Forgiveness and judgment

I've been reading in Matthew for some daily reading and in Romans in prep for a Bible study and actually had this convergence of two different but similar concepts.

The first is about forgiveness as told by Jesus. The second is about judgement as relayed by Paul.

The passage on forgiveness is found in Matthew 18:23-35:

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

The lesson here is pretty clear: if you burn down a million dollar house and the owner forgives you, don't go haywire on someone who torches your shed.

Let's face it: all we have done has been forgiven. There is nothing someone can do to us that is as great as what has been forgiven us. Holding a grudge against someone is just like holding a grudge against that person who torched the shed.

Likewise, Paul talks about judgement in much the same way in Romans 2:1-4:

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

This deals more with hypocrisy, somewhat on the level of each individual action, but also on the whole: if you do bad things, don't judge others for doing bad things. The key is this verse:

Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.

We don't know they entire situation. God does. Let him deal with it.

Forgive and don't judge. It's required.

Great lessons from simon peter

I've always admired Simon Peter. He would often put his foot in his mouth or make a fool of himself, but it's because he was always bold. His passion got the best of him and he acted without thinking. This unmeasured approach was unruly but it also showed his passion such as in Matthew 16:13-20:

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Then he warned his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.

Pick up a book on leadership and there will be a common theme: quick, decisive action is what makes leaders great. In this case, it was what made Peter the leader of the church. I respect him for his action.

But it's also not without it's pitfalls, as Peter immediately found out, especially in this instance. If there is a lesson we can glean here, it's that when you get a good ego boost, watch out! Your swollen head may knock you off balance as it did with Peter as shown in the rest of the passage (Matthew 16:21-23):

From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Ouch. That had to hurt.

Peter had the biggest ups and downs amongst the disciples (remember the rooster?), but in the end, isn't he the one you remember the most? He was rebuked, proved foolish at times, despondent, but he knew he was on the right path and he persevered - boldy. He may have been knocked down, but he always got back up, probably wiser, but always as bold as ever.

Which would you rather be: the average disciple playing it safe, not raising your voice, just making sure your name gets on the list, or would you rather be the one who's not afraid to be the fool to stand up for what's right, emboldened with passion?

What's more important to you? Being on the right team, or being the driving force that brings the team to victory?

Maybe pastors should lie

Okay, I don't really advocate pastor's lying, but I almost wonder if it wouldn't be better not only if they did, but also if they said they would.

Let me explain. I recently read an article about a student whose teacher was, as he said, "a self-confessed liar":

I guess that statement requires a bit of explanation.

The topic of Corporate Finance/Capital Markets is, even within the world of the Dismal Science, (Economics) an exceptionally dry and boring subject matter, encumbered by complex mathematic models and obscure economic theory.

What made Dr. K memorable was a gimmick he employed that began with his introduction at the beginning of his first class:

"Now I know some of you have already heard of me, but for the benefit of those who are unfamiliar, let me explain how I teach. Between today until the class right before finals, it is my intention to work into each of my lectures … one lie. Your job, as students, among other things, is to try and catch me in the Lie of the Day."

And what were the results?

This was an insidiously brilliant technique to focus our attention – by offering an open invitation for students to challenge his statements, he transmitted lessons that lasted far beyond the immediate subject matter and taught us to constantly check new statements and claims with what we already accept as fact.

Early in the quarter, the Lie of the Day was usually obvious – immediately triggering a forest of raised hands to challenge the falsehood. Dr. K would smile, draw a line through that section of the board, and utter his trademark phrase “Very good! In fact, the opposite is true. Moving on … ”

As the quarter progressed, the Lie of the Day became more subtle, and many ended up slipping past a majority of the students unnoticed until a particularly alert person stopped the lecture to flag the disinformation.

Every once in a while, a lecture would end with nobody catching the lie which created its own unique classroom experience – in any other college lecture, end of the class hour prompts a swift rush of feet and zipping up of bookbags as students make a beeline for the door.

On the days when nobody caught the lie, we all sat in silence, looking at each other as Dr. K, looking quite pleased with himself, said with a sly grin: "Ah ha! Each of you has one falsehood in your lecture notes. Discuss amongst yourselves what it might be, and I will tell you next Monday. That is all."

How much better off would we be if it was a requirement of our spiritual walk to check everything that our pastor said? After all, Acts says the Bereans were of "more noble character" because they "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true".

In this case I wouldn't truly consider it a lie as people knew and were actively seeking the truth. In the end, the pastor would detail the misstatement and all would be well,

But in the meantime people would search the Word of God and find the truth for themselves.

Unfortunately there are myriad reasons this wouldn't work. How sad. Think how many dusty Bibles would become used again.

But what about you? Do you need someone to lie to your face before you will be like the Bereans and judge for yourself?

Haitian woman survives odds despite pat robertson

This is not the standard fare for this site, but in light of recent events, and with the positive nature of the story, I figured it never hurts to do something different once in awhile. The story:

A man in Haiti refused to believe that his wife lay dead underneath the rubble of her workplace. He placed his ear to the debris every time heavy equipment scraped away a layer. Finally, he heard a voice. It was his wife.

At the same time, I have more. Being a Christian, but not legalistic, I am often appalled at what passes for Christianity. I'm sure some are shocked to see me say I'm a Christian when there is some definite departures from standard Western Judeo-Christian culture on my part.

Those same people look toward certain people as beacons of truth, hope, and Christianity. One such person is Pat Robertson. But his actions at times are more offensive than anything I could drum up in my wildest dreams.

Now I am not here to say Pat Robertson is not a Christian. I believe he is. I am simply saying that people can sometimes swallow a gnat and swallow a camel. For instance there are words in my vocabulary that many find vulgar. But they are just words. There is nothing Biblically speaking that precludes the use of them.

Yet people can go overboard with concern about this. As Tony Campolo said:
"I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a shit. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night."

Now here is the part that irks me: these same people who are bent out of shape that I copied the word "shit" into this blog, sometimes seem to be unconcerned by, or worse, in agreement with Pat Robertson when he says the people of Haiti were in suffering because they made a pact with the devil.

Why does this get a free pass? Why do we let Pat Robertson slide? People that say these things should be called out and simply not be allowed to get by with that, and if they don't recant and reevaluate their beliefs, they shouldn't be in a position of authority. Period.

I have included a clip from the Daily Show to accentuate this point. It's probably vulgar, but nowhere near as vulgar as the suffering in Haiti or a Christian who puts a bad face on a loving God who cares for the people he created.

What's vulgar to you? A four letter word that doesn't even affect someone who doesn't speak English or someone coating over suffering with pain in the name of Jesus? It's okay to say "both". Just make sure if you choose one, that it's the right one.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Haiti Earthquake Reactions
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

Do you really believe what you say you believe?

I've stated before that I don't care about winning the lottery. In fact, it's not that I don't care, it's that I absolutely don't want to win the lottery. Don't get me wrong, I could really use the money, but the most precious thing I could buy is the ability to map out my future, financial and otherwise on my own; it would be the ability to be the type of person that doesn't need the lottery.

But this requires effort, learning, and, yes, even struggle. And there is no store that sells self-reliance and resolve. If there were, the product would be defective on purchase!

And so you can see why I don't want to win the lottery. However, I am constantly amazed at how many people don't understand my position. I rarely bring up this topic with friends but it does come up, and when I explain I get blank stares.

It was just a few days ago I was explaining this to someone and I said "If I win the lottery, the only thing I would want to spend the money on is the ability to make it myself. But once I win the lottery, the skills, habits, and drives I would learn would be lost. The change in me and what I learn is more valuable than anything I could earn."

His response was typical. With a chuckle and a big grin he said "I'd rather have the money."

And this individual was a Christian. A Christian who believes in the infallibility of the Bible. I say that for a reason - in particular because of Proverbs 3:13-15:

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

I have come to find, as much as I want to have money and have the things that that money would buy, such as going on some fun trips with my kids, what I gain without money is what's truly priceless.


And I'm not the only one. CNN recently did an article about people working for themselves. One of the persons, Vanessa Fox, a former employee of Google, had this to say:

"As hokey as it sounds, there's more to life than money," she says. "As much as I loved working at Google, I am really enjoying the flexibility I have now, as well as the ability to really make a difference in the direction I choose to go in."

There is more to life than money. Do you believe that? Really? How much of your life is wrapped up in finding a way to buy this TV or that boat, and how much is tied up in trying to be a better you?

The faith of a military man

Here's one of my favorite characters in the Bible. (From Matthew 8:5-13):

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."

Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."

The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."

When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Can't you just see what Jesus saw? The man had no question it would be done. This goes beyond the issue of having to have Jesus physically there to do the deed: it shows that he knew he can trust Jesus and that, more than that, Jesus could perform the task at hand.

I'm not sure exactly why this speaks to me so, but I do know it does. He's a good man, looking out for his servant. He's also humble enough that he feels a disparity between Jesus and himself as he says "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof."

I have no extra thoughts, advice, questions. I just like the bold faith of this man. It's simply a great story.

Some interesting beliefs rounding out the year

Sometimes people come up with interesting stuff when it comes to God. Take Kelsey Grammer:

Kelsey Grammer, who suffered a near-deadly stroke and heart attack in May 2008, told the New York Post his longevity has been determined by a higher power.

"One day I asked: How old am I going to be when I die?" he tells the newspaper. "And I had the Bible in front of me so I just closed my eyes, opened it up to a page in the Book of Job and I pointed. There was a reading that said when I die I am going to be 140 years old. And I like that."

I'm not big on the Ouija Bible myself, but I'm sure Kelsey's just having fun.

Speaking of having fun, it seems a church in New Zealand decided to get some tongues wagging with this billboard:

A billboard sponsored by a local Anglican church that shows Joseph and Mary in bed has set tongues wagging in New Zealand, with the Catholic Church condemning it as others found it funny.

The controversial billboard, erected by St Matthew-in-the-City Church in Auckland, shows a dejected-looking Joseph under bedcovers beside a sad Mary. Underneath the image, a caption reads: "Poor Joseph. God is a hard act to follow."

...

Church archdeacon Glynn Cardy said the billboard was intended to lampoon the literal interpretation of the Christmas conception story and highlight the real significance of the festival.

"What we're trying to do is to get people to think more about what Christmas is all about," Cardy told local media.

Honestly, I'm not quite sure how this is supposed to do that, but it seems the church is having no trouble finding cash for billboards.


They must subscribe to the belief out there that Jesus was rich. This line of thought has been around for awhile, and although I don't have an opinion on the matter (it really doesn't matter if Jesus was poor or rich), there never seems to be more than apocryphal evidence:

Each Christmas, Christians tell stories about the poor baby Jesus born in a lowly manger because there was no room in the inn.

But the Rev. C. Thomas Anderson, senior pastor of the Living Word Bible Church in Mesa, Arizona, preaches a version of the Christmas story that says baby Jesus wasn't so poor after all.

Anderson says Jesus couldn't have been poor because he received lucrative gifts -- gold, frankincense and myrrh -- at birth. Jesus had to be wealthy because the Roman soldiers who crucified him gambled for his expensive undergarments. Even Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph, lived and traveled in style, he says.

"Mary and Joseph took a Cadillac to get to Bethlehem because the finest transportation of their day was a donkey," says Anderson. "Poor people ate their donkey. Only the wealthy used it as transportation."

You would think this would be a time the Bible could have spelled things out a bit more, but there's always someone that wants to fill in gaps that may or may not exist.

It seems like people had a lot to say toward the end of the last year. It makes me wonder what the new year holds in store.

Inverse relationship of enjoyment to learning

Proverbs 1:20-23

Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: "How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge? If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.

There are so many simple thoughts out there - people not thinking, not discerning, not rightly dividing, but just following the simple ways their parents set out or their grandparents or their church.

And when troubles come they complain, they trudge on, but they don't learn, and so they are doomed to continue in the same misery begging God for help all while God has already sent it but they are blind to see it.

The lesson from wisdom is lost. Life pretty much works two ways: you enjoy it or you learn from it. Sure you can learn while you are enjoying and enjoy while you are learning. In fact, even painful times can have some sweet with the sour if you realize that the pain will make you better - wiser.

But in general, the greater the moment of distress or discomfort, the more potential there is for learning. In fact, most great people will tell you that failure is just a seed of opportunity to success. As Napolean Hill put it:

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit.

When wisdom rebukes you, when life rebukes you, can you man up (or woman up), and confess to God and yourself that you are in the wrong - that you need to change and you realize that you are the one that must follow the right path and get you out of the troubles you are in? Can you accept rebuke from others and apply wisdom to rightly divide truth from fiction or mere insults?

Wisdom raises her voice in the public squares; she cries out. Can you hear her?