Tag Wisdom

Glory Days Have Not Passed You By

Todd R 1 Comment

One of my favorite books of the Bible is Ecclesiastes, and chapter 7 in particular is full of practical wisdom, such as:

“Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. Say not, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. – Ecclesiastes 7:9-10

People commonly refer to the “glory days” of their past.  When they were an athlete.  When they were younger.  Before they had responsibilities.  Before they experienced a loss of a loved one, job/career, home, or anything they held valuable.  Before the Covid-19 pandemic.  Somehow the past looks better.

In these verses, Solomon, who lived a life where he gained and lost far more than nearly anyone else ever will, categorically says this is foolish. He’s not doing this to criticize, but to keep others from repeating his own mistakes. To advise against anger for the wrong reasons about things that can’t be changed or fixed.

God’s mercies are new every morning, and with the path we’ve taken before today, He has prepared us for the day ahead in a way no other path could. Strive for what is ahead – your true “glory days” in Him! Start from here and listen for Him. Perfection lies ahead.

“Give us each day our daily bread” – Luke 11:3

Only God Has Tamed the Tongue

Todd R 1 Comment

In many Psalms, the authors complain about the evils in the world and compare them with God and His perfect attributes.  Psalm 12 is one of these, and begins with David lamenting the ungodliness he sees in the world in the first verse:

“Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone;
            for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.”

What is David so upset about?  James 3:7-8 tells us: “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”  David is upset by people’s inability to “tame the tongue,” which he describes in verses 2 through 4:

“Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
            with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
            the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, ‘With our tongue we will prevail,
            our lips are with us; who is master over us?’”

David says the words of the unfaithful are lies, flattering, duplicitous, boasting, proud, and rebellious.  These adjectives also describe much of what we see and hear today, and if we’re honest, much of what we say.  How often do we say things just because they came to mind?  And if they are bad things, but we get away with it or get something we want from it, are we emboldened to continue?  After all, “no human being can tame the tongue.”

There is One, however, who has tamed the tongue.  David contrasts His words with ours in verses 6 and 7:

“The words of the LORD are pure words,
            like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
            purified seven times.
You, O LORD, will keep them;
            you will guard us from this generation forever.”

These words are pure, refined, purified, kept, and preserved.  The number seven in the Bible is often used to indicate perfection, so if His words are “purified seven times”, they are perfectly considered and constructed before they are delivered to us.  God keeps all His promises, and His word never expires.

Even when the world is full of people who speak ungodly words, the Lord’s words are pure and can be trusted. Because of this we know He will “guard us from this generation forever.”  Someday our words will be like His words.

Amen

The Lord is Not Looking For “The Good Face”

Todd R 1 Comment

One of my favorite books is Moneyball, which is about Billy Beane’s career as General Manager of the Oakland Athletics baseball team in the late 1990s and early 2000s.  Beane ran a winning team on a shoestring budget by pioneering the use of precise measurement, data, and analytics, in contrast to sometimes-arbitrary eyewitness reports from talent scouts.  Author Michael Lewis notes that in the late 1990s, “Some of the scouts still believed they could tell by the structure of a young man’s face not only his character but his future in pro ball. They had a phrase they used: ‘the Good Face.’”[1]  Billy Beane himself had “the Good Face” when he was a prospect and yet had a mediocre career as a player; therefore, his own career arc suggested that there might be a better way to find good players.

Reliance on “The Good Face” isn’t just a baseball phenomenon.  Many politicians, celebrities, businesspeople, news personalities, and others succeed by having “The Good Face,” but the Bible warns us not to rely on “The Good Face.”  One such warning is the story of King Saul, who was “a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he.  From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.”[2]

Samuel, the LORD’s prophet, was impressed by Saul and was led to anoint him Israel’s king.  However, when Samuel called the people together to announce Saul’s rule, something strange happened: “So they inquired again of the LORD, ‘Is there a man still to come?’ and the LORD said, ‘Behold, he has hidden himself among the baggage.’”[3]  Saul should have responded “Here am I”, but instead shamefully hid.  Being so large, it must have taken some effort to find a place to hide, but he managed it in an attempt to avoid God’s call.  This became a pattern with Saul, because when Israel’s army was challenged by the giant Goliath, “Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”[4]  Saul, while having “The Good Face,” was unwilling to trust God when He called.  He was faithless and a coward.  Perhaps “tall, dark, and handsome” but not useful to God, and not a good leader for God’s people.

When looking for Saul’s successor, Samuel, as God’s talent scout, almost repeated the mistake of picking “The Good Face.”  Samuel was to pick as king one of the sons of Jesse, and he wanted to pick Eliab after he “looked on” him.  “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”[5]  After this warning, David, the youngest son of Jesse, is chosen as the next king.  David also had many admirable qualities, being not only handsome, but also “skillful in playing [the lyre], a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence,” but most importantly, others reported that “the LORD is with him”[6] and it was true.  David knew that everything that really mattered about him came from God (see Psalm 139:13-16 for example) and he could only succeed by relying on Him.  If God called, he would come, and if the world challenged God, David would defend Him.  David slew Goliath without hesitation.

Today, the power of Christ living through us is what matters, not having “The Good Face.”  Therefore, be concerned about having “The Good Heart.”  Be not concerned about whether you are photogenic, or handsome, or tall, or well-dressed, or anything else the world may value.  According to the prophet Isaiah, even Jesus didn’t have “The Good Face”: “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.” – Isaiah 53:2b

When God calls, come, and you will have “The Good Heart.”  When you fail, God, whose heart is perfect, will create in you a new clean heart[7], as David learned time and time again.

“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:31-33

[1] Lewis, Michael.  Moneyball (2003).  P. 7.
[2] 1 Samuel 9:2
[3] 1 Samuel 10:22
[4] 1 Samuel 17:11
[5] 1 Samuel 16:7
[6] 1 Samuel 16:18
[7] Psalm 51:10

Popular Opinion: A Quint of Quotes

Todd R 1 Comment

Dear fellow travelers,

Here is another “Quint of Quotes” from my collection, five quotes on the theme of popular opinion when it goes wrong:

“Those who call for Nonsense will find that it comes.” – C.S. Lewis

“We find that whole communities suddenly fix their minds upon one object, and go mad in its pursuit; that millions of people become simultaneously impressed with one delusion, and run after it, till their attention is caught by some new folly more captivating than the first.” – Charles Mackay

“The struggle for freedom is ultimately not resistance to autocrats or oligarchs but resistance to the despotism of public opinion.” – Ludwig von Mises

“At any given moment there is an orthodoxy, a body of ideas of which it is assumed that all right-thinking people will accept without question. It is not exactly forbidden to say this, that or the other, but it is “not done” to say it… Anyone who challenges the prevailing orthodoxy finds himself silenced with surprising effectiveness. A genuinely unfashionable opinion is almost never given a fair hearing, either in the popular press or in the high-brow periodicals.” – George Orwell

“Woe to those who call evil good
            and good evil,
who put darkness for light
            and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
            and sweet for bitter!” – Isaiah 5:20

Letting God Pick Our Battles II

Todd R Leave a comment
Photo by Andrey Grinkevich on Unsplash

The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through him who strengthens me,” yet he also wrote in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 that “to keep me from becoming conceited,” a “thorn was given me in the flesh.”  He writes: “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.  But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

The nature of Paul’s “thorn” has been disputed for centuries, but Galatians 4:13 suggests it was a physical problem, a “bodily ailment” rather than a moral shortcoming.  So, the lesson of the “thorn” is not that God prevented Paul from overcoming some specific sin to keep him humble – He wants Paul (and us) to be satisfied with nothing less than righteousness.

However, one lesson of the “thorn” is that Paul didn’t mean by “I can do all things” that he could do whatever he wanted and succeed.  Instead, the “thorn” is an example of a battle Paul would not win, because this “thorn” had a purpose in bringing Paul closer to God’s grace and power.  In God’s wisdom, Paul was better off with this ailment than without it.

Yesterday’s post said “Picking your battles, rather than trying to fight and win every fight that comes your way, is a good piece of advice.  However, who should pick which battles to fight?”  In the case of the “thorn”, God picked a battle for Paul not to fight, telling him instead to focus on growing in faith.  The thorn had a purpose in Paul’s striving toward righteousness, which was more important than any physical ailment.  Had Paul continued to insist to God that the thorn should be removed, he would still have the thorn, but he would also not grow in his relationship with his Lord.

Sometimes there are battles He wants us to fight in His strength for His glory, and sometimes there are battles He tells us not to fight so we can focus on His grace and power while in this life, in light of His promises to heal our physical ailments in Paradise.

Today’s post closes the same way as yesterdays: “Sometimes life is hard on purpose, so that God alone may be glorified in victory, and also so that we may grow in our faith in His strength.  When we let Him pick our battles, we learn that His righteousness is the only thing that will satisfy us.  Nothing less will do.”