Lower Case g

     How do you see God? To put it another way: how do you perceive God, or what do you think about when you think of God? What would you say is the nature of your relationship with Him? Interesting questions wouldn't you say? The answers to these questions are important, as it is the perceived nature of our relationship with God and how we view Him that influences our behavior in regard to Him.

     To many, God is a mystery; an unknowable and unsearchable force or being that floats about the universe just out of reach. To these people, knowing God in any real way is an impossibility. God may have made the world but certainly doesn't interact with it much, or when he does it happens on some incomprehensible whim. This god is impersonal, indescribable, and pointless. Truthfully, a god who stays apart from reality in virtually every way may as well not exist. This, I think, is the point. Many of the people who hold to this belief would rather god not exist at all but they cannot deny that voice inside that tells them otherwise. Some others want a sense of something more than what we see but don't want the accountability of a knowable, relational god. Sadly something that is merely spiritual but not coherent doesn't do them any good, nothing more than a painkiller for a gaping wound.

     Others see god as a sort of cosmic Santa Claus, there to provide for their needs and desires while comforting their hearts in troubled times. To these, our relationship with god is based most commonly on rules and rituals; if I do this than god will or must do that. This is god chained and tamed, more our servant than the Lord of the universe. You see this idea in the “name it and claim it movement”, as well as in “christian science” and many of the charismatic groups today. If we only have enough faith, or pray the right prayer, or give enough money, then god will make us healthy, wealthy, and happy. Sadly all this belief does is to make its followers into a group of greedy, materialistic adolescents obsessed with the miraculous and the now; or even worse to disillusion them to the idea of a God who cares. One of God's great promises was to be with us in times of trial, not to keep us fat and comfortable all our life. When we make demands of god and insist he do what we say, then we are daring to take His place and put ourselves upon the throne.

     So how should we relate to God? Let's take a quick look at a few things we know about Him. He is the creator of all things (John 1:1-3), the rightful King (John 18:37, 1 Timothy 6:14-15, Revelation 17:14, etc.), the sacrifice for our sins (Hebrews 9:24-26, John 1:29, etc.), and much much more! So how should we relate to one who is the creator of all things? We must recognize that He has right over us to do whatever He wishes. How do we relate to the rightful King? We are servants and subjects, those who must acknowledge His Lordship and obey. How do we relate to the one who bore our iniquity and died that we may live? How else but to throw ourselves down in gratitude for so great and undeserved a sacrifice? God is GOD! He is so big and so much 'more' than we are, how astonishing it is that we continue to forget that He is above and we are below? Join me in asking God to continually remind us of His glory and grace; that we would not forget our place in relation to Him. We are beggars at the door not the Lord on the throne.

     When we take God off His throne, when we forget who He is or who we are, we disgrace His name and deny Him the praise and glory that He is due. We cannot recognize our own sin or our need for a savior when we bring God down to our level. In the end everyone will acknowledge God for who He is. Wouldn't it be better to do so willingly and joyfully than by force, with the knowledge that its too late to change sides? Wouldn't you rather sing His praise as a joyful song in paradise, than mutter it bitterly while in torment?

“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

(Philippians 2:9-11)

More Than Humanity: A Higher Perspective

     Society all around us is fractured, some would say failing. Our husbands and fathers have become lazy buffoons ripe for parody and mockery. Our wives and mothers are overworked, cynical and depressed; unwilling to fully trust their men and doubtful that they should at all. Our children and teens are jaded, rebellious, narcissistic, and corrupt; unable or unwilling to see past their smart-phones or the opinions of their peers. And in between them all we have an army of the young and unwed, obsessed with themselves and their desires, oblivious to any higher calling and suspicious of anything that claims to be true. These people, our people, need help. This world needs something more than what we see.

     At the heart of this problem is, of course, sin. Mankind will always desire to do what satisfies the flesh rather than what is truly good; all we need is the chance. Every one of us has the potential to be the abusive husband or the cheating wife or rebellious child or whatever. We sin, not just because we have to, but because we want to. The reason these ills seem “more” prevalent now is that we have simply given people the opportunity to sin in greater amounts and more freely than ever before. The proposal and rapid acceptance of naturalistic evolution and the advent of “higher criticism” have made it easier and easier to reject God and His Word. We have “science” telling us that God didn't create and so we can ignore the arguments the Bible makes without even reading them. Those who do read them, find that the critics tear them apart so much as make them seem to lose all meaning.

     We once lived in a society -in a world- where you had no choice but to at least consider the possibility of God. Creation screamed at you, the preacher spoke to you, the Spirit whispered to you, and all the world tried to be “good people.” Things are different now aren't they? Creation has been muzzled and painted over with a landscape of death and change, the preacher has been compromised and spends more time building his flock than actually teaching them (not to mention that virtually no one goes to listen anymore but those who already believe), and all the world sings to the tune of “just follow your heart.” Never mind that God tells us in Jeremiah 17:9 that “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked...” Those who we trust with leadership have put forth an immense amount of effort to drive our view earthward, away from the sky and the Son.

     We need to recapture eternity. Our lack of perspective has given people the means they need to pursue their sins. Their is no 'ever-after' so find all the joy you can today, right? There's no judge to make the rules so you decide how to play the game, it's your game after all isn't it? No one made us this way, so we can be whatever we want to be and be with whoever we want to be with. There is no right and wrong only mine and yours. If all we have to look at is the ground around us, is it any surprise that our worldviews have gotten so muddy? When God is on His throne and in His proper place in our minds, we see things as they should be. Our actions have consequence and meaning because they will echo in eternity, who we are matters because He has fashioned us for a purpose, and what we do matters because reality reflects the very nature of its Creator.

     God is more than just a crutch for hard times. He is more than just a nice thought on holidays or a cultural hold-over. God is the very thing that gives our lives meaning and worth. If there is no God then there is no law-giver for reality. If there is no law-giver then there is no objective law by which to differentiate good and evil. If there is no good and no evil then nothing we do can rightfully be condemned. If we make the rules then every argument is simply a matter of survival of the fittest and our future will be nothing but cannibalism, as we devour each other in our effort to have things our own way.

The Devil In Details

      Life is a battle, a war between good and evil; or is it? Humans like things to be organized, separated, and easy to understand but unfortunately life just isn't. This desire for simplicity however, has lead to an erroneous belief that there are two camps at war with each other, with humanity in between. God is cast as the good guy, the champion of light and righteousness, valiantly battling against evil for our souls. Conversely we have Satan placed as the lord of evil, waging eternal battle for dominion. The problem with this idea is that it takes power away from God and gives way more power to Satan than he really has.

“Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.”

(1 Peter 5:8)

     Satan. What do we know about him? Honestly we don't know much. He is not, however, the opposite of God. Often it seems He is portrayed as God's opposite number, the ying to His yang (or yang to His ying depending on how exactly that works). In movies like Constantine (2005) we see this played out as a cosmic battle with both sides fairly equally matched and masters of their own spiritual domain. The truth however is both far simpler and harder to accept.

     Satan is a created being, just like the angels and just like me, you, or anybody. Created as a divine being he is often called the angel of light and, like everything, was created perfect. Angels however, like humans, have a degree of free choice and Satan gave in to pride and a desire for power. He desired to be “like the most High” and coveted the throne and praise of God. Ultimately he convinced a number of other angels to join him in revolt and was summarily cast down.

(This passage is meant for the King of Tyre but is also seen as being said to Satan as well, some of the event referenced are obviously before that king existed.)

"...You were the perfection of wisdom and beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone-red carnelian, chrysolite, white moonstone, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald-all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created. I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire. "You were blameless in all you did from the day you were created until the day evil was found in you. Your great wealth filled you with violence, and you sinned. So I banished you from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire. Your heart was filled with pride becauszze of all your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth...”

(Ezekiel 28:12-17)

“Then there was war in heaven. Michael and the angels under his command fought the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle and was forced out of heaven. This great dragon-the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world-was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, "It has happened at last-the salvation and power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ! For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth-the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night. And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die. Rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea. For the Devil has come down to you in great anger, and he knows that he has little time."

(Revelation 12:7-12)

     God you see, has no problems dealing with Satan. God does not struggle against anything nor does anything interfere with His plans. The treason of Lucifer and the evil that exists today are not an unfortunate and unseen circumstance but a part of the plan. In a way, God created evil, not that He authors it or causes it but because He made what is right. When something is defined as good, something else is automatically made that is correspondingly bad, at least in theory. When God created things outside Himself, He made the possibility of evil. The point here is that nothing is a surprise to God and nothing is out of His control. We do not find ourselves in a metaphysical war against evil, we are simply in a rather uncomfortable portion of God's great plan for eternity. No matter how dark the night may be God (who has perfect judgment) decided that it was worth it.

     Satan has no power apart from what God allows. He is not another god, he is not another power, but he is the enemy of our souls. Imagine him as a great big mean dog on a leash. If he were free he would do all sorts of harm, but he chained, and unable to go further than that chain allows. Satan is not foiling God's plans he is fulfilling them, whether he wants to or not. Also, as a created being, he is limited to his being. He is not all knowing, nor can he be everywhere. We should be wary of him for what he can do but not afraid of him for who he is. God is more powerful than any adversary and nothing -absolutely nothing- happens without His consent. We need not fear some evil shadow when we walk with the light of the world.

“Then the Devil, who betrayed them, was thrown into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

(Revelation 20:10)

To Love and/or Condone

     Have you ever noticed that we as a people just can't seem to avoid extremes? Have you seen how we swing from one side to the other and nearly never find the happy medium? We spend a few years on one side of the tracks until someone notices a few problems and then we invariably throw the whole thing out and jump to the other side. Take for example the defense of the bullied and the 'oppressed.' The current culture and the internet culture especially seems all too ready to charge into battle and defend anyone we see as being put down or hurt or maligned. To a certain extent this is a good thing as humans have a natural tendency to attack the different and the unknown rather than learn about them. Even Christians have a hard time taking things for what they are and evaluating them in a more level-headed way. So often have we simply attacked sin and destroyed the sinner that the church has rather bad reputation now and many people would never dream of seeking help from the one place they should expect to find it!

     The culture as a whole seems obsessed now with defending the rights of others-or is it? Everywhere you go you'll find posters or .gifs or pithy comments or cute little comics about how we should all just be humans and not label or marginalize others. Although I agree that we should work to respect those around us, I suspect that one of the driving factors behind this movement is not some new found love for others but really a backseat effort to defend ourselves. Race and gender and nationality are all beyond debate but 'lifestyles' are all about the choice we make. We make a case that such and such group should be respected and then this other group and then this other group and pretty soon we have a hard time “judging” anyone and an easy time defending any lifestyle we want! I don't need to defend my sin if I can make a million people on the internet do it for me.

     More importantly I feel that we as a society have made a tragic error in our defense of the victims. We made the right choice at first; those who need help should not be ridiculed. We should foster an environment of love where we seek to help those who are in need of it and no one should have to face a life where they are daily bullied and beaten and accursed. That being said, we got so focused on the defense of these people that we up and forgot to keep in mind that sin is still sin and wrong is still wrong! Laziness, cowardice, homosexuality, “transgender-ism”, teen and unwed pregnancy, and so much more are problems, not lifestyles. God created reality as He intended and our sin has fouled up the works; that does not mean that we now get to define our reality, it means we have to work to keep our reality in line with the truth! We should do everything we can to help people who have made mistakes or who are trapped in sin or who have a condition that screws up their minds and emotions to the point they don't know who they are, but we have to remember that we are treating aberrant conditions and seeking to bring people back from them. If your doctor decided not to tell you about your cancer because he feared it would upset you, he would be considered a bad doctor who is failing in his duty. No one would remark on how caring he is or how much concern he has for the mental well being of his patients!

     In this post-modern world we like to think that everything is relative, even reality. The truth however, is that truth is a solid and unchanging thing not defined by anyone but God. It does not matter how you feel or how you were born because we know that this world is fallen and we cannot expect it to follow the line God has laid out. We must love those around us but to sacrifice truth for the sake of peace is not loving. We will love those in need most when we try to help their needs. The old adage may sound trite but I believe it still stands: hate the sin not the sinner.

What is Choice?

     What is the nature of free will? Are we all on this earth to simply dance to the beat of another's drum or do we make real choices? People have been pondering this question for probably as long as they've pondered at all and I can see why. We don't like to think that our lives our controlled by someone else and if we see that none of our choices matter than it leads to a depressing fatalism. So can we come to any meaningful understanding of this problem? I think we can.

     First off let's look at things from the naturalistic perspective, frankly because it's much simpler. If we are all just animals, meat machines, and more specifically if we are the end result of automatic process working as they have to ultimately culminating in the formation of man, then there is no choice. As Hawking pointed out we cannot avoid determinism if we come at life from this angle. There can be no transcendence in a world that evolved. If we are born of nothing but chemical reactions and the laws of physics and if nothing else exists to interact with this matter than nothing can ever happen but what is programmed into that material (so to speak). Every “choice” that you make is really just what your particular set of chemicals and structures has to do when encountering that situation. In this view all of existence is one big calculation, a series of equations where A + B will always equal C. Your personality, your beliefs, your choice of a job or a spouse, these things are all just illusions of sentience and the reality is that we are all just robots; DNA machines that run on a very complicated set of rules. Depressing isn't it?

You cannot cut the strings

     The problem with this ideology is that we do see glimpses of the transcendent in our lives. We are aware of what we are in a metaphysical, existential sense. This is where Christianity comes in. You see, in the Bible, we are shown to be more than just matter. Made from the dust of the earth God breathed life into us (Genesis 2:7) and made us a living thing. This is important because we see here two huge differences from how He made animals. First we were made 'from' something, unlike animals and the earth which were simply popped into existence by God's own power, we were formed from the “dust of the earth.” I'm sure there are ramifications and reasons for that but it's beyond my abilities to find them. The second and really more important bit is that our life was “breathed” into us by God directly. To me this connects us to God's Word which is described as “God breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), and which is also described as being “alive” (Hebrews 4:12). Also we were made in the “image of God,” (Genesis 1:26) which obviously doesn't mean that we look like Him since God is spirit and has no set physical form (other than the humanity taken unto the Son, ie. Jesus). All of this points to a creation that is more than just the stuff it's made of, we are both physical and spiritual beings and this allows us the ability to look outside ourselves and to rise -just a bit- above our material.

We are more than the sum of our parts.

     It gets a bit more complicated from this point. You see, all of the previous stuff is quite clearly shown in the Bible but we also see that God has total control over His creation (1 Chronicles 29:11-12, Psalm 115:3, Isaiah 46:9-10, etc.). Many people have a hard time reconciling true free will with a being that can simply make you do whatever He pleases. Now I'm not going to get super deep here simply because there isn't time but I've done a lot of thinking on this over the years and I'll simply run you through my current conclusions. The short answer is that no you don't have free will. You do however have free choice, let me define that. Free will is the ability to do whatever you want, to make decisions and plan your life as you see fit. Honestly I don't see that as an option Biblicaly, we do seem to make choices and decisions but the ultimate outcome of those choices is far beyond our control. We can choose to obey or rebel against God but in the end we get heaven or hell and there is nothing we can do at that point to change our destination. I think what we have is what I call “Free Choice.” By that I mean that God has laid out His world and has given us options and we have the freedom to choose from those options. Obey or rebel, love this person or this other person or no one, this job or that job, school or no school, and on and on and on. These choices come to us and some are better than others and some are obviously where God would have us go but He doesn't necessarily force us down these more proper roads. Look at Jonah, God actually TOLD him what to do but he chose instead to run away. This is one way in which our choices can matter and how we can still be responsible for our sins. We chose, in a very real sense, to do that evil. We are always presented with options and we may not like them but they are there.

     When we speak of the big questions of salvation and sanctification, God is just doing what He wants to ultimately, and we can either choose to obey or to rebel. I think that when we move beyond the ultimate questions we have a lot of give and quite a bit of 'wiggle room.' God has plans and purposes but He made them with our personalities and preferences in mind, using us to tell His story so that we are truly involved in the telling; actors not puppets. We may say the wrong line or miss a cue every once and a while but we are right there on the stage. We have to be more than matter for anything we do to matter and our soul gives us that bit of transcendence.   

Is It Worth It?

     I'm coming very close now to the end of my first full year of marriage. We have our plans and are suitably excited and I thank God for this tremendous blessing. As I believe I've mentioned before, I've always wanted to get married.  Now that I'm here I can say that it is indeed better than I thought it would be but also different than I thought. In my previous post “The Amazing and Wonderful Normal”  I talked about the surprising 'normal-ness' of marriage. How everything becomes just another day, and yet more than that.

     Here is where we get to today's point. Some time ago while talking about marriage, I had a friend ask me “Is it worth it?” I nodded and said yes at the time but as I thought about that seemingly simple question I could not help but think of the meaning it might have possessed. Was it meant as more than a trite question that everyone asks but doesn't really think about, sort of like “how ya doin'?” I've had some time to ponder and here are my thoughts.

     On the surface of that question it has to be said that yes, yes it is worth it. Whatever “it” is, marriage's worth surpasses. Whether time spent waiting, the resources used, the effort involved, all of it is worth the result. There are times when, during dating, it may seem like a whole lot of trouble and it would make sense to question the worth of all this hard slogging work. Believe me, if you're doing your dating right there will be times when it is work indeed. The interesting thing is that you can never understand just how worth it it is until you've been married for a while, like how we cannot understand the Word of God as we do until we are saved.

     Beyond that though, I couldn't shake the feeling that behind that question was another question, “Is it worth waiting physically?” This question presents a problems for me as I want to simply answer yes, it is worth it! That however, is hardly the point is it? Our bodies desire that physical closeness and they desire the culmination of that relationship; but we are commanded to be masters of our desires, to lay them at the feet of Christ as our Lord! So whether or not it's 'worth it' to wait, we are to be obedient to God and reserve ourselves to the one to whom we become 'one flesh.' This is what is truly worth it, obedience and submission to God. Not merely God as Savior but God as King of our lives. As David was king in Jerusalem so should Jesus be King in our Hearts, the master of His domain with the final say in all things. We as Christians do not have the right to weigh the odds and compare lists of pros and cons. We listen, we read, we learn, and we obey. That may seem harsh or rigid or even insipid but that is where we will find real meaning. Our worth was only ever to be in our relationship with God and it is only there we will find meaning today! Besides the pragmatic benefit or emotional worth of being able to give all of yourself to your spouse with no one else to lay any claim to you, it is simply of far greater benefit to obey the one who is Lord over all.

     Don't fall into the trap of trying to decide as if you had any power to make a choice. We know what God wants of us and that is all we need. The Christian life is not hard because we have so many choices to make, it is hard because those choices are already made for us and those choices go against the flow of the world. The choice you do have, the only choice, is whether or not you will obey the God who made you, bought you, saved you, and adopted you. The God who loves you. 

Is it worth it?  Yes.  Yes it is.

A Rebuttal

     Recently A friend pointed out -This- article to me, asking my thoughts on it. After a few days I responded with the following. I have cleaned up my response and made it more 'post-like' but the content is mostly the same. Warning: some of these quotes from the article (in green) are somewhat off-color.

     First off, remember that Christianity never claims that those who follow God are perfect.  We all make mistakes and we often have the wrong ideas on things, so just because someone isn't following something correctly that's an issue with them not the Bible.

     Numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10: People are always bringing these and other related OT laws up. Now let me be clear I am not brushing these under the rug because though I will claim that a Christian is not bound to the Levitical law, the spirit behind the laws as a whole is still connected to the God who gave them. The main point to remember here is two fold; the Bible is not -like many other 'religious' texts- simply a collection of sayings and rules, and the laws that governed OT Israel were very particular because they were being set apart as unique and peculiar people. So many people assume the Bible is just like the Koran or the Vedas etc. and misunderstand that it's written primarily as a history book. You have to take what it talks about in that sense and in that context. The people of OT Israel were a covenant people, they had made a very specific agreement with God and were meant to be a nation that would stand out and be apart from the rest of the world. These laws weren't some odd and randomly assigned belief that things like mixed fabrics were inherently evil, those things were banned because God had a specific life and direction for Israel. When we get to the NT, Christ is the fulfillment of the law and the bringer of a new covenant, one of grace not of law. The old law's main purpose is brought to light, mainly to show that we cannot possibly measure up to a perfect God and thus see our need for His grace and mercy. A Christian is not bound by these laws because our relationship with God is one of adopted sons (and daughters) and not merely that of servants. We still obey the spirit of God's laws, but now through a feeling of love and devotion to our savior; also many things are still specifically forbidden, which brings me to..

Number 3:

“Fortune telling. Before you call a 900 number (do people still call 900 numbers, by the way?), read your horoscope or crack open a fortune cookie, realize you're in huge trouble if you do.

Leviticus 19:31 reads "Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God." The penalty for that? Check Leviticus 20:6: 'As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.' Seems like a lifetime of exile is a pretty harsh penalty for talking to Zoltar.”

     The Bible makes it quite clear that there is only one God and He alone is worthy of praise and of following. Furthermore the world of the Bible is less mystical than others (especially the R. Catholic church) would have you believe. It's really quite simple, the only spiritual entities are God,Angels,Fallen Angels(demons),Satan(really just another fallen angel),and Man. Man is also a physical being but the specifics of that are another discussion in themselves. The point is that God speaks to you through His Word, Angels will point you toward God and that's it, Man is confused and really shouldn't be trusted at all, and anything else is an evil. That's why we shouldn't seek them out and I agree that no one, Christians especially, should be.

Number 4:

“Pulling out. The Bible doesn't get too much into birth control... it's clearly pro-populating but, back when it was written, no one really anticipated the condom or the sponge, so those don't get specific bans.

But... pulling out does. One of the most famous sexual-oriented Bible verses... the one that's used as anti-masturbation rhetoric... is actually anti-pulling out. It's Genesis 38:9-10: 'Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother's wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother. But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; so He took his life also.'

Yep -- pull out and get smote. That's harsh.

     If you read this section in context you see that the sin of Onan is not taking care of his brother's “legacy”. Later in Israel's history we see that the land was God's gift to the people of Israel, it was their reward for fulfilling the covenant and God's promise to His people. Because of this it was very important that the land and the inheritance stay with Israel. Several OT laws were centered around this idea (the Sabbath year and the return of land for example). One of the laws was that if a man dies without children his brother should marry his wife (assuming he had a single brother) and that the first children born would be receive the dead brother's inheritance, essentially they would be the dead brother's children legally. Now this is before the law came but the spirit is the same and on top of this Onan is intentionally disobeying direction from His father Judah, which any Bible reader can tell you God doesn't look too kindly on.

Number 7:

“Divorce. The Bible is very clear on this one: No divorcing. You can't do it. Because when you marry someone, according to Mark 10:8, you 'are no longer two, but one flesh.' And, Mark 10:9 reads, 'What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.'

Mark gets even more hardcore about it a few verses later, in Mark 10:11-12, 'And He said to them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

     Easy, Divorce is bad, don't do it, those who do need to repent. There are more touchy situations such as abuse but again that's another discussion.

Number 9:

“Wearing gold. 1 Timothy 2:9 doesn't like your gold necklace at all. Or your pearl necklace. Or any clothes you're wearing that you didn't get from Forever 21, Old Navy or H&M.

'Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments."

     That verse is not banning the wearing of gold the context of that verse is people drawing attention to themselves and being prideful. You're adornment, your jewelry should be your character. Here is the immediate context: “I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting; in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but, which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works.”(1 Timothy 2:8-10) Obviously Paul here isn't saying that women should be naked save for their good works! He means that your major defining factor, the thing that others notice should be who you are not what you have.

Number 11:

“Your wife defending your life in a fight by grabbing your attacker's genitals. No joke. Deuteronomy actually devotes two verses to this exact scenario: Deuteronomy 25:11-12.

'If two men, a man and his countryman, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and puts out her hand and seizes his genitals, then you shall cut off her hand; you shall not show pity.'

That's impossible to misinterpret. Ladies, if your husband is getting mugged, make sure to kick the mugger in the pills. Do not do the grip and squeeze (no matter what "Miss Congeniality" might advise). Or your hand needs to be cut off.”

     This one is a bit more “interesting.” I would lump this into the OT rules for holiness as a peculiar people, and that does fit. But the verse isn't saying if she “accidentally” touches the guys bits, she's dirty fighting. On top of that she's come into contact -willingly- with the anatomy of a man who is not her husband, and given the OT laws regarding uncovering the nakedness of another (which does mostly mean to have sex with) it's not terribly surprising that there would be some kind of punishment for this, and gain I have to point out that her husbands fate is up to the Lord. What is primary importance is not the continuation of life on earth but the manner in which that life relates to God.

     I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a scholar, not really, but I've read my Bible. I know that these aren't complete answers to these 'issues' and as always if anything I've said is off in any way let me know so I can double check and post a correction/apology. There are plenty of good books out there by people a heck of a lot smarter than me going into these details in more depth for those who actually want an explanation and I strongly encourage everyone to seek out the answers for yourselves.

Respect and Honor

“Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.”

(Titus 3:1-2)

“Bond-servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”

(Colossians 3:22-24)

     We don't like to obey and we do not like to listen. We modern folks think we have got it all worked out and that we are free first and foremost. It's my life and my choice, right? Well yes and no. I'm not really going to talk about the whole free will issue today, nor am I going to talk about obeying authority really; I'm talking about how we treat authority. How we deal with authority tells a lot about us, perhaps even more than our obedience.

     In the modern world and workforce there is a profound belief in the incompetence of leadership and a general lack of respect for those in higher position. When you're at work and the boss turns the corner do you and your coworkers immediately start to tear him or her down? I think this can be at least partially traced to the general sense of mistrust and even outright hatred for 'companies' and 'corporations' that exists in western culture. I think we also fail to show respect because we want to blame things that annoy us at work on somebody specific and out of a simple sense of jealousy. After all they make more than we do and have more power to boot. Who among us hasn't joked about the incompetent supervisor or the lazy manager or the overbearing executive? Should we though?

     Look at the verses above, Titus says “...to speak evil of no one...”, and in Colossians we are told to “obey in all things your masters...not with eye service...but in sincerity of heart...” In those verses we are shown a standard for dealing with authority. Note especially Colossians, sincerity of heart, we're are specifically commanded to do more than simply follow through on orders but to willingly and energetically serve! The Word reminds us that ultimately we are serving God, albeit through an intermediary. When we fill out that expense report, or send that fax, or clean that fryer, or take out the trash we have an opportunity to serve God in a practical ordinary way and be an example to the world as well. If every one of your coworkers is snarky and barely working and you have a smile and work joyfully, what does that say about you? More importantly what will that say about the God you claim to serve? An honest, sincere, and earnest life when accompanied by an outspoken and loving faith can be a powerful testimony to the world around you.

     Another thing to consider, as I said before, do you mock that boss of yours when they're not around? I don't even care if they are incompetent or lazy or not terribly intelligent, their the boss and God commands that we show the position honor! Titus tells us above not only “...to be subject to rulers and authorities,” but to “...speak evil of no man.” What kind of witness are you showing to your coworkers when you tear down that authority and do you think that the command to speak no evil extends to everyone except your annoying manager? I'm not saying that we shouldn't work to fix incompetencies or be insufferable brown-nosers, it's just that we are to live noble and peaceful lives while we walk this earth, and above that to be project the image of the invisible God to the eyes of men. Take care and think about how your behavior reflects on God and yourself. Maybe showing that frustrating boss some honor will inspire others to do the same and maybe that boss will work to be worthy of that honor you show. Ultimately though, we are commanded to show honor and to obey as to to God so to men. Remember we were all sinners and we are none of us perfect, don't look down on someone for their imperfections as if you were sparkling clean.

**Final note**

     Don't think that to obey authorities we should simply do anything and everything we are told to do. We are not slaves to men. Even those who were (or are in some places of the world) are first beholden to God. We obey up until the point those orders conflict with the express will of God.

“Peter and John, however, said to them in reply, "Whether it is right in the sight of God for us to obey you rather than God, you be the judges. It is impossible for us not to speak about what we have seen and heard."

(Acts 4:19-20)

"We gave you strict orders (did we not?) to stop teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to bring this man's blood upon us." But Peter and the apostles said in reply, "We must obey God rather than men.“

(Acts 5:28-29)