Built with Pride

Built with Pride

by | Jun 29, 2014 | Discipleship

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Is all pride wrong?  Obviously, the kind of pride that involves an attempt to  elevate ourselves above others or even God  is  diametric- ally opposed to God’s way of humility and service (Philippians 2:3), but what about other kinds of “pride”? 

What about when people praise something we have done – is accepting such praise giving place to pride?  In his book The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis pointed out that this kind of “pride” is really just the state of being happy that we have pleased someone.  As such it is not really pride at all, even though we may call it that. In a  similar manner, Lewis showed, being “proud” of our family, school, military unit or social club’s achievements is not usually elevating pride, but happiness with and respect for these groups in a kind of “team spirit.”

But what about the things we make or do personally – should we be “proud” of our own accomplishments?  Does “Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth” (Proverbs 27:2) mean we should not enjoy our achievements in life and be willing to talk about them under appropriate circumstances?  The answer would seem to be, once again, that there is nothing wrong with such “pride” if it is not comparative or self-elevating (2 Corinthians 10:12, KJV and Holman).  We can be justly pleased with what we have made or done when that is a reflection of the fact that we have worked hard to accomplish something worthwhile. This is not wrongful “pride” but legitimate satisfaction.

The apostle Paul tells us, in fact: “Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else” (Galatians 6:4).  These words show us there is right pride that is not self-elevating. We should not forget the biblical example of creation – where God reports that He saw what He had made and that it was good.  Obviously wrong pride doesn’t apply to God, but the principle seems clear that God takes pleasure and satisfaction in what He makes.  It would seem that He has made us in His likeness in this, also. 

 At some point you have probably purchased something that had a small sticker or insert saying “Built with pride by [name] company.”  This is a statement that the company has done something they feel is worthy of the people for whom it was made, and in that sense it is a mark of the producer’s respect for the customer as much as it is “pride” in their work.  I’m sure the carpenter we know as Jesus of Nazareth did not build shoddy products and that he felt what he built was indeed “good.”  If there had been stickers back then, I can imagine one saying “Built by Joseph and Son, Quality Carpentry.” 

So we can be proud of our work done well.  It’s something to rightly aim for. If we have done our best and the work is good, it is to the glory of God, not just ourselves, and striving for that is not “pride” but an integral part of the love of God (Colossians 3:23).  It is no different from the pleasure that God doubtless takes in building something good in us.  We should remember, too, that we are God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), where “workmanship” signifies something carefully made by a craftsman.  The same God who said “This is my beloved Son in whom I  am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17) wants to say the same of us.  God builds with pride – and we should, too.
Ways to Teach Children Self-Discipline

Ways to Teach Children Self-Discipline

by | Jun 25, 2014 | Family

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“Encourage the young …to be self-controlled” (Titus 2:5-7).

A couple of recent articles on childrearing caught my attention.   One,  called “5 Ways to Teach Children Self-Discipline,” on allprodad.com, used a primarily sports theme and gave 5 excellent points.  Another article, published in the New York Times,  looked at some related principles.  The short article we have uploaded today “Ways to Teach Children Self-Discipline” comments on some of those points, and others, from a biblical perspective. 
We Are Sailing

We Are Sailing

by | Jun 22, 2014 | Positive Living

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Being under the power of sail (whether sailboat, sailboard, iceboat or whatever) can be a lot of fun, but, just like life itself, it can have both exhilarating and  difficult times.

When we have a “following wind” and the going seems effortless – the wind moving us along almost without work, just like those “good days” in life – things seem good indeed.  On the other hand, when we have to fight into the wind – like those other days we all experience – it’s not so easy.  But it still works.  If you have ever been sailing, you know that we can make progress sailing into the wind just as we can with the wind behind us. 

Sailing into a wind, of course, we have to tack the boat – zigzagging back and forth in a way that never seems like we are going in the right direction, yet we get where we are going eventually.  In the Christian life, God takes us on many tacks; although we may often not see where we are going, or understand the point of some of the detours we might seem to have to take,  He sets the course and gets us to our destination (Philippians 1:6).  An encouraging fact about tacking is that no matter whether we make small zigzags (to put it in non-nautical language) or large ones, the actual distance travelled is actually the same; and we still get where we are going.  Sometimes life’s detours can seem to be long ones, but if we have turned over the helm of our life to the One who is the sure Pilot we will get there.

Nevertheless, those times when we are facing the wind or going through stormy waters may seem tough, and we may wish for calm seas, but that’s actually what all sailors fear most when under sail – being becalmed.  Throughout the history of sail when winds dropped and movement stopped, sailors eventually ran out of food and water and became extremely sick or sometimes perished.  When we enter what may seem to be a pleasant, calm stretch of life, we need to remember that being becalmed often leads to a false sense of security, to apathy and eventual loss of close contact with the One who is the bread and the water of life (John 6:35, John 4:14).

We may think sometimes that living under our own control – like ships with engines that do not have to rely on external power – would be great in that we could go anywhere: picking our own directions, making our own moves; but left to our own direction in life we know we really drift aimlessly and no direction has any meaning.  When we are relying on the power of the wind we work with a power beyond our control, and that is how God chooses to propel us in His direction.  Once we understand it, we see that the Christian life, like sailing, is not really giving up our freedom of direction; it’s accepting a freedom to participate in the most challenging, exhilarating and meaningful sailing possible.  It reminds me of the lyrics of the old song made famous by Rod Stewart: “I am Sailing,” which ends:

“We are sailing, we are sailing,
home again ‘cross the sea.
We are sailing stormy waters,
to be near you, to be free.
Oh Lord, to be near you, to be free …”
Breaking and Entering (for a good purpose) and a Military Mantra

Breaking and Entering (for a good purpose) and a Military Mantra

by | Jun 12, 2014 | Service, Updates, Warriors of the Way

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The four men were clearly guilty of breaking and entering – yet God blessed their actions.   The instance of  forcibly breaking into a domestic dwelling was a fairly outrageous one which involved considerable structural damage to the dwelling place – a crime in almost every culture – yet God rewarded the temerity of the individuals concerned.

Mark tells the story: “A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people … gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven’” (Mark 2:2-5).

In this case the motives of the individuals concerned were clearly good ones.  Breaking and entering usually constitutes a crime because it involves entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offence such as stealing. Here, the four men broke into a domestic dwelling not to take by force, but to ask for help and their actions certainly were rewarded.

There is also an interesting lesson in this small story that we often overlook. Mark tells us that “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’” It was apparently  the faith of those helping the sick man, rather than the faith of the man himself, that Jesus rewarded.  The story prods us to ask ourselves a question in relation to these men of faith: To what extent do we go in seeking God’s help for others?   While we may have true concern for the needs of others and may regularly take those needs to God on their behalf, just how dedicated and “extreme” are our efforts?  Do they approach the dedication of the four men of Capernaum? 

Another example of this kind of dedication is the “No one left behind” mantra of military units operating on battlefields or in hostile territory which has led to many examples of heroism where individuals and groups have gone to extraordinary lengths to help those unable to help themselves.  It is a mantra that we might well apply in our Christian lives – the principle of “No brother or sister left behind on life’s battlefield.”  It is perhaps only rarely that heroism may be involved, or “breaking and entering” on behalf of others who need help, but the principle applies if the need is present.  It is, after all, a principle that God commends – we are told to strive to enter the Kingdom of God (Luke 13:24), and we must strive to help others in fulfilling their calling, too.  

In the biblical example the four men guilty of breaking and entering in the city of Capernaum acted with amazing dedication, and many examples of the “No one left behind” mantra show the same.  Such stories urge us to ask ourselves:  “Would we go to such lengths to help someone in real need?”  The answer is probably as close as the next need we see.

Starving Christians?

by | Jun 8, 2014 | Bible Study

“… It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).

It’s hard to imagine plants growing without water,  infants growing without food, or Christians growing without the word of God, but a 2012 study conducted by LifeWay Research and featured  in Christianity Today  found that only about 20% of self-identifying Christians said they read the Bible daily. A more recent Christianity Today survey found approximately the same situation.

Considering the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 4:4, the survey results are surprising;  yet they were carefully carried out and agree with other recent surveys which have also found a low level of  ”Bible engagement” among many Christians.

The LifeWay research surveyed almost 3,000 Protestant churchgoers and discovered  that while some 90 percent “desire to please and honor” God in everything they did,  only 19 percent actually read the Bible every day. This number was almost the same as the percentage of Christians who said they “rarely or never” read the Bible, leaving a full 60% of people who fell somewhere between the extremes of daily or rarely looking at God’s word.  Of these, about 25%  indicated they read the Bible a “few” times a week, 14% said they read the Bible “once a week” and another 22 % “once a month” or “a few times a month.”

Using the simple analogy of physical nutrition, as we find in Matthew 4:4, we would have to conclude that while about 20% of Christians are well nourished, the majority are actually malnourished and many are starving.  While physical malnutrition and starvation are almost always beyond the control of the individual affected, it is clear that – for whatever reason – spiritual malnutrition and even starvation are normally self chosen. 

We pray for those in various parts of the world who do not have the word of God readily available, but it is sad to think that we should perhaps also pray for the great number of those in our own society who do have the word available, but who skip spiritual meals, don’t eat for long stretches or even slowly starve. The Lifeway and Christianity Today surveys should be reminders of our ongoing need for spiritual nourishment.