Put Cynicism to Death

“When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his house steward, "Bring the men into the house, and slay an animal and make ready; for the men are to dine with me at noon." So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph's house. Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph's house; and they said, ‘It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us, and take us for slaves with our donkeys.’”  Genesis 43:16-18

                Dick Keyes writes in Seeing Through Cynicism, “Cynicism, as we use it today, has to do with seeing through and unmasking positive appearances to reveal the more basic underlying motivations of greed, power, lust, and selfishness.”  Yesterday, President Obama presented a plan for gun control.  During his presentation, his eyes filled with tears.  I noticed articles, written by opponents to gun-control, calling his tears “crocodile tears”; implying that our president teared up only to sell his idea.  How do they know?  Why would they assume this?  Is it possible that President Obama, aware of the number Americans who are killed each year with guns, is actually saddened by that fact and he wants to help?  We may not agree with his solution, but that does not mean he is pretending.

                My state, Pennsylvania, does not have an approved budget.  The state legislature presented a budget in June that the Governor vetoed.  This impasse has meant that some charitable organizations who depend on public funding are not receiving funds.  Again on Facebook, friends regularly malign the legislators, assuming that the process is some sort of joke to them.  Is it possible that the legislature and the Governor are both taking stands on principles that they believe are best for our state?  This does not seem far-fetched to me.

                This brings me to the passage from Genesis 43, which reveals the problem of cynicism.  Joseph’s brothers, assumed that he was planning to do them harm.  They did not trust the Egyptians.  Up until this point, Joseph had only treated them with kindness.  Cynicism is not based—as some errantly assume—on previous experience that teaches us to distrust.  It is based in a fearful, faithless determination to protect ourselves even if that means that we must ignore God’s commands.  The brothers assumed that Joseph intended to harm them, when in reality, he planned to feast with them.  In their assumption, they maligned Joseph’s character to one another, breaking what would one day be the ninth commandment.  Cynicism is not wise, but diabolical, see Genesis 3:4-5.

                What is the solution?  As is most often the case, the solution is faith.  Will I trust God enough that I will not malign other people even if my assumption is right?  Will I believe that it is better to endure pain trusting that Jesus will comfort me, than to compromise God’s commands to be safe (Matthew 5:4)?  Will I follow Jesus even when it is hard, or painful?  Dietrich Bonhoeffer was imprisoned for attempting an assassination of Adolf Hitler.  In his prison cell he wrote to his parents, “Without trust, life is impoverished.”  If ever a man had the right to the cynics assumption, it would be a prisoner in Nazi Germany.  However, this man of God recognized that cynicism would rob him of joy.  He was unwilling to pay that price.  May God keep us from cynicism.

A Call to Quality Character

Carl Trueman recently wrote in a blog entitled, Basic Decency. That’s All That’s Needed, “In one instance, while debating whether a particular individual was qualified for office, a person read to me the list of qualifications for eldership and declared, ‘If we apply those, then nobody will ever be qualified.’”[1]  Carl was discussing the lowering of standards, particularly for elders.  I greatly appreciate his thoughts as I have seen Christians clamoring for pastors who are “just like us.”  This has led to lowering educational standards, and now, moral standards.  I heard of a man who was recently deposed for drunkenness, pornography, and adultery (he had been having an affair for years).  Following the administration of his censure, the gathered elders expressed hope of one day restoring him to office.  Why?

This lowering of standards is not new.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about it while he sat in a Nazi prison camp.  “Unless we have the courage to fight for a revival of wholesome reserve between man and man, we shall perish in an anarchy of human values. The impudent contempt for such reserve is the mark of the rabble, just as inward uncertainty, haggling and cringing for the favour of insolent people, and lowering oneself to the level of the rabble are the way of becoming no better than the rabble oneself.”  “Quality is the greatest enemy of any kind of mass-leveling.”[2]  Are we afraid of individuals with greater ability, wisdom, or character than we possess, or are we inspired by them?  The elders in the Church of Jesus Christ must live lives of greater piety and integrity because we need them to inspire us to trust Jesus enough that we too may live a more holy life.

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[1] Mortification of Spin: http://www.alliancenet.org/mos/postcards-from-palookaville/basic-decency-thats-all-thats-needed#.VnK9x0q2m00

[2] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

Violence

                Recently, I was thinking about violence.  I have often worked with victims of domestic abuse which leads me to think about such things.  Here are some of my early thoughts.

It is through the gift of rationality that man is able to work toward his own safety and growth.  By his mind, man learns what foods are good, how to keep warm, and how to relate to others.  The drive for self-preservation is also God-given and reflects God’s value of Himself and man, whom He created.  Jesus speaks to this by telling us to love our neighbor as we love our self (see also Ephesians 5:29).[1]

These two gifts work together to help us glorify God; rationality and self-preservation.  They are designed to work in concert, however, in this sin-cursed world, other people sometimes force us to choose one or the other thereby striking at the essential integrity of our being.

Violence, or the threat of violence, whether it is physical, verbal, or emotional, places the individual in a dilemma.  He must choose to relinquish his independent thoughts and adopt those of his attacker, or risk injury to himself.  Such a decision should never be made.  To force another to make such a decision is to attack the essence of his humanity and to rob him of one aspect of God’s image.  This is why we see God opposed to violence (Genesis 6:11-13, Habakkuk 1:2-3).[2]  How great a crime is it when this choice is given in the home?  

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[1] Eph 5:29 “for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church,”

[2] Gen 6:11-13 “ Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.  God looked on the earth, and behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth.  Then God said to Noah, "The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

Hab 1:2-3 “How long, O Lord, will I call for help, and You will not hear? I cry out to You, ‘Violence!’ Yet You do not save.  Why do You make me see iniquity, and cause me to look on wickedness? Yes, destruction and violence are before me; strife exists and contention arises.

Central truth

What is Christianity?  I mean at the very center of our faith what is there?  Maybe I am talking about what C.S. Lewis called, “Mere Christianity” and Chesterton referred to simply as “Orthodoxy”.  If we were to compare the faith of Adam, Abraham, Peter, Augustine, Calvin, Sproul, Miquel in Belize, Don Michael in Scotland and Thokosani in Malawi, what would they have in common?  The expression of their faiths is vastly different but surely the central characteristics would be the same.

I am firmly convinced of Covenant Theology.  Covenant Theology believes that the unifying idea of all of Scripture is the covenant of God.  The covenant is, simply put, the terms of man’s relationship with God.  We can use lots of words to describe it, but the central concept of a covenant is a relationship.  I think that relationship with the one true God is the heart of Christianity.  Dick Keyes describes the central claim of Christianity in his book, Chameleon Christianity, “…we believe that individuals and the whole community have actually met the transcendant God—the Creator of heaven and earth—who in turn is deeply concerned for us and even loves us.” God initiated a relationship with His image in creation.  That relationship was broken by sin but restored through Jesus.  For this reason Jesus describes the greatest commandments as loving God and loving our neighbor.  That is to say, maintaining right relationships.

I am sad that too often relationship with God has been replaced with a reliance on religious rites.  The rites are good but not as replacements for knowing Jesus, John 17:3.  We read and study our Bibles confident that this is the way to eternal life all the while missing Jesus say to us, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”  We list our prayer requests in bulletins and web-pages.  We read the list to God expecting Him to heal our diseases and make us prosperous; all the while missing that God’s plan for us includes suffering and hardship so that we may trust Him more tenaciously.  We should hope for His presence through the difficulties rather than the removal of hardship, Psalm 23:4.  Too often we go on in our superstitious religion while God still invites us to more, Isaiah 1:14-18, 29:13; Revelation 2:4, 3:18-20.

I want Him: that is all, just Him.  “Whom have I in heaven but Thee and besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth.”

Above Reproach

Matthew 23:1-12

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;  therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them.  "They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.  "But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.  "They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues,  and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.  "But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.  "Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.  "Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ.  "But the greatest among you shall be your servant.  "Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.

I just heard the news of a PCA church hiring a new Director of Ministry Development.  The man they hired was deposed for adultery just three weeks ago. His name is Tullian Tchividjian. 

A pastor has a solemn responsibility to speak truth.  He represents the God who is truth by proclaiming the message of truth.  Tullian Tchividjian—who has now been approved by the elders of Willow Creek Church—recently stood in front of God’s people speaking for God even while he was in an adulterous relationship.  Do you see the depth of betrayal and dishonesty?  Imagine if he had been preparing his sermon when his conscience began to torment him.  In this conviction, he called the elders and confessed his sin, recognizing that he could not live out the sham of preaching while he was living such a duplicitous life, so he stepped down.  Such a situation would be commendable.  Instead, Tchividjian pretended to be qualified to speak for God until the elders discovered the affair and invited him to resign.  Even after his resignation and deposition, he continues to speak for God.  Until the elders confronted him, his conscience was not burdened.  He did not mind the duplicity.  The lie did not trouble him enough to bring him to action. It is this duplicity that is most troubling and is least addressed.  The hypocrisy that mirrors the Pharisees is what most disqualifies Tchividjian from office.  The hardness of heart required to carry on an affair while teaching and preaching the Word of God is unfathomable.  Surely, he should be given more time to demonstrate a real change before we ask God's people to trust him again..       

I am so sad.

Four

When I was four years old I witnessed a brutal beating.  My parents were having trouble.  Dad was an alcoholic and frequently flew into a rage and beat us, (me, my brothers and my mom).  On this particular day, we met Dad at his mother’s trailer.  The night before, we had stayed at another man’s house.  I betrayed my mom by revealing this fact to Dad.  He became furious, pinning Mom to the corner of the couch.  He repeatedly hit her in the face and began to slam her head against the wall.  I was afraid and I wanted to help.  I knew it was my fault.  Mom had told us that we could call the operator if we were ever in danger (this was before 911).  I immediately went into Grandma’s bedroom, picked up the phone, and dialed 0.  Before I could explain what was happening, Grandma hung up the phone and I was left to witness the rest of the beating.

God brings good from every situation.  This beating was the last straw for Mom.  She packed us up and moved to California, and divorced Dad.  Even though Mom did not know God at that time, He knew her and gave her the wisdom and courage to take this step.  In so doing she protected us and taught us that we do not need to be abused.  In addition, God placed a burning passion in my heart.

From that day, I have a deep hatred for oppression and abuse.  My brothers and I swore to each other that if one of us ever hit his wife, the other two would beat the stuffing out of the abuser.  To my knowledge, none of us has ever hit our wives.  Since God has given me life and faith, he has given me opportunities to care for victims of abuse.  I have physically stood between an abusive husband and his family to protect them.  I have helped victims understand their situation and stand up to the bully.  I have opposed bullies in the church, demanding that they stop enslaving those around them.  All of this can be traced to that awful day in the late 1960s.

  

When I was four, I stood alone knowing that no one in authority would help.  I gained a great resolve to be strong.  Today, I stand with a strong hand holding mine.  I bury my head into His chest and sob as I watch people I love suffer abuse.  He gently strokes my head and reminds me that He is involved.  I must fight the four year old, and chose moment by moment to trust the only real authority in the world, the One who is my Savior.  

Standards

     I just read an article in which the author suggested that it is right and proper to be worried sometimes.  Even though he began by quoting Philippians 4:7, “Be anxious for nothing…” he still concluded that worry is a good thing because when we worry we look to God.  This willingness to set aside the scripture is disturbing.  I was even more concerned with the response left by one reader.  “I am grateful to finally be at a place of freedom as it pertains to many things. Worry being one of the primary areas that I always had felt was sinful.”  What concerns me is that the freedom mentioned is not found in the power of the Holy Spirit but in changing the teaching of Scripture.  By changing the standard, the individual feels less sinful.  Bonhoeffer wrote about this.  “Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner.” 

     Recently a young man in a Bible study asked, “Whose interpretation of Scripture should I believe?”  He has heard so many people saying such divergent things and all claiming to speak the word of God that he is genuinely confused.  I watched a video series in which the speaker used many different translations and paraphrases of Scripture to support his points.  The end result for the listeners was that they felt they could pick whatever version supported their position.  Rather than a disciplined approach to understand what the Bible says, and then a sincere effort to believe it “no matter what”, we can easily just find a “Bible teacher” who says what we want to hear.

     How irresponsible is it for a teacher to proclaim, “I know the Bible says, ‘do not be anxious’ but it really means ‘it is okay to be anxious if you believe in Jesus?’”  This promotes the teacher’s ideas as usurpers of the Word of God.  Oh, that the teachers of the Word would return to 2 Timothy 2:15, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”  May we again pray the famous prayer of Billy Graham, “Lord, help me to believe Your Word, even if I don’t understand it.”