair of statements about the character of the person who will be allowed in God’s presence in heaven. Each gives us a good picture of what a Jesus-follower’s walk should look like. Not that a righteous walk gains entrance to heaven; only perfection does that. But since we have accepted Jesus’ payment for our sins, we can now, through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, live a life that pleases the LORD, a life that reflects His character in this world.

          The first, (which is really the second, honest communication being the first from verse two and three), is that our judgments would line up with His judgments. We would have the same attitude toward evil behavior that the LORD does. We would reject the actions of the same people the LORD rejects. Those He would label vile, we label vile. We boo at the evil and cheer at the good. We reject the baser actions of people and applaud those who get it right. Too often we spend so much time pointing out the evil that we miss the opportunities to honor those who are doing it right.

          The third deals with the way we make decisions and keep our commitments. Too many people back out of their commitments too easily. I love the way the writer speaks of keeping his commitment, He says we need to keep it “even when it hurts.” When it is inconvenient is when we need to keep it. When it is hard to keep our word is when our character gets tested. We need to do what we say. Our walk must match our talk. People are looking at us, wondering if we are people of integrity. We need to keep our promises.

          Some people solve this by never making promises, never making any real commitment, always keeping their options open. They say “I’ll think about it.” Or if they want to put a spiritual spin on it they will say “I’ll pray about it.” I’m not saying that everyone who says one of these things is making an excuse, but if they don’t actually think or pray, it is an excuse. Let your “yes” be your “yes.”

          The fourth and final practical example of what righteous living looks like deals with money, a delicate subject for most people. The first half of this pair of instructions deals with a rule that was given by the LORD around lending money. When someone made a loan to a poor person, they were to do it without charging any interest. That’s right, 0% loans. In doing so they recognized that their wealth was not theirs, it was the LORD’s, and they had an obligation to help the poor. To charge interest would be a double insult: they can’t afford to pay it, and you don’t need it.

          The other side of money has to do with how money corrupts justice. It is not just the bribes that are taken, but the more subtle taxes and exemptions that get added to legislation that favor one group above another. All these laws have the effect of taking money from one group and giving it to another. They are done as favors for past or future actions. They pervert justice.

          All these specifics answer the question asked in the first verse of this psalm, who is qualified to enter God’s presence. And since we all fail, we must rely on the LORD’s mercy. We must humbly bow before Him, submitting our past, present and future into His hands. And then live a life that honors Him, that reflects His loving character to the world.

Cleanup

Mark 15:17-20

      The world gets messy sometimes. This includes our lives. Sometimes we are the ones who have made the mess. Sometimes the mess gets made by someone else but we end up at the bottom of their mess. Either way, someone has to clean it up.

      My children have trained their children to always clean up their toys. “Clean up, clean up, everybody, everywhere.” They give them a time warning like “five minutes” and then when the time arrives, the kids clean up. I wish we had been that cleaver when our kids were young. They know that before they do the next thing, the current thing must be completed. Cleaning up is part of the activity.

      One of the things many people like about eating out at a restaurant is that you don’t have to deal with any of the mess. No prep mess, not cooking mess, no dishes at the end. You don’t even have to wipe the table or sweep the floor. You just get up, pay and walk out. The mess is all taken care of by others.

      Some business people specialize in cleaning up other people’s messes. They clean fire and water damaged properties. They consult with failing businesses and get them back on their feet. They tie up all the loose ends when a bankruptcy has taken place. Merry Maids comes into your house and does the dusting you don’t want to do. The TV show Hoarders shows people trying to clean up really messy lives, and they try to clean the house as well.

      Jesus has been sentenced to death without any evidence. The crowd was incited by the religious leaders to demand that Pilate release a known criminal and crucify Jesus. The sentence has been declared and now the soldiers have taken over.

      We don’t know if the activity of mocking and beating was an authorized activity, or whether the soldiers were just having a little fun of their own. We do know that Jesus exits their company so weak that He can’t carry His own cross. There would have been some blood spilled through this process. So as the soldiers are finishing, they clean up.

      They take of the purple robe they dressed Him in, purple being a royal color. It was expensive to produce. It might have been a costume that got passed from prisoner to prisoner. I can’t imagine any of the soldiers just having a robe like this lying around at work. They would not have worn a robe like this, not in the palace! I am sure the other soldiers would have made fun of anyone, including one of their own, wearing such an expensive robe.

      Once Jesus is back in His own simple clothes, He is out the door and on His final journey to the Cross. The last private gestures before His crucifixion were worship and honors, both done in a mocking fashion, but the only actions fitting Jesus. Jesus deserved the royal robe and the “Hail, king of the Jews!” They were in line with who He really is.

      And as a example of the best leader, He then offers Himself for the people on the Cross. He sets aside what would be best for Him, and takes on what is best for us.

The First Step

Mark 10:35-45

      When jumping out of an airplane, the first step is the most difficult to take. After that, the thump doesn’t take any effort on your part. That first step can tell so much about a person. Some who enter the US Army’s Airborne School’s three week course think it will be no problem to jump, that fear won’t affect them. Some stand at the door of the plane and freeze, unable to take the next step. They return to the ground in defeat, safely aboard the aircraft. Needless to say they don’t get the badge of distinction.

      I never gained that badge of distinction. I knew I didn’t want to jump from a perfectly good airplane, as the saying goes. I never volunteered to go to Airborne School. I have many good friends who did and were successful. I served with many who did so many things that I never did. I was honored to serve with them, these men of courage.

      Two of the disciples in particular were thinking ahead, although naively. They were picking their seats in Jesus’ coming Kingdom. They wanted first and second chair. They wanted to be in every picture taken. They wanted to be people who were known as those who sat next to Jesus. They wanted to be in the ‘in’ crowd. They were inside the beltway people. At this point they were serving as their own lobbyist. So they took the first step and asked Jesus for the spots.

      We know the other disciples questioned their motives because they get upset with them. And Jesus puts them all in their place when He tells them that the road to the top goes through service and ends in service. The top spot is the place of the greatest service to others. If only our politicians could remember that they are public servants! They are too often self servants. But they are not alone in this.

      The two who request these places of honor learn that they will follow Jesus in suffering and death. Their lives will end suddenly at the hands of injustice. Just as Jesus chooses death to serve a higher purpose, these two will die for their faith. They will die with the sure hope of the Resurrection. They will die humiliating deaths. And yet they chose to stay true to what they know.

      I don’t know what your cup is. Right now Christians in Iraq are being slaughtered simply because they are followers of Jesus. Children are beheaded. Women are raped and killed. Men are hung. If we don’t face the reality of Islam, this could very well be our future. Are you willing to drink this cup? Are you willing to die for Christ?

Bottom of the Pile

Proverbs 3:31-35

Have you ever felt on the bottom of the pile? I know I have! Growing up I was always the skinniest kid around, at least that is the way I felt. Maybe my three older brothers were stealing all my food! But I felt like I was the weakest, most uncoordinated kid in my class. This was confirmed in my mind when I would consistently be picked last for those team games in PE class. I would be standing there by myself in the pool of prospective team members, everyone else having been picked already. Reluctantly, the last name called would be me.

We as human beings want to be connected, part of something bigger. And that quest to be connected, accepted sometimes leads us to make bad choices in friends. Sometimes we want what someone else has even when they used evil means to obtain it. We need to not envy those gains (v31). Violent people often use their power to get what they want.

Notice the contrasts in verses 32-35. It shows the actions of the LORD toward the wicked and the righteous. Confidence, blessing, favor and honor will come to those who are upright, righteous, humble and wise. By contrast the LORD detests, curses, mocks and gives shame to those who are perverse, wicked, proud and foolish.

We get to choose which group we want to be in. We get to choose our team. I wish I had been able to do that in elementary school. Looking back, it was probably my inability to stay focused on any task that prevented me from being any good at sports. And my classmates probably didn’t want a distracted player. They wanted to win! I just wanted to have fun and fun often included rapid shifts in focus away from the group activity.

I don’t engage in team activities to this day. I am still not coordinated in sports, having given up on them for other pursuits where I had a chance to excel. I choose to pay attention to those things that the LORD pays attention to. I have noticed some of these rewards in my life. I do have more confidence, blessing, favor and honor. I think I will continue to choose His ways.