A Treasure Deeper Than Pleasure

It’s been a while since I wrote. I hope that this is not just an intermittent post, though, but that I soon begin to write regularly again. Still, since I have not been writing, this post will not follow the normal format, and it has nothing to do with today’s daily reading (I hope at least some of you are still reading through the Bible chronologically with me this year – I’m really enjoying it).

To start with, does anyone remember that little song in the Burl Ives-starring holiday classic, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”? The snowman/narrator starts to sing about silver and gold in that warm, contented voice of his, and during the song he croons, “How do you measure its worth? Just by the pleasure it gives.”

We measure the worth of most of our treasures by the pleasure they give, don’t we?

So it’s intriguing that James writes (in James 4:1-3) about desires and the pleasure of their fulfillment so negatively:

What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. (NLT)

Think about that last statement for a moment: you want only what will give you pleasure. Have you ever wanted anything that wouldn’t give you pleasure? Is that even possible?

James seems to think so. And I think we have some examples in today’s world of things we’ve wanted to do not so much for immediate pleasure as for the hope (not even always the guarantee) of great reward.

• Athletes want to push their bodies to the physical limit not so much for instantaneous pleasure, but because they hope that such discipline will one day result in competitive victory.

• Many people want to continue to attend school when it’s not required of them (e.g., college, grad school, etc.) because they hope that the not-always-so-pleasurable academic rigors will prepare them for more enjoyable, better-paying jobs.

So the next time you want something that you don’t already have, take the time to ask yourself whether what you want is just something to fulfill your desire for pleasure. If so, remember that there is a treasure deeper than pleasure—many such treasures, in fact. Sometimes I get more pleasure out of reading than out of having my reading interrupted by my three children, no matter how adorable they are. But where is my real treasure? In my personal reading time? Or in my children and the chance to help them learn to enjoy the life God’s given them?

There is a treasure deeper than pleasure, better than immediate gratification. Often, it’s a treasure we reject. But our good God longs to give us His true treasure—if only we’ll want it enough to ask.

For an overview of this year’s blog, please see http://threequartertank.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-do-believers-believe.html.

Lion Taming Faith

ALL – Psalm 118:1-18
ALL – Proverbs 28:2
OT – Ezekiel 39:1-40:27
NT – James 2:18-3:18

Interesting passage for the day: Fool! When will you ever learn that “believing” is useless without doing what God wants you to? Faith that does not result in good deeds is not real faith. – James 2:8, The Living Bible

Thought: What is belief? Our relationship with Jesus depends on it, so we had better understand a little bit about what it means, right?

Is belief something we do when there’s a story we know is totally false, but we want to have a little fun and play make believe?

Is belief a choice we make about which God we think will take the best care of us and serve our interests the best?

Is belief a set of religious principles we believe are true, a religious formula that will always keep us safe just like the mathematical formula 2 + 2 will always give us the answer we expect?

Is belief something that we can contain in a book or a paper, an official statement that lists the core truths of the universe, but that is only meant to be discovered and doesn’t require any change in our lives? Is belief about a list of principles that govern our lives whether we know it or not, like the fact that the earth revolves around the sun and the moon around the earth?

Not according to James. James doesn’t deny that truth exists, and that it is important to acknowledge and know the truth. What James denies, though, is that believing the truth is a passive activity. Belief doesn’t sit in a recliner looking up at a plaque of creeds on the wall. Belief depends on the truth enough to risk everything on it, like a skydiver depending on a parachute. Belief submits to the truth, like a lion tamer submits to the principles that keep the lions from ripping him to shreds. Belief obeys the call and command of the truth. Belief follows the truth. As Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” Belief goes wherever truth leads, because belief can find life nowhere else.

Anything less is not really belief.

Question: How much do you need your beliefs? If what you claim you believe were suddenly proved entirely false, would your life be changed at all, or would it continue pretty much as it is right now?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Moment by Moment Love

ALL – Psalm 117:1-2
ALL – Proverbs 28:1
OT – Ezekiel 37:1-38:23
NT – James 1:19-2:17

Interesting passage for the day: Yes indeed, it is good when you truly obey our Lord’s command, “You must love and help your neighbors just as much as you love and take care of yourself.” – James 2:8, The Living Bible

Thought: This is a command worth living up to. At the same time, it’s a continuing command. Loving our neighbors is an obligation that’s never finished as long as we live. We never run out of people to love. There’s always an opportunity to be kind, or patient, or generous.

I’m folding laundry right now. It’s part of what Christy and I affectionately call the “never ending chore.” No sooner have we put the last pair of socks in the drawer than it’s time to wash and fold three more loads of laundry.

That’s kind of what love is like. We can burst through a high-intensity day of incredible helpfulness, goodness, and camaraderie. We can even have a heroic moment or two. Does that mean that we’ve fulfilled this command to love our neighbors? Nope. We’ve obeyed it, but we haven’t fulfilled it, because there’s more service to offer, more opportunities to exercise patience, and more people in need of our grace, mercy and love.

Sometimes it feels like a burden. But it’s a burden we bear with Jesus at our side, and so it’s not so much a burden as a way of life. It’s a great rhythm to settle into, so long as Jesus is with us always, to the very end of the age.

Question: Do you take breaks from fulfilling the command to love our neighbors? How can we rest within this command and lifestyle rather than rest by retreating from it?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.

Squirming Out of Patience

ALL – Psalm 116:1-19
ALL – Proverbs 27:23-27
OT – Ezekiel 35:1-36:38
NT – James 1:1-18

Interesting passage for the day: …for when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. So let it grow, and don’t try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete. – James 1:3-4, The Living Bible

Thought: We do try to squirm out of our problems, don’t we? And I guess it’s not a bad thing to work to solve our problems, but sometimes we try to squirm out of our problems in less-than-helpful ways. When facing problems head-on and trying to overcome them in honest, upfront ways fails, and we realize we’re trapped, then comes the squirming. The problem with squirming and trying to weasel our way out of our problems is that it leaves our patience muscles undeveloped.

Sometimes life is just tough. And there’s no honest way to get around what’s tough. There’s crime. There’s apathy. There’s playing dead. But none of these helps. What helps is realizing that we’re not just waiting on circumstances to change, but on God to care for us…and that He’s trustworthy. Because He’s trustworthy, I can be patient, and if I can be patient, I can be ready for anything. I know that God is with me.

And it will be obvious to others soon enough.

Question: Can you be patient when others pressure you to rush? Can you wait on God when others say there’s no point to waiting on Him? Will you be patient even though it hurts?

To review the Bible reading plan options, please visit http://tinyurl.com/yj2o7jz.