The stupid overwhelming need to do it right
I was going to write an apologetic for the White Russian as a man drink (per Bob Hyatt‘s suggestion), but then this came up (sorry Bob; the White Russian defense will have to wait).
John H.(of Confessing Evangelical) at the Boars Head Tavern: Read more 
Metrics of Fidelity
My friend Thomas Ward started a discussion with me via twitter about how one can measure faithfulness in following Jesus. This is the sermon rant that resulted from his challenge of factoring Matthew 25 into understanding measuring fidelity without falling into judging everyone by some standard of works. This this is long. Kudos to anyone who can last the whole thing. I’ll buy you a cookie… mmm… cookies…
When we talk of faithfulness, we are trying to encapsulate a fervent desire to remain true to something we believe in, to our commitments and vows, to the one we love. Mostly, we use it in relationship talk. We speak of remaining faithful to our lover, not going astray or having an affair, of keeping them as our most important priority in life.
This idea bleeds over into our talk about Jesus. In this relationship we enter into with God, we want to remain faithful, we don’t want other things to take prominence and choke out our love for the God who has loved us in a way no one else can.
But how do we measure our faithfulness to Jesus? It’s not as if we can wake up every morning, pop the hood, and check our fidelity level. There is no power bar, no gauge, and it seems so intangible.
In my history, I was told in verbal and non-verbal ways that fidelity to Christ was seen by what I did and didn’t do. If I was a faithful Christian, I wouldn’t look like the world. If I was a faithful Christian, I would read my bible and pray for a half hour at least every day. If I was a faithful Christian, I would go to church, get involved in church ministries, evangelize, clean up my life more and more and help others do the same.
That’s if I was a faithful Christian.
Measuring my self against these kind of lists, I always find my self short. I mean, when is it enough? When have I proved that I am really, truly faithful? Will I stop waking up cranky, forgetting to pray? Will I take every and all small interactions and turn them into an evangelistic effort? At what point can I finely rest in my efforts, knowing that it is enough…
See, the metrics we want to use slide us inevitability into the realms of working my way to be good enough. It’s tricky and tangled because they start in a good place. We start by wanting to do things out of faithfulness. Then it becomes something to prove our faithfulness, becoming finally the ways we measure fidelity in others.
This is a problem. Because the desire to see proof of our faithfulness can so easily mutate into the lie that we can do enough someday, it seems impossible to even try and examine our own hearts and actions, keeping the good and cutting out the slack. But we need to be aware of our faithfulness to Christ. We need to check ourselves and make sure we are letting him be our first love. So what do we do? How do we live in this tension? How can we be honest about the good areas and the areas that need to change without becoming obsessed with our works, and inevitability the works of others?
Let’s take a step back from this quagmire and get some perspective.
What are we really asking when we try and measure our fidelity to Jesus? At it’s core, I think we are asking, “am I believing the Gospel?” Am I correctly understand and practicing this salvation message? Am I loving God with all my heart, mind, and body? We are asking, am I remaining right with God?
The whole of scripture points to one answer to this question: faith. This living, active trust the the promises of God, the work and person of Jesus… this orientation is the measure by which we are to gauge our fidelity to Jesus. Do I have faith? Do I believe? Or, to put it into my words, am I living in the hope of salvation?
This life orientation of fully trusting that Jesus accomplished God’s reconciliation to us, opening the invitation for all to came and be made right with God, each other, your self, and all of creation… this trust that he is going to come again, set all that is broken right, make all sadness and pain untrue, and thus show the salvation he has promised to the world… the presence of this true hope in our lives is to be the litmus by which we test fidelity in our lives.
But it isn’t some nebulous abstraction, and while I can’t offer you a cup of hope (unless you count coffee and/or beer), I can say this: this great hope we are offered, when you begin to believe it, and lean in to believe in more, it will change every aspect of your life to the point that the way in which you live will never be the same.
I want to walk through Matthew 23-25. I think it sheds some biblical light on the difference between a spiritualism morality that is trying to prove it is faithful enough, and a life that lives in and out the hope of salvation.
Matthew 24 is addressed to the disciples, the people committed to following and learning to be like Jesus. The conversation starts of with their comments about the beauty and greatness of the temple. Jesus tells them that this temple is not going to last, it’s going to fall so badly that not one store is going to be left on to of another. It is destined for utter ruination.
The disciples seem concerned at Jesus’ words. Isn’t the temple the dwelling place of God, where his throne on earth is? Isn’t it the center of worship, glory, power, and faithfulness for the nation of Israel, for God’s chosen nation?If the temple falls, what is going to happen to them and the promise of God establishing his eternal reign and crushing the enemies of Israel under his feet? Their question of, “When is the kingdom to come?” is a plea for understanding, a request for comfort, a question filled with the longing to know that their faith is not miss-placed.
In the story of Gospel as told by Matthew, this question and the teaching that follows falls directly after Jesus’ proclamation of woe to the scribes and Pharisees. Matthew 23 ends with seven statements of Jesus that are a denouncing, a rejection, and a warning that with out repentance, these scribes and pharisees, these teachers, governors, and so called protectors of the word of god and the correct ways to obey it… without repentance, they will be ruined because they have multiplied the work and burden of the weary people of God. In stead of giving hope, love, rest, and comfort to the oppressed, the very things that the law of Moses that they were suppose to be faithful to called for, these religious leaders took advantage of the widow, the orphan, and the down trodden. They heaped rules and demands on everyone, drawing people further and further into moral and economic debt while securing their own gain and retention of power. What they called fidelity to the word and ways of God was nothing more than an abuse of position, trust, and people. Jesus calls them out for it in no uncertain terms.
The disciples hear this authoritative reprimand followed by Jesus words about the destruction of the temple, the seat of political and religious power of the scribes and pharisees So they ask, So, when will be your time to come into power, to establish the kingdom of God and the blessing of his people, to be Messiah. Implied in their question is the zealous request: “is it now? Can we begin the fight? Will we finally win against Rome, against the gentiles who trample our inheritance? Is now the time for revolution?”
Jesus goes ahead and lays out what must happen before the kingdom is established in a ultimate, physical, eternal way. Before you see the Messiah come in power and wielding all his authority, these other things must happen. Yes, it will happen… but not yet.
“Therefore”, he says, “you must be watchful.”
Jesus speaks three parables, telling us how to be watchful, to remain faithful as we wait.
- Diligently and wisely
- Wisely tending our lamps
- Wisely investing and using what has been entrusted to us.
All three of these stories ring with an unspoken, “do this so as to be not like the pharisees”. Jesus continues to proclaim that the way of the religious leaders, the abusers of power and the oppresses of the tired, will be called out, judged, and destroyed by God. There is no room for that in His kingdom.
At this point, Jesus begins to paint a picture for those who would follow him. The hope of Israel was wrapped up in the coming judgment of Yahweh, the Day of the Lord. On this day, the Lord him self would sit on his throne, visible to all. He would call the nations to account, and finally after a history of oppression and powerlessness, his people would be vindicated and glorified before all the gentiles.
Only, the picture Jesus paints is not one of national vindication. He instead portents the lord sitting in judgment over his people, calling the faithful to his right and the unfaithful to his left. The faithful and unfaithful are judged not by their heritage as the people of god, not by their spiritual works. Rather, when the Son of Man comes in Glory, when the kingdom is established, fidelity is judged upon how each life proclaims hope, gives rest, works toward the good that has been promised to come. The way Jesus judges fidelity in each of us is solely by the orientation of our hearts in belief (faith). The actions that are displayed, the fruit of the tree, are simply a witness for or against the hope that we claim to have. Faith and fidelity are often times shown in ways we don’t expect or think of. But the true orientation of our heart, our true belief or unbelief is reveled in the little things, the ways we either give rest and proclaim good, or choose not to.
Set in juxtaposition with the actions of the pharisees, the commendation of the ‘sheep’ is seen not as a congratulatory approval of works, but rather a movement of grace in the life of the faithful that sparks a difference in how they choose to live in the world around them and treat the people they meet, regardless of need, class, power, or lack there of. It is this heart orientation expressed in action toward those who need rest, aid, and love that God responds to, claiming them as his own.
These chapters bring to a head something Matthew has been pointing out throughout his Gospel story: fidelity to Christ has everything to do with what your life proclaims.
In the discourse Jesus gives to his followers on the Mt. Of Olives (Matthew 7.15-23) Jesus speaks of knowing a false prophet by the fruit they produce, by the result their life has on and in the people and world around them. Those who want to follow the Jesus way are called not to be characterized by religious or spiritual action (such as false teachers might be doing in the Name of Christ), but rather by ‘doing the will of God’. Leading lives that look like Jesus, bringing hope, health, rest, renewal to the broken world and the downtrodden people. This is what being a disciple of Jesus is about. When the Pharisees accuse Jesus of allowing and teaching his disciples to break the law of Moses (Matthew 12.1-21) by picking grain to eat on the day of rest, Jesus responds by telling them that they need to go learn what God means when he says, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” Again, Matthew is pointing out that the letter of the law, the religious and spiritual action that people appeal to as proof of their fidelity and demand that others live up to to prove their fidelity, count as nothing before God. Religions action and duty (or the lack their of) says nothing of our fidelity. It is what our life preaches to the world that counts for everything.
Are we preaching hope and rest found in the person and completed work of Jesus alone, or are we laying rules and regulations at peoples feet as a line they must tow?
I think that one of the hardest parts of this is the waiting. We want to see something immediately, some way of measuring our fidelity in this moment so that we can assure ourselves that we are ok, that we are still good enough and that God approves of us, is still happy with us, that he still accepts and loves us. This desire, this need we have to be validated, our depravity takes this need and leads us into a place where we take all that is good and necessary in this Jesus way (prayer, worship, listening to God and sharing hope) and pervert it into a measuring system for our own worth before the God who is Love.
What infidelity this truly is! This immediate gratification of spiritual worth, this bent way of thinking and orienting our heart will slowly lead us to become the very people Jesus speaks against and rejects in his forever kingdom that is coming. Our efforts to prove the greatness of our own fidelity to the God who accepts us as we are, our desire to prove we are good enough, will lead us away from the very thing we are truly seeking: rest, acceptance, hope.
Patience is the vaccination we need. Patiently, we wait for our hope to be reveled Patiently, we lean into the way of Jesus and lean on his life, his death, his resurrection, his promise to return, his totally gracious acceptance of us as our worth. Patiently, we keep trusting that he is working in us, changing us, forming us into his image and healing our brokenness, making the orientation of our heart one of love and hope. Patience forces us to realize that our fidelity to Jesus will be gauged by our entire life orientation and the message we proclaim with our entire life.
Are we proclaiming oppression in the form of a spiritual measuring stick, or are we proclaiming the only true rest that comes from the hope of salvation?
Weaker brothers (and sisters)
UPDATE: Be sure to check out Bob’s comment. Its a good response to balance out who actually *is* a weaker brother/sister.
Bob Hyatt posted this to twitter Monday morning (link here, if you really need to read it).
Quick synopsis: a “discernment blog” looked at an interview of Tim Keller and decided that he has/is giving up the true gospel in favor of some liberalized form of spirituality that they see cropping up everywhere in the American church.
(For those who don’t know, “discernment blogs” specialize in pointing out what they see as errors in other Christians beliefs, practices, and teachings. Basically, they have taken it upon them selves to guard their version of Biblical Christianity, declare it as the only real Christianity, and to denounce any and all who disagree with them.)
I really get fed up with these “defenders of the one true faith” running around and deciding who is in with Jesus and who isn’t. Usually, my initial reaction to these kind of blogs and articles is anger and dismissal.
But today, I was prompted to think about 1 Corinthians 8.
A while back, the Evergreen community (my church) walked through the book if 1 Corinthians. We saw how Paul kept urging and arguing for unity within the Corinth church. He appealed first and foremost to the fact that the church was/is Christ’s church, not Paul’s, not Appolos’, not Peter’s, and not some ‘super apostles’ either. The church was created by Jesus, equipped by Jesus, and made whole by Jesus as he worked in/through the individual people who together made up his church.
One of the direct implications of this truth is how we who try and live life in the way of Jesus treat others who are trying to live out this Jesus life. Paul addresses several issues of how we live and worship together in this letter.
A major concern in Corinth was eating meat. More specifically, some people in the church were having a hard time eating any meat that was bought in the common marketplace because it had probably mostly for sure been taken from an animal that had been sacrificed in worship to an idol or other god. These people were trying to follow Jesus, so its understandable (and right) that they didn’t want to have anything to do with worship to something other than Jesus.
That wouldn’t have been that big a deal (maybe just a church of vegetarians), except that not everyone had the same concerns. Some members of the church in Corinth had no problem eating meat that might have come from some other religious ceremony. In fact, they were so unconcerned about it that if they went somewhere for dinner and the host flat out told them what idol of god the meat was sacrificed for, they would just dig right in unconcerned in any way. For them, it was just meat. Offering it to an idol meant nothing because they saw Jesus as the only true god. Any one/thing else was empty and meant nothing.
So, there was a debate; which side was right? Should we be extra cautious so as not to take part in anything that has to do with worship to another god, or should we relish in the knowledge that idols are worthless and we eat to the glory of the only true god regardless of from whom or where the meat comes from?
Paul puts it like this:
1Now concerning food sacrificed to idols: we know that ‘all of us possess knowledge.’ Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up…4 Hence, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that ‘no idol in the world really exists’, and that ‘there is no God but one.’… 6 for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and 7 It is not everyone, however, who has this knowledge. Since some have become so accustomed to idols until now, they still think of the food they eat as food offered to an idol; and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8‘Food will not bring us close to God.’ We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling-block to the weak. 10For if others see you, who possess knowledge, eating in the temple of an idol, might they not, since their conscience is weak, be encouraged to the point of eating food sacrificed to idols? 11So by your knowledge those weak believers for whom Christ died are destroyed. 12But when you thus sin against members of your family, and wound their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food is a cause of their falling, I will never eat meat, so that I may not cause one of them to fall.
Taken from the NRSV
1 Corinthians 8 is a passage I have heard preached and taught about most of my life. To be honest, its always been troublesome to me. Inevitably, the comparison is made to drinking or watching R rated movies or listening to ‘secular’ music or some other issue of ‘morality’ and personal sensibility.
That has never felt like a completely correct fit for this passage.
Ya, I don’t want to offend other Christians with the way I live my life (usually), but is the modern day comparison of meat sacrificed to idols really weather or not I listen to ‘Christian radio’ exclusively? Is it really a matter of weaker conscious for someone with an alcohol problem if I order a beer with my dinner?
Paul seems to be dealing with not a morality issue (well, not here anyways) but rather a worship issue.
Some people had come from a history where idols carried weight in there life. In trying to leave an old life behind, shed an old belief system and embrace the truth of Christ and gospel, they were still in the habit of thinking (believing) that an idol or another god really was something to worry about. ‘I worship Christ! How can you ask me to eat meat that has been blessed in reverence to Diana?’
Paul urges people with out these convictions, people with stronger consciences, people who knew better to not be pride full and arrogant bastards with their knowledge. Rather, they were called to love their weaker brothers and sisters and to not exercise the freedom that their knowledge granted in ways that would cause the weaker in the community to stumble.
So, how can I who knows better actually love my weaker brothers and sisters who don’t have the same freed conscious I do?
These ‘discernment blogs’ are just one of the many voices I hear telling me about boundaries I should have in my spiritual life. I shouldn’t do contemplative prayer, meditation, or use prayer beads. I should dress sharper, not get tattoos, piercings, or have long hair. I shouldn’t use ‘bad language’, listen to ‘secular music’, drink or read most of the books I do.
Rhetoric like that pisses me off… but if I take a step back, I can hear them really telling me not to eat meat. See, most people who take up this kind of speech (most) are doing so out of concern for how Christians should be living and worshiping Jesus.
It’s a worship issue.
Personally, I see that tattoos, piercings, ‘bad words’, music, dress, types of meditation, different spiritual practices, etc… is usually not a big deal at all. They do nothing detrimental to my worship of Jesus. They are empty in and of them selves, and can actually become something filled with the light and life of Christ.
But, not everyone shares my stronger conscious. So, what can I do to love them, and not just get pissed off and dismiss them as meaningless quacks (although some are)?
I think this is a question we emerging Church types need to really wrestle with more than we have. What does it mean/look like to love our brothers and sisters whose conscious does not give them the liberties we have?
Father, Husband, Theological Dreamer, Web Designer, Photographer, Coffee Chugger... Jesus obsessed & dreaming of a better Christianity. It's kind of like listening to a cross between guerrilla radio and a street corner prophet with a bad case of tourettes.
