In His abundant generosity, God gives each of us skills, opportunities, desires, ideas, friends, and many other things. So how should we respond to these gifts? Well, when it comes to our abilities, we really have three options.
First, we can develop them as much as possible and use them God’s way for His glory. Certainly this is best, and one example might be Tony Dungy, coach of the Indianapolis Colts. Second, we can develop them fully but use them our way for our glory. An example of this might be Aerosmith, an outstanding group of musicians serving only to themselves. Third, we can neglect the abilities we’ve been given. For obvious reasons, no famous illustrations spring to mind.
Though I think we could have a robust debate over whether the misuse of God’s gifts or the nonuse of them is a more grievous error, my only real task is to take option number one. In doing so, I show gratitude for His generosity. But perhaps just as importantly, I show people that God was not a fool for entrusting them to me.
TOD 02.07.08
Imagine a man is forced to live in some horrendous place he detests like, say, Phoenix. He hates the heat, the dull landscape, and the lack of seasons. But then imagine that this man subsequently finds a fantastic job. Then he meets a wonderful woman who loves him and gives him beautiful children. He discovers a church where he really belongs. And he even starts to enjoy the local sports teams.
Is this man happy? Yes. Is it because Phoenix cooled off, became more colorful, or developed seasons? No. It’s because he found blessings of far more importance than these flaws. He didn’t forget about them. They were outshined. And that’s how it works with God. At first, we might come to Him hoping He will fix our “real” problems, and maybe He even does so. But eventually, simply having Him becomes so potent a blessing that alleviating the former problems becomes insignificant.
And the only real tragedy is that some people never get to see enough of God for that to become their reality.
Is this man happy? Yes. Is it because Phoenix cooled off, became more colorful, or developed seasons? No. It’s because he found blessings of far more importance than these flaws. He didn’t forget about them. They were outshined. And that’s how it works with God. At first, we might come to Him hoping He will fix our “real” problems, and maybe He even does so. But eventually, simply having Him becomes so potent a blessing that alleviating the former problems becomes insignificant.
And the only real tragedy is that some people never get to see enough of God for that to become their reality.
TOD 02.06.08
For anyone who loves simple answers and has a deep bias against nuance and complexity, the Bible can be very frustrating. For instance, how does the Bible say we should fight stupidity? Jesus says to not cast pearls before swine, but He also preached to thousands of people. Elijah mocked the prophets of Baal, but Paul reasoned respectfully with the Romans. Jesus confronted and insulted the Pharisees publicly, but James says to correct brothers privately. Solomon says to both avoid answering fools and also to answer them.
Thus, even a cursory reading says that the Biblical answer to this particular question is an emphatic, “Well, it depends….” This may not be satisfying to us who want simple, rigid, absolute answers, but it is an indication of two important facts.
First, God is complex when He should be complex, which means He remains complex even when we wish He would be simple. Second, the Bible was not concocted by men. Man’s concoctions don’t so brazenly contradict his own desires.
Thus, even a cursory reading says that the Biblical answer to this particular question is an emphatic, “Well, it depends….” This may not be satisfying to us who want simple, rigid, absolute answers, but it is an indication of two important facts.
First, God is complex when He should be complex, which means He remains complex even when we wish He would be simple. Second, the Bible was not concocted by men. Man’s concoctions don’t so brazenly contradict his own desires.
TOD 02.05.08
It’s nice to have rules. They make it possible to play games, earn grades, and make a living. when it comes to politics, I worry that we’ve fear we’ve learned to not care about those rules, the Constitution. Compare two different issues. Concerning gun ownership, there is an explicit protection in the rules, but some people have argued that the wording only protects the arming of militias. Concerning abortion, there is no explicit protection in the rules at all, yet many of these same people have concluded that this must be an unlimited right.
Paradoxically, they claim that a few sentences point to nothing beyond the narrowest understanding of the words used, whereas no sentences at all point to the most expansive interpretation of the silence. Ironically, this view implies that an actual amendment concerning abortion might have allowed fewer of them whereas the absence of a Second Amendment would have required the government to subsidize handguns.
Yes, having rules is good, but when people care so little for trying to follow them, what solace is there that they even exist?
TOD 02.04.08
One common theoretical objection to Christianity is that it would be unfair to send people to hell for merely never having heard the Gospel. Ignoring all the mistaken premises here, is the main idea even right? But, is it always wrong to hold people accountable for what they don’t know? If so, then the absurd conclusion would be that we should flee all knowledge so as to avoid all blame.
Yet, when a criminal doesn’t know his behavior was illegal, the courts tell him that ignorance of the law is no excuse. When parents say they are doing the best they know how, we properly tell them that they should have known more. And, in a more tangible way, contrary to the popular aphorism, what you don’t know can make you poor, make you sick, and even kill you. This isn’t a judgment per se, but it’s certainly a form of accountability. So whether it’s from the punishment of people or circumstances, ignorance often will not protect you.
Thus, we say that a person should work hard to be sure he knows the most he can. And if so, how much more true for us blessed with personal, direct access to God’s Word for ourselves?
Yet, when a criminal doesn’t know his behavior was illegal, the courts tell him that ignorance of the law is no excuse. When parents say they are doing the best they know how, we properly tell them that they should have known more. And, in a more tangible way, contrary to the popular aphorism, what you don’t know can make you poor, make you sick, and even kill you. This isn’t a judgment per se, but it’s certainly a form of accountability. So whether it’s from the punishment of people or circumstances, ignorance often will not protect you.
Thus, we say that a person should work hard to be sure he knows the most he can. And if so, how much more true for us blessed with personal, direct access to God’s Word for ourselves?
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