Reflections

Pearls and Pigs

2009-02-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

“Do not give to dogs what s sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.” Matthew 7:6

What did Jesus really mean? Could he be saying that some people just aren’t worth reaching out to or trying to help?

Did Jesus’ comments about pearls and pigs have anything at all to do with a low or contemptuous view of the “pigs” – or any of the people that someone may thinks fit the role of “pig”?

How can we know?

Let’s look first at the traditional interpretation of this comment; that there are simply some people who are not worthy of hearing treasured wisdom. They are so lost and so thick headed that we need not waste time offering our “pearls” of wisdom and insight to them; “let them go … don’t waste your time!”

It implies that some have attained or possess an understanding or treasure of great value and that they must guard it so that unqualified or unworthy people don’t have to opportunity to reject or defile it.

What a strange message coming from the one who said, “I have not come for the healthy but for the sick…” A bizarre twist from the compassionate one who was often rebuked for eating and associating with the lowest and most reviled members of society.

Jesus was willing to withstand the scorn and contempt of the ruling religious elite. He was willing to touch the leper and be touched by the prostitute. He spent so much time making himself available to the needy that there were moments in which he could not even take time to eat. How could he condemn certain people as “pigs”! How could one of such compassion recommend to his disciples that they not waste time in ministering spirituality to certain people?

Could he really have had that in mind? Is it in his nature? What does a good read of the passage this parable is drawn from shows us about judgment and condemnation? Were they his prescription?

A quick look back to previous chapters of the Sermon on the Mount reveal that Jesus condemned distain for others. In Matthew 5:21-22 as he elaborates on what it really means to be a person who reflects God’s character in the world.

He says; “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment’. But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother ‘Raca’ (an Aramaic language term of contempt) is answerable to the Sanhedrin (court of law). But anyone who says ‘you fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.”

He was clear about our natural bent to ignore our own faults and magnify those of others; “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ….” Matthew 7:3

But about the pigs and pearls then; what did he mean?

Reader – please jot down your thoughts and reactions! What’s up with the pearls and pigs??

Hope

2009-01-19T07:52:00.000-08:00

There are some people I know who I don’t understand. I look at what they have to face and I can’t imagine how they manage to get out of bed every morning. I know someone who has an adopted child with fetal alcohol syndrome whose behavior would challenge the collective efforts of a psychiatrist, a UN peacekeeper and a wrestler.

I know or know about a lot of people who help me keep some perspective on the hardships I encounter in life. Those who face the daily, seemingly insurmountable pain and frustration of chronic stress and exhaustion. They care for the mentally or physically broken or work multiple jobs to make up for an absent spouse … we all know that the lists of their lives are as endless as history.

I don’t really need them though. I find myself wrestling with hope even in my warm house, my empty nest, my restless mind. Some of the most hopeless of all people seem to have the most reason to be hopeful – or at least grateful – the rich, the privileged, the “lucky” ones whose seemingly protected lives we envy.

Hope is the fuel that powers mankind. We cannot live without it, we cannot dream or plan or stand without it. But it is fragile; its loss unbearable. Without it, we face inertia – we see no solutions, we wait for an end and see nothing beyond it.

Creativity thrives on hope. It is the lifeblood of art and science and love. Even the darkest expressions of the human mind are recorded as music or writing or art in the hope of a resonance or an answer.

Hope is the cornerstone of a healthy mind. It gives is motivation, it helps us look forward, it encourages us when we feel lost or desperate or without solutions.

Much is made of hope by some – and hope is much reviled by others. When we speak of a hope in God or a hope in the next life, we may face the scorn of the pragmatist or even the judgment of the believer. These are the voices of “anti-hope”. The voices of those who think they see better and know more fully.

Job was a man who had to face the darkness of loss and confusion and in the midst of it, the voices of anti-hope. Those who could not accept the possibility that his suffering was not due to some fault in himself criticized him. They looked for, and then even began to make up “reasons” for why these terrible things had happened to him.

As Job noted with great insight, “you look for fault in me so that you can feel safe and not be afraid that these things could happen to you as well!”

Many people are “anti-hope”

Job’s friends thought that he was arrogant because he trusted (hoped) in God’s goodness rather than the doctrine of the experts of his time. He knew that he had moral failings – but he also knew that God forgave him and that God wasn’t the kind of person who would punish him for sins already forgiven. The friends couldn’t imagine a God who wasn’t all about “payback”

For the needy, hope is the final option, the ultimate response. Some will say “hope is ignorant; burying your head in the sand”.

For sons, it is the central issue of prayer and of reaching out to God.

In the book of Hebrews we find the classic definition of faith.

And without faith it is impossible to please God,
because anyone who comes to him must believe
that he exists and that he rewards
those who earnestly seek him.

What pleases God here is hope – that we hope deeply in who he is and that, as a result, we realize that it is worth our time to turn to him for help or guidance or reassurance no matter what is going on.

Whether we are sick or alone or guilty or happy or curious or doubtful – it really doesn’t matter. The faith that pleases God is the assurance that he can and wants to help and walk with us at any moment – there are no prerequisites or demands to fulfill.

That is what annoys the people of anti-hope. They think that it is ridiculous to believe that God would take us as we are and where we are.

God says otherwise – the faith that pleases him is the confidence (hope) that causes us to “earnestly seek him”. He will always “reward” – respond to – seeking.

There are a lot of perspectives we can hang on to

when we are suffering or despairing.

One perspective is from Angelo. He was a Latino teenager in the movie Stand and Deliver. It was about the hopelessness of growing up in an LA Latino ghetto and the math teacher who really thought that these kids could be somebody.

When they had worked hard together for change and things were going good, some anti-hope types showed up and accused them of cheating on their tests for college entrance – after all, no one form this neighborhood gets into college!

Angelo is sitting in a car at night smoking and looking up at the stars. He says, “Maybe the stars don’t even exist anymore.” The math teacher had told them that it takes 1,000 years for their light to reach us. Angelo wonders, “Maybe God already pulled the plug and we just don’t know it yet…” Angelo sees the star and chooses despair.

Another perspective comes from someone who looks at an impossible task under impossible conditions and is pulled towards despair.

Sam Gamgi from the Lord of the Rings is in Mordor. He and Frodo are near the end of their journey and there are too many dangers and not enough time to finish their job.

Dark clouds cover the earth day and night. There is an evil presence and a blanket of hopelessness has settled on them. Sam looks around and looks up.

Suddenly there is a brief gap in the cloud cover and Sam sees a star – he sees and realizes that it is untouched by this present evil; the clouds overhead have hidden but not changed the reality that the stars and the heavens – and the presence of God are unshakable. Sam sees the star and chooses hope.

The apostle Paul tells us in Philippians 2:15 that we who hope are like stars …

Do everything without complaining or arguing,
so that you may become blameless and pure,
children of God without fault in a crooked and
depraved generation, in which you shine
like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life…

What are we hoping FOR?

That we will be rescued.

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:19-23

That we will be rewarded

God is not unjust; he will not forget your work
and the love you have shown him
as you have helped his people
and continue to help them. Hebrews 6:10

"Then the King will say to those on his right, `Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

"Then the righteous will answer him, `Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Matthew 25:34-40

And now, dear children, continue in him,
so that when he appears we may be confident
and unashamed before him at his coming. 1 John 2:28

We will be restored

One day we will be restored to the original design God made us for and we will live in a relationship with God of total acceptance and security.

C.S. Lewis spoke of human beings as “Magnificent Ruins”. Think of the ruins of Greek buildings from past millennia – we can still see the columns and portions of walls or foundations – but we cannot tell if they were markets or courthouses or temples or libraries. They have been distorted beyond recognition of their real purpose.

One day, each of us – each magnificent ruin – will be restored to our original design and purpose – and be as beautiful in comparison as a ruin is to its former glory.

The hopeful person

Sees the star – takes the perspective that the heavens are unchanging and that life obscures reality.

Longs for heaven – knows that she can’t get lost on the way because Jesus had gone before us to prepare a home. John 14:1

Trusts in the father - knows he is accepted by a good and trustworthy God.

The Necessity of Doubt

2008-12-30T07:54:00.000-08:00

Read what amazing things the author of Psalm 77 wrote ... He was confused, anguished and didn't hold back in questioning and even accusing God.

Psalm 77:1-9

I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me.
When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.

I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint.
You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.

I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart mused and my spirit inquired: "Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?

Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

Who doubts God? Don't we all in different ways and in different moments of our lives? Doubt takes many forms. Does he exist? Is he good? Does he know what is happening to me? Does he care? Is he strong (and willing) enough to intervene? Does it even matter?

When do we doubt? We often think of doubt as belonging to a moment of personal crisis - a moment of loss or lostness - and often it is. But doubt can also be a subtle companion; one that quietly walks with us and, unknown to us, slowly robs us of confidence and peace.

Doubt also belongs to the one who has it all. When we have too many toys and too much stuff and too many entertainments, life can begin to feel shallow and meaningless. Solomon was the richest and most powerful man of his era; he spared himself no possible pleasure, be it sensual, intellectual or purposeful. He built cities and homes and gardens, he married women and took concubines, he drank and partied ... and concluded that it is all "vanity" and "chasing after the wind".

When we doubt we are weakened because part of the floor of our life has come loose, our footing is not so sure and we live with an uneasy sense of sliding or insecurity.

Is doubt allowed?? Will God be angry? Will we seem to be weak?

I love it that some of the strongest and most courageous people of history were doubters - and I love it even more that they found response to their cries.

The man who wrote Psalm 77 was encountering suffering in his life and couldn't understand why God was taking his time in answering prayer. Read verses 1-3:

I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered you, O God, and I groaned; I mused, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak.

When we face frustration or insecurity or danger or loss, we cry out to God. It is an instinctive human response - intuitively we understand that we cannot control all that goes on around us. We know we need help. Why doesn't God always answer right when we call?

Look at what the writer says ...
I stretched out untiring hands and my soul refused to be comforted... You kept my eyes from closing...

Clearly he is in great distress. He reaches towards God and finds ... nothing. He is so afflicted he cannot sleep. Even in his great need however, he senses God's hand - YOU kept my eyes from closing - you can't even give me the relief of sleep! Don't you know how exhausted I am!

Why would God rob a desperate man of a night of needed sleep? Doesn't he know the anguish will only deepen in the dark night hours? Does he want the man to become desperate? Is he waiting for even more accusations and doubt to come out?

I think that God welcomes our doubts and questions and confusion. There is a type of doubt that is profoundly healthy for the person of faith. It forces us to think about why we believe and whether believing matters.

God wants us to struggle and he welcomes our questions and doubts - even when they come accompanied by accusation and anger. (check out Job sometime - the part AFTER he accepts what has happened and then starts arguing with God) Doubt helps us to understand the perspective we look at life with - and helps us to grow into a greater perspective.

God wants us to struggle with questions as to his character and faithfulness. He is not afraid of our doubts. He guides us and wants to deal with our questioning: “Why...?”

In doubt, we may make accusations against God. Look at verses 7-10 ...
My heart mused and my spirit inquired: "Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?
Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?"

We like to imagine that we do not deserve the suffering; that it is unfair. When we experience pain, we feel rejected.

We think God is denying us something to which we have a right; that he is punishing us; that he does not love us any more; that he has betrayed us; and so on.

Has God forgotten to be merciful? The worst thing we can imagine ... that God's acceptance of us, his favor is lost. If this is true, what can happen next?

We need to think about where suffering comes from - does it come from the hand of God or are there other reasons for it?

Where does affliction come from?

· From the “broken” world: sickness, natural disasters, accidents... We look around us and see that the world we live in is no longer working the way it was created to work - from viruses to tsunamis, our world is an uncertain place. No amount of health insurance or savings or seat belts can protect us and our loved ones from the world's dangers.

· As a consequence of our own misdeeds, self-centeredness or wrong decisions . Sometimes our most painful suffering is that which is caused by our own mistakes and selfishness. We wrestle with "why did I?", "what if...?" and "what does this mean about who I am?".

· As a consequence of the misdeeds, self-centeredness or wrong decisions of others. Sometimes people are mean spirited or negligent or uncaring. Sometimes we face real injustice or serious and lasting harm. Affliction caused by others can cause affliction caused by self as we give in to bitterness, vengefulness or hopelessness.

· From the enemy - yes, we have one! In Job's case, his enemy marched right up to God and demanded proof that Job's faithfulness wasn't just the result of God's handouts. Take away the goods from Job's life and he will curse you to your face, he taunted.

Suffering can come from many sources - it can even come from excessive "good", from boredom and a loss of purpose.

How does God react to doubt?

He does not despise or reject those who doubt! Look at some amazing examples of people who doubted...

In Luke 1:18-20 Zechariah doubted that God would give him a son. He asked for a sign. I used to think that his being mute was a punishment for doubt, but read it again. He asked "how can I know?" God granted him a revelation and a sign. The people around him recognized that he had had a great spiritual revelation and the prophecy about his son was attested to by the miracle of his father's tied then loosened tongue.

One of my favorites is in Luke 7:18-23. John the Baptist was in jail awaiting ... the unknown. Soon he would be put to death. In the quiet and darkness of his cell, he began to doubt. "What if I have been wrong all along...?" He sent his disciples to question Jesus. "Are you really the one...?" How did Jesus react? With a scathing rebuke? "John! You idiot! Haven't you seen signs and wonders enough? Didn't you hear God's audible voice? You are such a wimp!"

No! Jesus held John in great esteem. He answered with the strongest and most comforting affirmative possible. He told John's disciples to sit down and witness his work among the people and then sent them back to John in his prison with the words of the Prophet Isaiah. "Look, the blind see and the lame walk – I AM the Messiah, the one you are waiting for." Of course, this affirmation could only give comfort to John because he knew the Word so well that he would instantly recognize the comfort and assurance in these words.

Here is one that I have held tightly to many times; Mark 9:24. The father of a demonized boy comes to Jesus in desperation and says that he needs Jesus to help him "if you can". Jesus states that everything is possible to him who believes and the father cries out his belief and doubt together, "I do believe! Help me overcome my unbelief!" He was granted a miracle.

So why is doubt condemned in the book of James? James 1:6-8

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

What does “double-minded” mean? Double minded speaks to the heart that clings equally to two opposing sources of comfort and security. The heart is divided between the world and God; torn between two wills: Matthew 6:24. He wants to serve both but is left in confusion. This person is covering his bases, believing in God "just in case" his wealth and position fail him. In doubt, this person grasps tightly to the "known" - those personal resources (real or perceived) within reach - he doesn't seek God for help. This kind of doubt, God rejects.

See this in contrast with faith and God’s not finding fault - in James 1:5 God gives wisdom freely and without criticism to those who seek it. When we doubt and are out of perspective, this does not threaten or distance God - he only asks that we look to him for answers. James 4:7-8 reiterates that when we draw near to God, he draws near to us. He can take any kind of assault from us - He just wants us to want Him to have an answer. He asks us to lay aside our double minded confidence that surely we will find a way to fix it all ourselves, from our own resources.

In Jude verse 22, he says "be merciful to those who doubt..." God understands human weakness. Look up Psalms 78:39 and 103:14-17.

How can we overcome doubt?

The writer of the Psalm chose to look to what he already knew about God, to the history of God's dealings with his people.

Psalm 77:10-15

Then I thought, "To this I will appeal: the years of the right hand of the Most High."

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.

Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God? You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. With your mighty arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

Then he looks to the power of God in creation ...

Psalm 77:16 The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and writhed; the very depths were convulsed. The clouds poured down water, the skies resounded with thunder; your arrows flashed back and forth. Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and quaked. Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.

Then he looks at how God rescued his people and formed the nation of Israel - our God is a God of history and he is always at work on behalf of his people. Psalm 77:20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. God as Shepherd, as guide; intimately involved with his people.

What else can I do when I doubt?

Understand the true source of our suffering; cease to make God responsible for it.

Understand that hardships and doubts are a normal part of our spiritual warfare; we need to take God’s side in the conflict. He wants to help us, but cannot do so if we close ourselves off to Him.

Decide to think about the good things and blessings that God has given; develop perspective and gratitude.

Recognize the character of God. Look over your life and choose to see where his hand has sheltered and provided and comforted.

I once went through a period of months of prolonged illness added to by pain from a back injury. Every day I got into the shower and went through the list of things that God had provided in my life and asked myself if these provisions were things I could be grateful for. I could. Every day for weeks, then months and for a few years I needed that daily reality check and I still can't get into a (hot) shower without a flash to gratitude. It has not kept all bitterness and grumbling out of my life but it has sure had an impact on where to go with it. In other, harder times, I know that my life has literally depended on believing that God is dependable - impossible to believe without a remembering of history.

Some of our most profound struggles in life are with doubt - even if we don't call it that. It isn't easy to choose the invisible over the hardships right in our face. God promises that it will never be a waste of time to seek him. Hebrews 11:6 says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." In other words, there will never fail to be a reward for those who seek. (even if he keeps our eyes open at night for a season)

Reflections

2008-11-20T08:25:00.001-08:00

My first posting ... This is a painting I did a few years ago. The subject is "Bittersweet".

Bittersweet like life ... beauty and joy, disillusion and disappointment; temporarily inseperable.