Wisdom's Children in a Time of Confusion

Today's reading: 

• But wisdom is proved right by all her children. - Luke 7:35 NIV

Thoughts:

Is there room for diversity in the family of God? Jesus says there is. 

Not just diversity of race. Not just diversity of the sexes. Not just diversity of culture. Jesus says there is room for diversity of personality and lifestyles, behaviors and choices.

Jesus compared insults directed towards John the Baptist with insults directed towards himself. Because John rejected earthly comforts to such an extreme, he was accused of being demon-possessed. Because Jesus sometimes embraced earthly comforts (and probably even more because he sometimes enjoyed them with misfits), he was accused of being a glutton and a drunkard -- basically, a party animal and hedonist.

Both Jesus and the Baptist focused intensely on pointing people to God. And while those who didn’t really know God rejected and insulted them both, Jesus said that they were both children of Wisdom. Despite their differences.

Fast forward through history... to Trump.

Ever since Trump entered the Republican primaries, Christians have been divided about our response to his candidacy. I was a Never Trump-er. Obviously, many others disagreed with me, including people I cherish and respect. Donald Trump is now our President. And believers supported him strongly in the general election, despite his many and obvious character flaws.

From my perspective as a Never Trump-er, his presidency has gone both far better than I expected (some of his policies/results) AND just as badly as expected (his lies and methods and vitriol). I am still concerned -- daily -- about how President Trump’s flawed character will impact the earthly country I call my home.

But I am more concerned about Jesus’ bride, the church, the children of Wisdom. We seem to have forgotten that Wisdom is proved right by all of us, despite our diverse choices and perspectives. At least, within limits. The limits are what we’re debating.

In December 2019, Mark Galli of Christianity Today wrote an article entitled Trump Should Be Removed from Office. This sparked quite the backlash from Evangelicals who either supported President Trump or at least had doubts that his actions deserved impeachment. Galli took the position that Trump should be removed “by the Senate or by popular vote next election”. President Trump was not removed by the Senate. We have yet to see how the election turns out, but he’s doing well in the primaries.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw several articles circulating among my social media circles. First came an article by Andrew T. Walker, an Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS. Full disclosure: this is where I graduated with my M.Div. while joining the membership of a local Southern Baptist church, though Walker was not on the faculty while I was there). Walker’s article explored the various reasons why 81% of fellow religious conservatives voted for Trump in 2016. He had been in the Never Trump camp. But after the election Walker had come to understand (and pleaded with readers to understand) that it was overly simplistic to explain the strong evangelical support for President Trump by painting the religious conservatives who voted for him as racists, nativists, and nationalists. He expressed clearly that he could not defend any of the President’s immoral and sinful behaviors. In fact, he said that Christians who were doing so on cable news represented “the worst of religious conservatism”. He appealed to religious conservatives to maintain their integrity by holding President Trump accountable for lies and abuses, even if they voted for him again in 2020. I found myself appreciating Walker’s willingness to defend his evangelical family, even though he clearly has a hard time stomaching President Trump. I believe his article set a great example of what it looks like for Christians to recognize that wisdom is proved right by all her children. Though he had not voted for Trump, he could see reasons why other believers did. In fact, it sounded as though he might become a “Reluctant Trump” voter this time around.

In response to Walker’s article, Skye Jethani wrote an article challenging the notion that evangelicals--especially white evangelicals--voted for Trump reluctantly and had no other choice (again, full disclosure: Jethani is ordained by the Christian and Missionary Alliance, the denomination that supported my parents as missionaries in West Africa while I was growing up). I appreciated Jethani’s call to remember that believers are not trapped into voting for any earthly political party, even when major moral issues like the humanity of the unborn are part of one party’s platform but not another’s. I was encouraged by statistics he shared via David French that mark the decline of abortions to levels lower than at any time since Roe v. Wade. Jethani summarized and supported John Fea’s thesis that “white evangelicals did not pick Trump in spite of his character but because of it” (italics original to Jethani, I haven't had a chance to read Fea yet). He chided white evangelicals for this reasoning and, if he is correct, they deserve to be rebuked. He cited statistics from the Southern Baptist Convention’s research team at Lifeway that he believes support his position. Jethani pointed out that evangelicals could be making other choices even now, such as joining his former colleague Galli’s call to support Trump’s impeachment. And Jethani made a compelling argument that believers should not support candidates (in this case, Trump) who provide short-term wins at the cost of “systemic, institutional, and constitutional damage… which will have ramifications for decades”.

After reviewing the Lifeway statistics that Jethani cited, I believe that they actually support Walker’s position better than Jethani’s (if you care to know why, feel free to ask me). In other words, I'm not convinced that most white evangelicals picked Trump because of his character, which is Jethani's conviction.

But for now, that’s not the point. The point is that both Jethani and Walker are children of God displaying the wisdom of God, even though they seem to be at odds with each other. Both of them clearly call Christians to follow Jesus over any political party. Both of them clearly rebuke Christians who defend Trump’s corrupt speech and behavior (especially if those same Christians would have rebuked a Democrat for the behaviors they defend in Trump). They differ as to how catastrophic Trump’s presidency has been and will be, but want the same things out of Christians:

• Put Jesus first.
• Don't ignore inconvenient truths, and definitely don't whitewash them.
• Walk with integrity.
• Hold fellow believers accountable.
• If you're going to hold politicians accountable to high moral standards, then do so even when they're on your political team.

Walker was willing to give white evangelicals more benefit of the doubt than Jethani. But this same wisdom was flowing from both brothers. Both were issuing a warning in line with God’s word to Isaiah, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isa. 5:20).

So if wisdom is proved right by all God’s children, does that mean anything goes for believers?

No.

Another article I read shared news of a more alarming public dispute. According to Bonnie Christian, a small (but powerful and vocal) group of Southern Baptist leaders is trying to have Russell Moore removed from being president of their Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). For what? For criticizing President Trump. I do not know Russell Moore personally, but when I attended SBTS it became clear that he is the kind of man who is in the habit of being as faithful to Jesus and to the Bible as he knows how to be.

Let's go back to the concept we started with: Wisdom is proved right by all her children.

That’s harder to see here. If Bonnie Christian’s article is correct, a small group of Southern Baptist pastors and leaders is attacking Russell Moore for being faithful. If she’s correct, they’re calling Trump’s visibly and audibly horrible character (Luke 6:45) good, and they’re calling Moore’s visibly and audibly good character evil. For what? For daring to comment on their chosen politician’s flaws, even as he prays for the good of our President and our country. For doing exactly what they should be doing.

When we cross the line and start confusing good and evil, calling good ‘evil’ and evil ‘good’, we have stepped outside the bounds of wisdom. We may still be God’s children, thanks to the outlandish grace we receive through Jesus. And we may still display God’s wisdom in other areas of our lives. But in whatever areas we call good ‘evil’ and evil ‘good’, we display folly. Not wisdom.

So to the extent that these spiritual leaders continue to promote Jesus as the one true God and hope in people’s lives, they are acting in wisdom. To the extent that they gloss over our President’s public disrespect for humans made in God’s image, they are not acting in wisdom. To the extent that they challenge Jesus’ people to seek God’s guidance in their voting and to trust Jesus with the results, they are acting in wisdom. To the extent that they oppose and persecute brothers and sisters whose faithfulness to truth threatens their own access to political power, they are not acting in wisdom. To the extent that they humbly confess their sins and seek God’s grace, they are acting in wisdom.

I hope and pray that Bonnie Christian is mistaken. But if she is right, we need to pray for these men the same thing we pray for ourselves. May we all call evil ‘evil’. May we call good ‘good’. May we know the difference because we have been redeemed by Jesus and have received his Spirit. May we be charitable towards one another as followers of Jesus, trusting that wisdom can be proved right both through brothers and sisters who voted for Trump and through brothers and sisters who voted against him. May we trust that Jesus can redeem both Republicans and Democrats. May we trust that God will do good through people who aren’t good, and may we trust that Jesus will do good through fellow believers even if we disagree with them.

True and Enduring Recognition

Today's reading: 

• Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. -- Proverbs 31: 30

Thoughts:
First, let me say that I have been somewhat jealous throughout my life that there's such a beautiful passage in the Bible devoted to women. I know I can't really be jealous because so many of the Bible's heroes are men. But to have one passage for men with a poetic portrayal of who we should aspire to be and what kind of character women should hope for in a spouse would be tremendous.

Both men and women share one ideal in common throughout the Scriptures, though: to be a person who fears the LORD.

When we think of women, both back then and now, many times what we value is much less important: charm and beauty. But the writer shuts those values down with deadly simplicity.

Charm? It's deceptive. A woman who is charming while dating may be terrifying once married.

Beauty? It's temporary. All people age. Women are people. Therefore, women age.

What is faithful and true? What can be permanent and enduring? Character. The ongoing choices a person makes. The way someone chooses to decide how to treat people. And the ideal character, for women and for men, is found in someone who fears the LORD.

A woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. She makes her choices based on what will please Jesus. She has the humility to recognize her shortcomings, but through the grace of Jesus is able to leave them behind her and keep growing in wisdom. She is not to be praised because she is perfect, but because she is sojourning into greater depths of Jesus' goodness, kindness, and mercy. With her eyes focused on Jesus, her life is oriented toward ever-increasing beauty. True. Enduring. Beauty.

Which deserves True. Enduring. Recognition.

Enough, and Just Enough

Today's reading: 

• Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. -- Proverbs 30:8b-9

Thoughts: 
We've prayed it often enough: "Give us this day our daily bread." It's part of the Lord's Prayer, after all. But what's behind the request for daily bread? Why not ask for a daily smorgasbord?

I love how Jesus included this proverb in the prayer He taught His disciples, affirming that this wisdom is, indeed, wise. 

What this request teaches us is the concept of Enough.

Only a little later in the same chapter (verses 15-16), the writer describes "three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, 'Enough!'" The examples he presents are miserable. The grave. A barren womb. Land that gets parched all too quickly. Fire. 

There's a beauty in the concept of Enough. 

And with regards to our daily bread, Enough is the amount that keeps us dependent on Jesus while not tempting us to steal. 

Are you being tempted to steal? Ask Jesus to give you Enough. Is your heart turning away from your Savior and Lord? Ask Jesus to give you Enough. Just Enough. Because no matter how much you have and how easily you can fool yourself into thinking you don't need Jesus, without Him you don't have the true measure of Enough in your life. 

Mutual Detest

Today's reading: 

• The  righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright. -- Proverbs 29:27, NIV

Thoughts:
We're sometimes naive. We sometimes think that, if we speak the truth clearly, people will respect it. We think that they will respect us.

We're sometimes naive. We sometimes think that, if we stand up for what's right, people will respect us.

We're sometimes naive. We sometimes think that, if we speak kindly and patiently, people will automatically response with kindness and patience, too.

Right behavior doesn't necessarily lead to respect, though. It only leads to respect and admiration from those who love right behavior. We want to believe the best of everyone, but the truth is that wicked people exist. And just as people who pursue what is right are scornful of wickedness and detest being in the presence of wicked people, wicked people who do not care about what is right are scornful of the upright.

This isn't an excuse to get violent and force our ways down other people's throats. But it is a wake up call. Being right doesn't mean you won't get attacked and treated with disrespect. Still, keep doing what is right. And be alert.

Expand Your Neighborhood

Last week I preached a sermon entitled Being a Neighbor in BOLD.

This week my family and I will be attending Ebenezer Baptist Church. We are attending, in part, as a response to the growing inter-racial tensions our country has been facing. We are attending because black lives matter just as much as every other life. We are attending because Jesus can give us our spiritual nourishment just as thoroughly via a black preacher as a white preacher. These are not new beliefs for us, but we are attending because it is much more easy for people to know what we believe when we live it out than when we merely say it.

Ebenezer Baptist Church, according to their website, was founded a mere fourteen years after the Emancipation Proclamation. FOURTEEN. Their existence is a testimony both to the struggles of our African American brothers and sisters, and to the victories and progress that Jesus has brought them and our nation through. Their focus is on building stronger families through spiritual nourishment. They are continuing to tackle the struggles of the community head on. 

Why haven't we attended any black churches in the recent past up until now? Because we are members of a church already. We are members of a church where all ethnicities and races are welcome, a church that represents our beliefs well, a church where we are free to use our gifts and talents to serve Jesus. And usually, people who are members of a church attend that church regularly, week after week. For most people, that is a practice I continue to recommend highly.

But not in the face of division.

And the division between churches in Charlotte -- not only in Charlotte, but definitely in Charlotte -- extends beyond race. And so my family will continue to attend a church that is not our own once a month, because every believer is family. Every church that counts Jesus as both Lord and Savior, that acknowledges that Jesus is both God and man, that preaches that Jesus truly died and truly rose from the dead, and that points humanity to salvation through faith in Jesus is a part of Jesus' Church. Our church is part of Jesus' Church. So are many other churches.

I want to get to know my extended family. So this week I am attending Ebenezer Baptist. Next month, I will attend another church. And just as I invite people to join me in attending Messiah Lutheran Church, I invite people to join me in attending brother and sister churches. You can do this in your own areas of the world. If you live in Charlotte, you can visit sibling churches together with me on the third Sunday of each month -- I'll mostly be using Facebook to let people know where I'm going, but I'll try to post it here, too. Even if you don't know Jesus, please join me. I am not worried about whether you end up at Messiah Lutheran Church, Ebenezer Baptist Church, or any other church, but I do want you to know Jesus.

And I want to work toward peace. I didn't say uniformity. We're not all going to be the same or think exactly the same. But we can love one another and treat one another with dignity and respect. We can expand our neighborhoods.

This is what I'm doing to expand my neighborhood. What will you do to expand your neighborhood?

Please Set Me Straight

Today's reading: 

• Proverbs 25:12 -- Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear.

Thoughts:

I like gold. I'm just throwing that out there. 

Not that I wear a whole lot of gold myself. But gold definitely catches the eye. If you gave me gold, I'd be ok with that. When I give jewelry to Amanda (which she would probably like to see happening more often, to tell the truth), she likes gold, too. Sometimes she prefers white gold. But gold earrings? I haven't seen her turn anything like that down yet. 

Gold is attractive. We like to be attractive and noticed. So we like gold. 

Wisdom is also attractive. We like to be attractive and respected. And yet we sometimes reject wisdom. 

Can someone please explain to me why this happens? Not just why OTHER people reject wisdom, but why do ALL people reject wisdom? Why do I reject wisdom? 

This proverb gives us a bit of insight into why we reject wisdom when others are giving it to us. Are you ready? Here's why: It's because we don't want it. 

We don't want wisdom because we would prefer to believe we are already wise. We don't want others to give us their wisdom because we didn't ask them for it and weren't ready for it. We don't want wisdom because it often comes in the form of a rebuke. We don't want wisdom because when we hear it, it makes us feel exposed as people who don't yet have wisdom. 

We are wisdom poor, and we don't want others to know it. So when someone offers us wisdom, we reject it. Which is ridiculous, because it doesn't matter how financially poor we are when someone offers us gold. If you give us gold, we take it!

Gold can make us attractive only on the outside; it doesn't change our actual value. But wisdom makes us more valuable to everyone around us. It's like having our very blood infused with gold!

So let's embrace and cherish wisdom, even when it comes in the form of a rebuke. Let's get over the pain of having our wisdom poverty exposed so that we can humbly and gratefully recognize wise people's rebukes for what they are -- gifts of unimaginable value.

I need this, too. So to the wise, consider this your invitation. Please, set me straight. 

You're Friends with Him?

Today's reading: 

•  Proverbs 22:24-25 -- Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.

Thoughts:
One of the quickest and easiest ways to drive friends and valuable relationships away is by having a short fuse.

If you have a hot temper, let me shoot straight with you for a moment: Even if you have never blown up on me, I may be staying friendly without getting too close simply because I assume that, one day, you will blow up on me. I've seen it happen to others too many times.

But this proverb gives an even more profound reason to avoid close friendships with hotheads. "You may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared."

When we're in friendships with people, we typically respond in one of three ways to significant character flaws:

• We get fed up and end the relationship
• We commit to holding true to our character and confront one another's shortcomings as needed
• We overlook the flaws and eventually start to justify and even defend them 

Whoever wrote this proverb was aiming to be realistic. Confronting the shortcomings of someone with a hot temper without getting ticked off is extremely challenging, and most likely leads to a lot of stress, edginess, and a hot temper. Overlooking the flaws of someone with a hot temper to the point of defending their anger typically means "getting on their side" -- which typically means joining them in their anger and developing a temper of your own.

So rather than getting deeply into a relationship with a hothead and then getting fed up, why not avoid the relationship enough to avoid "learning the ways" of the hothead?

Don't be drawn into a relationship with a hothead simply because you see that he or she seems lonely. Be friendly, but be leery of entering a deep relationship. Loneliness is the consequence for lashing out at those who love you, and it's a consequence that shouldn't be withdrawn out of pity. Instead, pray for these people, speak kindly, gently let them know when you think they have hurt people with their anger, and wait to see genuine repentance (change) before risking a relationship that might make you just as angry and lonely as they are.