Category: works

Possessed by Indifference… Worshipping Self

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
(Mark 10:17–22)

It’s so easy to dismiss this as a unique situation… “It certainly can’t apply to me. I’m by no means wealthy.” In comparison to most of my neighbors, perhaps not. But there are undeniably needy persons and families in my community, village, or city. Do my possessions so possess me that I’m content with passively acknowledging others in need? Has indulgence led me to indifference? What do I sacrifice for the sake of helping the needy and the lost and the broken? How does my budget (time/energy and money) for entertainment/recreation (sports, hobbies, cable, movies, shows, vacations) or dining out (nicer restaurants) compare with my charity (love/care for others)?

Yet this young man’s possessions were truly only the symptom. Jesus used his possessions as the trigger for revealing the “one thing” that was lacking. For this young man, self was ultimately his god. Even his greeting is exposed by Jesus (Who knew his heart) as posturing…a way to hopefully get this “famous rabbi” bolster his ego.

Is my love for God really just a facade…masking my need to feel good about myself? In actuality, that can make it easy to pursue good behavior…to compete and perform, even if privately (pride doesn’t always like to be too obvious). Conversely, authentic love for God will exhibit as worship of and obedience for Him and in love for my neighbor as myself…doing unto my neighbor as I would have them do unto me…indeed loving all of God’s creation as He does!

When Good is the Very Worst

It’s not at all uncommon to hear, “but she is such a good person” or “he was always so kind to everyone”. These and similar statements are made questioning, and often sincerely so, God’s justice in the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus alone. Although there’s much to unpack in that discussion, in Luke 18 we find a response directly from Jesus addressing this topic.
18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
There’s that word — “good” — Jesus knew what was coming.
20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Note here that the commandments Jesus lists first for this seeker are those that have to do with decent, moral living — the common law foundational equivalent of what makes any society function. Then Jesus goes much deeper — beyond that which is socially acceptable and right to the very crux of the matter. You see, it’s not just the rich young ruler who comes into the scope of this conversation — riches just happened to be his one thing.

There are many good people in the world for whom one thing stands between them and following Jesus. Good behavior alone is not the same as following Jesus. Indeed, good behavior does not inherit eternal life. Here, the good is truly the enemy of the best — so much so that it will only result in the worst.
In contrast, when the lawyer came to test Jesus in Luke 10, Jesus affirmed that he knew and declared the sum of it all.
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
Our love for Jesus will show forth as the love of Jesus and that fruit won’t just be good fruit — it will be eternal.

Saltiness vs. Worldliness

In Deuteronomy 7 as God is reminding Israel of their covenant relationship – that He has chosen them of His own divine will and made them His own – that He redeemed them, rescued them, and has blessed them – that He is a faithful and just God … He warns them to cleanse the land of the pagans who are an abomination to Him and have rejected Him and serve false gods.  One statement in particular stands out to me: “Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you.” (v16)

In having compassion on those mired in the depths of sin, we need to be wary of being ensnared directly in their sin or even, through the best of human intentions, being more concerned about their feelings than the state of their soul.  In directly evangelizing with the Word of the Gospel for the salvation of the soul, so long as that is preeminent, there can be much less likelihood of this trap.  However, when a social gospel takes precedence … when social justice and caring for the physical or emotional aspects of the individual gain priority over the salvation of the soul, we begin to lower our defenses.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warns of maintaining this spiritual effectiveness.

13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matt 5:13-16)

Sadly, in Revelation we see an example of a church that has lost its saltiness … whose light is fading into the darkness around it.

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “ ‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’  (Rev 3:1–6)

We must live out the salvation placed within us and do so in the midst of a lost and broken world.  We must let the Light of Divine Love shine through us.  Indeed, we must love the whole person as God does.  But we must be ever diligent, in humble obedience to the Spirit, to never let our saltiness be overcome with worldliness.  May our reputation – we who bear the name of Christ – be that we are alive in Him … and may His knowledge of our souls bear witness to the same.