Monthly Archives: January 2015

Blessed or Burdened?

Posted on by under Uncategorized

After months—very discouraging months—of having it on the market, we finally sold our house last year. But even better, we got an offer for our asking price at the same time that we closed on the house we currently live in. It was one of those moments when we, as Christians, say “we are so blessed”.

Well, that is true. We are so blessed. But not for the reasons that usually prompt the statement. Those words—“we’re so blessed” roll of our saved tongues like marbles off a slanted table without even a second thought. We say how were so blessed because there were ten minutes left on the parking meter when we stopped at the post office.  We say how were so blessed because when we went to Target to replace our burnt-out toaster, we got a new one for half price. We say these words without even thinking about what we are saying (just like we say “I’m absolutely starving” when we really mean to say, “I feel a bit hungry”—I will save that one for another rant).

Before you begin to question my gratitude to God for every good and perfect gift, hear me out.

We really need to be careful when we talk about our blessings. When we talk about how God blessed us with the healthy birth of our daughter, what does that inadvertently communicate to our brother and sister who just lost their own baby or had a difficult birth? That they are not equally blessed—that somehow God favored us and not them?

We really need to be careful when we talk about our blessings. When we return from a mission trip to an impoverished country and share about how blessed we are as a nation, what does that unintentionally communicate about the millions of Christians around the world living on less than $2 per day? That they are somehow and for some reason not under the umbrella of God’s faithfulness and provision?

On the surface, the phrase seems to be theologically accurate. Why wouldn’t I want to give God the glory for everything I have? Isn’t that the right thing to do?

Yes, we should live lives of gratitude. But our gratitude cannot be based on our positive circumstances or material gains. The moment we say that our material or circumstantial fortunes are the result of God’s blessing, we reduce God to, as Miroslav Volf puts it, a cosmic Santa Clause[i] “randomly bestowing gifts upon his followers”. One blogger said, “I can’t help but draw parallels to how I handed out M&M’s to my own kids when they followed my directions and chose to poop in the toilet rather than in their pants.”

God is not using positive reinforcement to get us to obey Him. I am a professional counselor. I use behavioral modification techniques to help people change unwanted behaviors. I studied how Pavlov used classical conditioning to get dogs to salivate when they heard a buzzer. This happened after being conditioned by being given food every time a buzzer sounded. Soon, they didn’t need food to salivate, just the sound of a buzzer. Like Pavlov’s dogs, our Christian culture has conditioned us to respond with, “I feel so blessed” every time something goes our way. Sure, God wants us to be grateful people. But He is not trying to get us to obey Him and love him through positive reinforcement or token economies. God is not a behavioral psychologist.

During our years in Kathmandu, Nepal, my wife and I served with some amazing Nepali believers. Unfortunately though, many of their spiritual mentors had taught them elements of the prosperity gospel. These Nepali believers were people who were faithful to God while also barely getting by on a few rupees a day. But they continued to be taught that if they just had enough faith and enough positive belief, God would show his favor. Time and again we would hear from the pulpit that the bad things happening to them were the result of their lack of faith. Faithfulness would lead to favor.

The problem? Nowhere in scripture are we promised worldly ease in return for our faithfulness. In fact, as my wife likes to point out, most of the Apostles from the Bible (you know, Peter, Thomas, Andrew etc.) died painful deaths as martyrs. I was reminded of that when I visited the chapel in India where Thomas was thought to have been run through with a spear for sharing the gospel.

Jesus spells out his definition of blessing clearly in Matthew 5: 1-12.

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him,

And He began to teach them, saying:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Even though Jesus made it plain as the red-on-white pages of the Gospel of Matthew, we ignore what he means by being blessed. We hijack the word “blessed” to make it fit neatly into our comfortable lives. without intending to, we have created a cosmic Santa Clause where every sincere prayer buys us the present at the top of our wish list. In the process, we stand the risk of alienating those who feel (or genuinely are) less “blessed” than we are.

I recall our years of leading Servant Teams to Kolkata, India and talking with twenty-somethings who were devastated by the poverty around them. They were from normal middle-class America and were witnessing the heart-wrenching affects of grinding poverty for the first time. They were wrestling with the guilt of their birth to affluent homes in North America. “Why was I born where I was born and they were born where they were born?” These were important questions for them to wrestle with although there were no clear answers. The truth is, I have no idea why I was born where I was or why I have the opportunities that I have. It’s beyond comprehension. But I certainly don’t believe God has chosen me above others because of the veracity of my prayers, the depth of my faith, and certainly not because of the color of my passport. It is true that if I take advantage of the opportunities set before me, a comfortable life may come my way. It’s not guaranteed. If it does happen, however, I don’t believe Jesus will call me blessed. At least not by His definition.

He may call me “burdened.”

He will ask, “What will you do with it? Will you use it to help? Will you share it?” This reminds me of Matthew chapter 25 when Jesus is talking about separating the sheep from the goats, “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me…” He was talking about blessings here. “Where you a blessing when you had opportunity to be?”

We are so blessed. We are SO blessed. But mark my words; it is not because my house finally sold. It is not because I found a parking meter with ten minutes on it. It is not because of my education, my standard of living, or that I live in America.

My blessing is this. I know a God who gives hope to the hopeless. I know a God who loves the unlovable. I know a God who comforts the sorrowful, who brings sight to the blind and sets the captives free. And that God calls me His son, dwells within me and gives me the power to truly be a blessing.

[i] Volf, Miroslav. Free of Charge, Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. Zondervan. Grand Rapids, MI. 2005.

Risking to Have Faith

Posted on by under Advent

Today is Epiphany. Christmas is coming down in our house. Of all the decorations and lights, we have about nine nativity scenes. My wife loves them. Some are true works of art and are beautiful to look upon.  Others are more humorous.  Some have sentimental meaning to us.  This year I realized that it can become easy to focus more on the scene and not on the reality that the scene merely provides a context for the real content–the coming of Emmanuel–God-with-us.  And anytime we begin to focus on the externals of the incarnation, we risk missing the deep implications of the coming of the presence of God in our daily lives.

“Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz,  “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”  But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”  Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also?  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:10-14

We tend to hear Isaiah’s prediction of the birth of “Emmanuel” as a wondrous announcement, the astounding prediction of a birth to take place 700 years after it was spoken. Indeed, it is a marvelous prophesy for us who have that long-term perspective.  But in its original context, it had nothing at all to do with Jesus. The birth announcement was understood as a warning to a wicked king.  Facing the danger of an invasion from Babylon, King Ahaz had chosen to rely on the military might of Assyria to protect him, and in the process, he abandoned his fidelity to the God of his ancestors. Ahaz “piously” refused to ask for a sign because he did not want confirmation that Isaiah was speaking for God–a backhanded affirmation that he did believe, but refused to obey, the prophet’s words.  Ahaz understood as clearly as centuries later, Herod would understand that the coming of “Emmanuel,” the active presence of God, could be very bad news to the status quo of their kingdoms. It was true then, and remains so for anyone who chooses coercive power or material security over trust and fidelity to God.

Matthew chose this passage from Isaiah as the first of his prophecy-fulfillment statements about Jesus. It is also an invitation to reconsider our own anticipation of Emmanuel, God with us.

“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God—the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.  Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faithfor his name’s sake.  And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.  To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 1:1-7

What does the coming of Emmanuel imply? Paul will answer with typically counterintuitive statements. This reading from Romans begins by naming Jesus as Christ, descended from David and established as Son of God through the Spirit. For Paul, that creed has very personal consequences. As a result of his faith, Paul identifies himself as a “slave of Christ.” Ironically, that identification gives him radical freedom. He is free from the Law, free from living up to anyone’s expectations, free to be “set apart” so that his life will have but one goal. For Paul, faith in Christ engendered the freedom to obey God and God alone, and to offer that same freedom to everyone in the world.

“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.  Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.  But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”  All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:  “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).  When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.” Matthew 1:18-24

Matthew recounts the real-life scandal and the potentially tragic dimensions of Emmanuel’s advent. Joseph plays the central role here, and he is the opposite of his ancestor Ahaz. When Joseph confronted what had to be interpreted as unexpected and bad news, he did what any prudent person does: He slept on it before coming to a decision. That may be a key to understanding his character; a less humble, less self-confident man would have made a priority of protecting his reputation. Whereas Ahaz opted for salvation through military might, Joseph, like his father Abraham, entertained an angel and discovered an alternative. Joseph accepted the risk of faith. He took to heart the angel’s primary message: “Do not be afraid.”

Where does this lead us today? What do our readings tell us about Emmanuel and our anticipation of his presence? Isaiah reminds us that the coming of Emmanuel will expose our deepest motivations and priorities. In reality, like Ahaz, we will expose ourselves by the type of power we put our faith in and the signs we choose to believe in. It is up to us whether or not Emmanuel’s coming is good news for us.

When we listen to Paul, we understand that Emmanuel offers us the chance to claim our own deepest identity. If we so choose, everything that we are and do will revolve around Christ. In that, we will know a new freedom. No one else will be able to define us because we will live with the power of the grace of the risen Christ, who has conquered all things.

Finally, Matthew offers us the model of Joseph as one whose faith made him unafraid. Would it be any wonder if, as he slept on his decision, he asked God for a sign about what to do? Whether or not he begged for a sign, Joseph risked everything on his faith in God’s quiet messages to him. Joseph welcomed Emmanuel and claimed him as his own.

Now, as we end our Advent season, we are invited to look to the deeper meaning of our pretty nativity scenes and question ourselves. Do we want to be open to new signs of God’s presence? Are we willing to center our entire lives on Christ and to live in the freedom he offers us? Will we, with Joseph, risk the adventure of faith in spite of its unexpectedness and insecurity? If we can offer God even a hesitating “Yes” to those questions, the coming and the presence of Emmanuel will be good news for us. He did come and has promised to remain.