this passage is about watching out for people who lead others astray spiritually and morally. the biggest lesson i take from this is to be one who's not a sucker. i hate being had. so i guess the burden that this passage places on me is one of dedication to knowing christ and his character. i should read the bible more and be engaged in more discussions to find out what christ is truly like. that way i will have a less difficult time discerning what things are not proper or righteous from a christ-like perspective. man, all the conviction i'm getting from reading the bible is really becoming overbearing! a couple of weeks ago it was giving more generously, last week it's thinking of/caring for people, this week it's more bible reading . . . what am i gonna do with all this responsibility?? i guess i just have to weigh these items to find out what i dislike more: 1. being taken for a sucker, or 2. spending more time in the bible. i guess it perturbs me more when i've been taken. the verdict? i definitely need to be more involved in figuring out the character of christ.
abuch out.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
James 5: God vs. Adam Smith -- An Economic Cagematch
there are a few cool/traditional portions brought up in this chapter. Briefly, there is v. 15-16, "the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the lord will raise him up. if he has sinned, he will be forgiven. therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. THE PRAYER OF A RIGHTEOUS MAN IS POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE. i think this is a good bit of advice to heed. i've been trying to be less timid of seeking out righteous people and have them pray for me. i think it's a good idea.
alright, on to the socialist challenge for the day: v. 1-6. i'm not sure how i interpret these verses. i'm slightly afraid that these verses mildly implicate me in a case of conspicuous consumerism. these are tricky verses because my first impulse is to think about what purchases i make and what specific firms are rumored to oppress people in developing countries. i believe that is an incorrect way of looking at things because i then begin to miss the forest for the trees. instead of thinking about my purchasing power and political agendas and economic policies, i should really be focusing my energy and thought processes on exploited people and ways that i can help them. sort of like how fasting doesn't make someone more spiritual and pious in and of itself, but in the grander scheme it is intended to focus one's attention on god and therefore the biproduct of not eating often (and should) become the main purpose. fasting without remembering god defeats the purpose and making prudent consumer decisions without remembering that people just like me are suffering for my cup of coffee or my bananas and not doing anything to help them likewise defeats the purpose. perhaps i can tie this into my faith/tithing rant from last week and research some good charities that will help to neutralize the devastating effects of worker exploitation. in conclusion, all this makes me fantasize about a discussion between james, marx, and adam smith.
abuch out.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Hebrews 11
This is a famous passage in the bible. it talks about all the faith of the old testament heroes. a lot of times people like to reference the verse about faith being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. i like those words and i think it is a great definition of faith. i like it. my favorite verse in this portion of scripture is verse 13, "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance." what a depressing, but extremely encouraging comment. any time i'm worried about things working out, i have these people to look back on and glean some perspective from. recently i was involved in a conversation about tithing. i would have to say that i'm not faced with faith-breaking decisions like a 90-year old barren wife or the sacrifice of my son or walking on water or anything like that. i'm not even that worried about things like finding a job or paying bills or staying safe or trusting that it will be beautiful weather for my outdoor wedding or things like that. (i'm not getting married outdoors, by the way [maybe for that reason?!]). maybe i should be, but i'm not. anyway, i was in this conversation about tithing yesterday and it came to me that perhaps tithing is the most tangible way i can practice faith. i really think it is. real faith would be giving money when i can't afford it. real faith would be giving my money before i budget everything else, not afterward. real faith would be accepting of the possibility that i might have to sacrifice something dear to me like a regular meal or filling up my car with gas one time in order to make giving a priority. god promises he will take care of me. those people in the old testament died before the things promised them even came to fruition. i'm no abraham, but i reckon i can have more faith in the area of giving. having faith means that i make decisions on a daily basis confident that god will still take care of me -- that i don't have to worry about myself. i think i can do that and i can start by being more ready to give.
Hebrews 5:13-6:3 (3.4.07)
today i read about taking steps to becoming a mature christian. the author of hebrews uses the analogies of milk vs. solid food to illustrate a scale of maturity. there were a couple of things i found interesting about this brief passage:
1. the author says that immature believers are characterized by their inability to distinguish good from evil, while mature believers have trained themselves to have quite an eye for the two. i think that's interesting . . . mature believers are quite discerning. i agree with that, but it does raise some questions. how discerning am i? how discerning could i be? can i somehow come up with a "discernment goal"? i hate never knowing where i am along the paradigm about anything. i guess i could quantify all this by saying I don't think mature christians can really afford to be lax at all. mature christians are wise and they are also confident in their decisions about right or wrong actions. maybe a mature christians doesn't really say things like, "i guess it's okay" or "i can't see why not" or "why shouldn't i choose this action?" and stuff like that.
2. the second thing that the bible instructs about the transition from immaturity to maturity starts in chapter 6. the author suggests that we should move on from the issues of sin and repentance, faith in god, laying on of hands, baptism, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. i don't know very much about very many of those issues. hebrews calls mature believers to move on from those topics. is the author saying this because we should have those objectives met, like a basic standards test, or is it because those debates and conversations permeate the thoughts of immature believers? are we expected to have those items covered? i reckon that is not the case because the chapter doesn't really go on to say what we should be thinking about after having accomplished those initial tasks. i think that maybe many of the conversations that come up surrounding those talking points generally just end up being pointless, redundant, and unproductive. on the other hand, mature believers are good at discerning right from wrong. maybe mature believers get together at the coffee shop and when these items come up they all just know where in the bible their answer comes from and they all agree with each other or agree to disagree with each other in a matter of minutes before moving on to figuring out the road to peace in the middle east and an end to global warming (which they can also do very succinctly). anyway, i need to be smarter and maybe a good first step for me would be to read up on those biblical issues and then be able to justify my answers with quick references to scripture. and then never talk with anyone about it again, but if i do, i should begin and end the conversation inside of 5 minutes.
1. the author says that immature believers are characterized by their inability to distinguish good from evil, while mature believers have trained themselves to have quite an eye for the two. i think that's interesting . . . mature believers are quite discerning. i agree with that, but it does raise some questions. how discerning am i? how discerning could i be? can i somehow come up with a "discernment goal"? i hate never knowing where i am along the paradigm about anything. i guess i could quantify all this by saying I don't think mature christians can really afford to be lax at all. mature christians are wise and they are also confident in their decisions about right or wrong actions. maybe a mature christians doesn't really say things like, "i guess it's okay" or "i can't see why not" or "why shouldn't i choose this action?" and stuff like that.
2. the second thing that the bible instructs about the transition from immaturity to maturity starts in chapter 6. the author suggests that we should move on from the issues of sin and repentance, faith in god, laying on of hands, baptism, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. i don't know very much about very many of those issues. hebrews calls mature believers to move on from those topics. is the author saying this because we should have those objectives met, like a basic standards test, or is it because those debates and conversations permeate the thoughts of immature believers? are we expected to have those items covered? i reckon that is not the case because the chapter doesn't really go on to say what we should be thinking about after having accomplished those initial tasks. i think that maybe many of the conversations that come up surrounding those talking points generally just end up being pointless, redundant, and unproductive. on the other hand, mature believers are good at discerning right from wrong. maybe mature believers get together at the coffee shop and when these items come up they all just know where in the bible their answer comes from and they all agree with each other or agree to disagree with each other in a matter of minutes before moving on to figuring out the road to peace in the middle east and an end to global warming (which they can also do very succinctly). anyway, i need to be smarter and maybe a good first step for me would be to read up on those biblical issues and then be able to justify my answers with quick references to scripture. and then never talk with anyone about it again, but if i do, i should begin and end the conversation inside of 5 minutes.
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