"Sins" in Good Standing...With God

I’m being somewhat facetious, of course, but I can see at least four activities listed in the Bible as being negative that if applied another way, are a definite positive in the life of a believer. See if you agree with me.

COVETOUSNESS

“But covet earnestly the best gifts…” (1Cor.12:31)

         The first sin, covetousness, is a breach of the last entry in God’s Decalogue of “don’ts” found in Exodus twenty. It is the precursor of many other sins and the basis for discontent that has ruined the lives of so many. Still, Paul, in the twelfth chapter of his first epistle to the Corinthians, where he lays out the operations of spiritual gifts in the Body of Christ, suggests that wanting the best of these would not be out of place at all. And, frankly, I would be glad indeed to posses the spiritual gift of being able to speak a word of wisdom or knowledge (12:8); or to be a woman of faith; or to posses the gift of spiritual healing (12:9), as well as others found in the next verse. I’m glad though that after giving us permission to “covet” any of these gifts, Paul tells us that when all is said and done, however, there is one spiritual grace that outshines them all. Then, as you know, he launches into his great treatise on love. And, yes, I covet that, too.  

ADDICTION

“[T]hey have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints” (16:15).

         Let’s move on now to the second permissible sin, which comes from the pen of the same man, and in the same book. There are some people, Paul says, who just can’t get enough of ministering to others. I understand that like any addiction there are pitfalls even here; but frankly, although I question driving one’s body to the limit in any activity, I would rather see it done in ministry to others. Evidently, Paul thought so, too, since he spoke lovingly of the family he accused of this “addiction.” (As an aside, I’ll tell you that I’ve written the name of our daughter, Leah, next to this verse in my own Bible. She’s the worst “offender” I know when it comes to this addiction!)

MURDER

“Mortify [kill] therefore your members which are upon the earth…” (Col. 3:5)

         Thirdly, I would submit to you that God does not always forbid murder. In fact, he commands it in Colossians. He goes on then to give us a list of gross sins of which the members of our bodies are capable. James says there is a virtual war going on in our members (James 4:1). If we took literally the admonition of Matthew 5:29-30 about offending a “member,” we’d end up “member-less!” Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:31, “…I die daily.” That’s the result of murder, right? He didn’t actually die, of course, but as far as sin’s claim of authority in his life, he was “dead to the world.” But this is one murder we have to commit ourselves; we can’t hire a hit man. We have to mortify (put to death) continually those inclinations in our members that lust against the Spirit of God.

WASTE

“He that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster” (Prov. 18:9)

         Finally, although the Bible uses the word “waste” in most cases as the act of destruction, or allowing something to diminish, I would refer you to this verse in Proverbs and submit that “waste,” in the sense of squandering, is not something God is in favor of. Yet the woman in Mark fourteen, who was accused of wasting expensive ointment on Jesus, was praised—even memorialized—by the Son of God. There is, you see, no way on this earth to waste anything on Him. Waste implies using up something valuable for a lesser purpose. Spirit-initiated service or sacrifice to Jesus Christ is never wasted. It’s the least that we can do. It may bring criticism, as the woman in Mark found out, but it will gain us commendation from its worthy Recipient.

         There you have it; my little discourse on “sins” that God is highly in favor of. Would you agree they’re worthy of any good Christian? Well then, when you feel an urge to sin, choose one of these, and then go right ahead…have at it!

         “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might…” (Eccl. 9:10)

Looking For the "Meek and Quiet Spirit"

“But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” (1 Peter 3:4)

         Who wouldn’t be on the lookout for anything considered to be “of great price” to the One who owns the world and everything in it? It would be like finding something to give to the man who has everything. You may think it’s the perfect adornment for a godly woman (as do I), but the fact remains, the only two people named in the Scriptures as living examples of meekness were men: Moses (Num. 12:3), and Jesus Christ (Matt. 11:29 & 2:15). Be that as it may, here it is in a passage especially for you and me, so it’s definitely something we need to look into and consider.

         Before we try to find this pearl, there is a misconception that needs to be laid to rest. We’re talking about something that is generally “hidden.” It’s a spirit, not a sound. Just as someone who is “poor in spirit” does not have to be poor financially, it follows that a quiet spirit does not have to be silent, or even soft-spoken, all the time. I realize no one likes a loud, stubborn, gadabout woman, especially Solomon (Prov. 7:11). But just because a woman is soft-spoken doesn’t guarantee she possesses a quiet spirit, anymore than poverty is the sure sign of meekness. It’s not that easy.

         For instance, the meekest man on the earth in his lifetime was a man who naturally had a temper and an unbending sense of justice that sometimes made him judge, jury, and executioner (Exo. 2:11-12). You have heard it said, I’m sure, meekness is not the same as weakness, and Moses (and Jesus, for that matter) is testimony to this.

I was interested to learn that the Greeks used the equivalent of this word (“meekness”) to describe the training of an animal (especially a horse) for battle. It literally means, “power under control.” As one writer said, “When the Greeks could take a horse, with the phenomenal inherent power that can propel a thousand-pound animal at speeds over 35 miles an hour, and bring that magnificent animal under the total control of just a touch—maybe just leg pressure or knee pressure—and have that horse do exactly what they wanted, then they called that horse praus (meeked). And the term is still used today. Another word for breaking a horse is “meeking.”

I see meekness in a wife as the unusual ability to see past the Biblical headship of her husband to the ultimate authority of God. There is no pulling against the reins, knowing that the hands that hold them are not human, but Divine. She may offer opinion, but never insist on the final option. She is meek, but not powerless; it is power under the control of God. The old Puritan saying is true: “A prudent wife commands her husband by obeying him.”

But what of the “quiet spirit”? If it’s not dependent on either demeanor or decibel, how do you spot it, or better still, acquire it? For this, we need to search the Scriptures for clues. I find in Isaiah 32: 17-18 that quietness and peace come in one package. “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.” Even today, when we’re overwhelmed with this noisy world, we look for “peace and quiet.” And isn’t it interesting that quietness is one of the effects of righteousness, unlike “the troubled sea” that follows wickedness (Isa. 57:20)? I read also in Isaiah that quietness is coupled with confidence “…in quietness and confidence shall be your strength…” (30:15). It’s a deep-seated trust in God that remains calm inside during life’s storms like a buoy that bobs all around above turbulent waters but remains steadfast underneath.

Again, I see the woman of quiet spirit that Peter is speaking of as bringing calm, as much as being calm. She is a woman whose very presence makes you feel that the situation, no matter how unnerving, will not always be so. She may or may not speak, but one way or the other, her confidence in God is always unmistakable. It can take the edge off a disagreement, add reason to the irrational, and bring us back to the reality of living and abiding in Jesus Christ. 

See what I mean when I say the woman with the “meek and quiet spirit” is not the mousy, two-steps-behind wisp of a creature you may have pictured? This woman is controlled, confident, and content. She will overwhelm you with her understated strength. You will remember her long after you’ve forgotten what she wore, because she’s so much more than what you see (1 Pet. 3:3).

Her meek and quiet spirit is “of great price to God.” What’s it worth to you and me?  

"You've Got It!"

“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (1Jno.5:14-15)

         One of the popular catch phrases today, used as the assurance of a soon to be fulfilled request, is, “You’ve got it!” It’s designed to let the petitioner know that the request has been noted and will soon be satisfied. In some cases, the phrase becomes positively redundant, and, in my own experience, has sometimes turned out to be an empty promise! For that reason, I’ve been known to reply to an emphatic, “You’ve got it,” with an equally emphatic, “Not yet I haven’t!” To me, it would make more sense for the salesperson, waitress/waiter, or whoever to save the phrase for the moment I have the asked for item in my hand. Then—and only then—have I really gotten it.

         We, as believers, have been commanded by God to make and keep promises, with integrity unneedful of a well-defined vow (James 5:12). As the old-timers used to say, our word should be bond enough. Still, even this cannot prevent unforeseen circumstances from sabotaging our most sincere intentions. The ravages of Alzheimer’s may cause a mate who promised to love till death, forget that promise and even the person to whom it was made. Or a promise to return may be prevented by an accident or even death. Because of cases like these, and others like them, it’s easy to see why the apostle, James, points out the wisdom in saying, “If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that” (4:15).

         I know of only one Person whose promises can live up to the guarantee, “You’ve got it.” John assures us that anything we ask, that is in God’s will, is as good as done; because every blessing we will ever need has already been set aside for us, just waiting to be picked up (Eph. 1:3). And nothing can ever prevent us from having them, because the One who made the promise will never forget us (Isa.49:15); nor will He ever die.

Sixty years ago, I asked God for eternal life…and He replied with an emphatic, Divinely guaranteed, “You’ve got it!” It’s the word of a Gentleman, backed by Omnipotence.

   “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish…” (John 10:28)

God On Display

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”(John 13:35)

You would think love for God would be better proof of true discipleship. And it is—to God. But this verse is talking about how “men” see us. This may seem very shallow and “touchy-feely” to theologians and dogmatists; but, nevertheless, when you and I show love for brothers and sisters of all shapes, sizes, appearance, affiliations, and convictions, this world sees God on display. This is especially true when our love is able to include those with whom we soundly disagree. Then they are forced to say, “Hey, there’s something different going on here.”

There’s a very good reason for this principle. When you or I say (quite sincerely), “He (or she) truly loves God,” we’re claiming knowledge that only God Himself is privy to; because the actual depth of someone’s love cannot be fully seen by another. We may witness the overflow of a person’s heart; but some people overflow sooner, and for less reason, than others. Some people are far better at expressing love than employing it.

But there is another, more fundamental, argument for brotherly love as a good thermometer for measuring spiritual heat. The apostle John offers it in his first Epistle: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 Jno. 4:20) If there’s no reality to our professed love for human beings we can see and touch, how much less reality is there in our love for God, Who cannot be seen? To the unsaved man or woman, our professed love for God may only seem like spiritual enthusiasm. But when we show out of the ordinary love for ordinary people, they are more apt to see an extra-ordinary God.

The best part is that the more real God becomes to us, the easier it will be to see Him in those “earthen vessels” around us (2 Cor. 4:7). And somehow, the world picks up on the fact that when some of us look at one another, we see the face of Christ. Oh, beloved fellow believer, that changes everything!

“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matt.25:40)

Having the Last Word...Or Not

           "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." (Prov. 25:11)

            This verse tells us that where and when words are placed in a conversation—where we fit them in, if you will—can be as important as the words themselves. For most of us, this would include two places especially: at the first and the last, with the latter having a slight edge. To be the instigator a conversation has the advantage of setting the direction; and having the final word is presumed to be the final resolution of any argument...or so most of us think.

            I corresponded with a friend sometime ago, who was agonizing over the fractured relationship she sometimes shares with her husband, because she seems to always have to have the last word. I told her I could identify with this, perhaps not to the same extent she pictured, but enough to turn plenty constructive, congenial conversations with my husband into unpleasant standoffs, in over fifty years of marriage. See, here's the thing: the longer you live with someone—even a wonderful someone—not only do you come to appreciate even more his or her “lovability,” the more you find out how to tap into his or her vulnerability, when an occasion of disagreement arises. This is when you make a choice. Is my vindication more important than my precious relationship with the man God gave me to love and cherish?

            Besides this important principle, here are a few more reasons I would like to put forward to minimize, if I can, the importance of that dearly fought for last word:

1.  The last word is not always the right word. Where an argument is placed in a conversation does nothing to bolster its innate accuracy. If you watch debates much, you know that something true and meaningful is never really lessened by any foolish inaccuracies that may follow it. "How forcible are right words" (Job 6:25). This is especially true when the Word of God is honestly and lovingly employed. No one trumps God, no matter how loudly or long they talk.

2.  The last word is often an unkind word. More often than not, it's when a biting, personal argument is thrown in the mix that all conversation is stopped in its tracks. Sometimes a spouse or friend simply stops putting forward any counter arguments or suggestions when the other party has begun reasoning with his or her emotions, instead of his or her head. According to Ephesians 4:15, the emotion most compatible with truth is love.

3.  The last word may turn out to be the ending word. This is sad. There may come a time when our insistence on having the last word has shut all doors to any further conversation on this, and many other, subjects. Unless important principles are at stake, some arguments are too painful to repeat. There may not be a physical separation (though there may be), but there can still be a cloud over a relationship that stifles any meaningful, intimate communication in the future.  

4.  God is the one who will truly have the last word. It's He who will be the final judge as to whose words were "fitly spoken." It all depends on whose vindication you regard most highly. When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, He "answered nothing." And Mark says, "Pilate marvelled" (15:5). So do I. If anyone had the right to speak, it was Jesus Christ, and yet he allowed Pilate to have the last word. He knew the last word is not nearly as important as the final word. And the final Word will be His, for time and eternity.

             I wrote this, not to inflict guilt, but to inspire change—in myself especially, since the desire for self-vindication only grows with age. By God's grace, I want the last words in any encounter in my life to be His, not mine.

        "Let the words of my mouth...be acceptable in thy sight, O, Lord..." (Psl. 19:14)