The Historical Timeline of the Nativity

Or, How Are Parents Supposed to Know all this Stuff?

A new tradition for the Long family is watching the feature length live-action film The Nativity somewhere around Christmas each year. It's a great film for giving kids a visual on the Lukan birth narratives.

We watched it last night and somewhere around two thirds of the way through the Younger Sister asked, "Was the Ice Age before this, Daddy?"

I stifled my giggle and replied as flatly as possible, "Why, yes, it was."

She's seven now, so the question didn't really surprise me. It was cute that she knows enough history to ask the question, but not enough to place the two pieces in a contextual time line. You child development specialists could have a field day on that. But I think the more telling part of the story is not her question, but me stifling my giggle.

Why did I do that?

I didn't think long about that question. I know. She's the youngest of the three, and she's not acting like a little kid much these days. I stifled the giggle in the same way I push down on top of her head teasingly and say, "Stop growing up!" I stifled the giggle - probably mistakenly - because I like that fact that she knows some things but still needs me to place them in context for her. I stifled the giggle because of my own need to be needed.

I suppose we spend much of our parenting years in this important work of contextualizing life: helping kids make sense out of pain, plugging the holes in the meta-narratives, and answering those most important questions about love, sex, faith, power, and, yes, even where the Ice Age falls on the timeline relative to the birth of Christ.

Two Kinds of Waiting

You just wait 'til your father gets home!"  

Bill Cosby in a stand-up routine once told about coming home from work only to be greeted by his wife with the words, "I want you to go upstairs and kill that boy."  I've waited in my room, nervously knowing that my posterior was going to meet an inanimate object at the end of my father's arm.  I usually deserved it, too. 

That's one type of waiting.

There's another type of waiting, a glad kind.  It's what I experienced when my father took a business trip.  He'd be gone for several days but upon returning, he almost always bore a souvenir of some sort.   One time it was a piece of petrified tree from California, another time a perpetual calendar from Niagara, a pencil sharpener in the base of the Empire State Building, or a bag of volcano ash from Mt. Saint Helen.  No matter where he went or how long he stayed, I knew my dad would return to his family bearing gifts.  Those gifts were neat, but the real power was in how they conveyed a deeper truth:  He'd been thinking of us while he was gone, and had definite plans to return.

We Christians wait similarly.  We've been taught that though Jesus ascended to heaven, he is planning a return, and at that return he will bring about justice and restore God's rule.  That's a heck of a gift to bring your children after a celestial business trip.  Chapter three of a letter in the Bible entitled 2 Peter deals with how it is that we are to be found waiting.  Again we have two types of waiting - as those who live with no regard to holiness and may expect punishment for our deeds, or as those who pursue holiness and can expect to take part in God's great kingdom.  

In Advent, we celebrate the first arrival of Jesus by celebrating his birth.  But we also celebrate his impending return.  Peter suggests that as we await that return we should "...strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish...and forewarned."  The promise of Jesus' return is good, but there is a darker, nearly foreboding side to the promise:  How we wait matters. 

I'll be talking about this further in a sermon this Sunday(12/7) at Willow Meadows Baptist Church.  If you're in Houston I hope you'll join us for worship at either 10:45 or 11:45 that morning and see what all this "waiting hype" is about.  In the mean time, me and Richard Marx will be - 

Right Here Waiting For You,

Pastor Gary

And no, Richard Marx will not be singing at our church this Sunday - that was my attempt at humor involving a rocker from the 1980's - although it's debatable if Richard Marx could be accurately called a "rocker."  

For the Record

Rich Cizik's forced resignation as director of the National Association of Evangelicals was just plain wrong.  

Peace & Righteousness Will Kiss

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Larry, Moe, and Curly

Christmas and Carols

Some things just go together.  But sometimes things that belong together aren’t always kept together.  Like that lone ranger in your sock drawer, or the hex nut in your hand that is separated from the bolt that has declared “sanctuary” in your garage.   Through the course of time things that belong together get separated.  Maybe it’s you and a friend, maybe it’s you and your spouse.  Maybe you’re estranged from someone whom you love very much, but you find it exceedingly difficult to reach out to him.  

Advent, as it moves us toward Christmas, offers the promise of many things to come when God fulfills the Kingdom that is both here and “not yet.”  Psalm 85 speaks of a time when two things seemingly separated in our day will be reunited.   Psalm 85.11 speaks of a day of salvation when “love and faithfulness meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other.”  

That doesn’t sound much like the world we see around us.  The great news of Advent is that it points us again and again to the birth of the Christ.  And the birth of Christ set a plan in motion whereby God intends to bring back together all the things that belong together.  Me and you, us and God, the world unto itself.  This Psalm speaks of a day when the promise of peace and righteousness will become a reality.  

Join us at Willow Meadows this Advent season to prepare your soul to celebrate the birth of Christ as if it were the first time.  As you take stock of the things in your life that belong together but are separated, may you find joy in God’s promise that broken things can be made whole again.  Even your separated socks.

A good prayer for this December:  “God, help me to see my part in the broken relationships of my life and to work to mend those things.  May peace and righteousness, as well as love and faithfulness, guide me to participate in bringing peace and righteousness together in Your world.  Amen”

I'm a Winner

So far today, I've won the following things, and was informed via email:

1.  The Irish Lottery (1.1 million pounds - I didn't know the Irish had a currency in pounds???)

2.  A $1.15 million dollar inheritance from a man I apparently nursed to health in the Vietnam war who remembered me and wanted his estate to go the "brave soldier who saved his life."  Funny, I was born in 1970.  

3.  A $550,000.00 sweepstakes claim from Benson & Hedges cigarettes.  I was a little confused, however, when the email told me to reply with my name, age, social security number (for tax purposes, of course), my mother's maiden name, my phone number, my mailing address, and my employer's name.  It gave me a specific address to which I should reply because the "reply address" on the email was not monitored.  You'd think Benson and Hedges would at least take the time to send an email awarding half a mil from a monitored address, don't you think?  Strangely, the information they asked sounded just like the credit app I filled out for my mortgage.

And that's just today.  One can only ponder what will be in my email tomorrow!  What have you won recently?  

Thursday Aphorism

I don't think I got this from anyone else, if I did, my apologies:

A short memory is grace's good companion.

Grace for Monday

I know Monday's are hard for a lot of folk for a lot of reasons.  Here's a good quote from Frederick Buechner to keep things in perspective:

The grace of God means something like:  Here is your life.  You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn't have been complete without you.  Here is the world.  Beautiful and terrible things will happen.  Don't be afraid.  I am with you.  Nothing can ever separate us.  It's for you I created the universe.  I love you.  There's only one catch.  Like any other gift, the gift of grace can be yours only if you'll reach out and take it.  Maybe being able to reach out and take it is a gift too.  

That's from his book Beyond Words - Daily Readings from the ABC's of Grace.  

I'm reading a collection of his sermons called Secrets in the Dark and they are fabulous.  I've never really enjoyed reading sermons in print because sermons are to living in a spoken kind of way.  This set is different, though.

My prayer today is that you and I would be able to reach out and take the gift of grace.   

Forgive Me Lord, for I am Becoming Intolerant

My Intolerance of Southern Baptists is Growing.

This article from Associated Baptist Press illustrates why Baptists are having an increasingly difficult time sharing the gospel with a lost world.  A gathering of the Baptist State Convention in North Carolina this week voted down a giving plan that would allow churches to designate a portion of their financial support to go to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

I don't find this startling news.  After all, "they's kin."  What I mean is, I came from good ol' North Carolina (EXCURSIS ALERT! By the way, the UNC basketball regular season tips off on this Saturday - from the moment of this writing, that's just over 27 hours, but who's counting?  And to my brother-in-law Andy, I am praying for you in your grief on November 19, the day after UNC plays UK.  Andy's a Kentucky fan who will watch his boys wilt under Roy's hand again this year).  Now back to Baptist stuff.  I understand the mentality.  Or at least I think I used to.

Having been raised a Baptist in NC, I was taught that local churches participated voluntarily with state organizations.  I was also taught that part of being Baptist was expressing our differences and celebrating our diversity - not about lockstep uniformity.  That uniformity now seems to be the highest value among conservative pastors there, not church freedom.  The details in the ABP article support my position.

This is deeply troublesome to me, but I really shouldn't be surprised.  Baptists have increasingly marginalized themselves over the last few decades as a few tyrants in shepherd's clothing have grappled for power and prestige.   The carnage along the side of the path to power includes good men and women, pastors and professors who have served Baptists faithfully for years.  That doesn't even count the lay people so disgusted by it all they have either gone to other expressions of Christianity, or left the Church altogether.  And who could even reasonably estimate the number of folk Baptists will never reach because of our tainted image as hypocrites and Pharisees.  We were so concerned with inerrancy and keeping women in "their place" that we forgot about telling the Good News, never mind acting justly and with mercy.   I believe God does not walk with the machine called Southern Baptists, because Southern Baptists have not walked humbly with God.

My fears about the ultimate isolation of fundamentalist Baptists subculture, and their ultimate irrelevance in American culture, were realized when I read that fellow pastor Eric Page of Victory Baptist Church actually said, "It's time for us to pop out a can of spinach and put an end to tolerance."   On the convention floor.  In public.  To other Christians.  I'm sorry, but there is no contextualizing that my feeble mind can fabricate to make this an ok statement.  

How can any self-respecting Christian say such a thing?  To "put an end to tolerance" would be a setback to our society, and to the cause of Christ.  Jesus' ways were about respect and grace.  Jesus did not call Pastor Page to "follow me and eliminate tolerance."  Jesus calls each of us to "follow him" - and there is no further amendment to that call, except to say that in following him we are to live out that Golden Rule.

Ending tolerance sounds antithetical to "loving neighbor as self."  Pastor Page and NC Baptists, for the sake of us all, could you please retract that or explain it?  Meanwhile, I'll be on my knees asking God's forgiveness of my intolerance of your intolerance.

Guest Column

Todd Ferguson is one of the Associate Pastors at Willow Meadows Baptist, where I serve as Pastor.  Todd handled the graveside portion of a funeral recently and wrote this great piece about the funeral industry.  Thanks, Todd, for sharing.  You may direct comments to him by posting here.

The Factory

 

The art on the wall was mass-produced, and the ficus was definitely fake.  The carpet was supple and industrial and dark forest green to make sure no stains would show.  There was even a coffee station.  The woman with the name badge looked at me with a genuine but well-rehearsed smile.  I told her who I was, and she replied, “Yes- You are in Grand Room 3.”  I graciously smiled back, but internally, I sighed deeply as I walked passed other rooms with fake ficus trees and fake art.

I sighed because I was not walking to any ballroom at any national hotel in America.  Sure, places like Holiday Inn or Double Tree are known for their Hobby Lobby-esque art, their industrial carpet, and their coffee stations.  I sighed because I was at a funeral home.

“Funeral Home” is such an ironic term for what I experienced today.  The word “home” implies a place of familiarity, of comfort, and of knowing.  The family that I saw today was not familiar with the couch on which they were sitting.  There was no dip in its springs from years of watching TV with the rest of the family, no Dr. Pepper stain from a Friday night 3 years ago.  Instead, this family- in the midst of their grief- was removed from all comfort and familiarity and placed in a foreign “home” so that they could mourn.

However, they couldn’t mourn too long because the genuine-but-rehearsed woman with the name badge guided us to the actual gravesite (while another family moved into Grand Room 3).   As we drove to the site, we passed thousands and thousands of other graves.  They were testaments to the thousands of other families who sat on that same couch back in Grand Room 3 looking at the same fake ficus tree through their weary eyes.

I could go on and on to describe the experience, but I’ll stop.  This funeral home, which is a franchised chain of thousands of funeral homes, did the best they could.  I am not blaming them.  The woman with the name badge was pleasant, respectful, and extremely helpful in facilitating a funeral.  I think, however, that the funeral home is a product of our culture.

Since the 1780’s, our culture has been creating factories because the factory system can accomplish things more quickly, efficiently, and cheaply.  It’s easier to build watches if all parts are made in one location with one streamlined method with one series of interchangeable parts.  That’s the factory system.  Before this process became popular, each watch piece had to be handcrafted at the watchmaker’s shop. 

Today, I experienced a funeral factory.  In this location, there was a streamlined method for how to take care of a loved one’s death.  Chapel, Grand Rooms, gravesites- they were all there at this one place, and it was efficient.  We celebrated this beautiful woman’s rich and full life in under 30 minutes.

            My question is this: “Is this the best place to honor Grandmother’s life and to lay her body to rest?”  A funeral and a gravesite are places where a person’s life is both celebrated and remembered.  But at these funeral factories, life can not be celebrated because life was not lived there.  This beloved Grandmother did not worship week in and week out in that chapel.  She did not get up and make coffee every morning at that coffee station, and she did not take a long nap every Sunday afternoon on that couch.  This place is not known.  And because it is not known, it is not a “thin place” where the holy meets the mundane.

Instead, the funeral “home” is a location that removes death from everyday life. It keeps the sacred apart from the profane.  This funeral factory contained acres and acres of thousands of graves, separated from actual daily living that continues after the funeral is over.  Having death so far removed from our society keeps us arrogantly unaware that we, too, are mortal, and we will die.

Many people, especially Christians, are realizing the factory-like nature of funeral  homes.  They are wanting to hold together the sacredness of death and the holiness of everyday life.  One way many churches fuse these two is by building columbaria within their garden walls.  These places allow a loved one to rest in piece in the space where they worshiped God each week; it is a familiar place.  And because it is familiar, it is known, which is the perfect “thin place” for God to meet us.

Sarah and the Moose

Here's a picture - not an endorsement - of me with Palin again.  It was hysterically funny to watch all the little kids get their picture made with her at Trunk or Treat (outreach event at our church).  

Palin-ized!

Guess who's getting "Palin-ized" for Halloween?  This is me and the wife working on our costumes for Halloween.  

Guess what?  She even plays the flute!

I'm back...

Yikes, it's been over a month since I've written anything for the blog.  I've been very busy writing for a Bible Study publisher, working on my doctoral project, and writing a series of sermons.  And that little storm that blew through Houston has been more than distracting.   

For mental breaks I've been playing the Eyeball Game - it is quite addictive, but I justify the time by saying it's good for my geometry skills.  You can find it at Woodgear.  

More Ike Photos

For those of you friends and family reading from around the country, Ike has decimated Houston. There are over 2 million people without power, trees block many of the roads, and water continues to be a problem in low lying areas and the typical flood zones. Here are few more pictures to give you a "look see." We have tons more, but have to convert them from raw to jpegs and computer access is presenting a challenge in this regard - they'll be up as soon as possible.

Photo above is Braeswood near Fondren.

The photo above is a home in Maplewood - this is typical for most every house in SW Houston that I've seen. Unfortunately, Willow Meadows neighborhood is one of the worst hit, but I've not captured photos from there yet. The western eye-wall of Ike passed right over Willow Meadows.

The photo above is Fondren Middle School - notice the sign blown out.

Ike Photos

The Long family has thankfully survived Hurricane Ike. The long-time Houstonians we've spoken to said this is worse than Alisha in 1983. Having been here only 6 years I have to take their word on that one. What I can say is that this damage is some of the worst storm damage I've personally ever seen.

The house in the above photo is three doors down from us in the Braeburn Valley neighborhood. That and all the photos of storm damage were either shot by me or Traci.

These two houses are about 3 blocks from us. The house on the left was under renovation, and received heavy damage not visible in this photo.

Above photo - still in the Braeburn Valley neighborhood - two friends are having a beer together to cool down. Ike blew over the brick wall these guys are sitting on, as well as the fence in the background. Next photo is right across the street from these guys.

I'm a Little League Dad

I know that the sports fans among you are anticipating the arrival of football.  The fall sport really kicks off this weekend, but I've got my mind on baseball.  Little League baseball to be precise!  One of my favorite pastimes is being involved with my son's Little League experiences.  The ball park where he plays is sacred ground to me and it's a mini-vacation every time I go out.  I'd almost swear it's even 10 degrees cooler out there.

 

Some years I've helped coach, some years I've watched from the sidelines, but either way I thrill in knowing that Fall Ball is starting soon. Candidly, I must admit that part of the reason I love it is that I get to be a kid, too.  And I remember, like Bruce Springsteen, my "glory days."    No matter what I'm doing at the Westbury Little League field, I'm doing something Biblical - I'm remembering and I'm participating.

 

Such is the case for the ritual of the Passover, explained by Moses in Exodus 12.  In that passage Moses lays out the plan by which God is going to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.  Out of their bondage, the Jews will later learn that the "liturgy" he described had to precede their liberation, that relationships came before religion, and that the Passover wasn't all about celebration.

 

Like me at the baseball field, the Jews and Christians alike are called to remembrance and participation in the Passover as a part of God's ongoing plans for liberation of people.  If you'd like to hear more about what I mean, come take part in a series of teaching called Teach Your Children Well, Sundays between now and the end of October.  There will be eight familiar stories of faith for you to talk about with your children and others, as well as a new way of looking at what God was doing then and is doing now.

 

Play Ball!

Pastor Gary

 

Not a Sermon – Just a Thought is a weekly e-column written by me, Gary Long.  I’m the pastor of Willow Meadows Baptist Church in Houston.  To read more of my writing, check out my blog, Life to the Lees.  To subscribe or unsubscribe to this list, just contact me at glong@wmbc.org.

Edgar Lee Masters

I've just discovered this poet, and have a new fav that I thought I'd share. My blessing for you: May you have a broken fiddle.

The earth keeps some vibration going
There in your heart, and that is you.
And if the people find you can fiddle,
Why, fiddle you must, for all your life.

What do you see, a harvest of clover?
Or a meadow to walk through to the river?
The wind's in the corn; you rub your hands
For beeves hereafter ready for market;
Or else you hear the rustle of skirts
Like the girls when dancing at Little Grove.

To Cooney Potter a pillar of dust
Or whirling leaves meant ruinous drouth;
They looked to me like Red-Head Sammy
Stepping it off to 'Toor-a-Loor.'
How could I till my forty acres
Not to speak of getting more,
With a medley of horns, bassoons and piccolos
Stirred in my brain by crows and robins
And the creak of a wind-mill--only these?
And I never started to plow in my life
That some one did not stop in the road
And take me away to a dance or picnic.
I ended up with forty acres;
I ended up with a broken fiddle--
And a broken laugh, and a thousand memories,
And not a single regret.

Back to the Kids

So much blogging lately has been about Bible studies and sermons.  Important stuff, but time for a brief change of pace.   On Saturday we were working on "moving in" to the house we've been living in since November.  Why we're still unpacking is a long story and not really cogent.  

So my wife is putting things away and comes across a plastic tub of clothing that belonged to the Older Sister and was saved for the Younger Sister.  It was a nice trip down memory lane to the not-so-distant past of my teenager's childhood.  In the tub were some cute dresses, various outfits, and a jacket that I loved on the Older Sister because it looks like Joseph's "Coat of Many Colors."  

And some training bras.

Of course they needed explanation, which the Younger Sister took in rather stoically.  They went through the box trying various clothes on to see what fit, packing away for later the clothes that were "too big," piling what was "too small," and putting on hangers what was "just right."

Finished at last, her mom starts putting the "save for later" stuff back in the tub and the Younger Sister asks, "When will I need to wear those practice bras?"

Ahh, the Buffet

It’s the all-you-can-eat buffet. Eyes bigger than your stomach, you load up a plate and gorge, consuming substantially more food than you need.

Is it true hunger that drives you? Not likely, because most of us haven’t missed a meal lately.

Is it the need to “get my money’s worth” from the restaurant? That’s not likely either, because if you can afford to eat out you probably don’t truly worry about money.

So what drives us to gorge? Perhaps it’s that at our most basic level of belief there is a fear that there won’t be “enough.”

In Matthew 14 is the account of one of Jesus’ better known miracles – the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist had been executed, so Jesus withdrew to a deserted place, only to have 5,000 or so people follow him for his teachings. It is near dinner time at the end of a long day and the disciples urge Jesus to send everyone home since they are all getting hungry. But Jesus says no, “you feed them.”

The disciples inform Jesus there’s not near enough food to feed the crowd, only five loaves of bread and two fish. I can almost hear Jesus sigh with exasperation and say, “Bring it to me.” You know how the story ends.

Why is this an answer to why we gorge at buffets? Because we see the world the same way that those disciples saw those fish po-boys – from a view of scarcity. We say, “there just isn’t enough.” Jesus says instead, “There’s always room for one more at the table.” God’s provision was more than the people needed to be fed.

Scarcity versus abundance.

It’s a choice that shapes our interactions with the world. A scarcity view causes us to hoard and possess to the exclusion of others’ well-being. An abundance view helps us to be generous and kind with our lives and resources.

We Christians are children of the Father who not only created and “owns” everything in the cosmos, but also freely gives us all that we need. So when God calls us to feed the world our response shouldn’t be “we only have these loaves and fishes” but “with God, we can do that.” Let’s live together out of the view that God is “enough” for all our needs and concerns. He fed 5,000 but it could have just as easily been 5,000,000. That’s the way our God rolls.

Abundantly yours,
Pastor Gary

Quick Joke

Here's one I came across, thought others might enjoy this sappy pun:

Lost on a rainy night, a nun stumbles across a monastery and requests shelter there. Fortunately, she's just in time for dinner and was treated to the best fish and chips she's ever had.

After dinner, she goes into the kitchen to thank the chefs. She is met by two brothers, "Hello, I'm Brother Michael, and this is Brother Charles."

"I'm very pleased to meet you. I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful dinner. The fish and chips were the best I've ever tasted. Out of curiosity, who cooked what?"

Brother Charles replied, "Well, I'm the fish friar."

She turns the other brother and says, "Then you must be...?"

"Yes, I'm the chip monk."

Go ahead and groan, but you know you wanna laugh!

Extraordinary Wisdom for Everday Living - June 1, 2008

Hello my dear readers - the next five posts are from a Bible study series I wrote for The Baptist Standard onine edition for the month of June. Use them if you can!


STUDY THEME OUTLINE

The five Sundays of June, 2008 bring a great opportunity for your learners to grow in wisdom and strategy for living the Christian life well. By looking at five major portions of Proverbs, we will find Extraordinary Wisdom for Everyday Living. Here is how the lessons will break down for June:

Study Theme Structure:
Week of Lesson Title and Focal Passage

June 1 Your Ticket to Real Success
Proverbs 1:1-7; 2:4-8; 3:5-6,11-12

June 8 Three Rules for Working Smart
Proverbs 6:1-15

June 15 How to Storm-Proof Your Home
Proverbs 23:22–24:4

Revised 2/28/2007 June 22 Word Power Made Wise
Proverbs 17:27-28; 18:20-21; 25:11-12; 26:20-22,28

June 29 If Your Money Could Talk
Proverbs 3:9-10; 11:24-26; 13:11; 15:16-17; 16:11; 23:4-5



Study Theme Description:
Many people spend years getting an education and then learning a trade or becoming an expert in a particular field. Yet too often all those years of study do not prepare people for life itself. They know how to do things and solve problems, but they don’t know how to live wisely. In the Scriptures, the Lord has provided extraordinary wisdom so that people might know how to live successfully. These lessons are based on passages in the Book of Proverbs, a biblical book specifically written to teach wisdom, form character, and encourage an obedient relationship with the Lord.

The study theme focuses on selected biblical proverbs about characteristics of truly successful living, guidelines for conducting one’s work life, help for strengthening family life, benefits of using speech wisely, and principles for earning and using money well.



LESSON for JUNE 1, 2008

Study Theme: Extraordinary Wisdom for Everyday Living

Date: Week of June 1, 2008

Title: Your Ticket to Real Success

Adult Life Context:
Adults want to succeed in their lives. Just watch most of TV’s infomercials. They’re geared to show adults how they can succeed with little effort—in making a fortune in real estate, in getting physically fit, or in finding a perfect new love relationship. Many adults bounce from program to program and shell out bucket-loads of money in an attempt to discover their ticket to success. But are any of these programs about real success in life? As important as making money, pursuing good health, and finding romance may be to adults, the Scriptures point to something greater as the ticket to real success. They point out that God wants people to succeed in life by trusting in Him and living according to His ways.

Life Question:
How can I have real success in life?

Bible Passage(s):
Background Passage(s): Proverbs 1:1–3:35
Focal Passage(s): Proverbs 1:1-7; 2:4-8; 3:5-6,11-12
Sidebar: Word study on “Wisdom” (1:2,7; 2:6)

Biblical Truth:
The Lord wants people to succeed in living right, and He instructs those who know and trust Him in how they can do so.

Life Impact and Learning Goals:
This lesson is designed to help you exhibit godly wisdom in your everyday life by . . .
• agreeing that God wants you to succeed in living right; and
• adopting the Scriptures’ wise guidance for successful living.

General Instructions:
1. Assume Solomon’s authorship of the Focal Passages in this lesson.

2. A possible teaching-learning procedure for some adult life stage groups is to construct a personal vision statement for living successfully based on the principles they encounter in this lesson.

3.
Revised 2/28/2007The word success is mentioned specifically in Proverbs 2:7 (KJV, “sound wisdom”). Throughout the lesson, contrast the biblical view of success as right living to the worldly idea of success as mere self-fulfillment. Explain that “real success” in biblical terms involves fulfilling the purposes God has for His children.

Focal Passage Outline:

1. Learn from Scripture (Prov. 1:1-6)
Most of us get it backwards when it comes to the definition for success. For many success is about self-fulfillment, but real success in Biblical terms involves fulfilling the purposes that God has for us. That kind of success is more difficult to achieve, but it is possible! Success of the real kind can be found and experienced by applying principles of wisdom learned from scripture.

For this study we will focus on the wisdom literature attributed to Solomon, but likely gathered from many sources. This literature, called Proverbs makes up a body of ideas about how to live life as it was understood by the Hebrews. This collection of sayings and sage advice is God’s path to knowledge, wisdom, healthy relationships, and to a more satisfying life.

To get the most out this book, we need to explore it diligently. God’s wisdom in these holy verses is plain, straightforward, and understandable. But to make it work, you have to study it. Therefore, the first step to wisdom is to become willing to learn from the Scriptures and understand the Bible as authoritative and guiding in our lives.

Application Idea:
• By continuing to explore and apply diligently God’s wisdom in the Holy Scriptures, believers can increase in living rightly—and thus in living successfully. Share a plan for daily Bible reading with your learners. Some websites will email a daily Bible reading straight to your in-box. If your church provides daily devotional material, bring samples.

2. Revere the Lord (Prov. 1:7; 2:4-8)

Real success – in the Biblical sense – is based in living out God’s plan for our lives. Discovering and understanding that plan begins with reverence. Solomon taught that the way to wisdom began with this. The Psalms are full of supporting evidence with the view that the Lord is God and we are not. Thus, it is a matter of position, and more precisely, it is a matter of recognizing our position as subject of the heavenly King.

Proverbs 2 teaches that wisdom begins when a person acknowledges reverence for God. Once this proper positioning takes place then – and only then – can true wisdom to live successfully come into play. Various sports offer illustrations of this. A baseball batter cannot hit a pitched baseball until assuming the proper batting stance. A baseball fielder must in “baseball ready” position before the baseball is ever pitched if they hope to make a great catch. A tennis player cannot make an “ace” serve until the mechanics of the serve and timing are perfected. Both of these are based on the posture of the player, and this is especially so when it comes to receiving wisdom from God.


Application:

• We show that we treasure wisdom by diligently seeking to understand God and to follow God’s ways. But how does this look practically speaking? In other words, how can a Christian be “baseball ready” when it comes to living the faith? It begins with a position of humility that allows us to look in the mirror and say, “God is in charge here.” It continues with an attitude of dependence that says, “If I am to please God with my life today, I must choose to trust God for decisions and actions.” Ask your participants to assess their readiness for gaining wisdom. Ask them to assess their reverence for God.

3. Live by Faith (Prov. 3:5-6)
Living by faith is indeed a challenge. Solomon understood this when he suggested that we trust in God and relied on God’s guidance for insight and guidance. Living by faith means trusting God to take us beyond the limits of our own understanding into where God would have us go.

The challenge for us is trusting that God knows the ways to real success far better than we do ourselves. The great temptation is to think that we can figure it out on our own, or work hard enough. The reality is that we need a guide and that God can be that guide – if we will trust God and live by faith.

Living by faith necessarily includes lots of time spent learning God’s ways. Praying, studying Scripture, and fellowshipping with other believers is a great way to do this. Living by faith is difficult if not pursued with some discipline, as well as some sacrifice of “self” along the way. The good news is that the Lord wants to guide us in all our decisions – great or small – and help us to find the right pathway.

Application Idea:
• Recognizing the limitations of our understanding, we can succeed in living right by trusting in the Lord completely and following His guidance in all we do. A good illustration of this principle is that of a guide for hiking or fishing. When we trust someone experienced and follow them, we can be rewarded with incredible vistas and views we’d never find on our own. Or, in the case of a fishing guide, we’re able to catch fish better than if we tried based on our limited experiences. You might introduce this section of material by telling about a time you followed someone else’s experience or wisdom and reaped a benefit.

4. Appreciate God’s Correction (Prov. 3:11-12)
Solomon advised that the Lord’s instruction and loving correction are to be desired, not despised. But who among us has received discipline or correction and enjoyed it? It is difficult to hear things about our flaws that need improvement. It is embarrassing and sometimes damaging to adult egos to be reminded that we are not without a source of authority and correction – God the Father.

Mark Twain is often credited for this saying:
When I was 19 years old my father was the dumbest man on the earth. It’s amazing how much he learned by the time I turned 25.

We always appreciate the wisdom of God’s correcting love long after the affect is first felt. When a loving parent takes the time to discipline and confront a wayward child, in the long run that child knows that he or she is loved. When an unloving or lazy parent takes no time and fails to engage the child with corrective action, the child ultimately comes to understand that as a less loving parent. So it is with God!

Application Ideas:
• We can be sure when God corrects us through His Word or by some other means that His correction is proof He loves us and desires our success in life. Provide your participants with a personal story of a time when a parent corrected you and, although it was painful, you grew from the experience. Parents who are raising difficult children will be encouraged to be reminded that correction and guidance are good for the child, even though the child doesn’t like such treatment. You may want to give parents of young children a chance to discuss this together – understanding their children’s need for correction can help them understand their own need for correction from God.

Extraordinary Wisdom for Everday Living - June 8, 2008

LESSON OUTLINE

Study Theme: Extraordinary Wisdom for Everyday Living

Date: Week of June 8, 2008

Title: Three Rules for Working Smart – Proverbs 6.1-15

Our identity is defined by a wide range of sources, but most commonly by our vocation. What we “do” for a living is perhaps the greatest sources of self-esteem, feelings of accomplishment, and dignity. Work also provides purpose and meaning to life, helping people to sense their usefulness in life – and for the greater good of humankind. But work can also be a source of stress:

· As young people, we worry about what we’re going to do with our lives in the future.
· As middle-agers, we wonder “what am I going to do when I grow up?” and consider unrealized goals and dreams.
· Senior adults ponder retirement and what our purpose will be after our career.

Wherever your learners may be on the spectrum of their career/vocation, they will have some touch points in today’s lesson. Today’s passage from Proverbs will encourage your learners that God wants them to have a fulfilling work life and will provide them with a model to faithfully pursue pleasing God through their work. Use today’s study time to explore some of these principles given to help your learners have a better work life.

Today’s passage teaches general life principles rather than specific commands about work and work relationships. The ideas in today’s passage do apply to the question “Ho can I have a better work life?” Biblical wisdom teaches God’s people to be wary of foolish entanglements, to work diligently, and to avoid dealing wickedly with others.

Passage Outline:

1. Be Wary of Foolish Entanglements (Prov. 6:1-5)

While this passage does not provide exemption from making commitments to help the poor or support the church, this passage does caution against getting involved in shady business deals or foolish financial entanglements. The wise father is urging his son to free himself quickly and honestly through humility from agreements that put the son’s assets at risk.

This passage also speaks to the foolish entanglements that come from bad vocational decisions. Encourage your learners to consider this passage before accepting an offer from a potential employer. Challenge your learners to consider the ethical implications of their employment.

If your learners are already in an employment or business ownership position that compromises their values and beliefs as a Christian, offer prayer and counsel about how they might discern God’s leadership in making professional changes. These verses warn against putting business or financial well-being at risk to people or circumstances beyond your control.

Application Idea

This is a good passage to explore how bad/unwise debt such as credit cards can be a bad financial decision that gives away control of your learner’s finances. It is likely that 50% or more of your learners will have burdensome credit card debt, so this passage should be an encouragement to discharge that debt as quickly and honestly as possible. Offer a few resources that can offer positive support to new Christians who are dealing with this very real burden. Good Cents group study, Financial Peace University, and other such programs offer Christian concepts of money management that will help families struggling with debt.


2. Be Wise in Your Work Ethic (Prov. 6:6-11)

This passage warns slackers to adopt the ant’s diligent work habits lest they fall into poverty as a result of laziness. Not all who are unemployed are lazy. And not all who work hard are paid fairly. But diligence – or a lack thereof – is tied to poverty and want in many situations. The ant saves food in preparation for the coming winter, and by example teaches us that diligence in work now prepares for hard seasons of life to come.

Scripture also teaches the wisdom and command of God to rest from work regularly for renewal – physical, spiritual, and emotional – by way of Sabbath keeping. But rest is to be a part of the rhythm of life that includes regular work. Work – tending creation – was given to humans before the fall of Adam and Eve, and it is a part of the created order of God. God’s people are to take seriously their work responsibilities, laboring diligently to provide life’s necessities and pleasures.

Work is also God’s way of blessing the future. Like the ant which saves food for winter, we are called to apply a diligent work ethic to save up for seasons of scarcity. We are wise to lay in store for future needs even as we provide for present needs. Work provides meaning and purpose in human existence.

Application Idea

Talk with your students about the difference between meaningful work versus “working to get a paycheck” or working simply for the acquisition of things. You may find a helpful alternative teaching tool in the contemporary song Ants Go Marching by Dave Matthews Band. It offers a negative example of people who spend life working without meaning, simply going through motions out of routine, rather than working with purpose for God. It is a “G-rated” song with a poetic structure that is Dylan-esque, so if you choose to play this song for your learners, be sure to provide printed lyrics.


3. Be Warned About Wicked Dealings (Prov. 6:12-15)

Of the behaviors most frequently condemned by Israel’s prophets, evil dealings – especially at cost to the poor – are considered among the sins most despised. And in the last third of today’s passage, the troublemakers are warned they eventually bring calamity on themselves as a result of their wickedness, dishonesty, and evil plots.

The Bible teaches that dealing wickedly and dishonestly with others invites judgment and disaster on the one who does such things. This passage may have been present in Paul’s mind when he penned Galatians 6.7-8:

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Whether in business dealings or at home, Christian people are called to act honestly and avoid plots that aim at stealing or taking advantage of others. In addition, God’s people are to avoid things that stir up trouble. In a precautious mode, believers should also be alert to the possibility that some business people or coworkers may not be honest.

Application Idea:

Point to some contemporary businesses that have behave illegally or unethically for financial gain. Enron and Martha Stewart are a few of the most recent and public examples. You might also share a personal story of how wicked dealings affected you negatively in the work place. Ask your learners to city examples of their own.

Extraordinary Wisdom for Everday Living - June 15, 2008

Study Theme: Extraordinary Wisdom for Everyday Living

Date: Week of June 15, 2008

Title: How to Storm-Proof Your Home

Bible Passage(s):
Background Passage(s): Proverbs 22:17–24:22
Focal Passage(s): Proverbs 23:22–24:4

Today’s lesson is indeed fitting for Father’s Day weekend, as your learners will most likely be thinking about family life. While no home or family is invulnerable to the storms of life, the principles from today’s lessons will help fathers, mothers, and children in the home to build a home that is more resistant to life’s storms. Some of those storms are external to the home and some are internal, but both kinds can disrupt and destroy a family’s stability. Today’s look at Proverbs 23.22-22.4 will provide strength for shelter from the storms.



1. Stay True (Prov. 23:22-25)

In this opening passage the son is being advised to listen to and treasure the upbringing his parents provided him. Parents always rejoice when their children turn out well in life, and parents all do the best they can to raise children well. The greatest credit a child can pay to his or her parents is to hold onto the truth, wisdom, instruction, and understanding passed on to them, and to build on those great gifts.

This passage is part of a collection of thirty sayings known as “Words of the Wise.” These are practical pieces of advice that would have been part of a Jewish child’s instruction. This is the wisdom of a father to his son.

Ask your learners to consider the advantages of life they experience because of such gifts from their parents. Certain values that are acquired in childhood make all the difference in later life. A strong work ethic, a love for education and knowledge, an appreciation of the fine arts are all examples of values that we receive as children. Much of secular society endorses the transmission of these values, but the Christian home that passes along godly wisdom and faith add more. This home provides a spiritual worldview that pursues justice, lives faithfully, and also in the long run a happier, more peaceful life.

Christians, then, are called to be true to the godly teachings of their childhood, to honor their parents with right-living, as well as with deeds of respect and kindness. You may also want to acknowledge that not everyone has experienced a Christian upbringing. This is something to be lamented, but also provides a framework for contrast of adult living to the childhood ways that should be left behind.

Application Ideas:
• We show wisdom and demonstrate that we are committed to live right when we respect our parents throughout their lives and stay true to a godly heritage they passed on to us. Ask your learners to identify values they gained from their home life as a child. Ask them to consider what values they have passed on to their children/grandchildren, and how they can continue to pass along these values.

• We not only please God but also delight our Christian parents when they see us living in accordance with God’s wisdom, instruction, and understanding. Ask your learners to consider what values they learned but have lost or failed to live out. A good cultural reference is the country song Where’d You Learn to Talk Like That? by Rodney Atkins. Consider this: Obtain a recording of this song and play it for your learners as they gather.

Here are the lyrics:

Drivin’ through town just my boy and meWith a Happy Meal in his booster seatKnowin’ that he couldn’t have the toy ‘til his nuggets were gone.A green traffic light turned straight to redI hit my brakes and mumbled under my breath.His fries went a flyin’, and his orange drink covered his lapWell, then my four year old said a four letter wordIt started with “S” and I was concernedSo I said, “Son, now where’d you learn to talk like that?”Chorus:He said, "I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool?I’m your buckaroo, I wanna be like you.And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.We got cowboy boots and camo pantsYeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we dad?I want to do everything you do.So I’ve been watching you."We got back home and I went to the barnI bowed my head and I prayed real hardSaid, “Lord, please help me help my stupid self.”Just this side of bedtime later that nightTurnin’ on my son’s Scooby-Doo nightlight.He crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees.He closed his little eyes, folded his little handsSpoke to God like he was talkin’ to a friend.And I said, “Son, now where’d you learn to pray like that?”Chorus:He said, "I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool?I’m your buckaroo; I want to be like you.And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.We like fixin’ things and holding moma’s handYeah, we’re just alike, hey, ain’t we dad?I want to do everything you do; so I’ve been watching you"With tears in my eyes I wrapped him in a hug.Said, “My little man is growin’ up.”And he said, “But when I’m big I’ll still know what to do.”"‘Cause I’ve been watching you, dad ain’t that cool?I’m your buckaroo; I want to be like you.And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are.By then I’ll be strong as supermanWe’ll be just alike, hey, won’t we dadWhen I can do everything you do.‘cause I’ve been watchin’ you."hey yeahuh huh


2. Stay Pure (Prov. 23:26-28)
In this section of scripture the son is urged to follow his father’s example and to avoid being lured into sexual impurity. There is hardly a more culturally relevant passage of scripture for today than this one. We know that sexual temptation is available virtually everywhere we turn, and the proliferation of pornography via the internet has pushed things to an extreme level. The internet is not the only vehicle, however. Just a few weeks ago I had to explain the purpose of Viagra to my 10 year old son after he’d been watching television at seven in the evening.

The effects of media on human sexuality can be corrosive and ultimately damaging. Media supplants the home and church in providing good sexual shaping of young people, and pathetic is the church or home that doesn’t address these matters openly and from a Biblically based perspective. The adulterous woman of this passage of scripture provides a lure and a trap for the abuse of the God-given gift of sexuality. Unless men and women are equipped by the teachings of Scripture on how to properly celebrate their sexuality, sexual impurity in an form will diminish lives and steal something precious from family relationships.

So then, storm proofing your home with Godly wisdom will include many things. Here are a few practical ideas to offer your learners.

Application Ideas:

• We can better resist sexual temptation in today’s immoral climate by discovering and emulating role models of sexual purity and marital faithfulness. Ask your learners to make a commitment to model sexual purity and marital faithfulness in their own lives.

• Christian parents should never underestimate the influence they have on their children’s futures by being role models of sexual purity and marital faithfulness. Ask your learners to think about how their home and church life can be more open to discuss human sexuality in meaningful ways that will provide young adults, teens, and children with answer to their natural questions, as well as the consequences of wrong sexual activity.

• Both men and women can be lured into sexual temptation – note to your learners that the old-school notions about a woman’s disinterest in sex are false ones. Discussion about sexually temptation cannot be simply limited to a “boys will be boys” framework.


3. Stay Clear (Prov. 23:29-35)
Scripture warns of the seductive yet devastating effects of beverage alcohol—effects that include a variety of sorrows and troubles as well as one’s loss of control resulting from drunkenness and the potential of one’s becoming tragically addicted. Seemingly everyone has been touched by the troubles of alcoholism or drug addiction. We can avoid many personal troubles and damage to our family by simply refusing to drink alcohol. This is not a condemnation of all drinking, but it is a good way to avoid problems of addiction in your family.

While one may argue the Bible’s view on the use of alcohol, the dangers of its abuse are clear – addiction of all types can be damaging to families.

Application Ideas:
Ask your learners to discuss their experiences with alcoholism or drug addiction. Ask whether they say positive or negative outcomes.


4. Stay Wise (Prov. 24:1-4)

This passage scripture takes turn to talk now about envy. This passage teaches God’s people never to envy those who do evil; instead God’s people are to build their homes with godly wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. This is a difficult challenge when we see families that seem more prosperous or have more “toys” and possessions. By outward standards, homes that gain material goods but live lives of evil may seem to be happy. But the writer of Proverbs reminds that the opposite is actually true. What they do is wrong and hurtful to others and to God.

Application Ideas:
• We are wise to build our lives and homes not on things acquired by evil means but on enduring qualities we gain from knowing and understanding God’s ways. Ask your learners to consider the parable of the houses built on shifting sand versus the stone. A good song to go with this point is Gordon Lightfoot’s The House You Live In (sung recently by Kate Campbell, well worth a listen). Here are the lyrics:
• Go first in the world, go forth with your fearsRemember a price must be paidBe always too soon, be never too fastAt the time when all bets must be laidBeware of the darkness, be kind to your childrenRemember the woman who waitsAnd the house you live in will never fall downIf you pity the stranger who stands at your gate
• When you're caught by the gale and you're full under sailBeware of the dangers belowAnd the song that you sing should not be too sadAnd be sure not to sing it too slowBe calm in the face of all common disgracesAnd know what they're doin' it forAnd the house you live in will never fall downIf you pity the stranger who stands at your door
• When you're out on the road and feelin' quite lostConsider the burden of fameAnd he who is wise will not criticizeWhen other men fail at the gameBeware of strange faces and dark dingy placesBe careful while bending the lawAnd the house you live in will never fall downIf you pity the stranger who stands at your door
• When you're down in the dumps and not ready to dealDecide what it is that you needIs it money or love, is it learnin' to liveOr is it the mouth you must feedBe known as a man who will always be candidOn questions that do not relateAnd the house you live in will never fall downIf you pity the stranger who stands at your gateAnd the house you live in will never fall downIf you pity the stranger who stands at your gate

Extraordinary Wisdom for Everday Living - June 22, 2008

LESSON OUTLINE

Study Theme: Extraordinary Wisdom for Everyday Living

Date: Week of June 22, 2008

Title: Word Power Made Wise

Bible Passages: Proverbs 17:27-28; 18:20-21; 25:11-12; 26:20-22,28

What bothers me so badly about a loud mouth in a restaurant or theatre having a cell phone conversation? Is it that it’s just loud? Or am I bothered by the fact that I’m hearing way more personal information than I need or want to know? At the core of this social faux pas is the truth that some folk have no boundaries – words to them are cheap and flow effortlessly and thoughtlessly.

Your learners will connect easily to this lesson because each of us has experienced the misuse of words. Words can distance people from one another. Words can offend. Words can hurt. Words can lie. Words can damage.

But words can also do good. Words can bring people closer. Words can solidify people around ideas. Words can bring healing. Words can convey deep truth. Words can carry love, understanding, and encouragement. This is the reason why Christians must carefully choose words, and sometimes censor our words rather that blurting out whatever comes to mind. Today’s Bible reading teaches us that we are accountable for our words and that God wants us always to use our words for good. Words have real power and we should use them with wisdom.


1. Choose Your Words Carefully (Prov. 17:27-28)
Ask your learners if they’ve ever said something the regretted? By nature, humans make that mistake. Sometimes we say things in anger that hurt others, and later we must apologize. Sometimes we say things hurriedly, and our impatience betrays us to less mature ways.

Ask your learners if they’ve ever fallen into the trap of “angry email.” That’s a situation where many people have found themselves. For example, they receive an email from another party that is offensive and they yield to the temptation to use words inappropriately. The reason this is persistent problem in our culture of computers is that we are more likely to “blast” someone via email than in person. And, like the toothpaste out of the tube, once that email is out there, it can’ be retrieved.

This passage teaches that keeping silent is better than commenting on situations that we don’t fully understand. It also teaches us that saying things that are reactionary, rather than well thought out can lead to difficulty in relationships. It’s best, then, to keep silent until we have chosen our words carefully. By thinking before they speak and being careful about what they say, God’s people avoid getting into trouble because of their words. Moreover, we can avoid embarrassment and trouble by carefully guarding our speech.

2. Respect the Power of Words (Prov. 18:20-21)
We show wisdom when we understand how our words can bear fruit in others lives. The power of words if real, and can be used for good effect. Proverbs 15.4 is an additional text you will want to highlight for your learners, as it points to the power of a good word, comparing it to a tree of life.

Undoubtedly, we have been hurt by the words of others, and have caused hurt in the lives of others with words. This is something we must continually examine in our spiritual lives. But we have a responsibility that goes beyond “do no harm” and extends into “do good with our words.” Christians can be live-affirming and life-giving in every social circle and have a responsibility and privilege to counter negativity, false-hood, and slander with words that communicate God’s light. It is a very real and practical way in which we can be a blessing to others around us.

Perhaps the greatest use of time at this point in the lesson would be to allow for some silence and prayer asking God to reveal better ways to use their words. Consider these statements as a guided prayer for your group:
· God, reveal to me times when I have caused hurt with my words.
· God, give me insight into how I can speak words of encouragement to someone specific in my life.
· God, forgive me for using words negatively, and forgive me for times when I have failed to use words for good.
· God, give me sensitivity to know when to speak and when to remain silent.


3. Use Good Words (Prov. 25:11-12)

Now that you have spent some time with your learners thinking about good and bad uses of words, it will be helpful to look at specific traits of good words. This proverb teaches that an aptly spoken word is like apple of gold set in silver – precious and desirable. But what makes for an “aptly spoken word?” There are many elements, but to be sure the definitions include truthfulness, gentleness, and pleasantness.

We’ve been taught from a young age to always speak the truth. Proverbs 14.25 reminds us that a truthful word has the ability even to save lives, and that a mistruth can bear false witness – and even lead to death. As your learners concentrate on using good words, truthfulness will be the primary characteristic you want to reinforce. The reality is that while we all know this teaching is the ideal, many times we fail to achieve the standard. Use of good words does not leave room for outright lies, nor lies of omission.

Speaking the truth is hard, and even more difficult is the challenge to speak truth gently. A gentle tongue can indeed turn away wrath, but can also promote the ability to be truly heard by the other. Ask your learners to remember a time when someone told them something they didn’t want to hear. Ask them to consider whether they heard that “truth” better or worse because of the tone of voice, the eye contact, or the body language of the other. Ask them to consider ways that speaking truth gently can happen. Is it all in the words you say? Or is it how the words are delivered?

4. Avoid Trash Talk (Prov. 26:20-22,28)

Scripture pinpoints gossiping, constant quarreling, and flattering someone insincerely as examples of especially hurtful, destructive speech. This passage points to the troubles of such speech, and also to the consequences of such speech. The bottom line? The truth comes out eventually.

By refusing to gossip or listen to gossip we can help cool down conflict rather than heat it up. This is one of the most prevalent problems in established churches. There is a lack of focus on doing justice and mercy when gossip is the main food of the fellowship, and even listening to such talk is destructive to the church.

You can call your learners to self-examination and confession about this topic. Ask your students how they perceive the gossip/trash talking affects your congregation.

Extraordinary Wisdom for Everday Living - June 29, 2008

Here is week 5

LESSON OUTLINE

Study Theme: Extraordinary Wisdom for Everyday Living

Date: Week of June 29, 2008

Title: If Your Money Could Talk


Bible Passages: Proverbs 3:9-10; 11:24-26; 13:11; 15:16-17; 16:11; 23:4-5

Managing money is one of the most difficult challenges of life, and how we manage money as a Christian says much about our faith. Christians are called to view the handling of money as an act of stewardship over something they do not own. Culture, however, suggests that “I earned it, so it’s mine to use however I choose.” This contrast defines the essential differences of how money is used.

The contrast also explains the difference between a Christian view of abundance and surplus that leads to satisfaction and contentedness versus the view of money as something after which one should clamor with every effort possible – and then hoard. It also frames the struggle of acquiring wealth by illegal or unethical means, and it frames the problems that many experience when their sole focus is the gain of wealth. The physical and spiritual implications are profound, as are the relationship problems that arise when greed takes over.

In short, today’s proverbs are really about developing a theology of stewardship in our lives, one which believes in the idea that God provides to the point of abundance – it is simply for us to choose the view of stewardship. The main question for your learner’s today is this: What do my attitudes about money reveal about my life and faith? The goal is to help them see that God’s people honor God in the ways they think about, earn, and spend their money.


Focal Passage Outline:

1. Check Your Spiritual Balance Regularly (Prov. 3:9-10; 15:16-17)

Proverbs 3.9 in the NIV says that we should honor God with our “wealth.” But this does not capture the full extent of the Hebrew idea. The text more fully means that we should honor God with our “being” – everything that we have. Not only is our money part of how we honor God, but so is our thinking, our actions, and our ways of using our money. When followers of God honor God in this way, the first of what we own/possess is due to God.

The concept of the first fruit offering is based here and is a part of ceremonial Hebrew law. The promise of scripture is that if we have this mindset, then we will also view our lives as full of abundance. Our barns will be full of food, our vats full of wine. Make sure to note the sidebar in the printed material about the “First Fruits” offering in your preparations.

Proverbs 15.16-17 further this view, with the idea that it is better to have few possessions and be at peace with God than to have many possessions and be at odds with God. This proverb shatters the notion that wealth will lead to happiness and that material goods will be a substitute for the life of peace. The priority of biblical wisdom teaches that the priority of God’s people is to honor God with all that we possess and with all that we are. This is how we trust that God’s provision is the very best asset in our financial portfolio.

At the end of the day, these two passages of scripture teach us that money cannot provide us the important things of life, such as love and right relations with God and neighbor.

2. Never Fall in Love with $$$ (Prov. 23:4-5)

This passage states clearly that the facets of wealth which enamor us will disappear quickly. Wealth can “sprout wings and fly off to the sky” quite easily. This is not to say that wealth evaporates, but it is to say that the things we believe wealth will provide us – like security, happiness, friendship, comfort, etc – will sprout wings and fly. That is because all notions of those ideals are shattered when we learn that money cannot secure them for us. Only living a godly life can help us discover true happiness, friendship, security, or comfort.

Wealth also appears to have sprouted wings and flown away when we observe how greed can destroy a person’s well-being. Only by keeping wealth in proper perspective and never focusing our lives solely on gaining or keeping wealth that we can find our lives invested in the things that matter most – in the things that endure.

You will find additional Biblical thinking on this concept at Proverbs 11:28; 28:22,25.

Application Idea – An extraordinary insight into how pursuit of money affects all socio-economic classes is found the song Sweetest Girl – (Dollar Bill) by Haitian born Wyclef Jean. Be warned that though the singers make a prophetic critique of greed and the societal impact of the quest for a dollar, references are made to strippers and prostitution. The song fully describes the depths to which people will go for financial security and will connect to folk who listen to pop radio.

3. Make Every Buck Honestly (Prov. 13:11; 16:11)

This first Proverb teaches that the dishonest gain of wealth will dwindle quickly. While the NIV translates it as “dishonest money,” the NRSF offers “wealth hastily gained” as a variant translation on the Hebrew word that means “from vanity.” So no matter what translation you may use for teaching, the idea that wealth should be gained by doing good honest work remains true. Biblical wisdom instructs people to make money honestly because, as Proverbs 16.11 will suggest, God blesses honest work and fair trade, and God condemns dishonest trade and quick, sloppy work.

Application Ideas –
Ask your learners to examine their own work ethics. Do they give their employers “all 8” during the work day? Do they cut corners on occasion or with regularity? If they are business owners, do they always make sure to treat their employees and customers to the highest standards?

Another idea – ask your learners who use computers for work to measure the amount of time they spend surfing the net while on company time? Is it ever ok to justify this behavior with the idea that “just a little is ok” or “all the other employees do it even more than I do?”


4. Grow in Generosity (Prov. 11:24-26)

This proverb demonstrates yet one more of the counter-intuitive principles of God’s way of living life. It says that the more generous we are, the more we are enriched, and, conversely, the more we hoard, the more we are cursed. It is antithetical to trusting in God’s provision when we hoard up for the future to the disadvantage of those around us.

You see this all the time at those “all you can eat” buffets. You go there for lunch knowing that dinner is already planned for, yet you eat the lunch buffet as if there were no guarantee of dinner! We behave the same way in our ethics, as if there is a limited amount of good “stuff” in life, so we hoard that good stuff with the intent of keeping others from drawing down on the “fund of goodness.” But reality is that God’s goodness and abundance are never depleted. Christians are most god-like when they trust this reality and give generously to others.

The bottom line is that generosity enriches the giver and forges and unselfish attitude. This is not a version of the “gospel of prosperity” but the reality is that the one who gives away will provide a blessing to the giver that may or may not be financial prosperity. However, one can be assured it will be a blessing of God’s abundance.

Bad News for Children

The Southern Baptists are at it again - their annual meeting is underway in Indianopolis today. I guess I should have expected this to have happened, but I'm still in shock the Executive Committee struck down the idea of a national registry of child sex-offenders among Baptist clergy.

This is an abomination and a moral failure far worse than any of the so-called "sinful" actions that the SBC is known to condemn. Their reasoning? It would be too hard to maintain the database and keep track of predators because of local church autonomy.

Hogwash. They seem to have no trouble tracking donors. They seem to be able to track their baptism numbers. They seem to be able to track conversions, church membership, and growth rates. I hear they even follow the trends in the denominational politics of the pastors. I guess the countless details of running a theocracy outweigh the safety of children and the will of the messengers who voted on this issue favorably at last year's meeting.

I'm not a Southern Baptist anymore - if you know me, you know I left that dysfunctional family a while back. So why would I even care what they do? I don't have a dog in the fight. Perhaps this true & personal story will help you understand:

It's about a friend I'll never forget whom I met in seminary. As a child of missionaries on the field, he was sexually abused by a Souther Baptist missionary that worked with his parents. He was able to name his abuser, but swears there are dozens of other children -all nationals on the mission field - who had no voice to cry out against their oppressor. His abuser was forced into early retirment and came back to the states with a promise never to work with children again.

But that promise was broken. My life intersected with both the abused and abuser a number of years ago, that's how I know the promise was broken. I still get a knot in my stomach with worry that one of those precious children in my charge was harmed.

I have three children of my own, and a church full of children I love and care for as their pastor. Any one of these children alone is worth the cost in time, money, and people resources to get this registery going. Sorry, SBC execs - you got this one wrong.

Bamboo Palm

I found this palm in Key West and would love to have some in my yard. Anyone know if this is really called "Bamboo Palm" or where I can find some in Houston?

Some Days

You just have to put your head down where ever you are and take a nap.