|
|
Articles from this month's issue of the Berean News |
Perspectiveby Larry UrbaniakThere is no doubt that a Christian should consider virtue a commendable goal. We Christians need to uphold high moral standards, have outstanding reputations, and be witnesses of the difference that Christ makes in the living of our lives. According to the dictionary, a virtuous person is a person who is chaste and pure. Interestingly enough, the second definition in my dictionary includes the term “potent”. A person who is virtuous, who is pure, is potent - has power. Plato distinguished four cardinal virtues: prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice. Later Christian moralists called these the “natural virtues”. They also added what they called the “supernatural or theological virtues”: faith, hope, and charity. Virtue is really just simply moral excellence. It is the practice and action of morality. We are now going through a time of moral laxity and breakdown in our society. This is not unique to our time. Historically it has happened frequently, and sometimes much worse than at present. Knowing this may keep us from becoming doomsday salesmen (or incorrectly predicting the final days), but it does not lessen the impact on our lives. We need to combat the present moral laxity by drawing clear strong lines for ourselves. We need to fight the lack of moral standards both verbally and with action. We need to make it clear that there are certain sins that the Bible clearly defines. And that the acceptance and continual practice of sin can and will affect a person’s eternal destiny. Virtue, however, should not only give a person power, but also joy. And while virtue is a very positive goal, it is not the ultimate goal of a Christian’s quest. We need to be very careful not to over-react to society’s lack of morality. Too many religious groups (and individuals) set up their own check lists of morality. Especially conservative Christians have a tendency to become legalistic, to kill both the joy and liberty that should always be present in Christ. Virtue is good. The lust for virtue is not. Trying to be good enough to merit joy is not only impossible and unscriptural, but also an unwelcome burden. We should not put such a heavy load on either ourselves or our fellow Christians. We are responsible for our own morality, not that of the whole world or even of every person we know. I do not think a Christian can be too virtuous. Most of us, in fact, can be much more virtuous than we are. But I do think that Christians can make virtue too important. The lust for virtue is not only a fatal joy-killer, but even worse it denies grace. Virtue, like most things in this life, needs to be kept in proper perspective. And the grace of God is just the needed quality to keep virtue in balance. |
|
Roy's Reflections Throw Away Time The scriptures told us the story of how the shepherds reacted to the news of Jesus' birth. An angel appears to them in the field and tells them that a Savior has been born and that they can find the newborn Babe in a manger. This is “good news,” the angel reassures them. Hearing this, the shepherds don't waste any time thinking it over or talking it over or wondering what might happen next. They're too excited for any of that. We can sense an almost childlike attitude in their response as they say to one another, spontaneously, “Let's go! Let's go over to Bethlehem and see what's happening.” And “they went with haste,” Luke tells us, “and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:16). Wouldn't this New Year be a good time for us to embark on the adventure of becoming childlike again? Have you watched little children playing lately? They giggle with the excitement of seeing a yo-yo climb back on its string. They caress kittens and taste snowflakes and talk to imaginary friends. For most of us, such scenes bring up memories deep inside us -- memories of a time when life was simpler and sweeter. There is a newspaper cartoon strip called “The Small Society” in which the author seems to be telling us that our society is coming apart at the seams. For example, one cartoon shows a sidewalk Santa Claus standing next to his artificial chimney and ringing his little bell. Facing him is a little girl who says, “I don't believe in Santa Claus anymore.” To which Santa replies, “That's okay, I don't believe in kids anymore.” Another cartoon depicted a father and son confrontation. The teenage son is slouched down in an easy chair, looking very depressed. His father seems concerned, trying very hard to communicate with his son. He says, “Of course we all want a purpose in life ... but I promise you that after awhile you'll be too busy making a living to worry about it.” As a Society, are we coming to the point where we don't believe in anything anymore? As a Society, are we too busy to think about our true purpose in life? When did life become so grim? What happened to the openness, the spontaneity, and the freshness? Didn't Jesus tell His followers to become like little children again? And wouldn't it be wonderful if we could carry out a New Year's resolution to do just that? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could maintain our maturity where necessary but at the same time become childlike again -- in a new attitude of openness and freshness and spontaneity and trust in our relationship with God and in our relationships with one another? Are you ready for a fresh year of wonder and discovery? Are you ready to be surprised by what the new life that is in store for you will feel like if you practice a childlike faith? Today, some of you can rejoice like the shepherds at the manger in the context of your immediate family situation. Others cannot rejoice in that context. Perhaps your children have grown up and gone away from you. Perhaps your spouse has died. Perhaps you have lost a parent or a sister or brother whom you loved very much. But I want to tell you that you can begin this New Year in the certain knowledge that you are not alone -- ever! To understand this is to understand something of what those shepherds knew when they discovered this loving family in that Bethlehem stable. “Once they saw,” Luke tells us, “they understood what had been told them concerning the Child”. Somehow, they knew that God had chosen to reveal, through Jesus, a love they could trust to be with them always. Somehow they knew, as they gazed upon the Babe in the Manger, that they could trust in God's promise to be with them always. The shepherds saw a husband and wife and a newborn Baby, and somehow immediately understood that Jesus was the total expression of unselfish, agape' love from God. January, the first month of the year, gets its name from the Roman god, Janus or Januarius. This pagan god was represented as having two heads and two pairs of eyes. Each head faced in the opposite direction from the other and each pair of eyes looked in the opposite direction from the other. It is believed that from this representation of Januarius came the custom of the New Year's resolution. Those of us who make New Year's resolutions are simultaneously looking back at how we performed in the old year and looking ahead to how we will improve our performance in the New Year. People who have been in Rome on New Year's Eve tell us that the celebrations there are unlike anything they have experienced at home. The celebrations begin at noon on December 31 with a booming cannon and a mounting crescendo of noisemakers. As night comes on, bright tracer flashes cut across the sky and, finally, at midnight, the cheers go up and there is lots of hugging and kissing and dancing in the streets. But that's not all ... The Romans think that New Year's Eve is an appropriate time to rid themselves of the old and take on the new, not just symbolically, but actually, by throwing old or worn-out things out their windows -- a torn dress, a frayed suit, a pair of socks with holes in the toes, a cracked dish, a broken-down chair, and so on. Visitors are warned, quite seriously, to stay in their hotel rooms to avoid being hit by one of these flying objects during “Throw Away Time.” A sound idea would be for us to resolve this New Year to adopt a “Throw Away Time” for the disposal of old, tired, depressing, fearful, gloomy thoughts and attitudes. A good New Year’s resolution could be to establish a deliberate nightly ritual of purging ourselves of all negative thoughts, in order to put our minds and hearts in good working order for the coming day. We could summon up all the jealousies, over-anxieties, hostilities and feelings of depression of the previous twenty-four hours and visualize them being thrown out of the window of our consciousness. Then with a childlike innocence, we could start each new day with a clean slate. |
|
Viewpoints
A Shunammite’s Story Hi, my name is Sue. The year is 864 B.C., and I live in Shunem. The people of Shunem are my people and I’m quite comfortable here, except for the fact that, well, frankly I wish I knew more about the real God. Now, for generations, my people have worshiped Baal, but honestly, nobody around here puts any stock in Baal anymore, and personally, “I’m looking around.” So, one day, I was looking out at the road and I saw these two Jewish guys walking along, and I thought to myself, “Hospitality is a good thing.” So I went out to meet them, and I offered them some food in my kitchen. Well, they accepted my invitation. We got to talking and let me tell you, hospitality is a good thing. It didn’t take me five minutes to figure out Elisha and his servant Gehazi were men of God. It turns out Elisha used to be the servant of Elijah, and everyone has heard of how Elijah humiliated the priests of Baal. So I extended an open invitation, that any time they’re passing by they can stop by for a bite. Well it turns out that my house is on the way between Mt. Carmel and Samaria, and they made the journey fairly often. So, I asked my husband Julius if we could set up a little room for them. You know, nothing fancy, just a bed, a table, a stool, and a candlestick. I told Julius, “You know, hospitality is a good thing.” And Julius said, “You’re right, honey.” So we set up this cute little room with a door to the outside, and the next time Elisha was passing by, he came in and took a nap. Next thing I know, Gehazi came and asked me to come to the room. Then Elisha said, “You’ve been really kind to us. What can we do for you?” Well, I just rolled my eyes and kind of shrugged. Then Gehazi said, “She has no child, and her husband is old.” So Elisha said to me, “Next year, you will have a son.” Well, I was flabbergasted, because Julius and I had been trying for years to have a child. So I said to Elisha, “Don’t lie to me.” But, Elisha told the truth. Indeed, we did have a son. We named him Taze, and taught him that hospitality is the blessing which brought him into the world. Years passed, and one morning, Taze complained of a severe pain in his head. They brought him to me and he sat in my lap all morning until around noon when he died in my arms. I was devastated. But I carried Taze to Elisha’s bed and laid him there. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks: I had to see Elisha. Julius concurred; provisions were made, and I took a servant and was off to Mt. Carmel. As we were getting close, Gehazi came running up and asked if all was well. I said, “It is well,” because frankly, there was something about Gehazi that I didn’t trust. But when I got to Elisha, I fell on the ground and hugged his feet. He said to me, “Why are you so troubled?” And I said, “My lord, you promised not to deceive me.” At that moment, Elisha knew what had happened. Elisha told Gehazi to take his staff and get to the child as quickly as possible to lay the staff on the child’s face, and we would follow. Well, Gehazi did as instructed, but nothing happened; and he came out to tell us as we approached the house. I looked at Elisha and saw the look in his eyes. It was a look of sheer determination. Soon, Elisha entered that room and shut the door. Well, I sat down, closed my eyes, and for the first time, I prayed to the God of Israel, whom I had come to know as the real God. I prayed for Taze and for Elisha; and as I prayed, a peace came over me which I cannot explain. After a while, Elisha called for Gehazi, and then Gehazi came back and escorted me into the room. Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather! There was Taze sitting up in the bed with a big smile on his face. My son was alive, and I fell at the feet of Elisha. Then Elisha told me to “Take up Taze,” for my dead child which I had placed on that bed was now my living child which I embraced. I look back now and thank my God for giving me that initial opportunity of service, to extend hospitality to two weary travelers, because it totally changed my life for the better. Thank you, God!
|
|
A Daughter's Heart
True Obligations Everyone has obligations. All kinds. Rare is the person, though, who meets them all the time. We're not built like robots, or controlled by logic all the time. We make mistakes, mess up, do the wrong thing, or just plain forget. I don't like to think about all the obligations I have taken on in the past and haven't fulfilled. It humbles me to recall them. What keeps me going is the thought that if I had only tried to tackle the things I knew without a doubt at which I would succeed, I would have done far fewer things, and been far less helpful. Each of us has our built-in limitations. There's only so much one person can do, and we each have our strengths and weaknesses. It really helps when we make the most of the things for which we have a passion and pass on to someone else the tasks for which they were better suited. Projects seem to get accomplished with so much more ease and joy! It's a great day when we come to realize that we can trust someone else with something we thought of as only our domain. What freedom. The same sense of freedom about our whole life can be ours when we totally let go of all our obligations, priorities, values, and everything we are, and allow Jesus to be our head. Turn over your worries and cares, your traumas and mistakes, even your successes and accomplishments. Turn them over to your head and king, and trust him to set them right in your life. Follow where he leads you. Enjoy the freedom he gives you to let go of all the false guilt, pain, self-absorption and pride. Enjoy the sense of trusting that no matter how we may stumble or mess up, everything will turn out for the best! Wouldn't that be a great way to start out the new year? That would be a great way to live! And we have the means right here, right now. Do it! Trust and let go, and watch your life change and grow. You will be an example of treating people with justice and not just having mercy on them, but LOVING it; simply from walking humbly with your God! Micah would be pleased. Congratulations, and have a blessed year!
|