We Have Only to Share

I recently received a letter from an attorney for the plaintiffs in a class action suit against one of my former employers. The gist of the complaint is employees in large facilities are looking to be paid for the time it takes them to report to their assigned work area. I know some of these facilities, I've seen some of the nonsense that takes place, and personally, I can see all sorts of foolishness attached to this; people looking to extract reward for very minimal effort. But a court has agreed to hear the case, so...

This morning I was reading Joshua 13. It begins with the news that Joshua, a mighty warrior, had grown old, the years and the warfare had taken its toll. In verse 6, God tells Joshua as for the remaining unconquered territories, God Himself would drive out the inhabitants; the only task left to Joshua would be the dividing of the spoils. I wrote in my journal: Joshua was aging. He'd proven himself faithful, and God demonstrated mercy toward him. But as I looked at the words, I had questions. Had God not shown mercy even when He required Joshua and the men of Israel to do battle? What if Joshua hadn't been old? What if he hadn't proven himself faithful? What if there was no apparent cause for mercy? The answer came almost immediately. The cross.

When confronted with the standard of a perfectly holy God, when confronted with a moral law that is unmatched in purity and impossible with regard to human obedience, could Joshua ever be old enough or faithful enough to warrant God's mercy? No. Could Israel ever be obedient enough to earn God's favor? No. Could you or I or any other human be enough in any capacity to deserve His mercy or grace? No. God demonstrated His mercy toward Joshua, toward the armies of Israel, because He chose to do so. God demonstrated His mercy toward you and I and all of humanity in that while we were His enemies, His rivals on the thrones of our hearts, haters of Him, committed to sin, by sending His Son, Jesus, to suffer and die in our place on the cross. By His sacrifice --again, in our place --we are now able to divide the spoils among the rest of the world. We receive eternal life, a life with Him for all of eternity, and we proclaim it and demonstrate it on the world stage! We can be salt and light, staving off the decay of sin and death by sharing the Gospel with our words and our behavior. We can offer to others the reconciliation we have received by forgiving them as we have been forgiven, by sharing our testimony of God's forgiveness and encouraging them to receive it, regarding others with the same value and intention God regards them, and walking before humanity as Jesus walked. The receiving of the spoils of Jesus' sacrifice in our place, His willingness to do the work that we might have was never solely for the purpose of accumulation. We are to distribute, divide the spoils of what God has done.

I think most of us would like to believe we work really hard. And most of us would like to be, or believe we are being, compensated for aaaalll the work we do. But the simple truth is this: we're sitting in the cheap seats. We see things from a very small, very self-centered point of view, fighting to receive that to which we believe we are entitled, judging ourselves by our own "good intentions". God, our Creator sees the big picture and sees it perfectly. In the court that will take place on the Day of Judgment, we will be judged by our own work, or we will be judged by Jesus' work. We're entitled to nothing, but He gave us everything. And for those who believe, the spoils are there, in accordance with what our Savior and Judge has procured for us. Thanks be to God, because of Jesus, we have extracted a reward for no effort. We have only to share it with those we meet as we have been commanded.   

   

Midweek: Children, Chainsaws, and Anxiety

For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
~ Genesis 3:5

"So, I handed my three-year old a chainsaw and let her go to town," said no one ever. Yet, at some point, those of us three-year olds who were able to reach the top shelf, took down the chainsaw for ourselves and began doing as we wished.

The longer I live, the more I realize how little I know and how irresponsibly I can act. Especially when the only thing on my mind is insisting on my own way. I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the God of the universe; I can do all sorts of marvelous things. But turned loose, left to my own devices, ignoring the boundaries of the One who is infinite and with me always, I am a disaster waiting to happen; I am a preschooler wielding a chainsaw.

When God created Adam and Eve, He created them out of love, guarding and guiding them in love. He wasn't trying to stifle their growth. He definitely was not (and is not) afraid of competition; He has no competition. (Back to the three-year old; a world class runner would not consider that child "competition." Ridiculous, right?) So, the idea that God would establish rules in order to keep us from proving too great a competitor is ludicrous. But mankind fell for the lie in the garden and has continued to fall for it ever since. Our society refuses to obey --refuses to even acknowledge God as being worthy of obedience --because we are under the arrogant delusion He is intimidated by us. The heartbreaking truth is this: we are ignorant to the damage we do to ourselves. Whether it's as serious as jumping on a ship and heading the other direction when we hear the voice of God or simply neglecting to commit our day to Him before we head on out to work, we practice so religiously our "own" abilities and freedoms, they become our exclusive modus operandi. Why would we need all those laws? Because as a whole, in comparison to the One who created us, we are ignorant children! 

Sure, we have intelligence. We have talent. We have initiative. We have kindness and compassion. All of these, gracious gifts our Creator has given to us in varying amounts. But we can never know the blessings or burdens that we will encounter by the end of the day. We can never know what God is doing on the other side of the world, or in a small town on another coast, or even right next door, that will require the knowledge we have or provide us with the talents we don't. God sees the entire picture. So, when He says, "Stay away, this isn't good for you," it's not because He's threatened by juveniles with power tools; it's because He loves us --all of us, and His laws, when obeyed, are able to keep us all functioning as a healthy, happy society. He sees the whole picture, from beginning to end, from coast to coast, from pole to pole, from our solar system to the next and the next after that!

But here is the current state of mankind's affairs. In May 2024, psychiatry.org reported an increase in anxiety among American adults. In November of the same year, The National Center for Biotechnology Information made the following claim:  

Anxiety disorders are among the most prevalent mental health conditions globally, particularly affecting adolescents and young adults (10-24 years), and causing substantial psychological and social impairments.

Attend one family function, watch one sitcom, sit through one church service, and you're likely to encounter talk of anxiety. It's ubiquitous, but so sad. So, over the next couple of Wednesdays, I'd like to show you what the Bible says about anxiety and how that corresponds to "good old American do-it-yourself-ism" and our arrogant propensity to pick up the chainsaw to do as we please. 

A Taste You'll Never Forget

I remember well the vulgar tang that gripped my tongue when I bit into the bread. I was probably about ten-years-old and, in my haste and my ignorance, had retrieved from the bread box (yes, we had one -- every household did in those days) a piece of moldy bread. The center had remained fluffy and white, but the crust...? Fuzzy black and green spots dotted its once golden-brown surface. I immediately spit it out. And I've never made that mistake again.

The mistake I have made again and again, however, is a lesson learned through moldy bread and old wineskins. In Joshua 9, the nation of Israel has entered the Promised Land, Canaan. They have followed their God in the person of their appointed leader, Joshua, as they have been handed the victory over the godless inhabitants occupying the land. In short, these nations had, by their conduct, warranted God's judgment; God's people had been tasked with the exclusive worship of Him, holiness, and obedience. Obedience, in this case, required the children of Israel to distribute the Canaanites' earnings by military means and eliminate those who, by their deviant behavior, would corrupt the morals of Israel. The reputation of Israel's God had preceded their arrival, and nations were clamoring to get ahead of what would surely be their end. The Gibeonites had devised a plan; dress as travelers, sojourners like Israel, from a far-off land who had heard of Elohim's reputation and were coming to meet with Israel in hopes of a peaceful union. Sure, they were lying, but their motives were admirable, right? I mean, absent some sort of betrayal once they were welcomed into the company of new friends, the Gibeonites simply wanted a peaceful solution to their presumed demise. Verse 8 says, We are your servants. They willingly humbled themselves before the leaders of Israel in hopes of making a covenant of peace. And Israel, following the instructions given them in Leviticus 19, made such a covenant, looking to assimilate the people of Gibeon into their culture. 

God's people, however, are called to a higher standard. The problem wasn't really with the pagan people of Gibeon, the problem was with Israel's trust in moldy bread. The Gibeonite retinue had dressed themselves in rags and worn-out sandals; they carried tattered wineskins and bread that had molded and begun to crumble. It made their premise more convincing. Joshua and the men of Israel said, "Hahaha! Nice try, but we have prayed to our God, and we see right through your little charade. You are targeted for termination!" NOPE! No, they did not. Instead, some of the leaders sampled the bread. The moldy bread these charlatans had dredged up from who-knows-where? --the men of Israel tasted it. Even as I type these words, I recall the taste. If I were to accidentally ingest some free penicillin again, it would be immediate recognition. But is the lesson as fixed in my psyche as the visceral consequences? If we're talking about bread, yes. If we're talking about praying, seeking God's will before I accept that invitation, before I schedule that event, before I sign up for that committee, before I take that person at their word, even before I write that article...? I can't say that it is. Like the men of Israel, I am far too attached to my senses; I rely far too often on physical evidence. If Joshua and his advisors had bowed their heads in prayer as instinctively as they examined the goods, they would not have been duped. If I had bowed my head in prayer as instinctively as I followed my thoughts or feelings; if I had weighed all things by God's standards as keenly as I saw them as good or worthwhile (when it really wasn't); if I had sought God's truth as naturally as I employed my own (perceived) autonomy, things would have been different.

As for Joshua and the people of Israel, God demonstrated His infinite mercy toward His people and the citizens of Gibeon. Neither was destroyed. There may have been a tummy ache or two, but neither was destroyed. And as for us, it remains a lesson. God will lead us and protect us when we seek His will continually.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!

~Psalm 34:8