Love vs Unselfishness

John Piper says that this is "One of the most important paragraphs I ever read: First paragraph of C.S. Lewis' 'The Weight of Glory" [link]

"If you asked twenty good men to-day what they thought the highest of the virtues, nineteen of them would reply, Unselfishness. But if you asked almost any of the great Christians of old he would have replied, Love. You see what has happened? A negative term has been substituted for a positive, and this is of more than philological importance. The negative ideal of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point. I do not think this is the Christian virtue of Love. The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Jackson

I'll admit that I was a bit sheltered from the success of Michael Jackson. As a kid, I recall a babysitter who would sometimes bring over her cassette tape and watch us dance like maniacs to "Beat It!" I have never been to a concert of his, have never purchased an album, but I must say that I have always enjoyed the Thriller video and especially the Moon Walk.

Over the years, the only news it seemed that we heard about Michael Jackson was his sporadic streams of unusual behavior. I tried not to pay much attention, but the paparazzi and media continually looked to him for a shameful story.

There has been much said over the past 24 hours about Michael Jackson. Praying for him now is pointless, his time on earth is passed. Who we should be praying for are his family members, his friends and his fans, who are pausing to consider the day when they too shall meet the Creator.

Time lost cannot be gained back, more of it cannot be purchased. Yes, Michael Jackson at one point was a very wealthy man. Yes, he died very much in debt. Regardless of his wealth, or lack thereof, the clock was continually working against him. His clock has now stopped. None of us knows when our clock will stop either.

Be sure you get to know the Creator during your time "on the clock". It is the difference between an eternity of pain or an eternity of paradise.

All One Race

"Sin and salvation tend to make us realize we're all one race, saved by the same Savior. No black, white, Jew, Greek, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, male or female. Just sinners and Jesus." - quote from Rafael, a church planter associated with J.D. Greear

Pseudo

Ray Ortlund posts another good quote today on his blog:

"Pseudo faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it. Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse. And not since Adam first stood up on the earth has God failed a single man or woman who trusted him."

A. W. Tozer, "True Faith Brings Committal," In The Root of the Righteous, pages 49-50.

Poured Into

As I was re-reading my Community Group study this morning, I decided to write out some of the Scripture references. The Romans 5:5 (ESV) reference really impacted me:

"... God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

I was so humbled to remember yet again that God's grace and mercy are SO under-appreciated in my life. I continually fight for control of my life, when I need to continually surrender it to Him. I am realizing more and more that feeling helpless is actually a good thing, because I have the Helper living in me.

Mediocre

Ray Ortlund had this posted on his blog this morning, and I felt it was worthy to re-post here:

"Your danger and mine is not that we become criminals, but rather that we become respectable, decent, commonplace, mediocre Christians. The twentieth-century temptations that really sap our spiritual power are the television, banana cream pie, the easy chair and the credit card. The Christian wins or loses in those seemingly innocent little moments of decision.

Lord, make my life a miracle!"

Raymond C. Ortlund, Lord, Make My Life A Miracle, page 151.

Cause and Effect

Living in a large metropolitan area has its perks... and drawbacks, specifically traffic. The following short video clip shows the shockwave effect of human behavior even on a little test track:



Makes me think about my sin, and the repercussions that it can have on my family, on body of Christ, and on society as a whole. I need to evaluate my decisions and attitudes, considering the ripple effect of wrong thinking.

Repentance

Pastor Luke spoke from Jonah 3 today. I was crushed by the reminder of how weak my attempts at repentance are. I say attempts, because true repentance is a turn in the opposite direction, not just a slight detour in the flight plan.

If a pilot were flying from New York to San Francisco, a repentance would be to turn back to New York, not a flight to San Jose. I should not look at repentance as an opportunity to engage in "slightly-less-socially-repulsive" behavior. If I need to turn, I need to turn fully and immediately. We all need repentance and renewal. Romans 12:2 has been a focus for me lately: "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."

Luke also noted that the Ninevites (in Jonah 3) were repentant of heart - "they turned from their evil way". God wasn't looking for sackcloth clothing or their fasting... He wanted a change of heart.

We were presented with three points of application:

1. Acknowledge the present evil in my life - both the obvious and the hidden. Idolatry, in many forms, is present in my heart. How I deal with stressful circumstances (for example) is a reflection of my idolatry. Instead of turning to idols (like television, food, sleep), why do I not turn to God with my circumstances?
   
2. Repent - "turn around" - seeling the evil actions/thoughts in yourself, go the other way. Cast aside those things/thoughts and walk the other direction. Martin Luther's first of the 95 Thesis stated that "When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said 'Repent', He called for the entire life of believers to be one of repentance". Repentance is not just feeling guilty - that does not constitute change. The change is not a partial change either. It is 180 degrees of change towards Christ. In 2 Corinthians 7:9-10, Paul wrote: "I rejoice, not because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death." Worldly grief looks only at consequences, not at the heart of man in doing the thing that requires the repentance.
3. Embrace grace - Jesus came to proclaim forgiveness, to give us a chance to repent from our wickedness.
   

Spent: the American consumer

Here is an excerpt of a pretty decent secular article on American consumerism. I don't adhere to all of his views, but many are interesting and give us good food for thought (emphases throughout are mine):

"A culture in which the urge to consume dominates the psychology of citizens is a culture in which people will do most anything to acquire the means to consume--working slavish hours, behaving rapaciously in their business pursuits, and even bending the rules in order to maximize their earnings. They will also buy homes beyond their means and think nothing of running up credit-card debt. It therefore seems safe to say that consumerism is, as much as anything else, responsible for the current economic mess. But it is not enough to establish that which people ought not to do, to end the obsession with making and consuming evermore than the next person. Consumerism will not just magically disappear from its central place in our culture. It needs to be supplanted by something."

"A shift away from consumerism, and toward this something else, would obviously be a dramatic change for American society. But such grand cultural changes are far from unprecedented. Profound transformations in the definition of "the good life" have occurred throughout human history. Before the spirit of capitalism swept across much of the world, neither work nor commerce were highly valued pursuits--indeed, they were often delegated to scorned minorities such as Jews. For centuries in aristocratic Europe and Japan, making war was a highly admired profession. In China, philosophy, poetry, and brush painting were respected during the heyday of the literati. Religion was once the dominant source of normative culture; then, following the Enlightenment, secular humanism was viewed in some parts of the world as the foundation of society. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the influence of religious values in places like Russia and, of course, the Middle East. (Details can be found in John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge's new book, God is Back--although, for many, he never left.) It is true that not all these changes have elevated the human condition. The point is merely that such change, especially during times of crisis, is possible."

Another portion of the article:

{The answer is found when people} "derive their main source of contentment not from acquiring more goods and services, but from activities that are neither labor nor capital intensive and, hence, do not require great amounts of money. Communitarian activities require social skills and communication skills as well as time and personal energy--but, as a rule, minimal material or financial outlays. The same holds for transcendental activities such as prayer, meditation, music, art, sports, adult education, and so on. True, consumerism has turned many of these pursuits into expensive endeavors. But one can break out of this mentality and find that it is possible to engage in most transcendental activities quite profoundly using minimal goods and services. One does not need designer clothes to enjoy the sunset or shoes with fancy labels to benefit from a hike. Chess played with plastic pieces is the same game as the one played with carved mahogany or marble pieces. And I'm quite sure that the Lord does not listen better to prayers read from a leatherbound Bible than those read from a plain one, printed on recycled paper. (Among several books that depict how this kind of culture can flourish is Seven Pleasures by Willard Spiegelman.) In short, those who embrace this lifestyle will find that they can achieve a high level of contentment even if they give up a considerable segment of the surplus wealth they command."

The full article can be read here

Treasure

A great "SermonJam", which is a mix of preaching and music. This particular one is of significance to me, as the book "Don't Waste Your Life" has really made an impact on me this year.

Quotable

"At least forty percent of time in new church meetings should be spent in prayer... prayer connects cross and character, God's love for us, working in us a sacrificial love for others." - pg 84, "The Heart of a Servant Leader"

"Busyness is a hindrance to fellowship with the Lord. But what lies behind our need to fill up every last moment with activity? The answer is that we want to be in charge of our lives, and our constant activity gives us the feeling we are mastering our world." - pg. 90 of the same

Fire

Tim Challies had a link to this video on his blog



Tim's subtitle was "Here is an earnest plea for people who are convinced they are Christians to examine themselves to determine if they truly love the Lord."

A good reminder...

A few years ago, my home group read through a booklet by Dr. James Montgomery Boice entitled "Why and How to Study the Bible". As I was leaving the house this morning, that booklet popped into my mind and I opened it up once again as a refresher. I found a couple of loose sheets of paper on which I had jotted down many of the lessons that I found beneficial. Here are some of those quotes:

Page 11: "we err.. whenever we allow bible study to become academic and, as a result, do not allow ourselves to be drawn closer to God because of it"

Page 21: "in most forms of the modern debate the Scriptures... are handled as if they are man's word about God, rather than God's word about man."

Page 23: "if the parts of the book {the Bible} seem to be in opposition or in contradiction to each other, then our interpretation of one or both of these parts is in error."

Page 25: {regarding contradictions:} "the difficulties reveal the weakness of our own understanding rather than the flaws in God's revelation"

Page 31: "God hides the deep things of His Word from any who are unwilling to obey Him. We must not assume that we will be able to fully understand any passage of Scripture unless we are willing to be changed by it."

Page 34: "The Bible must be the treasure most valued and attended to in the church's life."

Page 42: {on guidance:} "it doesn't matter what we do as long as we are obeying what God teaches about living a Godly life"