Liar, Liar, Love’s on Fire

1 John 4:20-21

          I like people who communicate with clarity. I want to be a person who says what I mean and means what I say. I want my words to match my actions. And I want constancy over time. I don’t want to say and do one thing now, and then change and say and do something totally different later.

          Loving each other in the Body of Christ is so important, so vital, so central to the Gospel message that John doesn’t hold back. He makes a very clear statement about this absolute necessity of love. He tells us that if we aren’t loving each other, then we aren’t loving God. It is impossible to love God without loving each other.

          It is easy to say we love God. Only God can challenge that statement. So John tells us the proof of our love of God is our love for each other. There are no substitutes, no secret short cuts. We must love each other.

          So why does it seem so hard to do? Why is loving each other so difficult? Why does taking the risk carry such a high price? Two things jump out as an answer. First, past pains have taught us that reaching out and trusting others can be painful. And the second is we often don’t have an example of love in action from which to learn. Both can place a roadblock in our path. Both can make taking the risk seem too much to ask.

          But John doesn’t give us the option. He tells us that if we can’t love someone we have seen, we certainly can’t love someone we haven’t seen. I would think it is the other way around. It is easy to love someone I have never met. They haven’t pushed any of my buttons. They haven’t spoken a word with the wrong voice tone. They haven’t cut me off in the middle of a conversation. They haven’t given me “the look” that says that I don’t matter.

          It is really safe to say that I love someone on the far side of the globe. How can anyone prove me wrong? What does it cost me? Words are cheap. But the person I sit next to in the church can easily call my bluff. They can see if I am lying or not. If I say I love them, but do nothing about it, then they can easily point to my lack of action to prove their point.

          Love always comes with a price tag. To really love each other we must do what Jesus did. He didn’t think about himself. He served us. Are we willing to do the same? Are we willing to put action to our words?

Respect

Mark 12:6-8

      The most valuable thing most people have is their children. I know kids aren’t things, but you get my point. It costs over a quarter million dollars to raise a child to age eighteen and this doesn’t include college! So if you have four children, and you could get someone else to foot the bill, you could be a millionaire!

      But even beyond the monetary costs, children are valuable. I some cultures, children have the responsibility to take care of aging parents. They provide the labor for the family farm, or other business.

      We used to eat at a wonderful Chinese restaurant when we lived in Columbus, Georgia. What I found cute was the fact that a small child was often playing behind the cashier’s counter. Many times family owned businesses, especially restaurants, had the small children somewhere on the premises. The only way to make money was to avoid babysitting costs. So, the restaurant became the second home to the children.

      Think about the time and energy put into raising children. If only you could be paid to do the raising. Some countries that need children pay their residents to have them. They need children because they need tax payers. They need people to replace themselves. But in many of these countries parents are choosing to delay having children, or in some instances choosing to only have one child, thus not even replacing themselves in the society.

      And the cost I have outlined quickly don’t even begin to factor infertility treatments and the cost of abortion. The USA is in financial troubles because we killed almost 55 million babies since abortion became legal here in this country. Dead taxpayers, scientists, construction workers, teachers, artists, chefs, consumers. That is a pretty great drain on any society. No wonder Social Security ran out of money!

      The owner has sent his trusted employees to collect the rent that is due him. None of his attempts have worked. He is getting desperate. He thinks perhaps his last chance will work. He sends his son, his precious only son.

      But the character of the renter has not changed. He wouldn’t pay the rent previously, so he has no intention of paying it now. His tolerance for violence has increased. He has already killed at least once, so another killing is not an issue. He has ‘gotten away’ with his delays before, so perhaps this time he can finish the collection process once and for all. He’ll just kill the owners son, the one who will own everything in the future. If he is successful, he thinks the land will be his. The owner won’t bother to try to collect anymore.

      This is the opposite of integrity. When someone won’t honor their word, their commitments, their contracts, society falls apart. Trust in other people is what makes societies function. When there isn’t trust, oppression is the only way for a society to continue.

      Do we want oppression to keep our society intact? Wouldn’t it be better for all of us if righteousness reigned, people keep the rules, wrongdoing was punished swiftly and fairly? How are you at keeping your commitments?

Rent a Wreck

Mark 11:1-3

      Someone had a great idea. Why do rental cars need to be the newest cars out there? New cars are expensive. What if we used used cars instead? Cheaper, less concern for getting dings and dents. Thus RentAWreck was born. Today’s innovations on this concept are the ride sharing companies. Cars and bikes are both being tried in an effort to create a business model that will work.

      But so far, a successful business model has not been worked out, at least for the bikes. All too often the bikes get stolen, or just never returned. And the cars are still too small a market to be successful on a large scale. So people keep trying new things.

      The thing that is lacking is not so much with the concept of sharing, but with the lack of integrity of the human heart. A system of sharing will only work with honest, non-self-centered people. And our world is in a short supply of these. These are not values that have been taught and caught well by younger generations from the older. We have values curriculum in schools, but the students don’t necessarily see living examples around them.

      Jesus arrives in the area of Jerusalem for the Passover feast. Places to stay would be scarce with tens of thousands of visitors stretching the housing resources. All the nearby towns and villages would have been brimming with extra people. Everyone made room for visitors in their homes. Any place someone could bunk was open.

      Bethany was about two miles from Jerusalem, less than an hour walk. Jesus knows about a rideshare kiosk in the area. The tells two of His disciples to go and swipe His member card and pick up a set of wheels for His journey into Jerusalem.

      Jesus’ choice of a colt is highly symbolic. It ties right into the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Himself. The Messiah is predicted to ride on a donkey into Jerusalem. So Jesus sends His disciples to the colt kiosk.

      What Jesus asks His disciples to do took faith on their part to carry out. They could go there and not find a donkey. Then they would return as failures. They could be accused of attempting to steal the colt and end up in jail, or with a hand cut off. They could go, find the donkey, speak to the people, but the people might want them to put up a security deposit on the rental. They would return humiliated and empty handed. They didn’t have a credit card to use for the security deposit.

      We don’t know if Jesus had made these arrangements with the owner on a previous visit to Jerusalem. Perhaps the owner had responded to the invitation to become a follower. Maybe it was someone who had been healed by Jesus, and so would have been counted on to joyfully provide for their new Master. Or perhaps it was an insight Jesus had, an ability to see the donkey tied there without having to be there.

“Private Lives”

Mark 1:35-37

      Have you ever wondered what famous people do in their private time, when there are no cameras and reporters around? This private conduct does say a lot about a person’s character. It is not our character when we know people are looking that matters. We can all put on a good face and do the right thing for a period of time. But what counts is the character that comes out when no one is looking. Is there a difference between your conduct when you are out in public and alone with your family? Do you do things at work that you would never do at home?

      We enter another round of teaching and miracle that Mark uses to drive home his point. Mark says that Jesus gets up with a purpose on his mind. He needs time to pray, without the distractions and activities of the day. He gets up before dawn, before the sunlight begins to warm the early morning sky with its light. Remember, they did not keep track of time the same way that we do. They didn’t have a watch or a cell phone to tell them what hour and minute the present moment is relative to all the other moments of our day. They kept track of time in broader terms, connected with the movement of the Sun and Moon.

      Notice that Jesus didn’t just get up early, very early and kneel at the side of His bed to pray. He went to a place by Himself, away from all the things that might distract Him. This is some good advice for those of us wanting to have a rich life, filled with eternal experiences. We need to get away and pray. Sometimes we need to eliminate the distractions in order to stay focused. Do you have a solitary place, a place where you meet with the LORD and pray?

      I wonder what was going through the disciples’ minds when they woke up and couldn’t find Jesus? It almost sounds as if they went into panic mode. They couldn’t find Him and they go out to search for Him. I can see searching for Him if he had been gone a full day, but to rush out and try to find Him after only a short interval of absence seems very anxiety driven.

      Notice what Peter tells Jesus. Peter says everyone is looking for Jesus, but it is really the disciples who are worried, more directly, Peter is anxious. We use this same kind of exaggeration when we talk about “everyone” being at the party. What we really mean is that all the important people were there with us. We were part of the important people crowd.

      Do we ever let our anxiety determine our behavior? I think this is a part of all of our lives. We often don’t recognize the connection between our anxieties and our behavior, but most of us have some anxiety-driven reactions to life’s events. We run around looking for someone or something that will ground us, settle us, comfort us. Jesus sought out prayer. Simon sought Jesus. What do you seek?

Like

Proverbs 17:7

      This proverb is really in the Scriptures. It was not put here because of current political figures. Many a ruler lies, but that does not excuse the lies. But what else does this proverb say, and say to us?

      I am often wary of people whose words are too smooth, too polished, too calculated. Timeshare sales staff have this down to an art. Once they start talking every word is planned. And at the end of the day, they get your signature on the dotted line. My wife won’t let me go to any of these presentations because I won’t buy anything. I can’t be persuaded. And I am not very polite with smooth talkers. I am too abrupt.

      Smooth talking and foolishness don’t fit well together. That is because we don’t need more fools! The world has enough to go around. I think they must breed in the news media! Someone who just parrots what they have heard without any thought about whether it makes sense or matches the facts doesn’t help society.

      We need to learn to question, to think for ourselves. Just because someone can say what they say in a way that gets us excited doesn’t mean what they say is true. We knew the math on the Affordable Care Act never added up. It is impossible to care for more people at a higher level of care for less money. At least not without taking over the whole process and controlling how much everyone earns, and kicking the lawyers out of the picture. Simple math!

      I guess the question for us is this: Do we sugarcoat our words in order to convince people? Our ideas need to stand on their own merit, not on our ability to sell them. Personality should not be what sells ideas. But unfortunately, personality has become one of the key factors in convincing people. We have celebrity endorsements for almost every product.

      Be careful what you give your name to. Liking things on Facebook is adding your name and reputation to something. And once your name gets attached, it can be almost impossible to detach it.