Jesus: Building on the Surfside Sand.

 In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told us the importance of building our lives on a firm foundation. 

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”(Matthew 7:24-27)

The condo collapse in Surfside, Florida on June 24, 2021 provided the vivid object lesson of consequences that Jesus prophesied about building on the sand. What can we learn from this disaster?  Some simple observations:

• Proper maintenance was postponed or neglected. Condo owners associations need to be vigilant and have periodic inspections, and respond promptly to fix problems.
• Life seemed normal. Calm continuity does not mean that there aren’t deep underlying problems, and that disaster can’t happen suddenly without warning.
• No immediate cause has been found. While a triggering event could be strong winds and floods, if a structure is fragile enough, as in this case, an insignificant event may bring total destruction. 
• Approximately 100 people were killed. It took a month of digging to recover their remains. 

Jesus was referring to building our lives on the solid foundation of His words and teachings. There are innumerable books on His teachings in the Sermon on the Mount and other passages. But here Jesus addresses the overall attitude of what is the source of precepts upon which we base everything else. Is it about me or is it about Him? 

• We need a continuing review of our life by the Holy Spirit. We need to respond when He convicts us of anything that does not line up with Jesus’ words. 
• Just because our life is calm and satisfying doesn’t mean that disaster doesn’t await us. 
• While some unexpected major event may occur to bring our whole life crashing down, if we have not built our life on Jesus and His teachings, some insignificant event could trigger destruction.
• There are innumerable aspects of our life that Jesus’ words address (basically all facets of life). It takes a lifetime of Holy Spirit training to conform this multitude of life-traits to Jesus’ words.

In the earlier teachings, Jesus addressed pride, judgmentalism, greed, anger, lust, envy, stinginess, et.al. Whether destruction resulting from these sins comes through the natural working of cause and effect in this world, or through the spiritual judgment in the kingdom to come, judgment is inescapable. In a sense, those whose sins ruin their earthly lives come out better, because they have an opportunity to repent before they face the judgment of Christ, rather than facing Him unrepentant and beyond all possibility of redemption. (1 Corinthians 3:11-15, Matthew 25:41-46) Far better to build our life on His words now, heeding and doing the beatitudes, and His other teachings, even though they are impossible for us to keep. A life built on His commands is on solid ground and will not be destroyed like the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida.

Book Review: Total Forgiveness by R. T. Kendall

Dr. Kendall addresses Jesus’ challenge that we are only forgiven if we forgive others, and not if we don’t. (Matthew 6:14-15) And he does not shy away from His commands to love our enemies and pray for those who despitefully use us. (Matthew 5:44)  These commands seem impossible, but Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said. Is it possible? What of justice? What about upholding standards of right and wrong? 

The first chapter’s opening quote is from a friend’s words to the author some years ago. “R. T., you must totally forgive them. Until you totally forgive them, you will be in chains. Release them, and you will be released.” This is the fundamental premise of Jesus’ command.  We enslave ourselves to bitterness when we hold onto it. Forgiveness means they won’t get caught, nobody will ever know what they did, and they will be blessed as though they did nothing wrong. Even though Romans 12:19 (quoting Deuteronomy 32:35) says “‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay’ says the Lord”, total forgiveness means praying to the Lord that He will bless them and not judge them. 

Total forgiveness also means not telling anyone. No gossip. Not talking about it at all. Not bringing the subject up should we run into them. [There is one exception to never telling anyone, and that is in matters of law enforcement. If we are called upon to testify in a legal proceeding about personal experience of others’ illegal activities, we must testify truthfully. This is not for self-justification, or to see that others get their just desserts, but solely to protect society from continued harm. And we must tell these facts with a heart that desires the redemption and blessing of those we testify about.]

How is this possible? How can we forgive those who abused or injured us or those we love? The book offers seven steps to total forgiveness, and five stages of prayer. It boils down to the adage, “Love is a choice.” If we make a decision, and act on that decision, then our emotions are ultimately subsumed in God’s supernatural provision. This opens the door to God’s forgiveness of us (Matthew 6:14), and also releases us from the bondage of bitterness. 

 

Book Review: I Heard God Laugh, by Matthew Kelly

Subtitle: A practical guide to life’s essential daily habit

With so many books on prayer out there, I was very pleasantly surprised to find real spiritual depth connected with practical suggestions for connecting with God. In rebuttal to the common joke about God’s response to our plans, he points out that a good father would never laugh at His children’s aspirations and ideas for achieving them. Kelly starts with the story of his own  unexpected introduction to real prayer, followed by his spiritual journey and significant lessons along the way. Without telling the reader that their prayer life is weak and shallow, he offers thoughts on going deeper. 

As some example suggestions (not the complete course) he suggests:

• Ask God what He wants
• Give yourself to prayer - pray with carefree timelessness
• Just keep showing up - regardless of how you feel

As one who has in the past spent hours daily in prayer, he acknowledges that is not the case now (as of when he wrote the book) because he is at a different stage of life. He does not offer suggestions on how to strike the right work/life balance, but it is clear that most of us spend far too much time busy on worldly activities and commitments, and miss the delight of being in God’s presence. And miss the opportunity to prioritize our to-do lists with His perspective and anointing. And ultimately to receive His peace.

There are many possible paradigms for prayer:

• A list of needs and issues
• The events of the past day or coming day in our own life
• Scripture passages
• People

In any of these structures, the important thing in prayer is to ask God what He wants  and to wait on Him, to hear from Him.   He already knows about all of them, and while He delights to hear our voice, He knows the best path forward, has a divine perspective, and will share it with us if we can but take time to listen to Him. 

In conclusion, God’s laughter reflects the joy He has in the best parts of His creation. Hearing it brings clarity to us about what matters: loving God more than anything on earth, and loving people more that they love themselves. Spending enough time with Him to receive His perspective.

Real Wealth: Camelot and Jesus

 Cameron Hilditch uses a passage from  Charles Williams’ Taliessin Through Logres (first published in 1938) to illuminate his excellent article  Money and Markets in Camelot  linking morality and economics. His key point, that a medium of exchange can become an object of obsession and destroy personal interactions, is akin to the Bible’s warnings regarding wealth. Jesus never said money is the root of all evil, but He indicated that love of it will destroy a person’s soul (Matthew 19:16-24, Luke 18:18-26), as Paul explicitly warned his readers. (1 Timothy 3:3, 6:10; 2 Timothy 3:2) 

Hilditch uses the fictitious discussion in Camelot about whether money is a good thing (freeing people to make choices) or a bad thing (becoming an object of devotion) to point out a fact seldom mentioned in traditional liberal vs. conservative debates about government policy. Money depersonalizes human interactions, and hence opens the door to moral wrongs committed anonymously. The flip side of freedom to choose is lack of personal connection between parties. Just pay your money and get the product. If you cheat someone, anonymity is hard to penetrate (dispute resolution, or worse lawyers and courts). If the poor are oppressed, let the government take care of them. The archbishop then quotes Luke 16:9 to put this in perspective: individuals still make moral choices in how they deal with others, whether in barter or a monetized market.

As one example of impersonal vs. personal interactions, consider care of the elderly. In olden times, the elderly lived with their children when they were unable to live in their own household. In our day many live in assisted living facilities with professional care-givers. The cost is higher but the quality of care is better from the perspective of professional qualifications. Money as a medium of exchange enables trained persons to meet the medical and physical needs of people they are unrelated to. But what about interpersonal dynamics? Filial love is absent; interactions of trained professionals with their patients are, well, professional. There is a tension in this trade off. 

Another example. A mother makes a meal for her children, or the children go to a cafeteria to purchase a meal. A trade off between efficiency and personal care. But do we assess options solely on the dollar value of a person’s time? Wouldn’t that depend on whether a family is struggling financially and must make every decision based on that, or if they are struggling relationally and that drives their decisions? Do children miss the opportunity to tangibly savor their mother’s love? Does every family use criteria appropriate to their situation?

Hilditch identifies tension between two paradigms for economic activity:

• “A moral marketplace … emphasizing cooperation, exchange, and a grateful and acknowledged dependence of ourselves on our neighbors and of our neighbors on ourselves.”
• “A model emphasizing competition, self-reliance, and pulling oneself up by one’s own bootstraps.”

This contrast omits one of the key consequences of having money as a medium of exchange. The entity that controls the money wields the power to make or destroy. How much of a role did hyperinflation in the Weimar Republic play in the rise of the Third Reich? What impact does printing money, excuse me, quantitative easing, have on the current apparent economic recovery? Printing money to provide enhanced unemployment benefits helps those in need, but has many other ancillary impacts. It is completely rational to not work if you can collect a better income, but what are the moral implications of financially incentivizing people to not work? (c.f. 2 Thessalonians 3:10)

Hilditch did not intend to address Jesus’ overall perspective:

• He overturned tables of money changers in the Temple, calling them a den of thieves. (John 2:15; Matthew 21:12; Mark 11:15)
• He told Pharisees & Herodians to render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s (Matthew 22:17-21; Mark 12:13-17;  Luke 20:21-25)
• He commended the poor woman who put a mite, all she had to live on, in the offering box. (Mark 12:41-44)
• He had one of His disciples get a stater out of a fish’s mouth to pay taxes. (Matthew 17:24-27)
• He told a rich young man to give his wealth away to follow him. (Luke 18:18-25)
• He told the parable of the rich man who was going to build bigger barns to store his wealth and then kick back, and then died suddenly. (Luke 12:15-21)
• He fed five thousand people with two loaves and five fish (Matthew 14, Mark 6, Luke 9, John 6), and later fed four thousand people with seven loaves and a few fish (Matthew 15)

From Jesus’ teachings, what is most important? Relationship; relationship with God. Who really believes that? Although God promises blessings to those who tithe faithfully and give generously,  we can’t buy God’s approval with donations. He can and does provide material needs and He isn’t worried about it. It is clear from Jesus’ life that what matters most is time spent with Him, as that is how we build a relationship with Him.

Bottom line. God put us in the world, so we have to use its mechanisms to function, but we should never mistake them for spiritual reality. Jesus brushed off the need for money, the provision of money when the world demanded it, and the things money could accomplish, because from God’s perspective they are trivial. The spiritual reality that transcends this world is often hard to recognize, but God challenges us to.