“He that withholdeth corn, the people shall curse him: but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it” (Proverbs 11:26).
Compassion is a godly characteristic believers should exemplify. In the Gospels, Jesus is frequently said to have been “moved by compassion.” He saw the needs of others and desired to help them. Are we moved by similar compassion, or do we turn a blind eye to the disadvantaged around us? Have we grown so accustomed to the homeless, panhandlers and addicts that we no longer see them as individuals infinitely loved by God, but as menaces to society? Where is our heart of compassion? How have we become so cold? God said we should have “compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous” (I Peter 3:8). Unfortunately, compassion is also lacking in the Church. Our brothers and sisters in Christ should never have to do without the basic necessities. The essential needs of individual believers should be provided by the corporate body of Christ. “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” (I John 3:17). When God has blessed us abundantly, we have a responsibility to share what he has given us with those less fortunate. When the blessed horde their blessings, their selfishness and lack of compassion becomes a stumbling block. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Doing Right When No One Is Looking
“He that speaketh truth showeth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit” (Proverbs 12:17).
Have you ever noticed that you are never tempted to lie if there are no consequences to face? We lie for selfish reasons – to get out of trouble, to save face, to sugar coat the truth, to make ourselves look better, seem smarter, sound funnier, etc. The plain truth is often deemed boring and so we spice it up with embellishments. As a result, we compromise our character and integrity to tell a funny story or magnify our accomplishments. When George O’Leary was fired as Georgia Tech’s football coach for falsifying his resume, many other coaches quietly altered their own resumes: they feared they would receive a similar fate if their own fabrications were discovered. Shortly thereafter, several Division I football coaches made smaller headlines when they proofread their resumes and biographies published in school programs and “discovered that inaccurate statements had somehow made its way into information compiled by assistants.” The Holy Spirit within each believer is the Spirit of Truth (I John 5:6). “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). Christian men must be beacons of truth, willing to speak the truth even when it is not “convenient” to do so. Part of becoming a man transpires when we do the right thing when no one is looking; this is true evidence of character.
Have you ever noticed that you are never tempted to lie if there are no consequences to face? We lie for selfish reasons – to get out of trouble, to save face, to sugar coat the truth, to make ourselves look better, seem smarter, sound funnier, etc. The plain truth is often deemed boring and so we spice it up with embellishments. As a result, we compromise our character and integrity to tell a funny story or magnify our accomplishments. When George O’Leary was fired as Georgia Tech’s football coach for falsifying his resume, many other coaches quietly altered their own resumes: they feared they would receive a similar fate if their own fabrications were discovered. Shortly thereafter, several Division I football coaches made smaller headlines when they proofread their resumes and biographies published in school programs and “discovered that inaccurate statements had somehow made its way into information compiled by assistants.” The Holy Spirit within each believer is the Spirit of Truth (I John 5:6). “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). Christian men must be beacons of truth, willing to speak the truth even when it is not “convenient” to do so. Part of becoming a man transpires when we do the right thing when no one is looking; this is true evidence of character.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Nobody Likes A Whipping
“In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding” (Proverbs 10:13).
If I misbehaved when I was a boy, I knew the consequences for my actions: a whipping. The same principle occurs with the discipline of God. We know that our sin will find us out, that we cannot hide our transgressions from God and that because of His holiness, He must deal with our rebellion. Like any good father, He cannot look the other way while we bring harm to ourselves. He disciplines us for our own good, and although it hurts Him, He does it because He loves us. While it is true that the rod is for the back of the foolish man, we must be careful not to attribute everything that happens in our lives to the correction of God. Some trials in our lives are attacks from Satan sent for the purpose of stealing, killing, and destroying (his specialties). (Luke 22: 31; John 10:10). Satan desires to tear us down, discourage and condemn. Tribulations that come from God are for the purpose of conforming us to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:28, 29). God tells us to rejoice in temptation, because “the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:7). When we go through a difficult time in our lives, we should seek the face of God to see if what we are experiencing is a test from Him, an attack from Satan or chastisement because of disobedience. Our response will depend on what we are facing: joy for the test, warfare against Satan or repentance for chastisement.
If I misbehaved when I was a boy, I knew the consequences for my actions: a whipping. The same principle occurs with the discipline of God. We know that our sin will find us out, that we cannot hide our transgressions from God and that because of His holiness, He must deal with our rebellion. Like any good father, He cannot look the other way while we bring harm to ourselves. He disciplines us for our own good, and although it hurts Him, He does it because He loves us. While it is true that the rod is for the back of the foolish man, we must be careful not to attribute everything that happens in our lives to the correction of God. Some trials in our lives are attacks from Satan sent for the purpose of stealing, killing, and destroying (his specialties). (Luke 22: 31; John 10:10). Satan desires to tear us down, discourage and condemn. Tribulations that come from God are for the purpose of conforming us to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:28, 29). God tells us to rejoice in temptation, because “the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (I Peter 1:7). When we go through a difficult time in our lives, we should seek the face of God to see if what we are experiencing is a test from Him, an attack from Satan or chastisement because of disobedience. Our response will depend on what we are facing: joy for the test, warfare against Satan or repentance for chastisement.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Doing for the "Least of These"
“He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor” (Proverbs14:31).
I wonder how the innkeeper would have felt had he known that the poor couple he turned away from his inn was Mary and Joseph. Would he have responded differently had he known that Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, was due to be born that very night in Bethlehem? Surely, he would have found room in the inn, even if it meant giving up his own bed. A pastor friend told me about a house blessing ceremony he attended for an affluent, older parishioner. When he prayed, he felt led to say, “Lord, I don’t know why you have blessed this family in such a large home in their latter years. Surely, it must be so that they can provide help to people in need and assist those going through hard times. May this couple use this home to bring the love of Jesus to others.” Two weeks later, the pastor received a call from a seventy-year-old traveling missionary, who was stranded at the bus station and needed a place to spend the night. Immediately, the parishioner with the large home came to the pastor’s mind, so he called the brother to ask if he could shelter the elderly missionary for the night. The man paused for a long time and said, “How do we get ourselves in these situations?” The pastor told the man not to worry about it, then went and picked up the missionary, took him to his small parsonage, changed the linens on his own bed and slept on the couch along with his wife. I wonder … would the brother with the big house have hesitated if Jesus had needed a place to stay for the night? What about Billy Graham, or a famous politician? I would venture to say that he would have rolled out the red carpet for these dignitaries. The elderly missionary – who could have been an angel in disguise – was turned away, even though he had plenty of room. Godly men, remember that what we do unto the least of these, we have done to Jesus.
I wonder how the innkeeper would have felt had he known that the poor couple he turned away from his inn was Mary and Joseph. Would he have responded differently had he known that Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, was due to be born that very night in Bethlehem? Surely, he would have found room in the inn, even if it meant giving up his own bed. A pastor friend told me about a house blessing ceremony he attended for an affluent, older parishioner. When he prayed, he felt led to say, “Lord, I don’t know why you have blessed this family in such a large home in their latter years. Surely, it must be so that they can provide help to people in need and assist those going through hard times. May this couple use this home to bring the love of Jesus to others.” Two weeks later, the pastor received a call from a seventy-year-old traveling missionary, who was stranded at the bus station and needed a place to spend the night. Immediately, the parishioner with the large home came to the pastor’s mind, so he called the brother to ask if he could shelter the elderly missionary for the night. The man paused for a long time and said, “How do we get ourselves in these situations?” The pastor told the man not to worry about it, then went and picked up the missionary, took him to his small parsonage, changed the linens on his own bed and slept on the couch along with his wife. I wonder … would the brother with the big house have hesitated if Jesus had needed a place to stay for the night? What about Billy Graham, or a famous politician? I would venture to say that he would have rolled out the red carpet for these dignitaries. The elderly missionary – who could have been an angel in disguise – was turned away, even though he had plenty of room. Godly men, remember that what we do unto the least of these, we have done to Jesus.
Monday, February 7, 2011
A Church Where Even Hyprocrites Are Welcome
“An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.” (Proverbs 11:9).
No one wants to be a hypocrite, yet if we are honest, we have all been a hypocrite at one time or another. The word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek word hupokrites, which means “an actor under an assumed character; stage player.” (Strong’s). In Greek plays, men portrayed all of the characters, both male and female. They wore masks for each character since one man might act out several different parts in the play. Unfortunately, church life can also be a full-scale production with Christians wearing various masks as they play out their different roles. Believers are often afraid to expose their hurts, struggles and temptations for fear of being judged or condemned as somehow “less than Christian.” We have a tendency in the church to kill off our wounded, instead of nursing them back to spiritual health. When a brother struggles, do we come to his aid, or do we gossip, back-bite, and kick him while he is down? Hypocrites! How can we condemn a man when we are guilty of sin ourselves? Are any of us without sin, that we may cast the first stone? Men of God, our churches are full of the walking wounded, who need the healing touch of the Great Physician and nurturing care from the body of Christ in order to fully recover. If we really want to do the Lord’s work, we will make our churches accessible to the wounded and hurting. We must either provide a safe haven for believers to be genuine and to confront unresolved issues that hinder their walk with the Lord, or we can continue to be hypocrites, wear our happy Christian masks and allow the show to go on.
No one wants to be a hypocrite, yet if we are honest, we have all been a hypocrite at one time or another. The word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek word hupokrites, which means “an actor under an assumed character; stage player.” (Strong’s). In Greek plays, men portrayed all of the characters, both male and female. They wore masks for each character since one man might act out several different parts in the play. Unfortunately, church life can also be a full-scale production with Christians wearing various masks as they play out their different roles. Believers are often afraid to expose their hurts, struggles and temptations for fear of being judged or condemned as somehow “less than Christian.” We have a tendency in the church to kill off our wounded, instead of nursing them back to spiritual health. When a brother struggles, do we come to his aid, or do we gossip, back-bite, and kick him while he is down? Hypocrites! How can we condemn a man when we are guilty of sin ourselves? Are any of us without sin, that we may cast the first stone? Men of God, our churches are full of the walking wounded, who need the healing touch of the Great Physician and nurturing care from the body of Christ in order to fully recover. If we really want to do the Lord’s work, we will make our churches accessible to the wounded and hurting. We must either provide a safe haven for believers to be genuine and to confront unresolved issues that hinder their walk with the Lord, or we can continue to be hypocrites, wear our happy Christian masks and allow the show to go on.
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