Sermon and Worship Resources

1 Timothy 6:3-10 · Love of Money

3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

How Rich Is Rich?

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Sermon
by Charles L. Aaron

We can simply stay away from some of the things that are bad for us. A person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol will be counseled by those with experience to abstain totally from alcohol: no social drinking, no wine every now and then. Just leave it alone. Never touch it. The same principle applies if the addiction is to gambling or pornography and many other kinds of addiction. Overcoming an addiction is hard work. It takes courage, willpower, the support of others, and the grace of God at a minimum. But, at least you know what you have to do. You have to stay away from whatever it is you are addicted to. We can completely cut ourselves off from some things that are bad for us.

First Timothy proclaims that money is bad for us, or at least that coveting money, loving money, chasing after money is bad for us. If the passage is right, we are in trouble. We cannot get by without money. We don't have the option of living the way an alcoholic must live, never touching the stuff. We need money to survive. Dealing with money is a constant battle for all of us. We have to figure out what money means for our Christian faith.

As many people point out, the passage does not say that money itself is bad for us. The real trouble comes from inside us, in our greed, our lust for money. The way the passage puts it is that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." This is a well-known phrase from this passage, but some of the other things it says about greed may actually be more interesting and instructive. It says that greed can be a trap and that the eagerness to be rich can cause us to pierce ourselves. A trap limits our freedom and piercing ourselves causes us pain.

We can see the wisdom of this passage in the headlines: the savings and loan crisis of the '80s, the collapse of Enron, the subprime mortgage debacle of a couple of years ago. They all arose out of greed. In order to make big bucks people took risks. Then they tried to cover their mistakes and hoped for the best. In all three cases, things did not work out well. Innocent people were hurt in the wake of the scandals. Taxpayers had to bail out the greedy. Employees lost their pensions. People lost their homes. It has always been the case that we are interconnected. What we do affects not just ourselves but many others. With the global economy, our decisions can have far-reaching consequences. Things can start small, but then the effects ripple through the economy, ruining lives and inflicting pain. When we trap ourselves, we catch other people. When we pierce ourselves, the lance cuts not just our own flesh.

How much more evidence do we need that money alone does not buy wholeness or happiness? We have seen — sometimes more than we want to see — how celebrities with everything still cannot get their lives together. Even though we seem fascinated by the lives of the young starlets, their troubles are sad. Despite the fact that they have all that money can buy, they must have a deep emptiness inside them that their lavish spending and partying cannot fill.

We can easily see the passage's point about the evils of pure greed. Greed can consume us, distort us, and twist our souls around. We have all the evidence we need of that. The question for us may not be about pure greed. The question for us is about our relationship to money. How does our faith affect our money? We must have money. We cannot completely banish it from our lives. We have to deal with money. How do we use our money? In the abstract, it is easy to preach against greed, against craving money. Money problems do not come to us in the abstract. Money problems are quite concrete. A bill that arrives in the mail is quite concrete. The price of gas is very concrete (and rising!).

We have to make certain decisions about money. We can do only three things with our money: spend it, invest it, or give it away. Sometimes the decision is made for us. We don't have the option of investing our money. Our only decision may be which bill to pay and which to hold off for later. Other times we do have a decision to make. What do we do with our money? We do not have time for a lesson in economics, but what Christians should do with their money is not always clear. The church is usually in favor of giving money away, but the other two can be a good way to deal with our money. Spending money creates jobs. Investing money creates capital for business. It seems selfish to spend money on ourselves. It seems selfish to invest money, even for retirement, when children are starving. Yet, economists tell us that consumer spending is good for the economy, and venture capital creates new small businesses. Money is complicated!

Even if we can do only three things with our money, sometimes it is not clear what to do. How much money should Christians have? If we claim that we are spending money to stimulate the economy, how do we know we are not fooling ourselves into indulgence? One way to ask the question is, "How rich is rich?" If we are comfortably middle class, is that rich? Perhaps one way out of the dilemma is to begin to ask ourselves some questions. What is the loving thing to do? How is a particular use of money an act of love for God and neighbor? If we invest in a certain way, if we spend in a certain way, if we give away, how does that act show love? That question can have far-reaching consequences. It affects the house we live in, the car we drive, the clothes we wear, and the mutual funds we choose. Our use of money, in response to what God has done for us, is not just dropping a few bucks in the collection plate and then moving on. How we use our money is a sign of how deep our faith is. We cannot solve every issue about money in this worship service, but if we can ask ourselves how our use of money shows love to God and neighbor, that is a start.

This passage is wise when it teaches us that our attitude toward money can become a trap. It is true that we can feel trapped if we do not have enough money, but we can feel trapped by the pursuit of money. Some people find that more money simply means more stress. Often, the more money a couple has, the more they argue about money. Such arguments show the wisdom of the passage that we pierce ourselves, we inflict our own pain. The more money we have invested, the more we fret when the stock market takes a downturn. Pursuing money can become a kind of trap.

We never completely escape from that trap. As we have said, we have to have money. Nevertheless, the passage offers us some relief. It shows us some ways to think that give us room to move within that trap. The problem with looking at money in a worship service is that we are in such different places. What works to move around in the trap for one person might not work well for another person. If our problem is that we don't have enough money, we experience the trap in one way. If our problem is deciding whether to invest, spend, or give away our money, we experience the trap another way. The advice of 1 Timothy can sound condescending to one person, but be just the right thing to say to someone else.

One of the ways the passage suggests that we move around in the trap is to be content with what we have. That is easier for some to hear than others. Some of us may be genuinely frightened by our financial situation. When 1 Timothy tells us to be content with what we have, it may sound like a slap in the face, as though the author just doesn't understand. Nevertheless, some people, faced with a shortage of money have found that, trusting in God, they can create ways to be content with just the necessities. They can move around inside the trap. Rebecca Frank, a pastor at University ParkUnitedMethodistChurch in Texas, preached a sermon about a time when her life was disrupted. She was forced by circumstances to move into an efficiency apartment, with only the barest of essentials. She said in the sermon that she came to call her home her "sufficiency" apartment. It may not have looked like much to some, but it met her needs. She learned that abundant life is not all about things.

That is the essence of what the passage teaches us. It counsels us to concentrate less on what we have and more on who we are. It says to shun things like greed and to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. It tells us to fight the good fight of the faith. We can pursue those things no matter what our financial situation might be. Those things come from within. Even if we are struggling financially, that struggle cannot keep us from developing righteousness, from seeking a deeper faith, from calling up endurance from inside us, and from loving one another.

Talking about money from the pulpit can end up sounding like scolding or begging. In reality, though, the passage offers us contentment. This isn't the contentment of counting our own money but not caring about the needs of others. For those who have decisions to make about money, this passage offers contentment as well. People who give are happier than those who do not. This passage offers the contentment of living with less, of spending wisely, and of investing in ways that don't trouble our conscience. It is the contentment of trusting God for our needs and not judging ourselves by our possessions. Only a financial advisor should give advice about investing money. This passage tells us that investing in our faith will always pay off. Amen.

CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Sermons for Sundays after Pentecost (Middle Third): Faith, Hope, and Love: From Paul and After Paul, by Charles L. Aaron

Overview and Insights · Concluding Warnings (6:3–21)

Timothy should continue to teach the truth, and those who teach otherwise or disagree with the teachings of Jesus are conceited, ignorant troublemakers bent on using the faith for personal profit (6:3–5). Godliness with contentment is spiritually profitable, but those who want to get rich fall into temptation themselves that often results in ruin and destruction (6:6–9). Since “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” many who pursue that love suffer spiritual bankruptcy (6:10). Paul warns Timothy as a man of God to run away from such temptations and pursue “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (6:11). He must fight the good fight of faith and stay true to his confession until the return of Christ, which God, who is worthy of all honor and praise, will…

The Baker Bible Handbook by , Baker Publishing Group, 2016

1 Timothy 6:3-10 · Love of Money

Commentary · False Teaching and Love of Money

Paul begins this section with a warning against false teaching that recalls the opening of the letter. He is returning to his concern about aspiring but confused teachers. In chapter 1, Paul addressed their speculations and their wrong use of the law. In chapter 4, he addressed their nonbiblical self-denial. Here in chapter 6, he speaks to the ill effects of their teaching and to the teachers’ unworthy motives. The false teaching creates a climate of spiritual disease that has three elements: godlessness, social strife, and a corrupt inner life (see Titus 1:12; 2:12). First, the teaching is contrary to true godliness, pointing people to a focus on something other than Jesus Christ (6:3–4). Second, the teaching promotes “envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction.” Third, the teaching flows from people who are deluded about their own importance (they are “conceited” [6:4]) and are driven by an appetite for gain (6:5): “who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”

Modern interpreters often dismiss this last statement as a mere rhetorical flourish. But in many respects Paul seems to get to the heart of the issue here. Confusion about wealth is a huge problem in this prosperous church. It is wealthy women who usurp teaching authority (chap. 2). It is prosperous household heads whom Paul urges to aspire to spiritual leadership (3:1). It is confusion over how families’ and the church’s resources should be managed in relief to widows that Paul addresses in chapter 5. The denunciation of greed among aspiring teachers (6:8–10) follows directly on the heels of instruction to provide “double honor”—that is, “twice the pay”—for elders who are especially apt at teaching and governing. The section will close with the only paragraph Paul ever addresses, at least in the writings that have come to us, to the rich about how they are to fit into the household of faith (6:17–19).

Greed is deadly to the soul and ruinous to community. Those who do not have money and those who do have money are equally susceptible to the vice of “love of money.” Those who do not have money dream about what it would be like to have it. (The NET’s “who long to be rich” is a better rendering of the Greek than the NIV’s “who want to get rich.”) Those who do have money find there is never enough (Luke 12:13–21, and the comments below on 1 Tim. 6:17–19). In the strongest terms, Paul instructs Timothy to look for would-be leaders whose godliness produces “contentment,” drawing on a rich layer of wisdom teaching from the Old Testament (with 6:7–8, cf. Job 1:21; Eccles. 5:14). As an adage, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” can sound irrelevant and overused. However, in the case of the Ephesian church, the love of money has indeed created a host of pastoral problems.

The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary by Gary M. Burge, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Dictionary

Direct Matches

Christ

The founder of what became known as the movement of Jesus followers or Christianity. For Christian believers, Jesus Christ embodies the personal and supernatural intervention of God in human history.

Birth and childhood. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke record Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem during the reign of Herod the Great (Matt. 2:1; Luke 2:4, 11). Jesus was probably born between 6 and 4 BC, shortly before Herod’s death (Matt. 2:19). Both Matthew and Luke record the miracle of a virginal conception made possible by the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18; Luke 1:35). Luke mentions a census under the Syrian governor Quirinius that was responsible for Jesus’ birth taking place in Bethlehem (2:1 5). Both the census and the governorship at the time of the birth of Jesus have been questioned by scholars. Unfortunately, there is not enough extrabiblical evidence to either confirm or disprove these events, so their veracity must be determined on the basis of one’s view regarding the general reliability of the Gospel tradition.

On the eighth day after his birth, Jesus was circumcised, in keeping with the Jewish law, at which time he officially was named “Jesus” (Luke 2:21). He spent his growing years in Nazareth, in the home of his parents, Joseph and Mary (2:40). Of the NT Gospels, the Gospel of Luke contains the only brief portrayal of Jesus’ growth in strength, wisdom, and favor with God and people (2:40, 52). Luke also contains the only account of Jesus as a young boy (2:41–49).

Baptism, temptation, and start of ministry. After Jesus was baptized by the prophet John the Baptist (Luke 3:21–22), God affirmed his pleasure with him by referring to him as his Son, whom he loved (Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Jesus’ baptism did not launch him into fame and instant ministry success; instead, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he was tempted for forty days (Matt. 4:1–11; Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–13). Mark stresses that the temptations immediately followed the baptism. Matthew and Luke identify three specific temptations by the devil, though their order for the last two is reversed. Both Matthew and Luke agree that Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread, expect divine intervention after jumping off the temple portico, and receive all the world’s kingdoms for worshiping the devil. Jesus resisted all temptation, quoting Scripture in response.

Matthew and Mark record that Jesus began his ministry in Capernaum in Galilee, after the arrest of John the Baptist (Matt. 4:12–13; Mark 1:14). Luke says that Jesus started his ministry at about thirty years of age (3:23). This may be meant to indicate full maturity or perhaps correlate this age with the onset of the service of the Levites in the temple (cf. Num. 4:3). John narrates the beginning of Jesus’ ministry by focusing on the calling of the disciples and the sign performed at a wedding at Cana (1:35–2:11).

Galilean ministry. The early stages of Jesus’ ministry centered in and around Galilee. Jesus presented the good news and proclaimed that the kingdom of God was near. Matthew focuses on the fulfillment of prophecy (Matt. 4:13–17). Luke records Jesus’ first teaching in his hometown, Nazareth, as paradigmatic (Luke 4:16–30); the text that Jesus quoted, Isa. 61:1–2, set the stage for his calling to serve and revealed a trajectory of rejection and suffering.

All the Gospels record Jesus’ gathering of disciples early in his Galilean ministry (Matt. 4:18–22; Mark 1:16–20; Luke 5:1–11; John 1:35–51). The formal call and commissioning of the Twelve who would become Jesus’ closest followers is recorded in different parts of the Gospels (Matt. 10:1–4; Mark 3:13–19; Luke 6:12–16). A key event in the early ministry is the Sermon on the Mount/Plain (Matt. 5:1–7:29; Luke 6:20–49). John focuses on Jesus’ signs and miracles, in particular in the early parts of his ministry, whereas the Synoptics focus on healings and exorcisms.

During Jesus’ Galilean ministry, onlookers struggled with his identity. However, evil spirits knew him to be of supreme authority (Mark 3:11). Jesus was criticized by outsiders and by his own family (3:21). The scribes from Jerusalem identified him as a partner of Beelzebul (3:22). Amid these situations of social conflict, Jesus told parables that couched his ministry in the context of a growing kingdom of God. This kingdom would miraculously spring from humble beginnings (4:1–32).

The Synoptics present Jesus’ early Galilean ministry as successful. No challenge or ministry need superseded Jesus’ authority or ability: he calmed a storm (Mark 4:35–39), exorcized many demons (5:1–13), raised the dead (5:35–42), fed five thousand (6:30–44), and walked on water (6:48–49).

In the later part of his ministry in Galilee, Jesus often withdrew and traveled to the north and the east. The Gospel narratives are not written with a focus on chronology. However, only brief returns to Galilee appear to have taken place prior to Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. As people followed Jesus, faith was praised and fear resolved. Jerusalem’s religious leaders traveled to Galilee, where they leveled accusations and charged Jesus’ disciples with lacking ritual purity (Mark 7:1–5). Jesus shamed the Pharisees by pointing out their dishonorable treatment of parents (7:11–13). The Pharisees challenged his legitimacy by demanding a sign (8:11). Jesus refused them signs but agreed with Peter, who confessed, “You are the Messiah” (8:29). Jesus did provide the disciples a sign: his transfiguration (9:2–8).

Jesus withdrew from Galilee to Tyre and Sidon, where a Syrophoenician woman requested healing for her daughter. Jesus replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel” (Matt. 15:24). Galileans had long resented the Syrian provincial leadership partiality that allotted governmental funds in ways that made the Jews receive mere “crumbs.” Consequently, when the woman replied, “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table,” Jesus applauded her faith (Matt. 15:27–28). Healing a deaf-mute man in the Decapolis provided another example of Jesus’ ministry in Gentile territory (Mark 7:31–37). Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ took place during Jesus’ travel to Caesarea Philippi, a well-known Gentile territory. The city was the ancient center of worship of the Hellenistic god Pan.

Judean ministry. Luke records a geographic turning point in Jesus’ ministry as he resolutely set out for Jerusalem, a direction that eventually led to his death (Luke 9:51). Luke divides the journey to Jerusalem into three phases (9:51–13:21; 13:22–17:10; 17:11–19:27). The opening verses of phase one emphasize a prophetic element of the journey. Jesus viewed his ministry in Jerusalem as his mission, and the demands on discipleship intensified as Jesus approached Jerusalem (Matt. 20:17–19, 26–28; Mark 10:38–39, 43–45; Luke 14:25–35). Luke presents the second phase of the journey toward Jerusalem with a focus on conversations regarding salvation and judgment (Luke 13:22–30). In the third and final phase of the journey, the advent of the kingdom and the final judgment are the main themes (17:20–37; 19:11–27).

Social conflicts with religious leaders increased throughout Jesus’ ministry. These conflicts led to lively challenge-riposte interactions concerning the Pharisaic schools of Shammai and Hillel (Matt. 19:1–12; Mark 10:1–12). Likewise, socioeconomic feathers were ruffled as Jesus welcomed young children, who had little value in society (Matt. 19:13–15; Mark 10:13–16; Luke 18:15–17).

Passion week, death, and resurrection. Each of the Gospels records Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem with the crowds extending him a royal welcome (Matt. 21:4–9; Mark 11:7–10; Luke 19:35–38; John 12:12–15). Luke describes Jesus’ ministry in Jerusalem as a time during which Jesus taught in the temple as Israel’s Messiah (19:45–21:38).

In Jerusalem, Jesus cleansed the temple of profiteering (Mark 11:15–17). Mark describes the religious leaders as fearing Jesus because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching, and so they “began looking for a way to kill him” (11:18). Dismayed, each segment of Jerusalem’s temple leadership inquired about Jesus’ authority (11:27–33). Jesus replied with cunning questions (12:16, 35–36), stories (12:1–12), denunciation (12:38–44), and a prediction of Jerusalem’s own destruction (13:1–31). One of Jesus’ own disciples, Judas Iscariot, provided the temple leaders the opportunity for Jesus’ arrest (14:10–11).

At the Last Supper, Jesus instituted a new Passover, defining a new covenant grounded in his sufferings (Matt. 26:17–18, 26–29; Mark 14:16–25; Luke 22:14–20). He again warned the disciples of his betrayal and arrest (Matt. 26:21–25, 31; Mark 14:27–31; Luke 22:21–23; John 13:21–30), and later he prayed for the disciples (John 17:1–26) and prayed in agony and submissiveness in the garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–42; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:39–42). His arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and resurrection followed (Matt. 26:46–28:15; Mark 14:43–16:8; Luke 22:47–24:9; John 18:1–20:18). Jesus finally commissioned his disciples to continue his mission by making disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:18–20; Acts 1:8) and ascended to heaven with the promise that he will one day return (Luke 24:50–53; Acts 1:9–11).

Faith

Faith in the context of the OT rests on a foundation that the person or object of trust, belief, or confidence is reliable. Trust in Yahweh is expressed through loyalty and obedience. The theme of responsive obedience is emphasized in the Torah (Exod. 19:5). In the later history of Israel, faithfulness to the law became the predominant expression of faith (Dan. 1:8; 6:10). OT faith, then, is a moral response rather than abstract intellect or emotion.

Faith is a central theological concept in the NT. In relational terms, faith is foremost personalized as the locus of trust and belief in the person of Jesus Christ.

In the Gospels, Jesus is spoken of not as the subject of faith (as believing in God), but as the object of faith. In the Synoptic Gospels, faith is seen most often in connection with the ministry of Jesus. Miracles, in particular healings, are presented as taking place in response to the faith of the one in need of healing or the requester. In the Gospel of John, faith (belief) is presented as something that God requires of his people (6:28 29).

In the book of Acts, “faith/belief” is used to refer to Jews and Gentiles converting to following the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and becoming part of the Christian community. The book correlates faith in Christ closely with repentance (Acts 11:21; 19:18; 20:21; 26:18).

Paul relates faith to righteousness and justification (Rom. 3:22; 5:11; Gal. 3:6). In Ephesians faith is shown as instrumental in salvation: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (2:8).

In Hebrews, faith is described as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (11:1). Faith thus is viewed as something that can be accomplished in the life of the believer—a calling of God not yet tangible or seen. To possess faith is to be loyal to God and to the gospel of Jesus Christ despite all obstacles. In the Letter of James, genuine works naturally accompany genuine faith. Works, however, are expressed in doing the will of God. The will of God means, for example, caring for the poor (James 2:15–16).

In 1 Peter, Christ is depicted as the broker of faith in God (1:21), whereas in 2 Peter and Jude faith is presented as received from God (2 Pet. 1:1). In the Letters of John “to believe” is used as a litmus test for those who possess eternal life: “You who believe in the name of the Son of God, . . . you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

Fall

“The fall” refers to the events of the first human couple’s sin in the garden of Eden (Gen. 2 3). Although the word “fall” does not occur in the account, Christians have used the term to describe it, taking their cues from Paul’s writings (esp. Rom. 5:12–21). The term is important because it reflects an interpretation that the events in the garden are the entrance of human sin and that the sin has universal effects on humankind.

Interest

The practice of loaning money with interest was common in the ancient Near East, but Israelites under the Mosaic covenant were prohibited from charging interest to their kinfolk. Lending with interest was permissible in commercial transactions with foreigners but was forbidden in all cases among Israelites (Deut. 23:19 20). This ban on interest protected the poor from being exploited by creditors. Leviticus 25:36–37 stresses the moral responsibility of Israelites to fear God and help their poor kinfolk rather than take advantage of them by exacting interest or profit (cf. Exod. 22:25; Neh. 5:7).

Direct Matches

Clothed

Clothing serves not only the utilitarian function of protecting the body from the elements (1 Tim. 6:8; James 2:15–16) but also a number of socially constructed functions, such as identifying the status of the wearer (James 2:2–3) and expressing cultural values such as modesty and beauty. The full range of such functions is attested in the Bible, and clothing plays a prominent symbolic role in a number of texts. Evidence concerning Israelite and other ancient clothing comes not only from the Bible but also from reliefs, pottery decorations, incised ivories, and, to a limited extent, textile fragments recovered in archaeological excavations.

In biblical lands most clothing was made from the wool of sheep or goats. More expensive articles (such as the garments of priests and aristocrats) could be made from linen, a textile made from the plant fiber flax. Other items, such as sandals, belts, and undergarments, were made from leather. Biblical law forbade the mixture of woolen and linen fibers in Israelite clothing (Deut. 22:11).

Articles of Clothing

A number of specific articles of clothing can be identified in the Bible. Egyptian and Mesopotamian pictures suggest that in OT times each nation was known for a distinctive costume or hairstyle. Some notion of how Israelite costume was perceived, at least that of royalty, may be derived from the depiction of the northern king Jehu (842–814 BC) and his retinue on the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III. In this image Israelites are depicted wearing softly pointed caps, pointed shoes, and fringed mantles.

In OT Israel, men wore an undergarment or loincloth held in place by a belt. This loincloth could be made of linen (Jer. 13:1) or leather (2 Kings 1:8). Over this was worn an ankle-length woolen robe or tunic. The tunic of Joseph, traditionally rendered as his “coat of many colors” (Gen. 37:3 KJV, following the LXX), is perhaps better described not as colorful but as “long-sleeved” (see also 2 Sam. 13:18 NASB). The corresponding garments worn by women were similar in appearance, though sufficiently distinct that cross-dressing could be prohibited (Deut. 22:5).

Outside the tunic were worn cloaks (Exod. 22:25–26), sashes (Isa. 22:21), and mantles (1 Kings 19:19). A crafted linen sash was a marketable item (Prov. 31:24), whereas a rope belt was a poor substitute (Isa. 3:24). Both Elijah and John the Baptist wore a belt of leather (2 Kings 1:8; Matt. 3:4; Mark 1:6).

The characteristic garment of the elite was a loose-fitting, wide-sleeved, often elegantly decorated royal robe (Heb. me’il ). This garment was worn by priests (Exod. 28:4), nobility, kings, and other highly placed members of Israelite society, such as Samuel (1 Sam. 15:27–28), Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:4), Saul (1 Sam. 24:4), David (1 Chron. 15:27), David’s daughter Tamar (2 Sam. 13:18), and Ezra (Ezra 9:3).

In the NT, the inner garment was the tunic (chitōn), and the outer garment was the cloak (himation). This distinction lies behind the famous command of Jesus: “From one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either” (Luke 6:29 ESV). The Gospel of John reports that the tunic taken from Jesus at the time of his death was made seamlessly from a single piece of cloth (John 19:23).

Footwear consisted of leather sandals attached to the feet by straps (John 1:27). Sandals were removed as a sign of respect in the presence of deity (Exod. 3:5; Josh. 5:15). The exchange of footwear also played a role in formalizing various legal arrangements (Ruth 4:7–8; see also Deut. 25:9).

Special Functions of Clothing

According to Genesis, the first humans lived initially without clothing or the shame of nakedness (Gen. 2:25). After eating the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, Adam and Eve realized that they were naked and fashioned clothing from leaves (3:7). Later, God made “garments of skin” for Adam and his wife (3:21). The significance of this story and the meaning of the divinely fashioned garments have a long history of interpretation going back to antiquity. Clearly, however, the story illustrates that a basic function of clothing is to cover nakedness—a motif that soon after this story is featured again in the story of Noah and his sons (9:21–23).

Rebekah’s ploy to secure the birthright for her son Jacob involved disguising him in the clothing of his brother Esau (Gen. 27:15; see also Saul’s use of disguise in 1 Sam. 28:8). This tale illustrates how especially in a culture in which individuals owned what would, by modern standards, be considered a limited amount of clothing, clothing itself became an extension of the individual’s identity. In the same way, Jacob himself later was tricked into thinking that one of his own sons was dead, based on the identification of an article of clothing (Gen. 37:31–33). That Isaac could detect Esau’s distinctive smell on his clothing may also indicate the infrequency with which garments were changed and laundered (Gen. 27:27; see also Matt. 10:10). So closely was clothing identified with its owner that a garment could be used as collateral or a pledge, though biblical law regulates this practice for humanitarian reasons (Exod. 22:26). Perhaps because the production of clothing was labor intensive, making clothes for someone was sometimes considered an act of intimacy or an expression of love, so that descriptions of this aspect of clothing in the Bible are quite poignant (see 1 Sam. 2:19; Acts 9:39). When clothing wore out, it was discarded and replaced (Ps. 102:26; Isa. 51:6; Luke 12:33). During the forty years in the wilderness, as a special provision to the Israelites, their clothes and shoes did not wear out (Deut. 8:4; 29:5; Neh. 9:21).

Clothing was an emblem not only of one’s identity but also of one’s office. Thus, when the authority of Elijah passed to his disciple Elisha, Elisha received his master’s cloak or mantle (2 Kings 2:13–14; see also Isa. 22:21). Examples of this function are multiplied when we consider the significance of clothing in symbolizing the role of priests in ancient Israel (e.g., Exod. 29:5–9; 39:27–31). The story of Tamar illustrates that the status of certain women was expressed by their clothing, including that of the prostitute (Gen. 38:15) and the widow (Gen. 38:14, 19).

Biblical texts reveal a rich gestural language involving clothing. In several biblical accounts, spreading the corner of one’s garment over a woman appears as a courtship or marriage ritual (Ruth 3:9; Ezek. 16:8). Giving garments as gifts was a way of honoring or elevating the recipient (Gen. 45:22; Judg. 14:12; Ezek. 16:10; Dan. 5:7), including royal investiture (Pss. 45:8; 93:1; 104:1). The guards who tortured Jesus prior to his crucifixion made light of his status as “king” by dressing him in a royal purple robe (Luke 23:11; John 19:2–3). Grasping someone’s garment, especially its hem, signified entreaty (1 Sam. 15:27–28; Zech. 8:23; Mark 5:27–28). Tearing one’s garments was a way of expressing despair or repentance (Gen. 37:29; Josh. 7:6; Judg. 11:35) or of lodging an especially strong protest (Num. 14:6; Matt. 26:65; Acts 14:14). In some cases, the tearing clothing was accompanied by the act of donning sackcloth and ashes, which signified a further degree of self-humiliation or mourning (Gen. 37:34; 2 Sam. 3:31; 2 Kings 19:1; Matt. 11:21; in Jon. 3:8 animals are included as well, perhaps to comic effect). In such instances, shoes and headwear were also removed (2 Sam. 15:30; Isa. 20:2; Ezek. 24:17). A number of these customs can be understood in terms of the correlation of nakedness with shame, and clothing with honor. Military captives often were stripped naked as a form of humiliation (Lam. 4:21; Ezek. 23:10; Amos 2:16). In Luke 8:27 Jesus encounters a demon-possessed man who neither lived in a house nor wore clothing. In this case, the lack of clothing represents the full measure of human degradation.

Clothing stands symbolically for attributes such as righteousness and salvation (Job 29:14; Ps. 132:9; Isa. 61:10), the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:53–54; 2 Cor. 5:2–4), glory and honor (Job 40:10), union with Christ (Rom. 13:14; Gal. 3:27), compassion and other virtues (Col. 3:12; 1 Pet. 5:5), and purity (Rev. 3:18).

Clothes

Articles of Clothing

Special Functions of Clothing

Clothing

Articles of Clothing

Special Functions of Clothing

Contentment

General satisfaction with one’s situation or status in life. Contentment is an attitude of the heart that stems from humility, and an attitude for which believers should strive (1 Tim. 6:6–10). Paul emphasized that true contentment was found in being satisfied with God’s provision (Phil. 4:11). The Greek words autarkēs (“content”) and autarkeia (“contentment”) refer to recognizing that what one has is sufficient or to being satisfied with one’s circumstances or lot in life.

Doctrine

In Christian theology, doctrine is the synthesis of Christian teaching, especially as set forth in its various related themes. The early disciples frequently referred to the teachings of Christ and to the teachings of the apostles and the church. These were memorized, compiled, and passed through the generations in the church (2 Tim. 2). As early as Acts 2 reference is made to the teaching of the apostles and the devotion of the church to it. By the second century, a body of teaching had crystallized into a doctrinal treatise called the Didache. Doctrinal teaching as a set structure is especially emphasized in the Pastoral Epistles, such that it has caused some to conjecture a later date and early catholic outlook for those letters. Regardless of the validity of this postulation, these letters evidence an early doctrinal and confessional outlook within the church.

This was, of course, nothing new, since the Israelites had a body of teaching that they had passed on through the generations: the law, both written and oral. For the Israelites, the law, both written and oral, was memorized, taught, interpreted, and heeded through all of society. The church simply followed suit in forming its teachings.

In the NT two words, didachē and didaskalia, are commonly translated “teaching” and in some cases are rendered by some translations as “doctrine.” The term didachē appears more widely throughout the NT, whereas didaskalia is used largely in the Pastoral Epistles (referring to both the content and the act of teaching). The term didaskalia is sometimes used with the term logos when the latter indicates sound speech (Titus 2:7–8) and words of the faith (1 Tim. 4:6). In fact, in one verse in the Pastoral Epistles all three terms are used together as “the faithful word,” “in accordance with the teaching,” and “in sound doctrine” (Titus 1:9 NASB).

The first body of teaching for the church is the teaching of Jesus (Matt. 7:28), such as that found in the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus notes the ethic of his messiahship and his followers. The teaching of Jesus, which is authoritative (Mark 1:22, 27), and confrontational (Mark 12:38), is an astonishing answer to the religious leaders (Matt. 22:33; cf. Luke 4:32). Jesus notes the vanity of teaching the human commandments as if they were the doctrine from God (Mark 7:7). When questioned, Jesus sets forth his teaching as from the Father (John 7:16–17). The chief priests seek to destroy both Jesus and his followers because of the teaching (Mark 11:18; John 18:19; Acts 5:28). On Cyprus the proconsul is astonished at the doctrine of Christ taught by Paul (Acts 13:12), and in Athens Paul’s teaching about Christ is new and unusual to those of the Areopagus (Acts 17:18–20).

For Paul, doctrine is fundamental for believers. He notes the commitment to the teaching of Christ after conversion as normative for the Roman believers (Rom. 6:17), and he instructs further that they keep an eye out for those who cause division and hinder adherence to sound doctrine (Rom. 16:17). In fact, God has given gifted people to the body for building up the saints to avoid such doctrinal problems (Eph. 4:12–14). Further, a straightforward expression of teaching has priority over gifts such as tongues (1 Cor. 14:6, 26). Paul also points out that the Colossian heresy is the doctrine of human beings rather than that of God (Col. 2:22).

In the Pastoral Epistles the injunction from Paul to Timothy is that he be nourished on and persevere in sound doctrine (1 Tim. 4:6, 16) and set forth doctrine in preaching (1 Tim. 4:13 [along with public reading of Scripture]; 2 Tim. 4:2). All this is certainly fitting for Timothy, as he has followed the teaching of Paul (2 Tim. 3:10). The injunction to Titus is to hold to the word and to the sound doctrine and teaching as he corrects the church (Titus 1:9). Those who are servants are encouraged to show honesty and good faith, so that the teaching of the Savior will be respected (Titus 2:10). It is clear for Paul that Scripture is the basis of doctrine (2 Tim. 3:16). This doctrine (teaching) will be tolerated by few; as a whole, sound doctrine will be rejected in favor of a message more palatable to human interest (2 Tim. 4:3). The task of the servant of God is to stand against heterodox teaching (1 Tim. 1:3; 6:3). Heterodoxy leads to heteropraxy (1 Tim. 1:10). Paul notes the doctrine of demons, false teaching that is ultimately based in satanic teaching (1 Tim. 4:1).

The injunction of the writer to the Hebrews is that they are not to submit to strange teachings, which deny grace (13:9). This accords with the book’s argument as a whole. For John, staying in the doctrine of Christ is salvific, but going outside it is not (2 John 9). John’s readers are not to receive those who pervert the doctrine of Christ (2 John 10).

In the book of Revelation, Jesus warns the church at Pergamum about the false teaching of Balaam (2:14) and that of the Nicolaitans (2:15). The church at Thyatira is likewise warned to shun the teachings of the false prophetess known as “Jezebel” (2:20, 24).

Instruct

In the Hebrew Bible several different words can be translated as “instruction.” In Exod. 24:12 God informs Moses that the laws and commands given to him on the mountain are for Israel’s instruction (yarah), instruction (dabar) given at the feet of God (Deut. 33:3). Indeed, Job 22:22 concedes that instruction (torah) proceeds from God’s mouth, while Nehemiah reminds God of his promises to the people of Israel when he refers to the instructions (dabar) given to Moses for repentance (Neh. 1:8). When the priests fail to give “true instruction,” they let the people go astray, inviting God’s wrath (Mal. 2:1–10). Similarly, failure to observe divine instruction (musar) elicits God’s condemnation (Ps. 50:17).

But the biblical book that bills itself as the instruction manual is Proverbs (part of the poetic section in the OT known as the Ketubim, the Writings), which is presented in the form of parental instruction (musar) to a child (1:8; 4:1; 13:1; 19:27), given in a royal setting (1:1) or a school. The book of Proverbs has been compared to similar Egyptian writings (The Instruction of Amenemope; The Maxims of Ptahhotep) and Sumerian wisdom as well as an Aramaic proverbial writing, Ahiqar.

While Proverbs, like its Egyptian and Mesopotamian counterparts, dispenses advice on how to successfully negotiate life, a distinct element of the biblical book is the setting of wisdom as inextricably bound to the “fear of the Lord” (1:7; 9:10). In Proverbs, instruction is also dispensed by the persona “Lady Wisdom” (chap. 8), whose advice, in contrast to that of the “loose” woman, leads to knowledge, wisdom, and life.

Jesus was known for his authoritative teaching of the law, which in the Synoptic Gospels is dominated by his use of parables for instruction (Matt. 7:29; Mark 1:22; Luke 4:32, 36). Accepting Jesus Christ entails discarding any false teaching and embracing the instruction (logos) of Jesus (1 Tim. 6:3–4; Heb. 6:2). Anyone who disregards this instruction is to be avoided and not socialized with (2 Thess. 3:14).

Instruction (didachē) in the Pauline writings is presumed to be a gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 14:6, 26) that is to be managed by the one so gifted for the benefit of the community of believers. It is to be shared in and out of season (2 Tim. 4:2). Such giftedness is also to be understood as entitling the instructor to support by the church (Gal. 6:6). Indeed, the Thessalonians are warned that failure to heed apostolic instruction (logos) is tantamount to disobeying God (1 Thess. 4:8; 2 Thess. 3:14). On the other hand, reminiscent of the Proverbs, parental instruction (nouthesia) should encourage rather than exasperate the child (Eph. 6:4). See also Education.

Instruction

Piety

Performing the necessary duties for the divine (Lat. pietas), “godliness” (1 Tim. 2:2, 10; 3:16; 4:7–8; 6:3, 5–6, 11; 2 Tim. 3:12; Titus 2:12; 2 Pet. 1:3; 3:11; cf. 1 Tim. 1:9; 3:4, 8, 11; 5:4; 2 Tim. 2:16; Titus 2:2, 7). Piety overlaps with fearing God in Job (4:6; 15:4; 22:4). In the Greco-Roman world, the term signifies either personal devotion in response to awe of the divine or, in broader practice, showing cultural respect for the deities. There is also an intellectual component to piety, having “right opinions” or knowledge about the gods, as Epictetus claims (Ench. 31). Luke equates piety with the biblical concepts of fear and righteousness (Acts 10:2, 22).

Rail

In the KJV, this term is used to describe a kind of verbal abuse, scolding, accusation, or derision (1 Sam. 25:14; 2 Chron. 32:17; Mark 15:29; Luke 23:39; 1 Cor. 5:11; 1 Tim. 6:4; 1 Pet. 3:9; 2 Pet. 2:11; Jude 9).

Riches

Both the OT and the NT view wealth as ultimately a result of God’s blessing (Prov. 10:22). Abraham shows the right attitude by refusing to accept plunder from the king of Sodom, recognizing God as the sole source of his riches (Gen. 14:23). Solomon’s wealth was seen as God’s favor (1 Kings 3:13). Wealth and riches are said to be in the house of persons “who fear the Lord” (Ps. 112:1–3). However, material success alone is not necessarily an indication of God’s approval, nor is poverty a sign of God’s disfavor. Fundamentally, neither poverty nor wealth can be superficially tied to divine displeasure or favor.

Balanced view. The Bible articulates a balanced view of wealth. It warns against having an arrogant attitude by failing to acknowledge that the source of wealth is God (Deut. 8:17–18). There is danger in trusting in riches (Pss. 52:7; 62:10). The rich are charged not to be haughty, and to set their hopes not on uncertain riches but rather on God (1 Tim. 6:17–18). The love of money is described as the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:9–10), and it is therefore extremely difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God (Matt. 19:24). The foolishness of materialism, making riches the center of one’s life, is shown in the parable of the wealthy farmer (Luke 12:15–21). Instead of monetary greed, the spirit of contentment is commended, because even if lacking on the material level, one still has the Lord (Luke 12:15; Phil. 4:11; Heb. 13:5). Material possessions should be gained rightly; effort and diligence are required (Gen. 3:19; Prov. 10:4). Obtaining wealth through dishonesty and ill-gotten gains is denounced and condemned (Prov. 11:26; 13:11; Jer. 17:11; Mic. 6:12).

God-centered perspective. Wealth and material possessions are to be viewed from a God-centered perspective. God is the one who provides everything; thus we should trust him for our daily needs (Matt. 6:25–34; Luke 11:3). Job’s confession in a time of loss, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised,” shows an admirable attitude to emulate (Job 1:21). God is the owner of all things, and we are simply stewards and administrators of God’s wealth. We need to remember that one day we will be accountable for the use of our wealth (1 Cor. 10:31). Jesus teaches us to seek the kingdom of God first rather than his material blessings (Luke 12:31–33). Anything that draws us away from serving God should be avoided. We cannot serve both God and mammon (Matt. 6:24). Our treasures are to be in heaven, meaning that our central focus should be on matters pertaining to the kingdom: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:32–34).

Responsibility and generosity. With the possession of wealth comes the duty to give generously to those in need (Prov. 11:24; 28:27). Prosperity is given as a means to do good; thus we ought to be rich in good deeds (1 Tim. 6:18). Although it is a duty of the covenant community to take care of the needy in the OT, it still emphasizes the voluntary heart (Deut. 15:5–11). In 2 Cor. 9:7, Paul presents the principle of giving in the NT: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” It should be not an exaction but a willing gift (9:5).

The Christian should emulate Jesus: “Though he was rich, yet for [our] sake he became poor, so that [we] through his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). Therefore, material offerings to Christ should not be a burden (1 Cor. 9:11). Sacrificial giving is an expression of love to the Lord (2 Cor. 9:12). It also generates thanksgiving to God from those who receive it (2 Cor. 9:11). Worldly wealth should also be used for evangelistic purposes (Luke 16:8). If we are faithful in the use of money, we can be trusted with the kingdom’s spiritual riches (Luke 16:12–13). Although riches do not have eternal value in themselves, their proper use has eternal consequences (Luke 12:33; 1 Tim. 6:19). One of the qualifications of a church overseer is to be free from the love of money, and a deacon must not pursue dishonest gain (1 Tim. 3:3, 8). A good name is to be chosen over great riches (Prov. 22:1). James condemns as sinful the attitude of favoring the wealthy over the poor. Nonpreferential love is the answer to prejudicial favoritism (James 2:1–9).

Root

The word “root” occurs in a literal sense in Job 30:4, but ordinarily it is used in a figurative sense. Its most prevalent connotation refers to the foundation or core of a matter or one’s life (Job 28:9; Prov. 12:3, 12; Isa. 14:30). It also, by analogy, signifies that which gives life to the plant (Matt. 13:6; Rom. 11:17). When pictured near water, roots symbolize prosperity (Job 29:19; Ezek. 31:7), even a blessing of the Lord (Job 8:17; Jer. 17:8).

The term sometimes indicates the lowest part or depth (Job 36:30). It can also carry the idea of origin, as in that of bitterness or evil (Deut. 29:18; 1 Tim. 6:10; Heb. 12:15), or the cause of a matter (Job 19:28).

Frequently, the word is used to describe something established, as in a kingdom (Ps. 80:9, 15; Isa. 27:6; 37:31; 40:24; Jer. 12:2). It emphasizes positively that which is secure (Prov. 12:3, 12) or negatively that which is uprooted or destroyed (1 Kings 14:15).

Finally, the word may refer to the offspring of a family (Judg. 5:14; Ps. 80:15), ultimately pointing to the coming Messiah (Isa. 11:1, 10; 53:2; Rev. 5:5; 22:16) as the heir through whom the dynasty is completed.

Temptation

In English, a distinction between the words “temptation,” “test,” and “trial” (or “tribulation”) seems apparent. However, the biblical Greek noun peirasmos and verb peirazō translate these nouns and their related verbs, leaving context alone to determine meaning. In the understanding of the Scripture, temptation relates directly to test and trial.

Negatively, English Bibles choose “temptation” and “tempt” as the fitting translation for peirasmos and peirazō respectively. The devil, or Satan, is the origin; the purpose is to encourage sin and devastate human relationship with God (Matt. 4:1 pars.; 1 Cor. 7:5; Gal. 6:1; 1 Tim. 6:9; James 1:13). Satan personifies this purpose as the tempter (Matt. 4:3; 1 Thess. 3:5).

Positively, the English word “test” seems fitting. God tests his people to reveal the quality of their faith commitment (Gen. 22:1; Exod. 15:25; Judg. 2:22; Gal. 4:14). When God tests his enemies, it results in a hardening of their hearts (Exod. 14:4). When God tests his own people, it may look like judgment (Isa. 6:9–10; cf. Mark 6:52; Heb. 3:8; 4:7). The NT sees a direct link between the words peirazō and dokimazō (“to test, prove, approve”) and uses one to explain the other (2 Cor. 13:5–7; James 1:2–3, 12).

Neutrally, “trial” (or “tribulation”) translates the meaning. People may face trials in their Christian walk (Acts 20:19; 2 Cor. 8:2; James 1:2, 12; 1 Pet. 1:6) that may or may not lead to sin (Matt. 26:41; cf. Dan. 12:10). The sixth petition of the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:13 // Luke 11:4) presupposes the understanding that God is sovereign over all human circumstances and therefore has the power to protect from trials that may lead to temptation and fall. Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane follows the same supposition (Mark 14:38).

This interconnectedness in the biblical understanding between temptation, test, and trial helps to explain some inherently difficult texts. There can be no sharp distinction made between temptation and test; God may use someone’s tribulation as a test to affirm faith, while Satan uses the same as an avenue for temptation to commit sin. A prime OT example of such interconnectedness is the parallel texts in 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles that describe David as both tested by God (2 Sam. 24:1) and tempted by Satan (1 Chron. 21:1) in regard to taking a census of Israel.

When humans tempt/test God, they provoke him to prove his power (Exod. 17:1–7) by acting as if he does not exist (Ps. 14:1). God’s firm prohibition against this (Deut. 6:13–16) exposes it as a violation of his relationship with humans (Matt. 4:7; Acts 5:9; 15:10).

Secondary Matches

The following suggestions occured because 1 Timothy 6:3-10 is mentioned in the definition.

Alms

Provision for the extremely needy. Alms provide what is essential to human survival: food, clothing, and shelter (1 Tim. 6:8). Of the three main expressions of Jewish and early Christian piety, which included prayer and fasting (Matt. 6:1–18), giving to the destitute, literally “the practicing of mercy,” was the most highly prized and appears to have been broadly practiced (Tob. 12:8; 2 Clem. 16:4). The rabbis eventually legislated against extreme almsgiving, fixing the limit at 20 percent of one’s assets (b. Ketub. 50a; cf. 1 Cor. 13:3). The inherent element of mercy suggests that the needy are not necessarily deserving of the gift. Jesus grounded the practice in mindfulness of God’s mercy toward those blessed with surplus (Matt. 5:7) but warned against giving for public recognition (6:1–4). Beggars would gather around the temple, appealing to the charity of pilgrims (Acts 3:1–10). The early church took the initiative to care for the destitute, particularly orphans and widows, a practice that James, the brother of Jesus, impressed upon Paul to maintain in the non-Jewish wing of the church—something the apostle was happy to do, even collecting money for the needy in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:10; 2 Cor. 9:1–5 [cf. James 1:27]). A communal fund was collected in the local synagogue (m. Pe’ah 8:7). Trumpets were blown on days of fasting as a reminder (b. Ber. 6b; b. Sanh. 35a; cf. Matt. 6:2). The early church directed most of its giving to the poor (Tertullian, Apol. 39.6).

Asia

A Roman province in western Asia Minor, not to be confused with the modern designation for the larger continent. The exact boundaries are difficult to determine, but the region, formed in 133–130 BC, and since the time of Augustus ruled by proconsuls, included the older kingdoms of Mysia, Lydia, Caria, and part of Phrygia, as well as several islands. Paul and his companions enjoyed an especially successful mission in Asia (Acts 19:10, 22, 26–27; Rom. 16:5). He later wrote letters to Christians in Colossae and Ephesus (Ephesians; 1 Timothy). Inscriptions attest to the wealth of many Ephesians. Through Timothy, Paul warns those pursuing wealth in the city (1 Tim. 6:9–10; cf. Rev. 3:17). The apostle John eventually settled in Ephesus and later was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote to the seven churches of Asia (Rev. 1:4–3:22).

Belt

Articles of Clothing

Special Functions of Clothing

Downsizing

The reduction of expenditure and consumption. Solomon is presented as the extremity of excess, which contributed to turning his attention away from God, a form of idolatry (1 Kings 11; cf. Exod. 20:3; Matt. 6:24; 1 Tim. 6:6–10). Jesus rebukes those who follow this example, because they lack awareness of others’ needs (Luke 12:16–21; 16:19–31). To those with more he says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal” (Matt. 6:19). The commandment reminds the disciple that material possessions fall apart, particularly when unused, and that the means available for satisfying human wants are scarce in comparison to the extent of those wants. People covet (Exod. 20:17), and when they reach a threshold of desperation, many steal, which causes those enslaved to their wealth to live in constant fear of losing it. The solution is to be content with God meeting our basic needs and to share when we have an abundance.

Dress

Articles of Clothing

Special Functions of Clothing

Garments

Articles of Clothing

Special Functions of Clothing

Materialism

Sash

Articles of Clothing

Special Functions of Clothing

Tempt

Tempted

Tempting

Wealth and Materialism

Showing 1 to 50 of116 results

1. Materialism: Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Illustration

Steve Farrar

Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray my Cuisinart to keep
I pray my stocks are on the rise
And that my analyst is wise
That all the wine I sip is white
And that my hot tub's watertight
That racquetball won't get too tough
That all my sushi's fresh enough
I pray my cordless phone still works
That my career won't lose its perks
My microwave won't radiate
My condo won't depreciate
I pray my health club doesn't close
And that my money market grows
If I go broke before I wake
I pray my Volvo they won't take.

2. Bonds Through Eternity

Illustration

Gene Shalit

Groucho Marx: “Martha dear, there are many bonds that will hold us together through eternity.”

Margaret Dumont: “Really, Wolf? What are they?”

Groucho Marx: “Your government bonds, your savings bonds, your liberty bonds ...”

3. Wrecked By a Dollar Sign

Illustration

Chuck Rasmussen

Many people think money is security, but I Timothy 6:9 warns that it can be just the opposite. Many years ago, columnist Jim Bishop reported what happened to people who won the state lottery:

Rosa Grayson of Washington won $400 a week for life. She hides in her apartment. For the first time in her life, she has "nerves." Everyone tries to put the touch on her. "People are so mean, " she said. "I hope you win the lottery and see what happens to you."

When the McGugarts of New York won the Irish Sweepstakes, they were happy. Pop was a steamfitter. Johnny, twenty-six, loaded crates on docks. Tim was going to night school. Pop split the million with his sons. They all said the money wouldn't change their plans. A year later, the million wasn't gone; it was bent. The boys weren't speaking to Pop, or each other. Johnny was chasing expensive race horses; Tim was catching up with expensive girls. Mom accused Pop of hiding his poke from her. Within two years, all of them were in court for nonpayment of income taxes. "It's the Devil's own money," Mom said. Both boys were studying hard to become alcoholics.

All these people hoped and prayed for sudden wealth. All had their prayers answered. All were wrecked on a dollar sign.

4. What Will It Profit a Man?

Illustration

Chevis Horne

We are often afraid to speak of money in the church. We are concerned that someone will become offended. We do not want to confirm the position held by many that all the church wants is your money. As a result, we respond to this perception in a variety of ways. I know of one church that prints in its Sunday bulletin that visitors to the church are not expected to give financially but that this is the responsibility of the members of that church. I know of another church where the pastor announces that they only speak about giving once a year and that he as the pastor does not know what anyone in the church gives. We are very touchy on the subject and we find that we do not speak of it very often. Generally speaking, our response for most of the year is basic silence on the subject of money.

Yet Jesus is not silent on the subject, nor is the Bible. Perhaps that is because money seems to represent our priorities and what we consider important. A quick glance at our checkbook says a great deal about our lives. Our checkbook is probably more revealing than even a diary would be concerning our priorities. Too often we could be accused of putting more trust in our money than we do in God. We often see our bank account or investments as the vehicle for protecting our future. This is why the Bible is not silent on the subject.

When Charlemagne, the Frankish king, died, the people dealt with it in a unique fashion. Instead of the normal burial, using a shroud, they used his royal robe. They placed his royal robe on him and had him sitting on his throne for all to see. Then they placed a Bible on his lap. They had the Bible open with the King's forefinger on his right hand pointing at a particular Bible verse. The verse was Matthew 16:26: "For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?”

5. A Labor of Love

Illustration

C.S. Lewis

To ask that God's love should be content with us as we are is to ask that God should cease to be God: because He is what He is, His love must, in the nature of things, be impeded and repelled by certain stains in our present character, and because He already loves us He must labour to make us lovable. We cannot even wish, in our better moments, that He could reconcile Himself to our present impurities no more than the beggar maid could wish that King Cophetua should be content with her rags and dirt, or a dog, once having learned to love man, could wish that man were such as to tolerate in his house the snapping, verminous, polluting creature of the wild pack. What we would here and now call our "happiness" is not the end God chiefly has in view: but when we are such as He can love without impediment, we shall in fact be happy.

6. Content with the Customs

Illustration

Staff

From the rule of St. Benedict, Sixth Century A.D.:

"If any pilgrim monk come from distant parts, with wish as a guest to dwell in the monastery, and will be content with the customs which he finds in the place, and do not perchance by his lavishness disturb the monastery, but is simply content with what he finds, he shall be received, for as long a time as he desires. If, indeed, he find fault with anything, or expose it, reasonably, and with the humility of charity, the Abbot shall discuss it prudently, lest perchance God has sent him for this very thing. But if he have been found lavish or vicious in the time of his sojourn as guest, not only ought he not to be joined to the body of the monastery, but also it shall be said to him, honestly, that he must depart. If he does not go, let two stout monks, in the name of God, explain the matter to him."

Okay, so maybe that last line was not part of the original sixth century text, but hospitality has always been central to christian practice and as I have gotten older I realize how important it is. Even Jesus spoke of being welcomed as a test of our true discipleship. Perhaps no greater witness to our internal faith is the outward practice of hospitality. Now, I'm not talking about running a BnB. I am talking about welcoming and accepting others with grace.

Note: The Rule of Saint Benedict is a book of precepts, or instructions, written in 516 dealing with the concerns and needs of monks in a community environment. The book attempts to establish due order, to foster an understanding of the relational nature of human beings, and to provide a spiritual father to support and strengthen the individual's ascetic effort and the spiritual growth that is required for the fulfillment of the human vocation, theosis. The Rule provides a moderate path between individual zeal and formulaic institutionalism; because of this middle ground it has been widely popular.

7. The Object of Envy Is Trapped

Illustration

Scott Hoezee

In his story "Abel Sanchez," writer Miguel de Unamuno nicely highlights the nature of envy and why it is that the envied person is often trapped by his envy. In his writing he retells the story of the Cain and Abel, and he modernizes it. The Cain character is played by a skilled surgeon who has for years secretly envied his friend, Abel Sanchez, a skilled artist. At one point in the story, the doctor is scrutinizing one of Abel's paintings. This particular painting is a depiction of the Cain and Abel story itself from the Bible. At first, the doctor is convinced that the face of Cain in the painting is modeled on his own face. And he becomes furious! How dare Abel Sanchez use HIM as a model for envy? The gall! The nerve! The implied accusation! But then, upon closer inspection, the doctor decides it's not his face after all. Does this defuse his anger? By no means! Instead the surgeon becomes irate that Abel Sanchez did NOT deign to use him in one of his famous paintings! How dare Abel NOT use his face!

De Unamuno's point is clear: when you are the object of envy, you cannot do a blessed thing to make the situation any better. Try to be extra kind to the one who envies you, and this kindness will get written off as condescension and charity. Try to rise above things by ignoring the one torn up with envy and you will be written off as arrogant and rude, thereby merely confirming the envier's low opinion of you. Neither approach nor avoidance can help the envied one.

It's difficult to know how much of a role envy plays in Mark 6 but surely the sneering attitude of Jesus' fellow townsfolk revealed at least a smidgen of envy-driven sentiments. Maybe this had something to do with his inability/unwillingness to do miracles there. He was doomed no matter what he did. Do more miracles, and the people write him off as a showboat (and/or as someone drawing off power from dubious sources). If he refused to do miracles, maybe a few would say, "What now?! We're not good enough for you, not WORTHY of your wonder-working power!?"

Perhaps the only thing left to do was leave town and go to other villages, from which Jesus sent forth his disciples to do wonderful work in places where it could be appreciated.

8. He That is Down

Illustration

John Bunyan

He that is down needs fear no fall;
He that is low, no pride;
He that is humble, ever shall
Have God to be his guide.

I am content with what I have,
Little be it, or much;
And, Lord, contentment still I crave,
Because Thou savest such.

Fullness to such a burden is
That go on pilgrimage;
Here little, and hereafter bliss,
Is best from age to age.

9. Chasing Mice

Illustration

A familiar Mother Goose rhyme goes:

PUSSY CAT, PUSSY CAT, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?
I'VE BEEN TO LONDON TO VISIT THE QUEEN.
PUSSY CAT, PUSSY CAT, WHAT DID YOU DO THERE?
I FRIGHTENED A LITTLE MOUSE UNDER THE CHAIR.

Like that cat, Christians sometimes settle for petty involvements, trivial pursuits chasing mice when we have the opportunity to spend time with royalty, with the King! Instead of remaining content with minimum daily requirements, we can deepen our relationship with God and grow into maturity.

10. How’s Your Spiritual Bank?

Illustration

King Duncan

A church member came to his pastor's study one day. The pastor could see that the man looked deeply troubled. The man said, “Pastor, I need to talk. I feel so empty, so dried up inside, I'm scared." His voice began to quiver just a bit. He said “Pastor, I have just come from the doctor's office, and he told me that I have only six months at best to live. After I left the office, I realized that I have no spiritual resources, no inner strength to cope with this. There is nothing to fall back on, to lean against. Many people would be surprised to hear me say that, for I have made lots of money, and people think I am a success not only at making money, but at being a strong, powerful person."

He then fell quiet, and the pastor waited in silence for him to go on. Finally the man said, “You know I'm poor in the things that count the most. I see it now. I've put my faith in the wrong things, and the truth is I am destitute, spiritually destitute. I could pick up the phone and call any bank in Houston and borrow any amount of money to do whatever I wanted to. Just on my name, Reverend, just on my name! Do you understand? I could borrow it on my name only."

The man then leaned forward and put his head in his hands, and said softly through tears, “I guess there are some things you can't buy or borrow."

This man's material bank was full to overflowing, but his spiritual bank was empty. Is that your situation? Then you are serving mammon and not God.

11. Ambition and Humility

Illustration

King Duncan

There was a man with the odd name: Horville Sash. Horville had a very humble job in a certain company, a job in the lowest basement of a building. He was a mail room clerk. As mail room clerk, there was no one who was lower than he was.

One day he came across a bug scurrying across the floor. Horville may have the lowliest job in the whole company, but he was bigger than the bug! So he raised his foot to flatten the hapless bug. But this story is a fable, and the bug speaks. "Spare me," said the bug, "and I will grant you your fondest wishes." Horville spared the bug. His reward: a wish. "I wish to be promoted to the second floor." And his wish was granted. Zap! He found himself working on the second floor.

But wait. Horville heard footsteps on the ceiling of floor number two. A higher level meant higher wages. The next day, Horville rose to the third floor job of sales coordinator. But that didn't end his ambition. He wished for still more promotions. He went to the tenth floor, then to the twentieth, the fiftieth, the seventieth. Still he was not satisfied. Horville was sitting by the indoor pool on floor ninety-six, when he discovered a stairway leading up...to another floor? He scrambled up the stairs, and found himself on the roof. At last, he was the highest, the greatest.

Finally content, he headed for the down stairway, when he came across a boy on the edge of the building with his eyes closed. "What are you doing?" "Praying." "To whom?" The boy pointed a finger skyward, and replied, "To God." Panic gripped Horville. Was there a floor above him? He couldn't see it, and he couldn't hear any footsteps shuffling around up there. Just clouds. "Do you mean that there's somebody above me? Someone greater than I?" "Yes."

The bug was summoned. "Make me God. Make me the greatest. Put me in the type of position that only God would hold if he were on earth." It was granted. And the very next day, Horville began work as a gofer in the basement helping others to be successful in their jobs.

12. The Testimony of a Good Conscience

Illustration

C.F.H. Henry

The glory of a good person is the testimony of a good conscience. A good conscience is able to bear very much and is very cheerful in adversities. An evil conscience is always fearful and unquiet. Never rejoice except when you have done well. You shall rest sweetly if your heart does not accuse you. Sinners never have true joy or feel inward peace, because 'there is no peace for the wicked,' says the Lord (Isaiah 57:21). The glory of the good is in their consciences, and not in the tongues of others, The gladness of the just is of God, and in God; and their joy is of the truth.

A person will easily be content and pacified whose conscience is pure. If you consider what you are within, you will not care what others say concerning you. People consider the deeds, but God weighs the intentions. To be always doing well and to esteem little of one's self is the sign of a humble soul. For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends, 'says Paul (2 Corinthians 10:18). To walk inwardly with God, and not to be kept abroad by any outward affection, is the state of a spiritual person. Conscience is that faculty in me which attaches itself to the highest that I know, and tells me what the highest I know demands that I do. It is the eye of the soul which looks out either toward God or toward what it regards as the highest authority. If I am in the habit of steadily facing toward God, my conscience will always introduce God's perfect law and indicate what I should do. The point is, will I obey? I have to make an effort to keep my conscience so sensitive that I walk without offense. I should be living in such perfect sympathy with God's Son that in every circumstance the spirit of my mind is renewed. The one thing that keeps the conscience sensitive to Him is the habit of being open to God on the inside. When there is any debate, quit. There is no debate possible when conscience speaks.

13. Complexity of a Chromosome

Illustration

Brett Blair

Years ago Dr. Carl Sagan was all the rage in the scientific community. A famous astronomer and author who professed to have no belief in God or the Bible, but nevertheless recognized the complexity of the design of creation. In his book The Dragons of Eden (New York: Ballantine, 1978) he describes the complexity of a chromosome:

A single human chromosome contains twenty billion bits of information. How much information is twenty billion bits? What would be its equivalent, if it were written down in an ordinary printed book in modern human language? Twenty billion bits are the equivalent of about three billion letters. If there are approximately six letters in an average word, the information content of a human chromosome corresponds to about five hundred million words. If there are about three hundred words on an ordinary page of printed type, this corresponds to about two million pages. If a typical book contains five hundred such pages, the information content of a single human chromosome corresponds to some four thousand volumes. It is clear, then, that the chromosome contains an enormous library of information. It is equally clear that so rich a library is required to specify as exquisitely constructed and intricately functioning an object as a human being.

The word "construct" in his last sentence stands out. IT begs the question: Whose the builder?

14. The Duty of Prayer

Illustration

John Bunyan

Far away from the Bible's example are most people when they pray! Prayer with earnestness and urgency is genuine prayer in God's account. Alas, the greatest number of people are not conscious at all of the duty of prayer. And as for those who are, it is to be feared that many of them are very great strangers to sincere, sensible, and affectionate emotional pouring out of their hearts or souls to God. Too many content themselves with a little lip-service and bodily exercise, mumbling over a few imaginary prayers. When the emotions are involved in such urgency that the soul will waste itself rather than go without the good desired, there is communion and solace with Christ. And hence it is that the saints have spent their strength, and lost their lives, rather than go without the blessings God intended for them.

15. A Great Prophet Has Arisen Among Us

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

"Shunem: Site of the Prophet Elisha's Resurrection Miracle." If they had had road signs in the days of old this might have been the sign that welcomed you to Shunem. All the people of Shunem and all the people in the cities around Shunem surely knew of Elisha's miraculous feat. This was an area known for its prophets!

Elisha's prophetic forerunner, Elijah, was the first prophet to raise a young man to life. It happened in Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-24). Perhaps it is not surprising that Elisha also raised a young man to life. We are told, after all, that Elisha inherited a double share of Elijah's spirit!

In a story told in 2 Kings 4 we hear that Elijah came to Shunem one day and had a bite to eat at the home of a wealthy woman. Since there were no fast food restaurants in Elisha's day, he stopped quite often at the house of the Shunammite woman to get something to eat. The woman sensed that Elisha was a holy one of God. So she persuaded her husband to fix up a permanent guest room for Elisha. She invited Elisha to stop and stay with them whenever he passed through Shunem. And he did. Free room and board is a pretty good deal, after all!

Now Elisha was an honorable man. He thought he should really give this woman some kind of gift. He told his servant Gehazi to ask the Shunammite woman what gift he might give to her. Gehazi went. He discovered that the woman was quite content with what she had. She asked for nothing. "But there must be something we can give this woman," Elisha insisted to Gehazi. Then Gehazi had a wonderful idea. "This woman has no child and her husband is old," he said to Elisha. Elisha got the point. He announced to the woman of Shunem that, "At this season, when the time comes round, you shall embrace a son" (2 Kings 4:16). And it came to pass just as Elisha had promised. One day years later, the son of the woman of Shunem went out among the reapers to be with his father. Suddenly he began to complain bitterly. "Oh, my head, my head!" he shrieked.

"Carry the lad to his mother," the father ordered. The reapers did so. The boy lay on his mother's lap until noon, and then he died. The Shunammite woman carried her son straightway to Elisha's guest room and laid him on Elisha's very own bed. She then set out to Mt. Carmel determined to find Elisha. When she found the prophet she fell before him and took hold of his feet. "Did I ask my Lord for a son?" she pleaded. "Did I not say, 'Do not mislead me'?" (2 Kings 4:28).

Elisha got the point. He returned to Shunem, went to his room where the dead boy lay, shut the door and began to pray. Elisha then stretched himself upon the boy and breathed his breath into him. Soon the child sneezed seven times and then opened his eyes. "Take your son," Elisha said to the woman of Shunem.

"Shunem: Site of the Prophet Elisha's Resurrection Miracle." Thus a sign at the city gate might have read. The city of Nain was just a stone's throw down the road from Shunem. The citizens of Nain undoubtedly basked in Shunem's glory. They, too, believed themselves to live in a land where prophets do miracles."

16. Celebrating the New

Illustration

Brian Stoffregen

Someone once criticized the Lutheran Church by saying,"We have all the right words to a party, but we haven't learned how to pull it off, yet." Seldom do our worship services feel like wedding celebrations where 180 gallons of wine would be served during a week-long celebration. Maybe all this talk about 180 gallons of wine can encourage us to be more celebrative and joyful in our receiving and sharing of God's grace. At the same time, I often wonder what Sunday services would be like if we put in as much time, effort, and money as we do for weddings.

The six stone water jars, each holding 20-30 gallons equals 120-180 gallons of wine! That's a lot of wine. The abundance of wine was an OT eschatological symbol.

The abundance of God's grace is a theme that can flow out of these huge jars.

Notice that these jars were empty. The servants have to fill them with water before the miracle occurs. Jesus is not transforming the purification water that was in the jars into the wine; but he is transforming new water that has been placed in the old containers. O'Day suggests: "New wine is created in the 'old' vessels of the Jewish purification rites, symbolizing that the old forms are given new content."

17. It's God's Decision

Illustration

James Packer

The meek are those who know themselves to be poor in spirit, who have learned, honestly and from their hearts, to regret all the dehumanizing and subhuman things in which they have been involved as wanderers in this lost world, and who now in humility want only the will of God. "Moses was very meek, more than all men that were on the face of the earth" (Num. 12:3). His meekness was shown in his acceptance of what God ordained, including endless battles with those recalcitrant and disappointing people whom he was trying to lead from Egypt to Canaan, including, even, the enormous disappointment of himself not getting into the Promised land.

Moses was a man with a fierce temper it was this which had betrayed him during the time in the wilderness but when God said, in effect, "Now look, Moses, in order to teach the whole world how much loss sin can bring, I'm not going to let you enter the land; the people will go in, but you won't," he did not curse God in furious protest; quietly, if sadly, he accepted God's decision. That's meekness. Meekness, for a child of God, means accepting uncomplainingly what comes, knowing that it comes from the hand of God who orders all things. What he sends, we accept in faith even if it hurts, knowing that it's for our and others' good.

Those who are meek that is, prepared to forego their rights in this world, if that's what God requires of them will inherit the earth: they will be made infinitely rich in the future. Jesus was referring to the riches of heaven more than to earthly blessings when he spoke, echoing Psalm 37:11, of inheriting the earth. Mercies promised in earthly forms in the Old Testament regularly turn out to have celestial content in the New.

18. Mirror Image of God

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

There is a painting in a palace in Rome by Reni. It is painted into the ceiling of the dome, over 100 feet high. To stand at floor level and look upward, the painting seems to be surrounded by a fog which leaves its content unclear.

But in the center of the great dome room is a huge mirror, which in its reflection picks up the picture. By looking into the mirror you can see the picture with great clarity.

Jesus Christ, born in a manger at Bethlehem, is the mirror of God. In him we see a clear reflection of the Father. Jesus said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." No power on earth has done more to tame the hostile forces of humankind, and cause us to beat our swords in tools of useful productivity and our spears into peaceful instruments of creativity than this Child of Bethlehem, who came in weakness to lead us in strength.

19. The Passion of Envy

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

What we have not poisons what we have… Our urge to acquire things is due less to the passion to possess them than to the vanity of feeling superior to those who envy our possession of them…Envy transmutes other people's base metals into gold… Our envy is the yeast that swells the fortune of others… No form of hatred is as keen as envy. It magnifies the importance of our enemy—and belittles our own.

20. The Pew Potato's Prayer

Illustration

Joan Stock

Dear Lord, please leave me alone. Just let me sit here in my pew on Sunday, and Lord guard my seat, the last seat here in the back row. Please don't let anyone else try to sit here Lord... You know that's my seat and dear Lord please get me home quickly after the service on Sunday, before these church people try to recruit me to actually do something that I don't want to do. Lord make them understand that I'm happy and content just to show up on Sunday. Heavenly Father, thank you for hearing my prayer but I've got to Go! Kickoff is only a minute away!! You understand Lord.

Oh, and thanks God for putting some great games on this week and thank you for all sports cable channel. See you next Sunday Lord. Amen.

21. Beatitudes as a Song

Illustration

Eugene H. Peterson

This adaptation of the Beatitudes is from Message by Eugene H. Peterson:

3. You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

4. “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

5. “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

6. “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

7. “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

8. “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

9. “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

10. “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

11-12. “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

22. A House of Prayer

Illustration

John R. Brokhoff

Leslie Weatherhead in his book, A Private House Of Prayer, suggests that the structure of the content of prayer be likened to a house of seven rooms. Each room is a division of prayer. There may be some duplication with ACTSS which we just discussed.

The first room is for the affirmation of God's presence. If prayer is a conversation with God, obviously it is necessary for him to be present. When we pray, are we aware of his presence or like Moses do we see only a burning bush? In a hymn Tersteegen sings, "God himself is present; let us now adore him and with awe appear before him." What applies to worship, applies also to prayer. When we pray, we are talking to a real person, not to an idea, or ideal, or ideology, or a theological concept. In prayer we are not talking to ourselves or to the ceiling. In spirit God is there to hear our prayer. We need to realize this and pray accordingly.

The next room is for the thanksgiving and praise. We have been blessed beyond measure and therefore to thank and praise God is in order. Before we begin our prayer, we need to review how good God has been to us. If we are bereft of blessings, our greatest gift is Jesus who loved us enough to die for us.

Go to the next room for the confession of sins. Sin separates us from God. Sin erects an impenetrable curtain which prevents us from seeing God. The separation prevents our hearing the voice of God. We come out of a dirty world with the dirt of sin clinging to us. Before we can be presentable to a holy God we need spiritual cleansing. Thus, in prayer we confess our sins and plead for his mercy.

The fourth room is labelled "Reception of God's grace." We have confessed our sins and begged for mercy. What is God's response? It is grace in terms of pardon and acceptance. At this time in our prayers we remember his promises to be with us always, to forgive us, and to bless us with the Holy Spirit.

Now it is time to go to the room of petition. We have the opportunity to tell God about our personal needs in our own lives, or in our family, or in our work. But, we have petitions not only for ourselves, but others want and need our prayers in their behalf. This takes us to the sixth room of prayer. When we pray for others, it is called intercessory prayer. When his co-worker, Melanchthon, was sick, Luther prayed for him: "I besought the Almighty with great vigor ... quoting from Scripture all the promises I could remember, that prayers should be granted and said that he must grant my prayer, if I was henceforth to put faith in his promises."

The effectiveness of a friend's prayer on our behalf depends on the relationship of the pray-er to God. James wrote, "The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective" (James 5:16). That is why we want a godly mother or a pious pastor to pray for us. Roman Catholics ask the saints and the Virgin Mary to pray for them. On the eve of a historic boxing match, a friend was visiting the champ in his hotel suite. During the conversation a murmuring feminine voice was heard. "That's my wife," the champ explained. "She's praying for me to win." "Oh, and I suppose you pray, too?" The champ replied, "My wife is more devout than I am. If God won't do it for her, He certainly won't do it for me."

The seventh room in the house of prayer is meditation. Some do not understand what meditation is and consequently do not know how to meditate. It is the act of reflecting, of silence, and listening to God. It calls for thinking about God and our relationship to him. It is a time to review past dealings with God. Then we reflect on how good God has been in those past dealings. After that, we remember God's promises to us: promises of peace, protection, and provision. Meditation can be summed up in three R's: review, reflect, and remember.

23. Smell of Heaven

Illustration

John Bunyan

Although you may have no commentaries at hand, continue to read the Word and pray; for a little from God is better than a great deal received from man. Too many are content to listen to what comes from men's mouths, without searching and kneeling before God to know the real truth. That which we receive directly from the Lord through the study of His Word is from the "minting house" itself. Even old truths are new if they come to us with the smell of heaven upon them.

24. Leading the Way

Illustration

Richard Gribble

The twentieth century provided numerous examples of prophets who have blazed paths for others to follow. In India, Mahatma Gandhi, through a method of nonviolent resistance, led his people to throw off British Imperialism and bring freedom to the sub-continent and its peoples. In the 1960s, using similar tactics, Martin Luther King, Jr., spoke of the dream he had of a nation where people would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. In the late 1970s, Archbishop Oscar Romero in El Salvador heard the cry of the poor in his land and acted to bring hope and justice to a society dominated by wealth and power. Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu in South Africa provided the light to lead their nation out of the dark night of apartheid to a new light of freedom for all. Our history is replete with examples of contemporary prophets, but are we listening to their collective voice and finding the path they have blazed?

John the Baptist pointed the way to Jesus, serving as a prophet for the people of his day. Let us, in whatever capacity God has provided in our lives, do likewise. Let us be prophets who blaze a path to the Lord, both at Christmas and for eternal life.

25. Up and Down the Mountain

Illustration

Robert Beringer

When Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross was doing research for her famous book on death and dying, she met a woman who was a member of the cleaning staff in a large hospital. This woman spent her days cleaning floors, emptying waste baskets and tidying up patients' rooms. The hospital staff, however, began to notice that each time this woman finished cleaning the room of a dying patient, that person was invariably more content and more at peace.

The woman explained to Dr. Kubler-Ross that she had known a lot of fear and tragedy in her life, as well as good times when others helped her know of God's love. She had been up and she had been down the mountain. The worst time was when her three-year-old son was ill with pneumonia. She brought him to the public health clinic, and he died in her arms while she waited her turn. All of this could have embittered her, but she said to Kubler-Ross, "You see, doctor, the dying patients are just like old acquaintances to me, and I'm not afraid to touch them, to talk to them, or to offer them hope."

The hospital decided to promote this woman to "Special Counselor To The Dying."

26. The Secret Life of Teenagers

Illustration

Staff

Teenage Survey

70% of high school grads leave the church, never to return
65% of evangelical teens never read their Bibles
33% believe religion is out of date and out of touch
58% of protestant teens believe students should have access to contraceptives.
25% of high school students contract some form of V.D.
42% of protestant teens say there are many ways to God.
60% question that miracles are possible
28% feel the content of the Bible are not accurate.
40% of all teens believe in astrology
58% of boys reported having seen pornography
58% of girls reported having seen pornography
Children under 10 make up 22% of the underage viewers of online porn
65% of all H.S. Christian students are sexually active
75% of all H.S. students cheat regularly
30% of all H.S. students have shoplifted in the past 30 days
45-50% of all teen pregnancies are aborted
3.3 million teens are alcoholics
1000 teens try to commit suicide daily
10% of H.S. students have experimented with or are involved in a homosexual lifestyle.

For in-depth analysis of children and porn see: https://enough.org/stats-youth-and-porn

27. Too Big to Be Understood

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

I often stop at a certain restaurant in town which has a first-class aquarium. It contains a glorious assortment of tropical fish with colors so extraordinary that only God's personal coloring set could have decorated them. It takes a lot of work to run an aquarium. The owner monitors the oxygen and nitrate levels and the ammonia content. The water is filtered. Vitamins, antibiotics and sulfa drugs must be pumped in. The fish have to be fed regularly. Now with all that care and attention, you would think that the fish would adore the owner. But they don't. Anytime he comes around, they dart away in fear. The owner is like a god to those fish, too big to comprehend, too frightening to love. The only way to change that would be for the owner to somehow become a fish and communicate the true message. Similarly, God had to become a person to communicate with us. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth."

28. Ashamed To Beg

Illustration

John G. Lynn

In a large attractive office in a major city, a man worked for several months next to a small attractive woman. He had been there only a few days when he thought he'd ask her to lunch, which he did. The following day he asked her for dinner and they began a long dating relationship. They went to craft fairs together, since he liked to do that. They went to the ocean, which he also liked to do. They used to take long walks along the river.

He liked this relationship. He had lived for many years with his mother. In fact, it was only a few months after she died that he began dating his co-worker. Little by little, however, she began to dislike both the relationship and this man. She felt like she really wasn't herself when she was with him. She couldn't speak what she really felt. She rarely asserted where she wanted to go or what she wanted to do. She later said, "I just wasn't Sandra with him."

So she terminated her social, dating relationship with this man. Once she did, she began to feel like herself again. Her friends told her, "You're more like the old Sandra now."

Across the same town, in another office, a young man sat at his desk for eight years, struggling to manage his office work force. Outside he was a friendly, generous person. In the office he was the same way and his workers flattened him out, like steamrollers over an asphalt road. He worked long, long hours; he holed himself up behind his desk to keep all the records accurate; he just about wore himself out. Finally his friends told him, "Steve, you'd better get out of that job. You're not yourself anymore. Those people are eating you alive and you're not getting anywhere."

He protested, "But it's a good job. I make good money. And besides, it is what I do best. How can I even look for anything else?"

Then the company was sold. New management came in. All the supervisors were replaced and Steve found himself on the street. He was terrified. "To dig I am unable, to beg I am ashamed," he said. "What can I do?"

His friends told him they were glad he was fired. "At least you are your old self," they said. "And you'll find something. Just go for it." He did, and now he's doing better than he ever could have in the position he once felt he could never leave.

The steward in today's gospel lesson is like both Sandra and Steve. Sandra was not herself in that relationship. Steve was not himself in that job. Both were wasting away, losing that which was most precious to them both: their proper identities. Both felt they could not survive if they gave up something so close and precious as a relationship or a job.

In today's gospel lesson the steward's master calls him on the carpet. In Luke's mind, this Lord and Master is God. God always calls his stewards into question when they are wasteful of who and what they are. This steward is not just wasting his master's goods. The steward is wasting himself. Nothing is more precious in God's household than his steward's proper identity. This is God's gift to this steward, and he is wasting it. No wonder God calls him to account.

God does this to us all the time. He checks our relationships and he checks our jobs -- to help us make sure we are not wasting our identities where we are. This steward was. So God dismissed him. He had to get a new job and a new relationship. God does not tolerate our wasting who we are.

This dismissal turned the light on for the steward. "What shall I do? To dig I am unable, to beg I am ashamed." Finally he came to an assessment of who he was and what he could do. He came to value his own identity, one of his master's most precious goods.

He called in his master's creditors. "How much do you owe? One hundred barrels of oil? Take your bill and write 50." Did he cheat his master? Not at all. The commercial documents from that time indicate that 50 percent was the normal commission. He renounced what he thought he had to have to live on -- and he won friends for himself in so doing.

"How much do you owe? One hundred bushels of wheat? Take your bill and write 80." He did not cheat his master. He simply renounced his own commission. He gave up what he thought he needed to survive, and he survived much better without it. He zeroed in on his own identity, rather than on the commission he thought he had to have to survive.

Bruno Bettelheim, who has studied the survivors of the concentration camps in World War II, writes that those who survived were able to give up everything they thought they needed and, in so giving, they survived. Those who thought they would die if they had no clothing, no jewelry, no regular food, no books -- they did not make it.

Sometimes God will do to us what he did to this steward. He will strip us down to the very core of our existence to make us discover who we really are. He will bring us to a crossroad in life where we will be forced to say, "To dig I am not able, to beg I am ashamed." There God will reveal to us who we are. As we reach to him for help we will find ourselves renouncing our commissions -- whatever we think we need to survive but we really don't. God knows that.

Luther found himself in this position many times in his life. Once, as he began his study of law, he was struck down in a thunderstorm. Terrified, he cried out, "Dear Saint Ann, help me. I will become a monk." He quit his study of law and became a theologian instead -- the identity God wanted for him in the first place. He was wasting himself in law.

Later on, as a monk, he studied Paul's Epistle to the Romans. At that time in his life he felt he could not be Martin Luther unless he ended each day with a tray full of good works to present to God. In praying over Paul, he learned the difference between works righteousness and faith. He learned he was wasting God's gift of Martin Luther's identity in that daily tray full of good works.

He wrote: "Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement that the just shall live by faith. Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through mercy and sheer grace God justified us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise." Martin Luther the Do-Gooder was reborn Martin Luther the Believer.

Today's gospel lesson introduces that curious term, "mammon," an Aramaic word which means: "that in which I put my trust." We are like Sandra, Steve, and this steward. How easy to put all our trust in relationships or commissions or a job. God will not let us do that forever. He will force us to give up those people and those things we feel are absolutely critical. In God's eyes they are roadblocks to the truth. He will take them away. Then we will discover our real identities as God's stewards, and him alone shall we serve. "

29. A Place for Caution

Illustration

King Duncan

Cowboy writer Curt Brummett likes to tell how proud he felt the day his father gave him his first real rope. All young cowboys dream of owning their own rope, which they can use to rope steer. As his father tied the rope into a lasso, he gave Curt one important piece of advice, "Never . . . put it on anything you can't get it off of."

That evening, company came by for coffee. Curt and his little sister were playing in another room. He was trying to rope her feet as she ran by. She retaliated by tying a knot in his rope. He decided that next time she came through the room, he would catch her for sure. A few minutes later, the kitchen door opened. Curt, hiding behind the door, swung out his lasso. It landed firmly around a single female foot. He gave the rope a tug. The next thing he heard was a tremendous crash. Curt peeked around the door to see that he had just roped his mother by the foot. She had been carrying a tray loaded with coffee cups and coffee. That evening, Curt's mother cut up his brand-new rope into little, tiny pieces. And his father's only words of comfort were, "I told you not to put that rope on anything you couldn't get it off of."

That's good advice. There is a place for caution in the Christian life. There are risks we should not take. Anything that endangers our relationship with God, anything that endangers our relationship with those we love, anything that endangers our emotional, physical and spiritual health must be handled with greatest care. Still, that is not the problem for most followers of Christ. Most of us are like those other disciples with Peter that night - we're content to hold on to the safety of the boat.

30. Fixing The Piano

Illustration

King Duncan

Once there was a small jazz club in New Orleans. In a corner of that club sat an old dilapidated piano. All of the jazz artists complained about this antiquated instrument. The piano players dreaded playing on it. The vocalists dreaded singing with it. And all of the combos that played the club wished that they could bring in their own piano - just like they could a saxophone or a trumpet.

Finally, after years of listening to these jazz musicians complain about his piano, the owner of the club decided to do something about it. He had the piano painted.

Father Henri Nouwen, reflecting on the story of Nicodemas, writes, "I love Jesus but want to hold on to my own friends even when they do not lead me closer to Jesus. I love Jesus but want to hold on to my own independence even when that independence brings me no real freedom. I love Jesus but do not want to lose the respect of my professional colleagues, even though I know that their respect does not make me grow spiritually. I love Jesus but do not want to give up my writing plans, travel plans, and speaking plans, even when these plans are often more to my glory that to the glory of God."

Upon reflection Father Nouwen realizes that he isn't all that different from Nicodemus. He writes, "So I am like Nicodemus, who came by night, and said safe things about Jesus to his colleagues." Even a great Christian like Father Henri Nouwen is sometimes content to paint the old piano.

There's an element of Nicodemus in all of us. It's always easier to play it safe and keep Jesus off in the distance than to call him the Lord of our life. We need to know, however, that we cannot always put him off.

31. God Had to Become a Person

Illustration

Bill Bouknight

Occasionally I stop by a certain restaurant in town that has a first-class aquarium. It contains a glorious assortment of tropical fish so colorful that only God could have decorated them. It takes a lot of work to run an aquarium. The owner monitors the oxygen and nitrate levels and the ammonia content. The water is filtered. Vitamins, antibiotics, and sulfa drugs must be pumped in. The fish have to be fed regularly.

Now with all that care and attention, you would think that the fish would adore the owner. But they don't. Anytime he comes around, they dart away in fear. The owner is like a god to those fish, too big to comprehend, too frightening to love.

The only way to change that would be for the owner to somehow become a fish and communicate the truth to the other fish. Similarly, God had to become a person to communicate with us. Because God wanted to send his very best to us, he made a visit himself, in the form of Jesus.

32. Growing through the Challenge of the Gospel

Illustration

Shelley Cunningham

Have you ever seen the "Jefferson Bible?" Thomas Jefferson excised those parts of scripture that he felt were superfluous, ambiguous or flew in the face of reason. It was his goal to create a seamless, solid narrative about Jesus, without including supernatural or questionable content that could get in the way or raise doubts.

It sounds silly, but don't most of us approach scripture a little like this? We often stick with safe, familiar passages that build us up or reassure us. And when faced with hard texts, like this week's, it's tempting to rush past them into more comforting territory. Yet sometimes when the Bible challenges or stretches us, we grow the most in faith. It can be a struggle to figure out what God is saying. But, as Christians, we believe that - even when it's difficult - God's word is a living word, and that God speaks through it still today.

33. Home Miserable Home

Illustration

Warren Wiersbe

While crossing a bridge in London, John Wesley stumbled and sprained his ankle. Some friends carried him to the house of Mrs. Mary Vazielle on Threadneedle Street. She was a widow with several children. She cared for Wesley and his response to her concern was to ask her to marry him. If we were writing fiction we might say that the sprained ankle was God's providential way to bring those people together. But the marriage was a disaster, and Mary finally left John.

Had Wesley consulted with his brother Charles, and asked for the prayers of the brethren, he might have avoided that unfortunate situation. Mary was accustomed to her quiet home, and it was difficult for her to travel with her husband and stay in uncomfortable inns. It is unfortunate that Mary was not content just to ignore John's ministry; she actually opposed it. She gave certain personal letters to his enemies and even made additions to them that made them worse! Once she even pulled her husband around on the floor by his hair! "I felt as though I could have knocked the soul out of her!" one of Wesley's friends said. Wesley concluded that his unhappy marriage encouraged him to work harder and not complain about missing the comforts of a home. Certainly it encouraged him to be away from home more!

34. The Potent Word of God

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

The Epistle to the Hebrews is difficult to translate because so much of the content concerns the Jewish culture and religious rituals that are totally foreign to the Agra people who live in the northern Philippines. However, some parts of the epistle really make sense to them, like the verse in Hebrews 4:12, "The Word of God is living and potent."

Depending upon the context, the Agra word madagat can mean stinging, venomous, or potent. A poisonous snake is madagat, but so are some medicines that can heal. A translation assistant explained his understanding of how the Word of God is potent: "It depends upon how we approach it. If we disregard it, it's like the poisonous snake. But if we live by it, its potency is like medicine."

35. The Complexity of the Situation

Illustration

The Constitution of the United States started off with only 7 articles and 21 sections that took up only four handwritten pages including signatures! 4 pages! But to that we added 27 amendments.

Today, the United States Code, which is all of the laws in this country, fills up around 80 volumes of books, nearly 800,000 pages, and this doesn't even include the Federal Regulations. In 1942, the Virginia Code was a single book that had 2800 pages. Today, the Virginia Code is a 25-volume set of books with 15,000 pages, nearly 20,000 separate laws! And that is just Virginia!

But, let's not think for a moment that we are the only ones to take something simple and make it complex. God gave the Israelites something simple to follow, the Ten Commandments. Just ten simple rules to follow. Nothing complex about it. But were the Israelites content with just ten commandments? Oh, no. They ended up making 613 separate commandments, 365 negative and 248 positive. Sounds like a lot doesn't it? Try following all those laws in order to be considered faithful and righteous, and you probably thought the original ten was hard enough.

For the lawyer and the Pharisees there was certainly a complex issue at stake. The Israelites were under assault from a man who claimed to be God, and who did God-like things. But this man was a Jew; he should have known better, no one is God, but God. Yet, he was a man who knew and quoted the Hebrew scripture, who knew the laws and commandments better than any religious leader.

The Pharisees had to put a stop to it, the situation was getting out of control, it was becoming too complex to let it go on much longer. This man must be stopped and the only why to stop him was to discredit him. And what better way to discredit Jesus, the Jew, than to ask him such a question, on a complex issue about the greatest commandment, that any answer he gave would spell defeat.

36. An Eyes Wide Open Dream

Illustration

Joel D. Kline

Prophets dream an eyes-wide-open dream of that day when God's realm, God's kingdom shall completely unfold among us, and indeed, among all creation. Such dreams, thank God, are not easily put aside; they are not easily shaken.

In the aftermath of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s leadership of that 1963 March on Washington, Time magazine chose him as its Man of the Year. Asked later whether he was satisfied with the progress being made in the movement toward racial justice and concern for the poor, King responded that we can never be satisfied until the entire dream becomes reality. And is that not the very nature of dreams? As people of faith, we dare never rest content with business as usual, for the dream of life in the kingdom of God is ever before us. We dare never make too easy a peace with the existence of injustice and brokenness, of selfishness and sin, of racism and greed.

37. Life's Little Fragments

Illustration

Max Lucado

Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. "This horse is not a horse to me," he would tell them. "It is a person. How could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell a friend?" The man was poor, and the temptation was great. But he never sold the horse.

One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. "You old fool," they scoffed, "we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you that you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been too high. Now the horse is gone, and you've been cursed with misfortune."

The old man responded, "Don't speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I've been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?"

The people contested, "Don't make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact is that your horse is gone, and you are cursed."

The old man spoke again. "All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I don't know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can't say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?"

The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy. They had always thought he was a fool; if he wasn't, he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, an old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it. he lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn't been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. "Old man, you were right, and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us."

The man responded, "Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don't judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one page of a book. Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase. Can you understand the entire phrase?

"Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment! Don't say that this is a blessing. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don't."

"Maybe the old man is right," they said to one another. So they said little. But down deep, they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. Twelve wild horses had returned with one horse. With a little bit of work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgments.

"You were right," they said. "You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer than ever."

The old man spoke again. "You people are obsessed with judging. Don't go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments."

It so happened that a few weeks later, the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured. Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming, because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would return. The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle. They would never see their sons again.

"You were right, old man," they wept. "God knows you were right. This proves it. Your son's accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever."

The old man spoke again. "It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this: Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows."

38. Bleacher Bums

Illustration

Jim Smoke

Have you ever sat so far away from the action on a baseball field that you would have had a better view in front of your television set at home? You squint in the sunlight from the far reaches of the left field stands and notice that there are a host of people sitting right behind homeplate - the best seats in the stadium. You confess to a great deal of envy and wish that you were important enough to own season tickets to those select quarters. Often it is the rich, famous, and very important people in our world who occupy those seats. Many of us bleacher bums would give a lot to sit where those people sit. They have the best of the best and we look upon them with envy.

The ordinary Christian and the ordinary baseball fan have a lot in common. Both seem to want conditions to be far better than they are. There is apparently little contentment in knowing that others have a better seat in the kingdom of God than you do.

Ordinary Christians should highly esteem those whom God places in leadership positions within the Christian community. But we should not tolerate those leaders who install themselves as pedestal people or Christian gurus. Our identity is not linked to our position or associations. Our identity is founded in who we are in Christ Jesus.

Ordinary Christians aren’t looking for the best seat. But they are looking for God’s place for them!

39. Realistic Happiness

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

Who could speak more realistically about the illusion of a yuppie value system than Alexander Solzhenitsyn, who suffered deprivation of all that money can buy. In "The Prison Chronicle" he says, as few of us can, "Don’t be afraid of misfortune and do not yearn after happiness. It is, after all, all the same. The bitter doesn't last forever, and the sweet never fills the cup to overflowing. It is enough if you don't freeze in the cold and if hunger and thirst don't claw at your sides. If your back isn't broken, if your feet can walk, if both arms work, if both eyes can see, and if both ears can hear, then whom should you envy? And why? Our envy of others devours us most of all. Rub your eyes and purify your heart and prize above all else in the world those who love you and wish you well."

40. Sending It on Ahead

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

Sigmund Freud's favorite story was about the sailor shipwrecked on one of the South Sea islands. He was seized by the natives, hoisted to their shoulders, carried to the village, and set on a rude throne. Little by little, he learned that it was their custom once each year to make some man a king, king for a year. He liked it until he began to wonder what happened to all the former kings. Soon he discovered that every year when his kingship was ended, the king was banished to an island, where he starved to death. The sailor did not like that, but he was smart and he was king, king for a year. So he put his carpenters to work making boats, his farmers to work transplanting fruit trees to the island, farmers growing crops, masons building houses. So when his kingship was over, he was banished, not to a barren island, but to an island of abundance. It is a good parable of life: We're all kings here, kings for a little while, able to choose what we shall do with the stuff of life.

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" (Matt. 6:19-20).

41. Back To Basics: The Three R's of Baptism - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

Baptism is a powerful force in the life of a Christian for two reasons. It is something we share in common. Christians all over the world can say that they were baptized in Christ. You met a Catholic in Ireland. He was baptized. You met a Pentecostal in Nigeria. She was baptized. The second reason Baptism is a powerful force is that baptism takes us back to the basics. Now let me set these two ideas up for you with a couple of stories.

You perhaps at one time or another have seen on TV the old black and white video footage of the civil rights marches in the sixties. Martin Luther King often at the front received his share of stinging high-pressured water hoses. Rev. King once remarked that he and the other marchers had a common strength. He put it this way, as "we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were a Baptist or some other denomination, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water."

You and I know the water. All of God's children know the water. We share by our faith this common symbol, this initiation, this rite, this power of God over the deep and often raging chaos of life. We know water! All over the world Baptism unites us.

It also brings us back to the basics. Perhaps in our lifetime the most public statement of repentance was that of President Bill Clinton's. The one he made before a Prayer Breakfast on September 10, 1998. He summed up the task perfectly when he said, "I don't think there is a fancy way to say that I have sinned." Then he quoted from a book given him by a Jewish friend in Florida. The book is called "Gates of Repentance."

Clinton read this passage from the book: "Now is the time for turning. The leaves are beginning to turn from green to red to orange. The birds are beginning to turn and are heading once more toward the south. The animals are beginning to turn to storing their food for the winter. For leaves, birds and animals, turning comes instinctively. But for us, turning does not come so easily. It takes an act of will for us to make a turn. It means breaking old habits. It means admitting that we have been wrong, and this is never easy. It means losing face. It means starting all over again. And this is always painful. It means saying I am sorry. It means recognizing that we have the ability to change. These things are terribly hard to do. But unless we turn, we will be trapped forever in yesterday's ways."

Clinton's quote ended with this prayer: "Lord help us to turn, from callousness to sensitivity, from hostility to love, from pettiness to purpose, from envy to contentment, from carelessness to discipline, from fear to faith. Turn us around, O Lord, and bring us back toward you. Revive our lives as at the beginning and turn us toward each other, Lord, for in isolation there is no life."

What ever you might think of Clinton and his sincerity, he understood that he needed to do something very basic before the nation. He needed to repent. It's amazing isn't it? Not even a president can escape the basic truths of life. It's like in elementary school. Our parents and teachers understand the importance of building a strong foundation for a child's future. So, we were taught the basics, the three R's: Reading, writing, and arithmetic. Ever notice that only one of those begins with an R. I always thought the fellow that came up with that one needed to go back to school.

As parents and teachers and leaders today we would do well to remember that life is still composed of basics. That is why, when Mark chose to open his Gospel, he did so with the Baptism of Jesus at the Jordan. Baptism reminds us of the three R's of the soul: Repentance, righteousness, and revelation. So, don't be amazed when a president of the United States repents before the nation for even Christ himself, as we have just read, began his ministry identifying with the basics: repentance, righteousness, and revelation. Christ submitted himself to the basics. You ask me, Pastor, why should I be baptized? My answer is, Christ himself was baptized, so should you. Baptism begins the most basic elements of the Christian walk: Repentance from sin, a life of righteousness, and an understanding that God has reveled himself in Christ.

Let's take a look at our Lord's Baptism and what it tells us about the three spiritual R's:

1. The first R is Repentance.
2. The second R is Righteousness.
3. The third R is Revelation.

42. Take Up and Read

Illustration

Augustine

Here is St. Augustine's description of his moment of conversion:

"I was weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when I heard the voice of children from a neighboring house chanting, "take up and read; take up and read." I could not remember ever having heard the like, so checking the torrent of my tears, I arose, interpreting it to be no other than a command from God to open the book and read the first chapter I should find. Eagerly then I returned to the place where I had laid the volume of the apostle. I seized, opened, and in silence read that section on which my eyes first fell: "Not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy; but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts." No further would I read, nor did I need to. For instantly at the end of this sentence, it seemed as if a light of serenity infused into my heart and all the darkness of doubt vanished away."

43. England's Leading Poet

Illustration

Dr. Gary Collins

For many years Sir Walter Scott was the leading literary figure in the British Empire. No one could write as well as he. Then the works of Lord Byron began to appear, and their greatness was immediately evident. Soon an anonymous critic praised his poems in a London Paper. He declared that in the presence of these brilliant works of poetic genius, Scott could no longer be considered the leading poet of England. It was later discovered that the unnamed reviewer had been none other than Sir Walter Scott himself!

There is a distinction between jealousy and envy. To envy is to want something which belongs to another person. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house, his wife or his servant, his ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." In contrast, jealousy is the fear that something which we possess will be taken away by another person. Although jealousy can apply to our jobs, our possessions, or our reputations, the word more often refers to anxiety which comes when we are afraid that the affections of a loved one might be lost to a rival. We fear that our mates, or perhaps our children, will be lured away by some other person who, when compared to us, seems to be more attractive, capable and successful.

44. Thank God

Illustration

Joyce Kilmer

The roar of the world in my ears,
Thank God for the roar of the world!
Thank God for the mighty tide of fears
Against me always hurled!
Thank God for the bitter and ceaseless strife,
Thank God for the stress and the pain of life,
And oh, thank God for God!

45. Sadness in the Heart of God

Illustration

John Claypool

There is a Jewish parable that both parallels and illumines Jesus' story, and it has helped to clarify my understanding greatly. This one is about a "farmer who lived in Poland. For generations before him, his family had been very poor. One night he was awakened by an angel of the Lord, who said: "You have found favor in the eyes of your Maker. He wants to do for you what he did for your ancestor Abraham. He wants to bless you. Therefore, make any three requests that you will of God, and he will be pleased to give them to you. There is only one condition: your neighbor will get a double portion of everything that is bequeathed to you."

The farmer was startled by this revelation and woke up his wife to tell her all about it. She suggested that they put the whole thing to a test. So they prayed. "Oh, blessed God, if we could just have a herd of a thousand cattle, that would enable us to break out of the poverty in which we have lived for generations. That would be wonderful." No sooner had they said these words than they heard the sound of animal noises outside. Lo and behold, all around the house were a thousand magnificent animals!

During the next two days, the farmer's feet hardly touched the ground. He divided his time between praising God for such great generosity and beginning to make practical provisions for his newly acquired affluence. On the third afternoon, he was up on a hill behind his house trying to decide where to build a new barn when he looked across at his neighbor's field, and there standing on the green hillside were two thousand magnificent cattle. For the first time since the angel of the Lord had appeared, the joy within him evaporated and a scowl of envy took its place. He went home that evening in a foul mood, refused to eat supper, and went to bed in an absolute rage. He could not fall asleep because every time he closed his eyes, all he could see were his neighbor's two thousand cattle.

Deep in the night, however, he remembered that the angel had said he could make three wishes. With that, he shifted his focus away from his neighbor and back to his own situation, and the old joy quickly returned. Digging deep into his own heart to find out what else he really wanted, he began to realize that in addition to some kind of material security, he always wanted descendants to carry his name into the future. So he prayed a second time: "Gracious God, if it please thee, give me a child that I may have descendants." With that, he and his wife made love, and because of his experience with the cattle, he was not too surprised shortly thereafter to learn that she was expecting.

The next months were passed in unbroken joy. The farmer was busy assimilating his newly acquired affluence and looking forward to the great grace of becoming a parent. On the night his first child was born, he was absolutely overjoyed. The next day was the Sabbath. He went to the synagogue, and at the time of the prayers of the people, he stood up and shared with the gathered community his great good fortune: now at last a child had been born into their home. He had hardly sat down, however, when his neighbor got up and said, "God has indeed been gracious to our little community. I had twin sons born last night. Thanks be to God." On hearing that, the farmer went home in an utterly different mood than the one in which he came. Instead of being joyful once again he was filled with the canker of jealousy.

This time, however, his envy did not abate. Late that evening, he made his third request of God: "Please, gouge out my right eye."

No sooner had he said these words than the angel who had initiated the whole process appeared again and asked, "Why, son of Abraham, have you turned to such vengeful desirings?" With pent-up rage, the farmer replied, "I cannot stand to see my neighbor prosper. I'll gladly sacrifice half of my vision for the satisfaction of knowing that he will never be able to look on what he has."

Those words were followed by a long silence, and as the farmer looked, he saw tears forming in the eyes of the angel. "Why, O son of Abraham, have you turned an occasion for blessing into a time of hurting? Your third request will not be granted, not because the Lord lacks integrity, but because God is full of mercy. However, know this, O foolish one, you have brought sadness not only to yourself, but to the very heart of God."

46. One Degree Off Target

Illustration

Michael P. Green

The seriousness of errant doctrine can be compared to a missile aimed a mere one degree off target. The difference seems slight and negligible at first, yet the results of the error increase dramatically throughout the flight of the missile, until it totally misses its intended target.

So it is with false doctrine. At first it may seem to be a tolerable mistake, a little error—but not that serious. But, as with all errors, the effects compound over time until they become so serious that they may not be correctable.

47. Is There No Balm in Gilead? - Sermon Opener

Illustration

Staff

Let me say right off the bat that the two men I am about to discuss with you, are, in my opinion, good Christian men who do a lot of valuable work for the Church and God's kingdom in this world. It just so happens they are both in the middle of a controversy because of a position they took with regard to our nation's tragedy. I am talking about Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. On Thursday the 13th, two days after the attack, Pat Robertson said that because of America's pursuit of financial gain, health, wealth, material pleasures, sexuality, rampant pornography on the Internet, secularism and the occult, 35-40 million abortions, and a few other things, God Almighty is lifting His protection from us. Once that protection is gone, he said, we are vulnerable.

A little later in his broadcast he recognized that there are evil people in this world who do evil things but went on to say, and I quote, "It happened because God is lifting His protection from this nation and we must pray and ask Him for revival so that once again we will be His people, the planting of His righteousness, so that He will come to our defense and protect us as a nation." That's what Pat Robertson said. Jerry Falwell, that same night, jumped in a little deeper blaming the devastation on pagans, abortionists, feminists, homosexuals, the American Civil Liberties Union and the People for the American Way.

Now, let me give you a little piece of advice. If you think this, don't announce it on national TV for all to hear two days after a national tragedy. You won't like the response. The next morning a White House representative called Falwell as he was driving to the National Cathedral memorial service in Washington, and told him the President disapproved. I never want to say something so egregious that I get a call from the office of the president. Falwell has since apologized. He even posted his apology on his Liberty University web site, "In the midst of the shock and mourning of a dark week for America, I made," he confessed, "a statement that I should not have made and which I sincerely regret. I want to apologize to every American, including those I named."

I think Falwell did the right thing in apologizing and I accept it as sincere. But, he and Robertson raise an important question. It is a question all of us have struggled with from time-to-time at the death of a loved one or during a particular life crises. We second guess ourselves and wonder if our sins have brought upon us God's judgment and life's misfortunes.

I suppose it is only natural then for us to pose the question at this critical time. So, let's go ahead and ask the question. Is this God's judgment? To answer that question let's first look at Jeremiah.

1. God's relationship to Israel (Jeremiah text).

2. The Church's (and God's changed) relationship to the State--Jesus the new Balm.

3. The Church's responsibility to pray for leadership (cf. 1 Tim 2:1-7).

48. Jerry's Faith

Illustration

John E. Sumwalt

In the Lutheran parochial school I attended as a child I was taught to fear God, and that I risked punishment for sin. When I was 17 years old, my younger sister died of a brain tumor, and I began to question everything that I had been taught. I could not understand how God could allow this. Her death left me confused and angry. I became more of a doubter than a believer. I came to the conclusion that I could only believe in myself. I pushed myself, I worked hard; I became an over-achiever and eventually a workaholic. This program propelled me to financial success, but it was accompanied by personal failure. I learned that the love of money can bring financial gains that are accompanied by personal loss.

I became an empty person. I couldn't stand success and began to self-destruct. I lost everything, my friends, those who had pretended to be my friends and my family. It was all like an unbelievable soap opera -- and before it was over I learned quite a bit about the judicial system, the Mafia, extortion and revenge. There were times when I feared for my life and for the lives of the members of my family. It was the kind of situation that causes one to think about taking his own life.

But I wasn't ready for that option. The love I had for my children gave me courage and made me determined to try again. I wanted to be a believer in something bigger than myself, but it was difficult. It would take a miracle. I carefully planned a comeback. I wanted to be successful again and not make some of the same mistakes. The task seemed monumental.

In the process I met an independent preacher named Andy. He worked for me on a part-time basis and we soon became friends. He wasn't pushy with his religion, so I decided to go to one of his church services on a Wednesday night. It was quite unusual to say the least. Wednesday night was testimony night. The opening song service was quite an experience. The songs had beautiful melodies and were easy to sing. When they sang songs like "He Touched Me" and "O, How I Love Jesus," I noticed that many had tears in their eyes as they sang with great feeling. I felt touched by this, and quite uncomfortable. The testimonies that followed were as impressive to me as the song service. People spoke about what God had done for them, how God answered prayer and healed them. Was this real? Do they know a different God than I do, I wondered? It was all so confusing.

I didn't know if I could believe it, but I went back to observe more. I knew these people had something I didn't have. I guess it was a simple faith in God. It seemed like a good way to live, but I still wondered if it was real. If there was no God, I think we would have to invent one to keep our sanity. I tried to keep an open mind on the subject. I found myself reading the Bible because I was hungry for truth.

One Saturday night my mother called to tell me that my grandmother was gravely ill. I needed strength to face this so I went to church the next morning before going to the hospital to see her. That morning Andy spoke of the healing power of Jesus. I cornered him after church and said, "Andy, are you sure he heals today?" He was sure. I marked several of the healing promises in my Bible and then I went to the hospital. As I entered the waiting room, I saw that many of my relatives were there to pay their last visit to Grandma. The pastor of her church was about to get on the elevator after praying with her. I stopped him for a brief talk. I said, "Don't you believe God has the ability to heal people?" He assured me he believed that God does have the power to heal, but he added that we all have a time to die. I knew he was right, but a voice in the back of my mind said, "Prove me and know that I am God."

I followed my cousin and his wife into Grandma's room in the intensive care unit. When I spoke to Grandma she regained consciousness, and her smile told me that she was pleased to see her oldest grandson. I got right to the point. "Grandma, do you want me to pray that God will heal you?" She agreed. The four of us held hands and I prayed for her healing. It was a special moment. The nurses and other members of the hospital staff who were present stood with tears in their eyes. When I finished I had a feeling that Grandma was healed. My cousin's wife knew it, also. Grandma fell into a deep sleep. When we went out to the waiting room, my relatives were talking about Grandma being ready to pass away. The doctor had told them that she would not live through the day. I said, "Grandma is not going to die today. She is healed." I went home and then back to the church for the Sunday evening service.

On Monday morning my mother called to tell me that Grandma had made a complete recovery. I said, "What did the doctor have to say about this recovery?" She answered, "He said it was a miracle." I believe God knew just what I needed. I had the audacity to take God at his word, and God cared enough not to let me make a fool of myself.

Author's Note: Gerald Wagner shared this story of his grandmother's healing with a new member class in our church in the Spring of 1990. It is printed here in his own words. Mr. Wagner, an independent semi-truck driver, lives in Kenissha, Wisconsin.

49. False Doctorin'

Illustration

Michael P. Green

In an examination at a Christian school, the teacher asked the following question: “What is false doctrine?” Up went a little boy’s hand, and there came this answer: “It’s when the doctor gives the wrong stuff to people who are sick.”

Although the little boy had obviously confused doctrine with doctorin’, he arrived at the correct definition.

50. Tainted Treasure

Illustration

Michael P. Green

Fire ants have virtually taken over the southern United States since they were accidentally transported here a few decades ago. They are amazingly adaptable, fiercely aggressive, and multiply seemingly overnight. Worst of all, insecticide sprays generally can’t destroy the mound’s inhabitants. Like a mighty army they have marched in, impervious to brute force.

Scientists have now found a rather crafty way to wipe out whole colonies. Pellets of the ants’ favorite food are tainted with a special tasteless, odorless poison and sprinkled around the mound. The worker ants immediately begin gathering up the tainted treasure and take it down into the heart of the colony. Then they unwittingly feed the poisoned pellets to their queen, slowly killing her! When the queen dies, no more workers are produced, and so in a couple of weeks the entire colony starves to death. How ironic! Food that looked so good caused their starvation.

That is how it is with false doctrine. Those who lack discernment import it into the heart of the church, thinking it is harmless and in fact quite good. If any wise “ant” smells the poison and protests, he is ridiculed! And in the end the next generation starves to death spiritually.

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