No Honor

The notoriety that can often times come with success can have a strange effect on relationships. It can change the one who is blessed with success but it can also change the people who knew the person before they became successful. When someone gains success, notoriety, or are honored among many, they are often told “not to forget where they came from”. This saying is meant to keep them grounded. It is meant to help them remember their humble beginnings and to not forget those they knew before their life situation changed so drastically. But what about their family, friends and neighbors? They can change too. Is there a saying for them? I would argue that there is. In John, chapter 4, verse 44, it says:    

“(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country).”

Why would this be true? Why would someone, who is so honored by God, have no honor in his own country? I would argue that it is because when a person finds success, those who knew them before they became successful have a tendency to become jealous, indignant, or may have a hard time coming to terms with the idea of someone who used to be like them all of the sudden becoming a big shot. They may be struggling with the notion that someone they knew as “ordinary” is now being treated as someone “special”. Later, in John 6, verse 42 it says: “They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, who’s father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven?’” And it goes on to say in chapter 7, verse 5: “For even his own brothers did not believe him.” Jesus’ own brothers had a problem with who Jesus became. They had a difficult time accepting that the person they knew as a biological brother is now being heralded as a healer and a prophet; one who now claimed to be the Son of God. Why do I bring this up? Because if God blesses you through your ministry efforts with notoriety and success, don’t expect to find honor among those you’ve grown up with. I’m sure this isn’t always the case, but there is biblical evidence to support it.

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Imagine if your annoying little brother, or the bully down the street, or the underachieving kid at school would one day become a major figure in God’s plan for the world. How would that make you feel? How would you treat them? I would encourage you to treat them with the same honor as anyone you may consider a hero in the faith. I would encourage you to see them through God’s eyes, and to understand that God can, and often does, use those who we may not choose to do his work. King David dealt with these same kinds of reactions from his father, brothers and even Samuel initially. It is human nature to become indignant, jealous, or even bitter towards those whom God chooses to raise to a place of honor. If you struggle in this area, I encourage you to look beyond any selfishness or indignation that may well up within you and show honor for the one God chose for this task.

Drawn to Evil

I was listening to a podcast recently about the dark web. The “dark web” is place on the internet where anyone can operate with complete anonymity. It is almost as if those who surf the dark web are invisible because they can do anything without being identified. They can operate in the dark. What I learned from that show was more about the human condition than the dangers of the dark web. When we think there are no consequences to our actions; when we think no one can see what we are doing, our hearts often go to a dark and evil place. We may find ourselves doing things that, if we were operating in the light, we wouldn’t even think of doing. That is why believers need to continually be on guard. We need to continually pray that our hearts are not drawn to what is evil. Because if left to our own devices, I’m convinced that it is in our nature to desire it. Instead, we should pray Psalm 141, verse 4, which says:     

“Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.”

Sin can be enticing. We can often be tempted to do what we know is disobedience to God. That is why we need to be on guard. We all go through our highs and lows. There are times when we are close to God and there are times we are far from him. There are times when we are high in the clouds or in the promised land so to speak, and there are times when we find ourselves in the valley or in the desert. Anyone can fall to sin. And most of us have no idea how far we can fall. So I encourage you to pray this prayer from Psalm 141: “Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil, to take part in wicked deeds with men who are evildoers; let me not eat of their delicacies.” To think that any of us are mature and righteous enough that we can resist any temptation is arrogant and dangerous. David, a man after God’s heart, committed adultery. Moses, the chosen deliverer of the Israelites, murdered someone. Peter, upon whom Jesus said he’d build his church, denied Christ three times. And Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, turned to worshipping other gods. We can also fall. So I encourage you to pray that the Holy Spirit help you to stand firm.

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Denying our flesh is a daily battle. That is why Jesus tells us to take up our cross daily and follow him. We can’t succeed on our own. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. We need to continually guard our heart. In Ephesians, Paul talks about the “breastplate of righteousness”. The breastplate guards the heart if its wearer. How is your heart today? Are you allowing it to be drawn to what is evil? Are you taking part in wicked deeds? Are you indulging in the delicacies of sin? Any of us are subject to finding ourselves in that place. So I encourage you to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Forgive Like God

Have you ever paused to consider how forgiving our God is? We disobey him, ignore him, hide from him, take him for granted, receive gifts from him without thanking him, and sometimes we even curse him. All the while, he is waiting, ready to forgive us if we would just come back to him and repent. We may even sin multiple times in a day, yet he is still merciful. If we come to him in sincerity, he is ready to forgive us. So when he asks us to forgive those who have wronged us, he is not asking us to do something he hasn’t done himself. Jesus says in Luke, Chapter 17, verses 3 and 4: 

“So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

For some, this mandate is more difficult than for others. Some of you have been severely wronged. Some have been abused. Others have been cheated and lied to. And still others have been stolen from or taken advantage of. It never ceases to amaze me what one human being is capable of doing to another. But, if we want to reflect the character of God, we need to remember what Jesus says. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” So like God, we are told to forgive. But unlike God, we may not forget. When we repent, Psalms reminds us that “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” And in Hebrews the Lord declares, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” God has the ability to do that, but even though we aren’t built that way, we are still called to forgive. God will help us to deal with the remembering part.

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What does it look like to forgive? It doesn’t mean that we are to behave as if nothing ever happened. And it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be on our guard against another offense or to let someone walk all over us by inviting them to continually hurt us. The dictionary describes forgiveness this way: “to stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw, or mistake.” So, forgiveness is as much about our personal healing as it is for the healing of a relationship. It may not mean that we will embrace the person who has wronged us. But it does mean that we can stop feeling angry or resentful towards them. It means that we are allowing ourselves find peace and allowing God to heal our hearts. If their repentance is true, then with the help of the Holy Spirit, true healing can begin. That is why it is so important that when we sin, our repentance is true. Only then can we begin to heal and rebuild our relationship with God. So I challenge you to do what Jesus says. “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Required

I love Christian songs that incorporate biblical scripture within the lyrics. I’m sure you’ve seen this quite often in worship songs and hymns that you sing in church. But there are several contemporary artists who’ve done this as well. One of my favorite Steven Curtis Chapman songs is, “The Walk”. In it, he recites part of Micah chapter 6, verse 8 which says:

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

This comes after the Lord chastises his people through the prophet Micah for worshipping other gods. He lets the Israelites know what is required of them and he breaks it down into three seemingly simple things. As with so much of the Bible, I believe that these required mandates are for us as well. First he says that we are to act justly. Our God is a just God, and if we are to reflect his nature, we need to be just as well. We should want, and pray, for justice. As God hates to see the guilty go free and the innocent condemned, we should too. We also need to love mercy. If we don’t show mercy to others, mercy may not be shown to us. It is difficult to do, but God modeled this for us when he sent his son to die for our sins. Finally, we are to walk humbly with our God. God loves a broken and contrite heart. He loves a humble spirit. Not only does he love it, he notices it and rewards it. I encourage you to pursue these godly attributes. We should all aspire to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.

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Try to imagine what it must look like to live a life in line with the requirements God put upon the Israelites in Micah, chapter 6; to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. What would that actually look like? You may know someone who is walking these principles out in their life. You may even be that person. But if you aren’t, I encourage you to think on what it might look like in your life. Would you have to change anything in your life to act justly in all of your interactions and your philosophy concerning judgment? Do you love mercy? Do you love it even when you’ve been wronged and are the one called to be merciful? And do you walk humbly with God? Do you know your place in relation to him? These are certainly attributes that are good and holy. Every believer should pursue them. And in Micah, God requires this of his people. Let us make every effort to let them mold us more into the character of Jesus.

Glory Redirected

It is human nature to want to be praised, honored, liked, adored, and highly thought of. We love to be recognized for our achievements, seated among the elite, and glorified among the masses. But the Bible teaches us that believers need to suppress this desire. We need to remain humble in the sight of man, but more importantly, in the sight of God. True believers know that every good thing comes from God. It is to him, and for his name, that all glory should be placed, because in Psalm, chapter 115, verse 1, we find these words:

“Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

The author of this Psalm wisely, and humbly, redirected any glory back to where it belongs. Only God deserves the glory, and only God deserves our praise. The wisdom behind this Psalm, when applied, can remind us of our place in relation to the creator of the universe. For us, God is everything. All of our love, our adoration, and our heart, soul, mind and strength should be upon the glorification of God. It would do all of us well, to brand this verse upon our heart. When we reflect upon it, it should suppress our pride. “Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.”

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It goes against our nature to want to redirect any glory that we receive back to God. When someone exalts us, we want to bask in it. When someone congratulates us, we want to take credit for it. When someone honors us, we want to think we deserve it. And when we are glorified, we don’t want to share it. But in all cases, humility is the right path. True believers know this because the Bible teaches it. This Psalm is only one example of this principle, but it is evident throughout the scriptures. So I encourage you, with your mouth and with your heart, to redirect any glory that is poured upon you back to where it belongs. After all, every good thing comes from him, and the Bible attests that he will not share his glory with anyone.