Anybody got a rag?

Ever get frustrated with imperfect people? I do all the time! Mainly, because I am one. We all are. Here is how to deal with that, according to Jesus. 

"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor."

This is from Matthew 7:1-5 in The Message translation.

Making fun of a bald guy?

As a bald guy, one of my "favorite" stories in the Old Testament is 2Kings 2:23-25. A group of youth calls Elisha the prophet, "Baldy" and he curses them. Just then two bears come out of the woods and mauls 42 of them. But as strange as this story is, there is a point.

What follows is an explanation I read in one of my many commentaries. Unfortunately, I can't remember which one.

There are a few key issues we must understand in regards to this account of the youths cursing Elisha. The text reads, “From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ they said. ‘Go on up, you baldhead!’ He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.” It seems unbelievable that God would cause two bears to maul a group of children for making fun of a man for being bald.

First, the King James Version has done us a disservice by translated the term as “children.” The Hebrew word can refer to “children,” but rather more specifically means "young men." The NIV, quoted here, uses the word “youths.” Second, the fact that the bears mauled 42 of the youths indicates that there were more than 42 youths involved. This was not a small group of children making fun of a bald man. Rather, it was a large demonstration of young men who assembled for the purpose of mocking a prophet of God. Third, the mocking of “go on up you baldhead,” is more than making fun of baldness. The baldness of Elisha referred to here may be: 1) natural loss of hair; 2) a shaved head denoting his separation to the prophetic office; or more likely, 3) an epithet of scorn and contempt, Elijah not being literally bald. The phrase “go up” likely was a reference to Elijah, Elisha’s mentor, being taken up to Heaven earlier in 2 Kings chapter 2:11-12. These youths were sarcastically taunting and insulting the Lord’s prophet by telling him to repeat Elijah’s translation.

In summary, 2 Kings 2:23-24 is not an account of God mauling young children for making fun of a bald man. Rather, it is a record of an insulting demonstration against God’s prophet by a large group of young men. Because these young people of about 20 years of age or older (the same term is used of Solomon in 1 Kings 3:7) so despised the prophet of the Lord, Elisha called upon the Lord to deal with the rebels as He saw fit. The Lord’s punishment was the mauling of 42 of them by two female bears. The penalty was clearly justified, for to ridicule Elisha was to ridicule the Lord Himself. The seriousness of the crime was indicated by the seriousness of the punishment. The appalling judgment was God’s warning to all who would scorn the prophets of the Lord.

Get Away

In 1Kings 19 there is an interesting story about the prophet Elijah. He has just come off a series of "successes" in ministry. (He revived the widow's son, made a laughing stock out of the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, caused it to downpour, and supernaturally outran Ahab's chariot back to Jezreel). You would think that he would ride this high for quite awhile, right? WRONG!

King Ahab's wife, Jezebel is out to get him. There is a death note on his head so he flees for his life by going into the wilderness alone. He finds a tree to sit under and tells God that he is finished - done. He's had enough. "Take my life for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died", he says. But God doesn't buy it. God sends an angel to feed him, (twice) because he will need this nourishment to travel the next 40 days and nights to the mountain of God. Here, Elijah continues to lay out his complaint: "I have zealously served you, but the people have broken your covenant. I am the only one left," he says. God's response seems odd.

God tells Elijah to stand before him on the mountain as God sends a mighty windstorm, earthquake, and fire. God is not there, until...there is the sound of a gentle whisper. Hmmm....

Elijah was probably like many pastors who have experienced great success at various times in ministry. We like the successes. We like to preach a great sermon that will "revive" people. We like to be successful when it comes to making a "laughing stock" out of false gods. We may think we can "outrun" others who are in this Christian journey. We might even have to remind God that we have been zealously seeking Him while others have not. When we think like this it tells us that we have allowed ministry to be about us and not God.

Like Elijah, we need to step back, get away, and journey to the mountain of God for some spiritual nourishment and refreshment. We need God to remind us that He is not always in the windstorm, earthquake or fire but often in the still, small voice. It's too easy to get caught up in the fireworks of doing ministry and begin to feel that "you" are something great. As you taste success, it is also easy to begin looking down on others for not being as zealous as you are.

Here's what happens next for Elijah: God tells him to go find Elisha and "anoint him to replace Elijah as God's prophet." Was it because of Elijah's complaining that God decided to replace him? I don't think so. After Elijah had been with God on the mountain and was refreshed, God intended for him to equip and empower a co-worker to continue the work. He was to be a kind of mentor to Elisha. Remember how, just before Elijah is taken away, Elisha asks for a double-measure of his spirit? I think Elijah had been so spiritually revived by spending time with God and had gotten himself realigned with God's purpose for his life that he had much more to now give.

So the lesson is: Remember that ministry is always about God, not me. Yes, God does many wonderful, miraculous things, but more often than not, these happen in a gentle whisper. In order to hear God, we have to take time to be alone with Him, to be renewed in strength and purpose. We may feel alone oftentimes, but the truth is, we aren't. God is always there; we just may not recognize His quiet presence.

Are you "IN" or "OUT"?

I'm talking about "control". This past Sunday I preached on the need to exercise self-control in all areas of life. This is such an important topic, I thought I would share some of my sermon notes from that message. 

According to USA Today, The soaring national debt is now as big as the entire U.S. economy topping $15.23 trillion. The American Heart Association says that among children ages 2–19, about 1 in 6 are obese. And among Americans age 20 and older, 149.3 million are overweight or obese. The total cost related to this is estimated to be $254 billion and could reach $957 billion by 2030, if the trend continues.The CDC found that more than 38 million Americans binge drink four times a month—consuming an average of eight drinks each time. And it’s not just young adults. Those 65 and older reportedly binge drink five to six times a month. Over-consumption of alcohol is the third leading preventable cause of death, with more than 80,000 fatalities in the United States each year. SafeFamiles.org reports that sex is the number 1 topic searched on the Internet.  There are more than 1.3 million pornographic websites which is a $13 billion a year industry. Approximately 40 million people in the United States are sexually involved with the Internet while 72 million Internet users visit pornography web sites per year. 

These things could all be avoided or eliminated if we would learn to do one thing really well - exercise self-control. The Bible warns us about this: 2 Timothy 3:1-3 says, "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control..."

Throughout the book of Proverbs, Solomon addressed the same issues we still face today: spending too much money, over-working, over-eating, excessive drinking, giving in to lust (just to name a few).

Is it possible to display self-control in our self-centered and self-seeking culture? Aristotle once said, “I count him braver who overcomes his desires than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self.”  

2 Peter 1:6 says, "Knowing God leads to self-control. Self-control leads to patient endurance, and patient endurance leads to godliness". 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline (self-control)". Galatians 5:22-23 shows us that believers are to produce the fruit of self control. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." 

God equips us with the power to be able to control ourselves, but it actually requires that we give up control and allow the Holy Spirit to "control" us.   
 

How are you doing in this area of your life? Do you feel in control or out of control? We can’t solve all of society’s problems, we can’t change the chaos around us, we can’t control it – but we can learn to control ourselves - Or allow God's Spirit to lead us; and when we do - our whole world will change.