Category: Spiritual Growth

Do Unto Others

~ jbwatson ~ Leave a comment

I think most people are familiar with the Golden Rule, whether they claim to believe the Bible or not. It is, after all, simply a nice way to live. But the truth is that the Golden Rule, when Jesus first taught it, was rather revolutionary. It took the expectations of how people treated one another to whole new level.

See, the Pharisees and other religious leaders had a rule of their own that went something like this: Don’t do to others what you would not want them to do to you.

At first glance it may not seem like there is a lot of difference between those two , but in reality there is a world of difference. I can refrain from doing things to you and still not treat you kindly or even acknowledge you. After all, I don’t think I would have a difficult time going through life not hitting others upside the head, or not shooting people who annoy me, but that still leaves open all kinds of ways in which I could treat or interact with others without doing so in love and kindness.

The Golden Rule that Jesus taught is a proactive approach. It is not enough to sit back and avoid doing things to you that are unpleasant because I wouldn’t want them done to me. Rather, to obey Jesus’ commandment, I need to actively treat others with the kindness and respect that I would want them to extend to me. This takes a lot more effort and intentionality than the old version of the rule for interacting with others.

It’s a good reminder for all of us of how we should interact with those we come in contact with, whether family members, coworkers, neighbors, students, cashiers, or strangers. If we want others to acknowledge us, we must acknowledge them. If we want others to be polite and helpful, we must be. If we want others to speak in a respectful tone and with polite language, we must do that, too.

It’s not an easy thing to do, and it simply does not come naturally…but it is a commandment from the Lord and is a lifestyle choice we should all strive to make.

To and Fro

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Yesterday evening my family and I had the opportunity to spend some time visiting friends who own a ranch. While there we all rode around in the pick up truck to check the cows, which included tagging a couple of new-born calves. Since just about everything that ranching involves is foreign to me, it was a neat experience to learn more about what all is involved. Later, I asked my friend how many times each day he goes around to check the cows, to which he replied, “Six or seven.” I’m guessing (I didn’t ask, actually) that this number is indicative of the number of times he checks during calving time, and that it is not necessary to check that often year-round, but it still prompted me to think about God, and the incredible reality of His omnipresence and omniscience.

The Bible reminds us in several passages that God always knows what is going on. 2 Chronicles 16:9a says, “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.” God is able to watch everything that is going on everywhere on earth. He knows what’s happening with all 7 billion-plus people at every moment. Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (ESV).

My friend cares for his cattle, so he goes around regularly to check on them. God cares for us, too…but because He is God, we do not have to wait for Him to come check on us. If something happens, we need not wait until the next time He makes His rounds in order to ask Him for help. We can go to Him in prayer anywhere, anytime, and know that He will hear. Even more amazing though is the fact that He will already know what is going on with us. As His eyes run to and fro throughout the earth God has never laid eyes on me and though, “What’s that guy doing? I didn’t expect to see that!” No, He knows. He is never caught unaware or by surprise.

The other important thing to remember about this truth, though, is that just as God always knows what we are doing and what we need, it is equally true that we can never hide anything from God. The passage above in Proverbs makes it clear that He is watching the evil and the good. He knows everything that happens…even those things we might prefer He did not know. If someone wanted to steal some cattle, he would likely watch to see when my friend had made his rounds, and then try to act quickly before he went around again. As a school administrator, I know the reality of students sometimes behaving differently when I am in a room than when I am not. As a supervisor I have seen examples of employees behaving differently when I am present than when I am not. As a Christian I know that there have been times when I have acted differently when I am in church or around other believers than when I am not. The fact that God is always watching, is ever aware, and is never able to be fooled is an excellent reminder that there really is no such thing as anything done in secret.

Going On…

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During my tenure as administrator of a children’s home there was a young man there for several years. His name was Dakota, and one thing that always made me smile about Dakota was the way in which he answered whenever someone asked him how old he was. His answer would, without fail, sound like this: “I’m twelve, going on thirteen.” It wouldn’t matter if he was going to be thirteen in ten days on ten months, he was “going on” whatever age was next. The only thing that ever changed about his answers was the age he was and the age he was going on.

Anyone who has ever seen the classic film The Sound of Music will remember the famous gazebo scene in which Liesl and Rolf sing “Sixteen Going on Seventeen.” Amazing how much difference a year can make, if the lyrics of that song are to be believed! Liesl had so much she did not know, so much she needed…and Rolf, just one year older, seemed to be the answer to all of her needs.

While these illustrations may be amusing, the idea of “going on” is biblical. For Dakota, the moment he reached a birthday he was looking forward to the next one. He had achieved one goal, and wasted no time setting his focus on the next one. Not everyone verbalizes this as succinctly and frequently as Dakota did, but the principle is true for all of us. After all, I don’t think anyone sets a goal of sixteen, thirty-five, sixty (whatever, just pick an age) and, upon reaching that milestone, says, “Whew! I made it. I’m at the finish line.” With our physical age, of course, we don’t have a choice. Time marches on, and the birthdays will keep coming ’round whether we want them to or not. Not so with our spiritual walk, however.

When it comes to spiritual growth, some individuals set no goals. Others may realize a need for growth and identify a target, but upon reaching it they begin to coast. Neither of these, however, is consistent with what God asks of us. Neither, come to think of it, are they consistent with anyone who is serious about anything else in life. Professional athletes don’t set arbitrary goals and then coast once they’ve been reached. No basketball player would accomplish 100 consecutive free throws made and then decide he never needed to practice again. No golfer would get a hole-in-one and decide her training days were over. On the contrary, they would, like Dakota, simply shift what had been the goal to the achievement, and insert a new “going on.” The same holds true of artists, musicians, engineers, chefs, mechanics, carpenters, teachers… The vocation doesn’t matter; the point is that the exceptional individuals in any career path are always seeking to grow and improve.

Likewise, Scripture teaches that we should have that same mindset when it comes to our spiritual growth. Philippians 3:12 is probably the best known verse on this topic. Paul writes, “Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own” (ESV). Had Paul obtained anything in his Christian walk? Of course. Far more than many others, in fact, yet he “had not obtained.” Accordingly, he would continue to “press on.”

In other passages Paul talks about this “going on” principle with the phrase “more and more.” In Philippians 1:9 Paul writes, “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment.” In 1 Thessalonians 4:1, “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more.” And just a few verses later, in 9-11, “Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more” (all ESV). Peter references the same idea, writing, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, ESV).

In each of these passages the instruction is clear…when it comes to spiritual maturity, we can never “make it.” Until we reach heaven, we must always be “going on.” What has always struck me the most in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians is that they were already doing well. In 4:1, Paul references walking to please God, and then says “just as you are doing.” Then he says, of loving one another, “that indeed is what you are doing.” Yet Paul does not say, “Way to go! You made it!” Neither does he say, “Just keep doing what you’re doing!” Rather, he tells them–and us–to do “more and more.”

So, how is your Christian walk? Are you spending time each day in prayer? If so, that’s great. But don’t get comfortable, do more and more. Are you regularly reading the Bible? Yes? Wonderful…now do it more and more. Are you faithfully tithing? Do more and more. Are you demonstrating Christian love in everything you do and say? No, I didn’t think so. Me either. I do okay sometimes…but there is plenty of room for “more and more.” We have plenty of “going on” to do, don’t we?

Sin Makes Us Stupid

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It occurred to me this morning as I was sitting in a chapel service listening to the speaker talk about sin that sin makes us stupid. Think back to one of my former posts when I defined stupid as “refusing to use the intelligence that we have.” The Bible is full of examples of stupidity that follows very shortly after sin. In most instances, I guess, it occurs when people are confronted with their sin. So maybe it would be more accurate to say that having our sins brought to our attention makes us stupid.

Take a look with me at just a few examples…

* Cain — In Genesis 4 we find the first example of murder. Cain was reprimanded by God for not bringing an offering that was pleasing to Him. In anger and jealousy, Cain killed his brother, Abel. Not too long thereafter God Himself spoke to Cain and asked him where Abel was. Cain’s response? “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” A contemporary paraphrase reflective of Cain’s attitude might be, “How should I know?” How stupid is that? Not only does Cain know full well that Abel is dead, but he was talking to GOD! Once in a while we might get away with an answer like Cain’s when talking to another human, but God knows. God always knows.

* Aaron — Jumping forward several chapters to Exodus 32 we find Moses on the mountain talking to God. Because he had been up there longer than the Israelites thought reasonable they get testy. They asked Aaron to make them false gods to worship, and he complied. Taking the gold from each of the Israelites’ jewelry, he melted it down and formed it into a golden calf. Verse 4 says that Aaron, “fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf” (ESV). What happened when Moses came down from the mountain and confronted Aaron? Aaron said the people gave him the gold, he put it into the fire, and “out came this calf” (v. 24). Aaron’s version of what happened was that this calf just formed itself out of all the melted gold and jumped out of the fire. Amazing! Amazingly stupid, is more like it….

* David — Probably one of the more famous sins in Scripture is David sleeping with Bathsheba. When he saw her bathing, he called for a servant to bring her to him. This servant reminded David that she was the wife of one of his greatest soldiers. This did not stop David; he had her brought and he slept with her anyway. Stupidity example number one. Then, when Bathsheba informed David that she was pregnant, David had Uriah sent back from the front to report on the war (at least that was the guise David used). He then got Uriah drunk, hoping he would go home to Bathsheba and sleep with her, and then Uriah–and everyone else–could assume the baby belonged to Uriah and Bathsheba. Stupidity example number two. After this proved to be unsuccessful a second time, David sent Uriah back to the battle and had him carry with him instructions that caused his own death. Stupidity example number three.

These are but three Old Testament examples. I could provide many more. You can probably think of many more. But you get the point. When we sin–when we stray off course, and miss God’s mark–we will eventually get caught. And when we do, we have a choice. Will we lie, like Cain? Will we make up ridiculous and completely unbelievable excuses like Aaron? Will we try to cover our tracks so someone else takes the blame, like David? If that fails, will we go so far as to murder someone in an effort to avoid taking responsibility? I hope not.

The much better alternative, the one that God desires when we do fall short, is to acknowledge our sins, confess them, ask forgiveness, and repent. But the choice is yours…and mine. Will we confess and repent…or will we be stupid?

Casting Stones

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Several years ago I attended a conference for leaders of Christian ministries and non-profit organizations in Denver, Colorado. The event included several “big names” in Christian ministry for keynote addresses, including Ted Haggard, who at the time was the president of the National Association of Evangelicals.

Not long after that conference–two months or so, if I remember correctly–I was sitting in my office in Virginia. I do not remember if I read something in print or online, but I saw that Ted Haggard had allegedly been using crystal meth and meeting a homosexual escort for services for several years. I remember feeling instantly upset. I was angry that Mr. Haggard could have, just weeks earlier, stood before an audience of hundreds of Christian leaders to speak about leadership in Christian ministry and his own activities as the pastor of a very large church in Colorado Springs and the president of NAE, all while being engaged in that kind of sin. In fact, I seem to recall walking quickly down the hall to the office of the colleague who had attended the conference with me, showing him the report, and saying something like, “Can you believe this? He stood there in front of that crowd…” Blah, blah, blah. I’m sure I said something that clearly conveyed my judgmental attitude toward Mr. Haggard. I think I was still stewing about it when I returned to my office.

At some point not very long thereafter, though, I felt strongly convicted. I don’t believe I have ever heard the audible voice of the Lord, but my heart was definitely being pricked by the Holy Spirit at that moment. I remember, in the midst of my “righteous rage,” suddenly asking myself, “Who are you to judge him…as if you have never spoken to your staff or taught your Sunday school class with sin in your own life?”

Ouch! It was one of those less-than-pleasant moments of conviction, realizing that I am not nearly as great as I think I am. I, like so many other Christians, had a tendency to rank sin. Sure, I messed up from time to time. I might lose my temper, or be less than forthright at times, or neglect my prayer and Bible reading, or think impure thoughts on occasion, but I wasn’t using drugs, and I certainly wasn’t meeting a homosexual escort! But just like that the prompting of the Holy Spirit had shattered my comfortable opinion of myself. In no uncertain terms, I sensed the Lord telling me that yes, Ted Haggard was a sinner and he had messed up big time, but the same was true of me. Yes, from a human perspective, Mr. Haggard’s sins were more egregious than mine, but God doesn’t look at things from a human perspective.

James 2:10 makes it quite clear: “…whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (ESV). I had stumbled in more than one point, so what excuse did I have to be judging anyone else? An evangelist friend of mine illustrates this idea quite well by using the example of a window. If I break the window, it really doesn’t matter if I broke it with a pebble or a two-by-four, whether it cracked or shattered; the bottom line is that the window is broken. God’s law is the same. Whether I refuse to correct the cashier who gives me more change that I am owed, swipe a candy bar or rob a bank, it really doesn’t matter, because I have sinned, and I have come short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23).

Jesus made it clear to the religious leaders of his day that it is not a good idea to demand judgment for others’ sins when we have our own sin to worry about. With the woman who was caught in adultery the crowd demanded that she be stoned. Jesus sent the crowd scattering when He said that the person without sin should cast the first stone (John 8:6-8). The same principle is found when Jesus said that I ought not focus on removing the speck in another’s eye when there is a log in my own eye (Matthew 7:3-5, Luke 6:41-42).

I am not saying that Ted Haggard’s sin should be disregarded, nor am I suggesting that he should not be held accountable for his actions. Quite frankly, I was dismayed to learn that he left the counseling and accountability group that had been working with him before they felt he should in order to start a new church. But the real point is that I have no right to assume an attitude of righteous indignation and demand justice for Ted Haggard–or anyone else. After all, based on the standard Jesus set, I have no right to cast stones.

Bags of Sawdust

~ jbwatson ~ Leave a comment

In preparing for a staff devotional earlier this week I was reminded of a story I had come across years ago. It seems that while Nikita Khruschev was the leader of the Soviet Union the economic situation was so bleak that workers would steal anything they could. In order to stop this, guards were posted at the exit of each plant, factory and mill to inspect the workers as they left and curtail thievery.

At one lumber mill a worker named Petrovich would push a wheelbarrow with two bags of sawdust out each evening. The guard would diligently search the bags of sawdust and find nothing. But after this went on day after day, the guard never finding anything in the bags but sawdust, he had to know what was going on.

“Petrovich,” he told the worker, “I won’t tell anyone. But I don’t understand why anyone would want so much sawdust. What are you stealing?” Petrovich smiled slyly, looked at the guard, and said, “Wheelbarrows.”

This story is a great illustration of how we can get caught up in things that really matter very little, if at all–the bags of sawdust–while completely missing the important things–the wheelbarrows.

It is humbling–and perhaps even a bit depressing–to think of how many times, and how much time, I have spent searching through bags of sawdust while ignoring the wheelbarrow. In this life there are things of eternal significance, long-lasting temporal significance, short-lived temporal significance, and utter insignificance. How much different would my life be if I focused my energies and attentions accordingly! I would have precious little time to search through the sawdust if I devoted most of my time and attention to those things of eternal significance…things like growing in my relationship with the Lord through prayer, Bible study and church involvement; things like witnessing to unbelievers and encouraging believers through my words and actions; things like cultivating and strengthening my relationships with my wife, children, family members and close friends.

The things of temporal significance–whether long lasting or short-lived–are likely not exactly the same for each of us, and that’s okay. It is also okay that we do spend time and effort on those things. After all, we are not instructed to ignore this temporal world, or refuse to enjoy it. A professor of mine in college used to joke that a Puritan was someone who lived in constant fear that someone, somewhere was having fun. You’ve probably been around some people like that, and I have too. Being a stick-in-the-mud is no sign of spirituality or righteousness. Spending time with family and friends, pursuing recreation and hobbies, going on vacation, just doing nothing or simply goofing off are all perfectly fine, when done at the right time and in appropriate quantities.

It’s the last area that really gets us into trouble–the things are are utterly insignificant. Things like whether or not it is okay for women to wear pants or men to have facial hair; things like whether it’s okay to watch a movie or listen to music that is not explicitly Christian; things like whether a praise band with electric guitars and drums should be used in church or only an upright piano. I could go on (and on and on). Please note that I am not saying no one should have convictions or opinions on these matters; I think that’s fine. But I am saying no one should draw a line in the sand on such matters and say anyone who disagrees with them is a reprobate, a heathen, or an enemy of God. The truth is, we’re all sinners…we just sin in different ways. Focusing on whether someone else has bigger or more serious sins than we do is, to paraphrase Jesus Himself, like looking for the splinter in my neighbor’s eye while ignoring the plank in my own.

I’m also not saying that institutions, organizations, groups or ministries should not have their own established standards or expectations that may address some of these areas that are, ultimately, utterly insignificant. There may be legitimate reasons for the parameters that are in place, and if I voluntarily choose to associate with the group in question or place myself under its authority, then I have a God-given responsibility to also subject myself to its parameters.

At the end of the day, though, what it comes down to is this…I’ve been letting Petrovich get away with far too many wheelbarrows while I try to figure out why he wants so much sawdust.

Pray Without Ceasing

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My wife likes to chide me by saying that my brain has its own jukebox. She says I remember every song I ever hear. While that’s stretching it a bit, I do have a knack for remembering songs, and they do tend to pop into my head often, sometimes because something triggers a memory of a lyric or a song title, sometimes for no known reason.

This morning was one such time. I had a song in my head, and I don’t know why or what prompted me to be singing/humming it to myself as I went about my morning routine of feeding our cat and preparing my breakfast. The song was Daniel Whittle’s hymn from the late 19th century, Christ Liveth In Me. As I said, I was singing these songs in my head (I have been known to belt out a tune now and then, but not usually first thing in the morning when my children are still in bed!), and as I sat down with my waffles and coffee I stopped singing so I could pray. Suddenly in struck me that I was, for all intents and purposes, praying already. True, I had not bowed my head or folded my hands, I had not started with “Dear God” or “Dear Heavenly Father.” Yet my heart and mind were already worshiping through the song, and, in essence, praying to the Lord while praising Him. After all, the simplest definition of prayer is talking to God. Whittle’s hymn contains this first verse and chorus:

Once far from God and dead in sin,
No light my heart could see;
But in God’s Word the light I found,
Now Christ liveth in me.

Refrain:
Christ liveth in me,
Christ liveth in me,
Oh! what a salvation this,
That Christ liveth in me.

What else could I be doing while singing such a song but talking to God, thanking Him for His love, His forgiveness and His gift of salvation?

Paul wrote one of those easy-to-remember verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.” Obviously no one can constantly be praying. We have many responsibilities and activities that consume our time and attention, and it is not possible to be constantly talking to God. Paul’s point, of course, is to be always in an attitude of prayer, always ready to talk to God. Talking to God should come easily and even, eventually, naturally as we grow in our relationship with Him. It isn’t necessary to close our eyes, be in any certain location, or assume any special position. We can pray anytime, anywhere.

Praying before meals, of course, is a good thing, and it makes sense to specifically give thanks for and ask blessing upon the food that is about to be received. But sometimes–like I did this morning–we may get caught up in the habit and ritual of saying a pre-meal prayer and forget all about the very point of praying.

God’s Valentine

~ jbwatson ~ 1 Comment

Today is Valentine’s Day. Depending on your age and/or your relationship status Valentine’s Day may have more or less meaning for you. After all, I know some people who look forward to it like no other day of the year, and go all out celebrating. I know others who think it is a ridiculous holiday made up by florists, greeting card companies and candy makers. And then I have other acquaintances who prefer to call Valentine’s Day something like “Single’s Awareness Day” or even “Let’s Make it Painfully Obvious You are STILL Single Day.”

Regardless of how you feel about it or whether or not you celebrate it, though, Valentine’s Day is, traditionally, a time when cards and/or gifts are given to express affection and love. And the truth is, God sent the world a Valentine more than 2,000 years ago when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Remember the simple little Valentine cards you would get by the box to exchange with all of your friends in elementary school? When I was in school I think G.I. Joe and the Transformers were popular among the guys. Now my children get cards with Disney’s Cars or princesses. But those simple little cards–often no bigger than half of a 3×5 card, could be counted on to contain a brief message, and space to write in who the card was “to” and “from.”

John 3:16 is God’s Valentine to the world. The verse tells us who it is “to” when it says “the world,” and who it is from when it says “God so loved.” It also tells us how God demonstrated, or showed, the world His love–“He gave His only Son” (ESV). God is the Giver, the world is the recipient, and His Son, Jesus, is the Gift.

Of course, a Valentine with my name on it only becomes mine when I accept it. Scripture makes it abundantly clear that God desires that all should be saved, and His Son has paid the price of our salvation through His death on the cross…but only those who accept God’s Valentine will know salvation.

So, regardless of whether or not you have a significant other to celebrate Valentine’s Day with today, regardless of whether you wore every red article of clothing you own or you intentionally boycotted the color for today, remember the ultimate Valentine. Remember God’s gift, remember Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, and remember that it all happened because “God so loved the world.”

Training for Godliness

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Several years ago I had the opportunity to spend the better part of a day with former U.S. Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller. I remember watching Miller during the 1992 Olympic games and, particularly, the 1996 games in Atlanta when she was part of the group dubbed The Magnificent Seven. Miller is the most highly decorated gymnast in U.S. history, having amassed seven Olympic medals and nine World Championship medals over her career.

The time I spent with Shannon allowed for me to ask plenty of questions, of course, but the thing has probably stuck with me the most from our conversation was the amount of training that she went through. She would be at the gym for workouts each morning before school, then go to school, and then head back to the gym after school. There were many weeks when she was spending the equivalent hours of a full-time job in training in addition to a full load of school work. I remember Shannon told me about the time in 1992 when she dislocated her elbow in a training accident on the bars. She was taken to the hospital, and emergency surgery was done on the elbow–which included a screw being inserted to hold the elbow in place. Shannon told me that when her coach saw her at the hospital he asked how she was doing, and then told her, “You can take tomorrow off.”

I am sure I sounded incredulous when I asked, “He only gave you one day off? How could you do anything?” Well, she told me, she couldn’t do anything with her arms while the elbow healed, but there was still plenty she could do with her lower body. And after one day, she was back in the gym, continuing her training. Within just three months of the accident Shannon took first place in the compulsory portion of the U.S. nationals, and then won the Olympic Trials. Miller then went on to win five medals at the Olympic games in Barcelona, a feat that has only ever been matched among U.S. gymnasts by Mary Lou Retton and Nastia Liukin.

To become a world-class athlete, of course, requires tremendous dedication and commitment. It requires self-discipline. It requires sacrifice. Shannon Miller, and many others who have become Olympic or professional athletes, have worked incredibly hard to train their bodies to do incredible things. In my mind, the balance beam in gymnastics has to be one of the most difficult things anyone does in professional sports. Hitting a baseball is hard–the batter has only a fraction of a second to determine what kind of pitch is being thrown, where it will cross the plate, and whether or not to swing. The fact that a batter is considered successful if he gets a base hit only 30% of the time is evidence of the difficulty involved. But a beam is only 10 centimeters wide, and gymnasts not only maintain their balance while walking on the beam, but they flip, leap, tumble and roll. Beam performances combine elements of dance and gymnastics. And in 1996 Shannon Miller won the gold medal for the beam. Impressive…

As impressive as her accomplishments are, though, and as awed and impressed as I am by her dedication to physical training and practice, the Apostle Paul said that physical exercise has some value, its value pales in comparison to spiritual development and growth in godliness.

“Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.” 1 Timothy 4:7-9 (ESV)

Paul compares training for godliness to bodily training because it requires the same things: dedication, commitment, sacrifice and self-discipline. And, just like successful athletes have coaches, God has given each believer a coach in the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will guide, prompt and convict as necessary. Like the athlete with her coach, though, the believer must choose whether or not to listen to the Spirit.

Bodily training has very real, but very temporary, rewards. Athletes can do things with their bodies that those who do not train physically cannot do, but eventually age and injury catch up with them. They may still be in better physical shape than their peers, but sooner or later the human body will no longer do the things it once did when it was younger. Training in godliness, however, is eternal value. It is valuable now, because the believer who is growing in godliness is continuing to become more like Christ–a deeper understanding of Scripture, increased wisdom in applying Scripture, and so on. This also has benefit for the life to come, because as the believer grows in godliness he is laying up treasures in heaven. Even as the physical body gives out, and even dies, the spiritual can continue to grow and will eventually graduate to heaven.

Am I suggesting that anyone needs to spend 40 hours per week reading the Bible and praying? No. I’m not saying that would be wrong, necessarily, either, but someone once said–D.L. Moody, I think–that we must not be so heavenly minded as to be no earthly good. So reading my Bible and praying is valuable and important and necessary, but I never put into practice what I am reading I would be like an athlete who practices non-stop but never gets in the game. I believe I can say with certainty that it was knowing that she would compete and could win the prize that motivated Shannon Miller to spend hours and hours in practice and training, not the fact that she just loved training so much. She may well have liked training, but it was a means to an end; it was preparation for the contest. Likewise, reading the Bible and praying and spending time with believers and all of the other things that are necessary parts of spiritual development are valuable, but they are a means–their purpose is to help prepare believers for the contest, the daily spiritual battle. And, like the Olympic gymnast, the believer presses on to win the prize. But it is no material possession; no, it is the prize of hearing God say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant.” It is the reward of living a life that is honoring to God, and points others to Him.

Why Do I Care?

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A few days ago I had a young lady–a student at the school where I serve–ask me a question that was, I suspect, far more insightful than she realized, or even intended it to be. She had been in my office several different times over a two day period because of a discipline issue that needed to be dealt with, and her question came toward the end of the last of those visits. She looked at me and asked, “Why do you care so much?”

I confess, I was temporarily speechless. I recognized immediately that it was a powerful question, and I was able to stammer out, “That’s an excellent question.”

My mind began to wrap around the question fairly quickly, and it took me very little time to come to–and express–my next realization. “There is no way I can answer that question without including the Lord in the explanation,” I told her. I did not intend to come across with a holier-than-thou attitude or sound as if I am somehow more receptive to the Lord’s influence in my life than anyone else, but I quickly realized there is no other explanation for why I care about that young lady, or anyone else for that matter.

After all, if it were not for the Lord, my relationship with Him and my desire to serve Him, why would I care? What anyone else does with their life would matter to me not at all so long as it did not interfere with what I wanted to do with my life. If a young person wanted to skip school every day, get high on drugs, get pregnant or father a child out of wedlock, or ______________ (just fill in the blank with whatever), I would not care.

As I think about it further, this is the exact mindset that the world has. The “I’m okay, you’re okay” approach and the entire idea of relativism is premised on the notion of you do your thing, I’ll do mine, and as long as they don’t conflict, who cares? Taken to an extreme, of course, even in the opinion of unbelievers, this is considered a disorder. A person who cannot form a healthy relationship with someone else is likely to be diagnosed with an attachment disorder. In fact, I had a mental health professional tell me once, in her attempt to put the severity of the disorder in a particular young man into layman’s language, “If the two of you were walking down the street and you got flattened by a tractor trailer, his reaction would simply be, ‘At least it wasn’t me.'”

Jesus was different. He came to the world and set an example that was completely different from the one set by anyone else ever before. He did care about those who were different than Him, who were rejected by society, who were considered unworthy of the time and attention of anyone else. In other words, lots of people in Jesus’ time did not care about anyone else.

So, why do I care? Well, Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15, ESV). And what are His commandments? He answered that question, too:

“But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets'” (Matthew 22:34-40, ESV).

So that’s it–I care because I love Jesus, and He has commanded me to care. Fortunately, He has also, through His Spirit, given me a heart that really does care. But without Him, and without His influence, as much as I hate to admit, I would probably have had to answer that young lady by saying, “I don’t care. In fact, I couldn’t care less.”