Morality for Such a Time as This

Friends,

Alan Smith shares this – The story is told of an American tourist who was traveling in the Middle East. He came upon several shepherds whose flocks had intermingled while drinking water from a brook. After an exchange of greetings, one of the shepherds turned toward the sheep and called out, "Manah. Manah. Manah." (Manah means "follow me" in Arabic). Immediately his sheep separated themselves from the rest and followed him. Then one of the two remaining shepherds called out, "Manah. Manah." And his sheep left the common flock to follow him. The traveler then said to the third shepherd, "I would like to try that. Let me put on your cloak and turban and see if I can get the rest of the sheep to follow me."  The shepherd smiled knowingly as the traveler wrapped himself in the cloak, put the turban on his head and called out, "Manah. Manah."  The sheep did not respond to the stranger's voice. Not one of them moved toward him. "Will the sheep ever follow someone other than you?" The traveler asked.  "Oh yes," the shepherd replied, "sometimes a sheep gets sick, and then it will follow anyone."  We live in a world where a lot of different "voices" are calling us to follow. Materialism cries out for us to follow. Power and prestige call out. Sensual pleasure makes its plea. It is easy to be pulled in a lot of different directions…that is, unless we have Jesus Christ as our Shepherd. A sheep in His flock will ignore all other voices and listen for the voice of its Master. (John 10:3-5)

Babylon was an ancient city and the seat of a powerful empire. It was also a symbol of mankind’s rebellion against God.  In this passage (Revelation 18), Babylon represents the world system of the “beast.”  In the context of the passage, it is speaking about the city, province of Rome, specifically, but it also represents the world system, in general.  The Apostle John’s readers would certainly understand it as such.  And the message?  With the world system apparently gaining power on a daily basis, Christians need to be aware of the dangers that it presents…and realize all the more, how important it is to desire closeness with God.  Here, John sees the destruction of symbolic or “spiritual” Babylon, that is, the fall of the world system organized by Rome. “Fallen, fallen” is the effect of the dual judgment upon the religious, as well as the political system of Rome.  It is called, “the place of Satan”, or “demons”…as it polluted the whole world with sexual immorality…and was intoxicated with the riches and the pleasures it had to offer.  And yet, such worldly things never satisfy or last permanently.  John wants his readers to understand that loving such things is idolatry -- it is demonic and destructive.  This all parallels Jeremiah 50:8, 51:6, 45, and helps us to understand that in all ages, God’s genuine people have had to separate themselves from that which is worldly and anti-God.

The middle section of this passage (vv. 9-19), describes the mourning of the merchants as they see Babylon/Rome go up in smoke, with their wealth destroyed. Merchants and kings mourn, because business and government are intertwined.  The wealth of the city provides for many nations and employs many people.  Merchants wail…not for the city, but for themselves...showing how self-centered they really are.  Rome, like all other cities, depended upon imports.  John gives an inventory of all that is lost.  God brings to an end their life of luxury and wealth.  There just might be some contemporary parallels with all of this.  In addition, there were about 60 million slaves throughout the empire, about one-third of Rome’s population.  They were bought and sold like furniture, used and abused. This seems to be a disturbing point to John, as he calls it…”the selling of the slaves and souls of men.”

The last section (vv. 20-24), is a contrast to the lament of the kings and merchants – there is the rejoicing of the inhabitants of heaven that Babylon/Rome has fallen. It is important for God’s people to consider events from God’s point of view, and this overthrow represents the judgment of God…it is the vindication of His servants who have been killed. (Revelation 6:9-11)  It is important to understand such “praise” in the context…that it is not a celebration that sinners have been judged, because this breaks God’s heart…but, through God’s righteous judgment, justice has been fulfilled.  Satan has used religion and business to persecute and slay God’s people. Rome and the Empire worked together to oppose the Lord and his people for a period of time.  And it may have seemed to many at the time that God did not care. But, this is not the case, for at the right time, the Lord vindicates His people and destroys both Rome and the empire.  It is not any different with regard to the world system today.  It may seem as if the world wins victories over God and His people, but the world system is going to experience sudden and thorough destruction at the Second Coming of Jesus.  So, as Paul shares with the Thessalonians…we must be ready, be prepared.  There is no way that we can be ready for the Second Coming without preparation.

One time, 48 hours related a story concerning both sides of the abortion issue.  One lady, a “pro-choice” counselor saw abortion as “nether good or evil,” but “just whatever meets the need.” Her point – abortion is amoral (neither good nor bad).  It is situation ethics – if it helps me for the moment, I will do it, and it will be okay.  On the same show, they interviewed a young woman who had had an “amoral abortion.”  She was undergoing some intense emotional suffering and pain.  She did not understand why she was hurting so badly, because the counseling she had received had said – it was no issue.  Sadly, it would seem strange that something with “no moral value” would be capable of producing such intense pain.  Thankfully, the grace and forgiveness of the Lord extends to all, as His forgiveness covers all of us who have sinned and lived in an offensive way…and this is all of us.

A worldly, humanistic (man is God) culture says, there is no right or wrong…it is up to you to decide what is right or wrong.  There is a certain allure to this…no good or evil, just whatever meets your needs -- it is a seductive message.  But, in the eyes of the Lord, and in the eyes of His people -- there is a moral right and wrong.  And to violate a consciousness of this is sin, which produces a sense of guilt and loss.  This can be the case when we allow any opinion of the world to take the place of God’s voice or will on a matter…whether we are discussing euthanasia (the early ending of one’s life, which was…sadly…in the news again this past week), abortion, marital abnormalities, other addictions (whether it be to alcohol, drugs, pornography, gambling, etc.).  When cultures, countries fail, it is often from the consequences of sin.  And as we see in the message from Revelation 18, there is great suffering and mourning associated with it.

It may seem as if believers are losing more and more freedoms to non-believers.  We who are in Christ are coming under greater scrutiny and judgment by our culture, and even the government…and we must know that the worst may yet be to come.  The world may feel as if it is pulling a fast one on Christians, the church…but, as Paul Harvey would say, we know “the rest of the story”…actually, we know the end of the story. Ultimately, for those of us who are in Christ – we win!  We are really citizens of heaven living here on the earth.  This should help us in our struggle against the things of this world that can so easily distract us.  The Lord can and will help us in our struggle.  His Holy Spirit helps us to say “yes” to God, His will, and “no” to sin, Satan and the world. We must trust in Him.

Blessings, Don

Levelling the Working Field

Friends,

The subject of slavery is nearly as old as the story of the Bible itself.  It is during the time of Joseph that God’s people go to Egypt, ultimately to be enslaved by the pharaoh there.  It is not until the Lord raises up Moses that the people are set free in the Exodus, but not without some hardships. The Lord wanted his people to turn to him and to trust him at that time, but they found themselves following after the flesh and their sinful desires. An interesting quote from Pope Benedict XVI states this –“The primary objective, indeed the only end of the liberation from slavery, is worship. And this can only take place according to God’s measure and therefore eludes the rules of the game of political compromise as suggested by Pharaoh. Israel departs, not in order to be a people like all the others; it departs in order to serve God as God wants to be served.” This may be something that the Paul has in mind as he shares concerning slaves and masters in this section of the Ephesian letter.  It is also similar to something he would share with Onesimus and Philemon in his letter to them. This is not a matter that our current culture can relate to directly, but certainly was a critical issue 150 years ago. There were six million slaves in the Roman Empire at the time in which the Ephesian letter was written. Slavery was an accepted institution. And what is interesting is that there is nothing specific condemning slavery in the Bible, but the overall thrust of the NT is against it. Paul’s ministry during his time contributed to the encouragement of freedom and the curtailing of slavery.

How do we take Ephesians 5:6-9 and apply it to us today?  Paul could very well mean “servant” as well as “slave" in section, and can be translated either way depending upon context. The principles that he outlines could just as well apply to Christians in the workplace today. In the context of the passage, some of the tasks assigned to the slaves they detest, but they are to perform them, just as long as they are not disobeying the will of God. The right attitude of heart is essential, especially since an educated, cultured Christian slave might receive even harsher treatment from his master because of his faith. He still does his best, because he serves Christ and not men. Believers shall receive their ultimate reward from Christ and not men. (Colossians 3:13) On the other hand, Christian masters seek the workers welfare and do not threaten them. Jesus brings harmony to the slave/master relationship as he does to the employer/employee relationship, which we will discuss. Not only does the servant work for the master, but the master also works for the servant.

Paul indicates that there is a principle at work in this section that should apply to people today – Christians are to be obedient, as he shares with Onesimus (once he becomes a believer). While it may be true that most people do have masters according to this world, in the sense of being employees…for believers, their true Master is in heaven. The fact that an employer or an employee is a Christian is no excuse for either not to be diligent in their tasks -- there is to be a sense of responsibility. A Christian employee should show proper respect for his/her employer and not seek to take advantage in any way. Employees focus attention and energy on the job at hand and do what they are called to do.  It may not all get done in one day, but there is diligence to do the work.  This is also a good way to witness for Christ. Paul indicates that Christian workers will be rewarded for doing God’s will. A Christian can perform any good work as a ministry to Christ to the glory of God. If an employer expects the workers to do their best for him, he must do his best for them.

The master must serve the Lord from his heart if he wants his servants to do the same. A good leader must not exploit or lord it over workers.  Authoritarian leadership is not Biblical leadership, although many church leaders exercise authoritarian methods. They threaten when things are not done when things are handled as they see fit. Nor should a Christian employer play favorites with those under his authority. Paul shares this message with Timothy (1 Timothy 5:21). Partiality is a fast way to divide followers and lose their confidence. It is an unfortunate matter when an employee says, “My boss is supposed to be a Christian, but one would never know it.”  Paul suggests here, and in Philemon, once again, that Christian masters have (or find) a better way to encourage obedience than threats or manipulation. A good leader still leads by serving.  The Christian example is the shepherd, and this is how we all should function to the best of our ability. Whether we are employees or employers, we must not forget that we are servants first…that we are Christians first.

We are slaves, servants of Christ.  We need to do whatever is required in order to live submissively for Him wherever we are and in whatever we are doing. We need to be fair and consistent in our treatment of others and not exploit them in any way.  It is truly important that we invest our time and energy in being builders and not wreckers. It is important that we have the right hearts as we approach our lives and ministry. We need to have an attitude of submissiveness to Christ whether we are employers or employees. And these principles are not regarding what we do at the workplace, but also in how we approach our work, ministries for the Lord. We may not be being paid for our service to the church, for example, but we have a responsibility to be just as committed to what we do for the Lord and the church (and perhaps even more so, as it bears eternal rewards) as what we would do for our employers. As in all of these things, we need to remember that we are working for the Lord and not for men.  We have an accountability to give to Him.  So, we need to take seriously our responsibilities, whether we are working for our employers or for our greatest employer, the Lord.

Blessings, Don

The Proliferation of a Dangerous Drug

Friends,

I am sharing this here, because it is something of a controversial topic...not to mention a timely one...but, I feel like some sort of reason, even if it is my own, needs to be interjected into the subject.  As a friend alluded to in a Facebook post earlier, a good, but unfortunate example of the exercising of personal freedom in our country run amok, is the legalization of marijuana.  I am disturbed by the irresponsibility of such actions, as this is only leading us down a path that we are only going to regret one day.  Only a few short decades ago, this was seen as a gateway drug to even more dangerous drugs...but, this has all been reconciled for the sake of money and "freedom"...a "freedom" which is indeed slavery.  There is no greater slave than "addiction" of any kind, and drug addiction is going to continue to cost us dearly as it relates to drug task enforcement, general police enforcement, traffic accidents, and ultimately premature deaths of those who are addicted to the drug as well as those who are innocent.  Not only this, but marijuana has four times the amount of tar as does tobacco (which does significant damage to the heart and lungs), and this in and of itself, is reason to veer away from it...and this, not to mention the effects that it has on the brain.  I only hope that some wiser heads are going to prevail with this one, but my concern is that it is going to gain momentum, because it can and will be energized by people and constituents that have such an agenda as to be certain that it does so.

Blessings, Don