Would You Rather DO or BE? That is the question....

As Shakespeare famously wrote, “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”  In our 21st century life of busyness, our question is more likely, “To do, or not to do?”  In our culture, WHAT you DO carries more weight in most circles than WHO you ARE.  I know there are exceptions to that rule, but isn’t part of the American dream to be able to find success and value through our efforts?

It is precisely that struggle – that striving – to DO more that challenges us in our walk of faith.  Those who consider themselves followers of Jesus lay claim to that relationship based on trust (faith) that Jesus has already done everything necessary for us to BE who He wants us to be.  Christ has saved us based on our faith in Him alone, not based on what we DO - our works.  (For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  Ephesians 2:8-9)  But we become His so we can live a life full of good works.  (For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.  Ephesians 2:10)  

So is BEING good enough for a follower of Jesus, or must we be concerned with DOING as well?  James, the brother of Jesus, muddied the water even more for us by reminding us that our faith in Christ without our “doing” is just dead faith - not worth anything.  (James 2:14-26)  So then, shouldn’t we be focusing on DOING more than BEING? 

Just when I think I’ve excused my “Type A” focus on DOING as God-honoring, I’m reminded of the story of Mary and her sister, Martha.  Jesus came to visit their home and Martha, apparently the eldest, was VERY busy working to make the visit wonderful for Jesus.  Mary, the younger sister, just sat and listened to Jesus share about the things of God.  How many of us, especially those of us who are first-born, would have complained to Jesus just as Martha did?  (Luke 10:38-42)  

Did Christ excoriate Mary and urge her to get busy helping her sister?  Did He pat Martha on the back saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”?  Nope.  Jesus told Martha that Mary had it right.  The best thing that Martha could have been doing right then was just what Mary was doing.  Nothing.  Just learning how to listen to the voice of Jesus.  Finding comfort and direction and encouragement in that voice.  Was Martha’s desire to DO wrong?  No, work needs to be done.  But it needs to be done with perspective.  Martha’s efforts were WAY over the top, considering the circumstance (that’s clear from the Bible text).  

Apparently, Martha found it easier to work harder than everyone else and found that it usually brought her the greatest satisfaction and praise from others.  Does that sound like anyone you know?  Don’t we often equate our production with our value, even in the Church?  Apparently, Jesus doesn’t.  When what we DO becomes more important than who we ARE as believers, WE are the ones who lose.  That's because we’ve wrongly determined that the work of our hands is more vital to the Kingdom of God than the condition of our hearts.  Believe me, it’s not.  It is the condition of our hearts that drives the success of our efforts for Jesus, not the other way around.  That was Martha’s mistake, and is often my own.

Jacob

Is Anything Worse Than a Man-Bun?

Let me state this as clearly as I can: “I hate man-buns.”  If you aren’t sure what a man-bun is, you are either wonderfully blessed or you haven’t been paying much attention at the mall.  Man-buns are those stupid little ponytails that some men apparently think are attractive.  Are my true feelings showing through?  Men’s hair styles had pretty much remained unchanged from George Washington until the Beatles showed up and the man-bun is NOT a good step in the evolution of hair style, in my opinion. 

What about hair styles back in Bible times?  Did Jesus had long hair?  Probably not, in spite of what you’ve seen portrayed.  He probably didn’t have blue eyes either, but that’s another story.  But there WERE those in the pages of Scripture who definitely DID have long hair.  Three are specifically mentioned in the Bible – Samson the Strongman, Samuel the Prophet, and John the Baptist.  Who were these long-haired standouts?  They were known in their day as Nazarites (not to be confused with Nazarenes like Jesus, who lived in Nazareth). 

Just who were these Nazarites and why did they have long hair?  To become a Nazarite, a person had to pledge to be holy to God – consecrated and separated from normal people.  As a sign of that pledge, the Nazarite was committed to three things (you can see Numbers 6:1-21 for details):

·      Never cut their hair

·      Never be around a dead body, even close family 

·      Never drink wine or consume anything made from grapes

Now does that seem an odd list of things to show one’s commitment and dedication to God?  Why did God choose THOSE things out of all the ways He could have identified Nazarites?  I have some ideas:

By not cutting his hair, a man would definitely stand out.  In fact, long hair on a man was considered inappropriate in Bible times: “Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him?”  (1 Corinthians 11:14)  Long hair on the Nazarite would say to the world, “I don’t care what you think about me, because being acceptable to God is more important than being loved by the world.”  Jesus taught His disciples that to be rejected by the world shows us we belong to God: “…because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”  (John 15:19)

Why would a Nazarite avoid wine?  That one’s easier.  Wine is a symbol of the pleasures of this world.  By turning his back on any product of the grape vine, the Nazarite proclaimed his desire to love God more than the world.  It’s not that someone who loves God can’t enjoy any of the world’s pleasures.  We know that Jesus drank wine of some sort – but He wasn’t a Nazarite.  Why commit to putting aside the pleasures of the world to show our commitment to God?  To remind ourselves of what Jesus taught us about His kingdom: “My kingdom is not of this world.”  (John 18:36)

But does it seem a bit extreme that if your father died after you were committed as a Nazarite that you couldn’t attend the funeral?  The issue is that being around a dead body made one “ceremonially unclean” – unable to approach God in worship.  “He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean…Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord… ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean…”. Numbers 19:11-14. The idea of uncleanness was to show that a worshipper must be free from sin to approach God, and the ultimate reminder of sin is physical death.  So a Nazarite was committed to not letting anything come between him and God – even those he loved.

Do we have Nazarites today?  No, but each of the commitments made by the Nazarite – not the outward signs but the REASON for the outward signs – are things each follower of Christ should be committed to today.  Living separated to God, not caring what the world thinks, not identifying with the world but the Kingdom, and not wanting anything to keep us from God – those are the vows of the Nazarite.  They sound a whole lot like how Jesus taught us we should live.  It all makes me wonder how I’d look with a ponytail?

Jacob

 

Do You Think It’s Time for a Garage Sale?

“Show me the money!”  That line from a popular movie some years back describes the feelings of many in our material-rich culture.  What we don’t have, we want and believe we deserve.  If you need proof, just look at all the “stuff” that fills your child’s or grandchild’s playroom (since their toys no longer fit in the toybox or closet in their own rooms.)  Or better still, look in your own garage (where there’s not enough room for your car) or in your self-storage unit to see all the items you’ve accumulated that apparently you don’t need, but thought you did!

If you’ve been saving for retirement or just to create a nest-egg, how did you feel this week when the stock market took a nose-dive?  I know it’s easy to fixate on what you have stored away for the future, but this week Warren Buffett lost over 12 billion dollars.  Yes, with a “B”.  Do you wonder if he thought, “Oh well, easy come, easy go”?  When we become too focused on gaining and keeping wealth, God has a way of re-focusing our attention, doesn’t He?

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. ⁸ And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. ⁹ But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.   1 Timothy 6:6-10

When the Holy Spirit led the Apostle Paul to pen those words, He knew you’d read them.  They were written by someone who had seen great wealth in the world around him, but who had also seen terrible need and poverty.  Paul understood that lack of material wealth could create dependence on God if viewed properly, just as possessing great wealth could instill a false sense of independence in those whose bank accounts were large enough.  Money, it seems, can change how we think about God.

The Creator of all things knows we have needs.  In fact, Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  (Matthew 6:31-32).”  Please take note that the things mentioned by Jesus are the same two mentioned by Paul – food and clothing.  I realize the list of things you think you need may be longer than that (go look in the garage again), but God may know better than we do.  Because IF we are only expecting the basics, everything else is seen as a special blessing from God.  And if we see all the rest of what we possess as being from God, it creates “godliness with contentment”.  Remember that line?  That’s what God is all about doing in our lives – helping us to more completely reflect His character.

Earlier in that same passage from Matthew, Jesus challenged us regarding wealth:

 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”   Matthew 6:19-21

What’s His point?  If your future home is heaven, you’ll be leaving behind all the things you think are important now, because when you arrive, everything you could possibly want is already there waiting for you!  I don’t know about you, but it may be time for a garage sale.  Because wouldn’t it be a shame if I left my heart there?

Jacob