“I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things” (Isaiah 45:7 KJV).

In the King James version of the Bible quoted above, this verse from the Book of Isaiah is one that has puzzled countless people over the centuries since that translation was made.  If God is good, we might naturally ask, how can he create evil?  But three lines of evidence show that the KJV translation is not accurate in this instance and must be revised in order to properly understand what Isaiah wrote.  We will look at the three factors individually.

First, the Hebrew word ra translated “evil” in the KJV of Isaiah 45:7 can mean moral evil, and it is often rightly translated that way in the Old Testament; but the word also has the meanings of physical adversity, calamity, disaster, injury, ruin, or even misery.  So while evil is a possible translation in Isaiah 45:7, it is only one of many and we must look at the immediate context of the scripture and the context of the whole Bible to see which meaning would be most appropriate in this verse.

Second, the immediate context of Isaiah 45:7 indicates that Isaiah did not have moral evil in mind when he composed this verse. Chapter 45 has a clear context in which God says he rewards obedience (for example, vss. 8, 17) and punishes disobedience, rebellion and sin (for example, vss. 9, 16). This immediate context makes it far more likely that Isaiah 45:7 is using the Hebrew word ra in the sense of calamity or disaster that comes upon the wicked as a result of their own actions.

Finally, everything we are told throughout the Bible about the goodness and righteousness of God indicates that God does not himself create that which is wrong or morally evil.  The prophet Habakkuk tells us of God: “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil” (Habakkuk 1:13); the Psalms tell us: “The LORD is upright…there is no wickedness in him” (Psalm 92:15); Isaiah himself tells us that “Those who walk righteously … shut their eyes against contemplating evil” (Isaiah 33:15).  These and a great many other biblical verses show that God clearly does not and cannot contemplate evil.

The fact that the Hebrew word translated “evil” has many other meanings, the fact that the immediate context of Isaiah 45:7 is one of punishment for sin rather than the creation of moral evil, and the fact that the Bible is consistent in showing that God does not even look at evil all indicate that it is not moral evil that God creates, but the punishment that comes as a result of sin. 

That is why English translations made since the King James was translated in 1611 have almost all chosen to translate the Hebrew ra not as “evil” but with a word reflecting some kind of punishment. The New International Version, for example, translates the word “disaster,” as does the Holman Bible. The English Standard Version translates it “calamity,” as does the New King  James Version, which brings the English of the King James Version up to date.  God does not ever directly create evil, though he creates beings that may of their own free will turn to evil and bring punishment upon themselves. 

​
We might not often think of it this way, but honesty has two sides – an “outside” and an “inside.” Honesty isn’t just about what we tell others, it is also about what we tell ourselves. In other words, full honesty is not only speaking the truth to others, but also speaking the truth to oneself.

Psychologists know that these are separate activities. We can deceive others while not deceiving ourselves in some situations, but we can also deceive ourselves (while not always deceiving others) at other times. The Bible contains many verses based on this truth.  We tend to notice and remember those scriptures which speak about telling the truth on the “outside” –  as when the apostle Paul wrote: “… each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor …” (Ephesians 4:25), but we may not always notice the distinction when scriptures talk about telling the truth on the “inside.”

Consider an example from the Old Testament.  In Psalm 15 David asks the question, “Who can dwell with God?” and begins his answer by saying: “He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart” (Psalm 15:2, emphasis added here and throughout).  Although the New International Version translates the final part of this verse as “who speaks the truth from their heart,” the preposition used in the Hebrew Bible means “in,” and this translation is followed by almost all other modern versions (ESV, NKJV, HCSB, NASB, NET, ISV, etc.).  The International Standard Version translates this verse with particular clarity: “The one who lives with integrity, who does righteous deeds, and who speaks truth to himself.”

This need to speak truth on the inside is the underlying meaning behind many other scriptures in the Old Testament, such as Psalm 51:6: “Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being …” and Proverbs 23:7: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he...” (NKJV). But how do we speak honestly to ourselves, or perhaps more precisely, how do we not speak dishonestly on the inside?  Here are four points we should keep in mind:

1) Know yourself.  We may know it intellectually, but we must continually remind ourselves that the Bible clearly teaches that the mind and its underlying human nature is not intrinsically good (Jeremiah 17:9, etc.).   Our first reactions are so often wrong ones, and then our minds may take over to justify them.  Speaking truth within ourselves begins with understanding ourselves (Lamentations 3:40, Psalm 19:12).

2) Don’t avoid inner conversations you need to have. We have all heard the words “I don’t want to talk about it” or “I don’t want to think about it,” but speaking truth to ourselves often means not allowing ourselves to avoid the inner working-through we need to do regarding problems we do not want to face. As Christians we know that God often directs our “conscience” through his Spirit (John 16:13), but we cannot speak truth to ourselves or follow the Spirit’s guidance if we are avoiding truthful “conversations” that should occur.

3) Don’t allow divisions between what you say outwardly and inwardly.  Whenever we find we are thinking something different from what we are saying out loud, we need to stop and assess the situation carefully. Most of us are deceiving ourselves in small ways every day, and we can only overcome this pattern through constant vigilance.  Divisions between what we say and think – outside and inside honesty –  create psychological dissonance and put us in the position of being what the Bible calls a “double minded” person (James 1:8; 4:8).

4) Police your personal narrative. We have to separate ourselves from the narrative we construct about why we do what we do if we are to speak to ourselves truthfully and be able to grow and overcome our own nature. This involves not only being conscious of what we’re doing, but also asking ourselves why we’re doing it. Most of us have internalized a number of rationalizations about various aspects of our behavior, but anytime we find ourselves feeling that we are too old, too busy, too sick, too poor, too tired, or anything else that stops us doing what we know we should do, we need to “pull over” our own attitude and examine our own excuses. Likewise, whenever we do what is not right because we feel we owe it to ourselves, others are doing it, it’s only a small sin, we are just weak, or whatever, we need to police ourselves also.  Perhaps the greatest part of spiritual growth involves assessing, and if necessary rejecting, our own rationalizations.

Ultimately, learning to speak the truth to ourselves is a never-ceasing process that underlies spiritual growth itself.  Being honest with ourselves is a daily, hourly, and even minute-by-minute endeavor, but don’t let that fact ever discourage you –  it just means that being honest with ourselves reaps constant, ongoing benefits and rewards.

​
“Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies …‘Go, look over the land,’ he said, ‘especially Jericho.’ So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there  (Joshua 2:1).

In this ancient spy story, whatever else the two spies did in Canaan is not disclosed (if this were a modern intelligence report, the information might have been redacted!), but the Bible tells us the spies came to the house of the prostitute Rahab.  Perhaps God led them there because He was willing to save this woman of faith, but it is also possible that her house which was “on” or “in” the great wall of the city (some ancient “casemate” walls contained rooms in which people lived) was actually an inn. This tradition is mentioned by the 1st century historian Josephus, as it was not uncommon for inns to function as brothels in the ancient world. In any event, the spies came to the house of Rahab and were hidden there from the king of Jericho who was searching for them.  This was, as one-time CIA director Allen Dulles remarked, the first known “safe house” for spies in history – and it proved, of course, to be the only “safe” house when Israel destroyed the city!

The story of the Canaanite woman Rahab and her house is an interesting account at a number of levels – not least that of understanding the right kind of faith that we should all have. Rahab is included in Hebrews 11, the Bible’s “Faith Hall of Fame” chapter, for this specific quality: “By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace” (Hebrews 11:31, NKJV).

But we might question here exactly how Rahab exercised faith.  Certainly she believed that God was with the Israelites, but the Biblical account makes it clear that most of the inhabitants of Jericho felt exactly the same way.  Notice what Rahab told the spies:

“I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed ... for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below” (Joshua 2:9-11 and see also Joshua 5:1).

Clearly, the inhabitants of Jericho had human faith in the fact that God was with the Israelites. So what made Rahab different?  From the perspective of Jericho she was just a traitor who sided with the enemy, but from the perspective of the Bible it was precisely her actions to save the Israelite spies that made her faith real.  The other inhabitants of Jericho had the same information she had, but they reacted differently to the same knowledge. Once the Israelite army reached Jericho we see the people of Jericho’s reaction: “Now the gates of Jericho were securely barred because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in” (Joshua 6:1).

Rahab not only protected and helped the spies when they were with her, but also exactly followed the command she was given to distinguish her house by a piece of red cloth (Joshua 2:18-19), perhaps symbolic of atoning sacrifice and certainly reminiscent of the Passover placing of blood on the houses to be spared (Exodus 12:13).  Her actions may have been simple ones, but they contrast starkly with those of the other inhabitants of Jericho: while they hardened their attitudes and shut themselves in, Rahab reached out and was obedient to what she was told to do. 

It is not that Rahab was physically saved by “works,” but by working faith – belief that was active – as Hebrews says: “Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe.”  Joshua 5:1 and Joshua 2:9-11 show that the other inhabitants did believe, but not with full, active belief – which is what Hebrews must mean. Unlike her believing but fearful neighbors (James 2:19: “…the devils also believe, and tremble”), Rahab believed with an active belief that was complete in its expression of obedience, and her story stands as a lasting example of faith that works as opposed to empty belief without action.

What became of Rahab? She evidently married Salmon - one of the two spies she had saved – and through him became one of the ancestors of  Joseph, adoptive father of Jesus (Matthew 1:5).  Her active faith not only enabled her to physically save the spies, her family and herself, but also to include her in the genealogy of the One who would enable the salvation of us all.

* This post was first published on our sister site, LivingWithFaith.org on 2/4/2014.

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If you were to think of a hero who seems to come out of nowhere to block tyranny, thwart injustice, and assist those needing help, perhaps you would think of some fabled medieval knight or a caped comic book hero. But one person mentioned in the Bible displayed the trait of heroically fighting against injustice to an exceptional degree, and that individual, surprising as it may seem at first, was Moses.

You may not have thought about it this way before, but the Bible paints a very interesting picture of the character of Moses before his calling.  Of course, the evidence we have comes from the first five books of the Bible – written by Moses himself – but what I would like to look at here is the way Moses is portrayed: the characteristics he displayed and chose to record as opposed to any other traits he may have had. Remember that Moses tells us nothing about his childhood and youth apart from the fact that he was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter (Exodus 2:10). The first time we are given a glimpse into the adult life of this future leader we are told that:

“One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people. Looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand” (Exodus 2:11-12). 

Fighting injustice on the work site

We must understand that this was no simple homicide on Moses’ part. When the text tells us he “looked this way and that and saw no one,” it probably does not mean that he checked to see that he could get away with intervening, but rather that he saw there was no one who would help the man and so intervened himself. We are not given the details, but the furious slave driver may then have turned on Moses who may have killed him in self-defense as well as defense of the slave who was being ruthlessly beaten.  We should remember also that the word used of the slave driver’s “beating” of the Hebrew man is makeh – which can have very strong connotations involving injury and even death. Moses stepped in and halted a tyrannical situation that may well have been life-threatening for the man he protected.  
 
Fighting injustice on the street

The very next day we are told that a similar situation arose in which Moses attempted to intervene in an unjust situation: “The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, “Why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew?” (Exodus 2:13). Note that in this case there was no casual argument involved. The expression translated “the one in the wrong” (NIV) in the Hebrew is literally “the wicked one” – clearly an individual who was wrongfully assaulting another Hebrew. But once again Moses stepped in as soon as he saw the altercation and realized what was happening was an unjust situation.   

Fighting injustice at the well

Exodus tells us that Moses fled to Midian after this event, when the Pharaoh found out that he had killed an Egyptian taskmaster (Exodus 2:15). In Midian the next recorded incident is that Moses steps in to defend and help a group of women – the daughters of a local shepherd – when they tried to draw water from a well for their sheep: “Some shepherds came along and drove them away, but Moses got up and came to their rescue and watered their flock” (Exodus 2:17).

This is the third and final glimpse we are given into the life and character of Moses before God appears to him in the burning bush and calls him to lead his people out of Egypt. Although this event occurs quite some time after Moses arrived in Midian (see Exodus 2:23, a “long period”), we are not told anything more about his actions during that time – whether he worked hard or cared well for the flocks in his charge or anything else. What we are told – and all we are told – about the life of Moses before God called him to the great work he was given to do is that on three occasions Moses stepped in to fight injustice under various circumstances.

But notice that these incidents do not run from the least to the greatest – they do not show the growing heroism of Moses as an individual. Instead, they run from the most serious offense to the least, so they show his gradual coming to awareness of and willingness to stand up against even small injustices that he encountered. 

Perhaps there is a lesson in this. Perhaps Exodus is telling us that God called Moses to free his people because of his growing commitment to fight injustice. Perhaps God knew he could use such a person to fight the great injustice of the slavery of the Hebrews in Egypt. If this is the case, then this is a prime example of how the more we grow in our desire to fight what is wrong and to support what is right, the more God can use us, too.

So you are one of the many millions of people on twitter? Great! 

So you are one of the many Christians on twitter? Maybe we should talk. 

According to a report published by the Pew Research Center, fifteen percent of adult Internet users in the United States are on Twitter, and that number is multiplied many, many times, of course, in nations around the world.  Of these millions of twitter users, a great many are Christians –  few of whom give much serious thought to how they use the service and the effect they are having on others through it.

The writer and speaker Jon Acuff once said that “Social media’s like a brick — you can use it to build an orphanage or throw it through somebody’s car window.” That statement graphically summarizes the good and bad that can come even from Christians’ use of twitter. 

In saying this, we are not even talking about the kind of content a person tweets.  Most (though sadly not all) Christians are in the habit of tweeting positive, clean and uplifting messages that are not attacks on individuals (Ephesians 4:29-31).  It’s sometimes the behind the scenes –  but still visible – aspects of twitter use that can be problematic.

For instance, many people –  many Christians included –  seem to view twitter as a giant game of  “get followers.”  As a result, many do not choose to follow people back who follow them because they want an impressive follower/following ratio.  It’s always a bad thing if we allow our mental approach to become focused on an attitude of “get” and an unwillingness to give, and this is certainly a situation where the golden rule can be followed (Matthew 7:12).

But even more disturbing is the habit of many (and yes, many Christians) of following people back  and then,  a day or two later, dropping them.  If the person who has followed us is not tweeting objectionable material, dropping them simply to improve our own numbers is nothing short of selfishness, and we should consider how this looks to others.   If we don’t want to receive a follower’s frequent messages regarding what they had for dinner last night or whatever, twitter does have a “mute” button. If we need to we can mute followers where unfollowing is not called for.

Being a Christian on twitter is not just about numbers, though.  When we receive follows from others and don’t follow back, or follow back then drop them, we lose one of the great ways social media can be used for good by depriving the person of ever reaching out to us through Direct Messages.  In our own @tacticalbelief and @livingbelief twitter accounts we receive many DMs every week from people asking for guidance, encouragement, prayer, or just basic information about Christianity. Not following back or dropping followers unnecessarily limits engagement with others whom we might help and  denies them the opportunity to receive “an answer regarding the hope we have” (1 Peter 3:15) –  in an area of our lives where we might be most likely to be asked. 

There are many other ways that we should perhaps consider how, as Christians, we come across to others on twitter, and how we either serve them or perhaps cause them to stumble through our twitter behavior.  But basically, being a Christian on twitter can be boiled down to three simple things. 

First, we need to realize how conspicuous we are as Christians on twitter and how hypocritical it can appear to others if we label ourselves as “Christian” or quote Bible verses in our twitter bios, but are knowingly following porn or treating people selfishly in our social media practices. 

Second, we need to resist any temptation to “flame” or ridicule others by always being desirous to “tweet  others the way we would want to be tweeted.”

And, finally, we need to remember – as one preacher so aptly once put it (in a tweet): “Your words will tell others what you think. Your actions will tell them what you believe.” That is just as true on twitter – or on any other social media –  as it is in other areas of life.

​“​Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (Ecclesiastes 1:2 ESV).
 
​The Bible has quite a lot to say about vanity, but its use of the concept is often misunderstood. Today, when we speak of someone who is “vain,” we mean someone who is conceited or overly concerned about their own looks or abilities.

​But when the words “vain” or “vanity” appear in the Bible, they have very different meanings. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word hebel from which these words are translated means something that is only vapor or wind – in other words, something that has no lasting substance and is ultimately pointless. That was the main meaning of the word “vain” in English back when the King James Version was translated in 1611, and we still use the word “vain” that way when something does not turn out as we planned, and we say that our efforts were “in vain.”

This original meaning of the word vain is why the Book of Proverbs tells us: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30 ESV). Notice it is the fleeting beauty itself that is said to be vain, not the person! In the same way, the Book of Ecclesiastes tells us: “Therefore remove sorrow from your heart, and put away evil from your flesh, For childhood and youth are vanity” (Ecclesiastes 11:10 NKJV), and the Book of Psalms says: “Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath!” (Psalms 39:5).  In other words, childhood, youth, and even our adult lives pass all too quickly, they are not lasting, but are vain –  just like a breath of air or an early morning mist: “…What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). 

In the New Testament, the Greek word kenos often translated “vain” has a similar meaning –  that of being empty or of no purpose –  so the biblical meanings of “vain” have nothing to do directly with our attitudes toward our appearance. The Bible certainly does not condemn our reasonable efforts to look our best (see our blog post “Does the Bible Condemn Women’s Adornment?”), though it also points out the futility of making self-concern and self-pampering the focus of our lives – which would truly be an exercise in “vanity.”  As always, balance is a good thing and reasonable focus on the care for our physical bodies is not wrong – just as the apostle Paul reminded us regarding physical exercise: “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” (1 Timothy 4:8).

What Paul says to Timothy in this verse underscores the whole biblical approach to “vanity.” Anything that is not “godliness” – in other words, that does not contribute to becoming more like God and helping others on that path –  is ultimately “vain.” That is why Paul also wrote: “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).  This does not mean that doing our everyday work and chores is meaningless – the Bible clearly shows we should do everything as though we were doing it for God (1 Corinthians 10:31).  Such an attitude elevates whatever we do from the “vanity” of life without God to the realm of the truly meaningful.
 
So, to return to the title of this article –  "Are You Vain?" –  we can clarify that question.  If by “vain” we mean the way the word is usually understood today – as a reflection of prideful or narcissistic self-focus – then hopefully that failing is held in check in our lives by understanding what small importance our present outer appearance or inner aptitudes have in the eternal scheme of things.  But if by  “vain” we mean the original sense of the word –  as empty and without purpose – then the answer depends entirely on us.
 
Without God, in biblical terms, we are all “vain,” but when we place God at the center of our lives then they are given a purpose that transcends meaninglessness and “vanity.”  Then, our thoughts and actions have the potential to take on a purpose they would never have had –  because God is in the business of making meaning in our lives. As the apostle Paul wrote: “…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:12-13, emphasis added). If we have “…been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28) and made his purpose ours, we need never be concerned that our lives are “vanity” or that they have been lived “in vain.”

​Strange as it may sound, every Christian is called to a love-hate relationship with the practice of secrecy. On the one hand we are told to love secrecy (Matthew 6:4, etc.), but on the other hand we are instructed to avoid it (Job 13:10, etc.).  How should we understand this seemingly contradictory situation?

The answer, of course, is one of context. Both in terms of our beliefs and our behavior, secrecy may be good in some situations, but not in others. We should not hide what should not be kept secret and we should not expose what should be kept secret.  Consider some of the ramifications of these principles.

We should not hide what should not be kept secret.

It is certainly wrong to keep things secret that should be out in the open. The principle can apply in various ways regarding both our beliefs and behavior.  The New Testament talks about a number of individuals who kept their faith secret – like Nicodemus who visited Jesus under the cover of darkness (John 3:1–21) and Joseph of Arimathea who secretly met with Pilate to request Jesus’ burial because of his fear of the Jewish religious leaders (John 19:38).  There may certainly be a time for care in dangerous situations, but John, who relates these stories, tells us Jesus reminded Nicodemus that keeping our beliefs secret lessens our ability to be a witness to God’s transforming power: “Whosoever lives by truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly what has been done through God” (John 3:21).

But the main danger of wrongful secrecy, of course, is when we keep problems or sins secret in our lives that must be brought to light if we are to do away with them.  In Ephesians 5:12 the apostle Paul tells us: “It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.” We are called to a life without this kind of secrecy.  As Paul states elsewhere, “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways” (2 Corinthians 4:2).  Naturally, nothing is hidden from God (Jeremiah 23:24), and Paul reminds us that this applies to anything we attempt to keep secret: “… God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ” (Romans 2:16).

But this fact does not just apply to sexual immorality or sinfulness. For example, although we may not think of it this way, the principle applies to gossip. The Book of Psalms tells us specifically: “Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence…” (Psalm 101:5).  In other areas, we should not “hide” the good that others do in the sense of not giving credit where it is due, nor should we hide wrongdoing we are aware of that needs the involvement of society (1 Peter 2:14). 

To summarize this side of secrecy, we can say that in terms of belief, in most circumstances we should not keep our faith a secret; in terms of behavior, we should not keep wrongdoing that needs to be corrected a secret – or the right doing of others who should be commended, either.   
 
We should not expose what should be kept secret.

On the other hand, the opposite side of secrecy must be applied in many situations.   In terms of belief, there are times and circumstances when it may be better to hold back details of our knowledge of the truth.  For example, proclaiming to strangers that they are “sinning” is not an activity to which we are called. That is really the opposite of the attitude the apostle Peter showed we should have when he wrote: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

As for our own behavior, we all need to learn to keep secret good works that might otherwise be done  only for appearances.   The teaching of Jesus was clear on this matter: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them … so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:1-4).  Jesus also applied the same principle to prayer: “… when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:6).  This does not mean, of course, that we keep it a secret that we pray, only that we keep our personal prayer private so that, again, it is not done for the wrong reasons.

Finally, there are times when the apparent faults and failings of others should not be openly discussed.  The principle that “love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8 and see Matthew 18:15-17) sometimes has an interpersonal application regarding other people’s mistakes or perceived sins.  We need only look at the example of Joseph who, when he did not yet realize that Mary was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, was still careful not to shame her:  “Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” (Matthew 1:19).

So there certainly are two very different sides to the matter of secrecy –  and the Christian is called to live according to that understanding. 

“In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you” (2 Chronicles 20:6).
 






We have all heard the saying “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” and sadly, experience often shows the truth in that old bit of wisdom.  But if it is true, what about God – who is truly all-powerful (2 Chronicles 20:6) at a scale that no human can even begin to grasp (Job 26:7-14)?  If power corrupts – especially absolute power –  why is it that God is somehow unaffected by this fact?

Some atheists have presumed to know the answer to that question by proclaiming that this fact disproves the existence of God, as his very nature would be compromised by his own power. But we might well reply to this argument with the words of Jesus himself: “…You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matthew 29:29).

The Scriptures show that the power of God does not in any way corrupt him because it is transformed by another equally inherent aspect of God’s nature –  his love.  In fact, the Scriptures clearly record the fact that while God has infinite power, he is love (1 John 4:8). What we are always overrides what we have, and this is certainly true in the case of the power of God.
 
We continually get glimpses of this control of power by love throughout the earthly life of Jesus, the Son of God.  We see it from the very beginning of his ministry in the temptations in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11) by his refusal to misuse the power he had, and we see it at many other times such as when the disciples urged him to bring fire down on a city of the Samaritans (Luke 9:54) or to use power to avert his own death (Matthew 16:21-23). 
 
But these are all examples of Jesus not misusing the power he had at his disposal. Even more telling are the times when Jesus did use the great power he had – in miracles and signs given in love to help others.  Even on the rare occasions when Jesus claimed privileges for himself, such as the right to use something based on his true identity, we find his use of power was entirely for love. This was either love of God, as when he claimed the right to use the donkey that carried him into Jerusalem in order to fulfill the word of God (Matthew 21:1-11), or love of others, as when he claimed the right to use the upper room where he expounded truth to his disciples and washed their feet (Matthew 26:17-18 and John 13:1-20).  In all these instances, Jesus used the power he had in service to others.

Because of these examples, we can know that God’s power does not in any way corrupt his perfect nature. The potential for misuse of power is transformed by his perfect love. To turn our original statement around,we can say that “love transforms power and absolute love transforms absolute power.”

This truth flows over into the lives of those who are truly led by the Spirit of God. As the apostle Paul wrote: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7, emphasis added). The power of God – the power he gives – is transformed by love and controlled by self-discipline.

Doubtless that is why Paul also described his desire that believers “May have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18).   With God, the expression of power is never separated from love, and the two should never be separated in our lives, either. 

​Don’t worry, “impatience” is not a typo in the title above.  Patience is a good thing, of course –  something the Scriptures repeatedly tell us to develop.  The Bible shows that God is incredibly patient with us and he expects us to learn to be patient with others also (Colossians 3:12, etc.).  So what’s this about impatience?

As with many aspects of the Christian life, there is sometimes a place for impatience as well as patience, just as there is a place for both mercy and judgment, “a time to speak and a time to refrain from speaking” (Ecclesiastes 3:7), and so on. We might say that right impatience can be the “other side of the coin” of patience, but it’s just as real and can be just as necessary.

To understand this, we must first see that impatience can be an attribute of God. The Book of Judges tells us that after suffering affliction for some time, the ancient Israelites: “… put away the foreign gods from among them and served the Lord, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel” (Judges 10:16 ESV).  The Hebrew expression translated “impatient” in this verse is literally to become “short of soul” in the way we would say “short tempered” or “running short of patience” –  in other words, impatient –  not with Israel, but with its suffering.  This verse is unequivocal in telling us that God can express the trait of impatience when he views human-caused suffering and he wants to end it.

God can be impatient with other things, also – especially sin. He is patient almost beyond belief when it comes to working with us to help us toward repentance, but his patience with sin can run out, as we see in the narrative of the Flood where we are told: “Then the Lord said, ‘My Spirit will not contend with humans forever …’” (Genesis 6:3).  The apostle Paul also stresses the limits to God’s patience (Romans 2:4-5, etc.).

We find other examples of righteous impatience in the New Testament. Jesus himself displayed impatience with the money-changers in the temple (Matthew 21:12–17) and on occasions such as when his disciples (who had been given the power to do so –  Luke 9:1) could not heal a spirit-tormented child (Luke 9:38-40).  Luke tells us that Jesus’ response to his disciples and the boy’s father was clearly an impatient one in this situation: “You unbelieving and perverse generation… how long shall I stay with you and put up with you?” (Luke 9:41). Notice that the object of Jesus’ impatience was not so much the people themselves, but their unbelief despite having already witnessed many miracles.

Putting the various scriptures together that show godly impatience, we see a definite pattern. God is clearly said to express impatience, and it is usually with human-caused suffering, sin, and disbelief. How does all this apply to us? We are certainly called to be patient, and we are not called to express impatience with others, but a right response to all three of the factors of sin, disbelief and avoidable suffering should increase our impatience with ourselves. 

​Sometimes we need to become more impatient with our own sins and failings in order to make more progress in overcoming them (Romans 7:24-25). Sometimes we need to be impatient with our own disbelief when it is holding us back from spiritual growth (Mark 9:24).  And we need real impatience with ourselves when we cause any kind of avoidable suffering –  even in situations where we think we are in the right (Acts 8:3).  We certainly need impatience when we view much of the suffering that fills the world in which we live – and that impatience sometimes needs to be expressed in more fervent prayer for the kingdom of God and more active involvement in doing what we can to help alleviate suffering  (Matthew 6:10).   But in any situation, the right kind of impatience is always aimed at ourselves, whether to spur us to do more to help others or to further propel us in the growth for which we all should be aiming.

So if we are on the way to mastering the quality of patience, we should keep up the good work –  but we should not forget to work on righteous impatience also where that is appropriate!

“Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools” (Ecclesiastes 7:9 ESV).
 
The Scriptures have much to say about times we become upset or angry, but this verse in the Book of Ecclesiastes summarizes much of the Bible’s wisdom on the subject. It’s a verse most of us know well, but one we often fail to understand or appreciate as fully as we might. We tend to remember the admonition as simply one of not becoming angry quickly, and that’s certainly part of what it is telling us.

But we should also notice the second half of the statement – that anger “lodges” or resides in the heart of fools. We all become upset and angry at times, but this does not mean we are all “fools” –  the point Ecclesiastes is making is that we are only fools if we allow the anger to “lodge” or stay within our hearts. The verse is actually contrasting two things that are both wrong – quickness to become upset and slowness or failure to release the anger.
These are, in effect, the two sides of the “coin” of anger, but while we might give a lot of thought and effort to not becoming angry, we don’t always drop the emotion as quickly as we should.  Humanly, once someone upsets us over something and anger takes hold within us, we tend to begin to justify it –  and the longer we let it “reside” in us, the more difficult it becomes to shake the emotion out.

Despite our best efforts, the truth is we cannot simply “bury” our feelings of anger or resentment. We can try, but feelings that are “buried alive” never really die.   Left within us, they take hold and begin to poison our attitudes and relationships.  Remaining upset at others usually ends up hurting them in some way, and always ends up hurting us.  The Bible contains many examples of this –  beginning with Cain who was upset with his brother (Genesis 4:5, 8) through Saul who was upset with David (1 Samuel 19:9) to Nabal (whose name, not coincidentally, means “fool”) who seems to have become upset with many people and his  wife in particular (1 Samuel 25:2-38).  In all these cases and many others, we see a pattern of individuals becoming upset in a way that led to their permanent downfall.

So it is not surprising that the Scriptures contain many commands and admonitions urging us not to allow ourselves to continue to be upset with someone.  It’s a command made in the Old Testament and reiterated in the New. The Book of Leviticus ties the command directly to the principle of love: “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself...”(Leviticus 19:18). We cannot love someone if we allow ourselves to remain upset with them. From a biblical perspective, remaining upset is sin.  That is why the apostle Paul wrote “In your anger do not sin” before stressing “Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry” (Ephesians 4:26). People sometimes joke that not allowing the sun to go down on our anger allows individuals living at the North Pole a full six months to remain angry, but Paul’s point is clear, and it would be foolish to ignore it.
 
The Bible acknowledges that we may become angry – sometimes for very legitimate reasons –  but it continually stresses that we should never hold on to that anger, and that if we do, it inevitably leads to a spirit of unforgiveness that hurts us as much as others. That is also why we find the principle in Ecclesiastes 7:9 with which we began this post repeatedly echoed elsewhere in the Bible – as in the Book of Proverbs where we read: “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (Proverbs 19:11 ESV). Here, we see the two necessary sides of our response to anger –  we must be slow to anger, but also quick to drop it.  Failing to follow the second of these biblical principles is as dangerous as ignoring the first. If we do not want our upset to become our downfall, we must always put anger away quickly. 

* For more on anger management, see our post "When Your Fuse Burns Down" here.   

“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48).

One of the greatest misconceptions about God, even among many Christians, is that God expects us to be perfect – as he is – and is continually unhappy with us when we are not.  Jesus’ words “Be perfect…” from the Sermon on the Mount are so well-known that it is sometimes hard to see past what they are commonly thought to say to what they really mean.

To get a proper perspective on what God does expect of us, we must first look at Jesus’ words in context. In Matthew, Jesus clearly tells us to be perfect as God is perfect, but if we read the same account in the Gospel of Luke his words are recorded as “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).   Why the difference?  Both Gospels show in context that Jesus was talking about love (see Matthew 5:43-47 and Luke 6:27-35). Matthew’s Gospel stresses that our love should be perfect and Luke’s Gospel stresses that our love should be merciful – doubtless Jesus talked about both aspects of love. 
 
But when we look closely at the expression “Be perfect,” we see the situation even more clearly. The Greek word translated “perfect” in Matthew is a form of teleios which does mean “perfect,” but in the sense of being mature or complete.  Notice 1 Corinthians 14:20, for example, where we find: “Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults”– and the word “adults” is the word teleios.  In Hebrews 5:14 we find the same word translated mature: “… solid food is for the mature…”

In the context of love we find in Matthew 5:48 that Christ urged his followers to be mature and complete in their love – like God who is himself Love.  Only a few verses before saying “be perfect” Jesus had said: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45), once again showing we should be like God in our love.

Jesus’ statement in the Sermon on the Mount does not mean that God expects us to always be perfect. In fact, the New Testament shows repeatedly that God knows we cannot be perfect in every way (1 John 1:8-10). That is why God accepts Christ’s perfect life in place of ours, just as he accepts Christ’s death on our behalf (Romans 5:10).  But that does not mean that we need not strive in our own lives toward the goal of perfection (John 14:23-24) – as long as we realize that our efforts will never gain our salvation.  Our motivation for trying to be as perfect as possible must be our love of God.

This fact brings us full circle.  When we realize that God knows we cannot be perfect in this life, but that he does encourage us to grow up in him – to become more like him as we live each day –  we see God in better perspective. We see that the God of love has made a way for us to be perfect in his sight through Christ’s life in our stead.  But the God of love also offers to give us his love to enable us to continually grow to be more like him.
 
God does desire to see perfection in us, but he looks beyond us for that perfection.  God does not expect continued perfection in our own daily lives – just continued progress. The statement that we must “be perfect” is not a command to do the impossible, it is an encouragement to become mature in fulfilling God’s law of love (Romans 13:10, Galatians 5:14).

​Everyone understands that trust and forgiveness are different things, yet it is easy to confuse them in actual life. Sometimes people feel that trust is part of forgiveness and that they must trust those they forgive.

In other situations people feel that although they should forgive, they do not ever need to trust the person again.

Both of these extremes can be wrong.  We always have to forgive, but we do not have to trust those who hurt us and show no sign they are sorry.  On the other hand, once we have forgiven we should strive to allow trust to be rebuilt whenever possible.  The difference lies in the fact that forgiving someone who has wronged us is our responsibility; reestablishing trust is most often the responsibility of the person who wronged us.

In real life, people get hurt repeatedly –  that fact was the basis for Peter’s question to Jesus: “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21). The problem is a very real one because humanly, repeated wrongs done against us can make forgiveness progressively harder. That is why Peter suggested we only forgive up to seven times –  a “manageable” number of wrongdoings.   Jesus’ answer, of course, was that we must not put a limit on the number of times we forgive someone (Matthew 18:22).  But his answer has no application to staying in a situation where we would continue to get hurt if that is avoidable.  Nor does it mean that we should trust the wrongdoer if it would be unwise or dangerous to do so. Remember again the Scripture’s counsel: “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.”  This clear wisdom is expounded twice in the Bible (Proverbs 22:3; 27:12) for a reason. 
 
Not understanding these basic truths prevents many people from restoring relations after forgiving those who have hurt them and causes many others to suffer unnecessarily when they do. In his book The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren says: “Many people are reluctant to show mercy because they don't understand the difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past. Trust has to do with future behavior.”  Warren is surely correct in this, for while forgiving must be immediate on our part, trust must be rebuilt over time and depends on the behavior of the one forgiven. As Warren puts it, trust requires a track record: “If someone hurts you repeatedly, you are commanded by God to forgive them instantly, but you are not expected to trust them immediately…” Our forgiveness of others must always be unconditional, but our trust of others can and often should be conditional – it has to be earned.
 
Forgiveness doesn’t mean we have to see change in the other person in order to forgive them – that would be an entirely wrong approach. We must forgive whether an individual changes or not. But we need not trust them if they have not changed. Trust develops slowly – and it must be remade over time.  Think of the example of Jesus asking Peter three times, “do you love me?” (John 21:15-17) after Peter’s betrayal. Peter had failed Jesus three times, of course (John 18:15-27), and perhaps there is a lesson in Christ’s repeated questions that we should see recurrent or ongoing evidence of change before we fully trust again. 

A simple analogy is that being hurt by another is like receiving a cut to our body.  Forgiving the person acts like the stitches that close our wound, but spiritual and emotional healing, just like physical healing, still require time. Even when we fully understand the difference between granting forgiveness and trust, we must always remember that allowing time for trust to be repaired does not mean allowing ourselves a period of time to brood, feel sorry for ourselves, or to allow resentment or anger to continue to develop. That would be like allowing an infection to take hold in the cut that should be healing. Granting ourselves time to trust again should always be based on our complete and unhindered forgiveness of the other person –  that is the only way we will, in fact, heal. 
  
We should always be open to allowing trust to be rebuilt whenever this is possible. Forgiveness is a possession we all have that we are able to give to others. But trust is not a possession, it is a process that we allow to develop once our forgiving makes trust possible again.

* Exerpted from our new free e-book How to Forgive. You can download a copy here.

You may not know at this moment when you will need to exercise forgiveness, but you can be certain that sooner or later you will have to forgive someone for something. Perhaps right now there is an old hurt that you have never been able to completely forgive, or perhaps the necessity will not arise until tomorrow or next week, but whenever the need to forgive comes up or to prepare you for when it does, our latest free e-book is designed to help you.

Our new book, How to Forgive, looks at this vitally important subject from a practical perspective, showing what the Bible actually teaches about this topic and how we can best apply the guidance it gives us.  As with all our e-books, this new title is absolutely free and does not require any kind of registration or giving an email address. The book is available in three formats –  so you can download a copy to read on your computer, phone, kindle or other e-book reader. Simply click on the version you want here.  

​Everyone who begins to study the Bible eventually learns that context is of the greatest importance in understanding the message of a given verse or passage. But although we may all come to recognize and hopefully remember this fact in our study, how often do we utilize the principle of context in other aspects of our Christian lives –  in our behavior?

An Old Testament example often given of this principle is that of Moses striking the rock, as God instructed him, to produce water for the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 17:6; Numbers 20:8-12).  The first time Moses struck the rock was in obedience to God’s instruction, but the following blows seem to have not been commanded and the situation changed immediately. An action that was in obedience to God in one context became one of disobedience when the context changed.

Consideration of context in our behavior applies just as much today as it did in this Old Testament example.  Christians understand, of course, that many Old Testament injunctions such as the command to sacrifice an animal if one sins were laws given to the physical nation of Israel under the Old Covenant. Such commands applied in full force at that time –  to the people to whom they were given –  but the New Testament makes it clear that Christ fulfilled many of those laws and they do not apply to Christians today (Hebrews 10:10, etc.).

But beyond this obvious example, there are many other instances where context affects both if and how we keep various biblical instructions.  Consider a few small examples:

1) Although we are told to bear with and overlook the failings of others (Proverbs 19:11, Romans 15:1, etc.), we are also commanded never to tolerate or overlook our own failings (James 4:7-10, 1 John 1:6-9, etc.).  Overlooking problems is biblical in the one context, but not in the other!

2) Some New Testament commands have in mind the context of the Church while others apply to our relationships with people outside the Church or to all people.  A very basic example of this is found in what Paul instructs us regarding teaching and admonishing one another (Romans 15:14) and speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Ephesians 5:19).  Looking at the context of these instructions, we find that it is one of interacting with fellow believers – not instructing or quoting scriptures or hymns to every stranger we meet!

3) A more subtle example is that of the command to confess our sins to one another (James 5:15-16). While this principle clearly applies only within the context of the Church (as we can see by reading the passage in which the command occurs), it also has a more specialized context.  The indiscriminate confessing of our sins to any or all our spiritual brothers and sisters would not only be unwise, but could be hurtful to those who do not need to know our sins. The specific context of James's instruction seems to be one in which a believer has not only sinned, but who also is sick.  Perhaps the sin and the illness are connected (Psalm 32:3-4; 1 Corinthians 11:30, etc.), but in any event the command to confess our sins is “…so that you may be healed” (James 5:16).  There are times when confession may also be valuable and proper in the context of accountability discussions with trusted spiritual friends and advisors, but the context should always be one that is chosen with wisdom and care.

4) The New Testament repeatedly tells us that we should pray for one another (1 Timothy 2:1, Ephesians 6:18, James 5:16, etc.), but the apostle John makes it clear that there are some situations in which we should perhaps not pray for others: “If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that” (1 John 5:16).  The “sin that leads to death” is probably one of the continuous willful sins of those who adamantly reject God.  But we should notice that John does not say we must not pray for such individuals, just that he is not saying we need to do so. The apostle is simply showing that context affects our prayers, too. 
​
In these few examples we see some vital patterns. We must always discern the context of any biblical command. Was it clearly one applying in the past only or one that applies now? Does the command apply to our behavior toward ourselves or to others? Does the command apply only to our relationship with those within the Church or to all people?  Does the instruction apply in all situations or only in specific ones?  Is the instruction actually a command or simply a counsel?

As Christians we must always remember that context in understanding and application are equally vital –  the importance of context applies just as much when we are deciding how to apply a scripture in our lives as it does to understanding what the scripture is saying!

An old joke says that the only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions, but assuming the worst of situations and people is a problem we are all guilty of at times – sometimes all too frequently. 

Not surprisingly, the Bible has a good deal to teach us about this tendency and why we need to overcome it.  Proverbs 25:8 is a good example.  The Message Bible translates this verse as: “Don't jump to conclusions - there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw.” That may not be a literal translation of the Hebrew proverb, but it does show a principle we must all keep in mind.

Just as important as this kind of direct instruction are the many biblical stories that show the folly of jumping to conclusions.  One of the clearest is that of the Syrian general Naaman who was afflicted with leprosy and who travelled from ancient Aram (Syria) to Israel to ask the prophet Elisha to pray for his healing. Second Kings 5 tells this story and shows repeated examples of people in responsible positions jumping to unwarranted conclusions. 

First we see that the king of Aram sent a letter to Israel’s king on behalf of his general, asking help in Naaman’s healing.  As many of us might have done, the Israelite king immediately began to jump to conclusions –  going into to a “jump to hyperspace” within a few seconds: “As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, ‘Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!” (2 Kings 5:7).

Fortunately, the prophet Elisha was aware of the situation and arranged for Naaman to come to him. “So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, 'Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed'” (vss. 9-10).

While that may sound like a positive ending to the story, the human tendency to jump to conclusions came into play again –  almost wrecking the outcome of the situation:

But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not … the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage (vss. 11-12).
We can almost hear Naaman saying this –  and perhaps hear our own thoughts if we had been in the same situation: “What a waste of time!  I came all this way to ask for help and this guy just brushes me off. Who does he think he is anyway?  It looks like I’m not good enough for him – probably he’s biased against Syrians!”

Naaman almost returned to Syria, but fortunately one of his servants persuaded him to just do what he was told to do and the general was indeed healed when he washed himself in the Jordan as instructed (vs. 14).  But this story shows that assuming the worst almost led to Naaman not being healed when he was given the opportunity, and at an even broader level to war between Israel and Syria. 

In another biblical example ancient Israel came precipitously close to civil war because many of the Israelites assumed that an altar built by some of their tribes was in rebellion against God (Joshua 22:9-34).

So rushing to judgment and jumping to conclusions is dangerous. And the problem of jumping to conclusions is often broader than we may think. Other biblical stories show the many ways we can make unfounded assumptions –  such as assuming the worst because of people’s appearances, or because of what they say or do.  We may end up wrongfully judging people because we assume their motives, or assume something they say is critical of us. Spiritually, we may assume a principle we have not heard before is not true, or we may assume that specific Bible verses or teachings about them don’t apply to us – but perhaps to someone we know.  Perhaps the most damaging way we can assume the worst is by jumping to conclusions about God.

The New Testament shows that many of those who saw Jesus teach and perform miracles jumped to erroneous conclusions. Some thought he was unrighteous in what he did (John 10:33-36), others thought he was mad or demon possessed (John 10:20). Some just presumed that “no good thing” could come out of Nazareth –  Jesus’ home town (John 1:46).  Although we may not think such reactions apply to us, we can assume the worst of God when things do not go well. We think that perhaps God is angry with us, punishing us, does not care about us –  these are all human reactions we may experience at times if we allow ourselves to assume the worst.

Some of us may be more prone to this fault than others, but ultimately we must all work on not jumping to conclusions.  The legal principle of “innocent until proven guilty” has saved many innocent lives, and the principle of assuming the best until we have reason to think otherwise has saved many friendships, marriages and other relationships.  It’s a sound biblical principle we can apply any and every day of our lives. By all means jump to exercise, but don’t jump to conclusions. 

Have you ever thought about how the Bible emphasizes many of its important points? Of course, the original writers of the Scriptures could not utilize large print, highlighting or colored ink. Instead, they utilized techniques that were easily recognizable to those who read or heard their words.

One of the main ways the biblical writers emphasized important points was through repetition –  utilizing what is called “reduplication for emphasis or intensification” –  in what they wrote.  This is not talking about repetition of the same things, such as the Ten Commandments,  in different parts of the Bible, though that is clearly often done to emphasize something’s importance.

Reduplication for emphasis or intensification applies to repetition occurring in the same verses or passages of scripture.  This is common in the Old Testament because the Hebrew language  often uses repetition in this way in order to stress something that is being said.  For example:  “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord your God” (Numbers 15:41, emphasis added here and in the following scriptures), or “…Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’” (Zechariah 4:7).
 
This kind of repetition is easy to see and to understand, but there are other times when the reduplication is not so obvious. Hebrew storytellers often used the technique in stressing important elements of their accounts.  If we look at the story of Joseph, for example, we may notice repetition but not think about its significance: Joseph receives two robes (one from his father, one from Pharaoh); his robe is used twice by those trying to destroy him; Joseph has two dreams in which his family bows to him; Pharaoh has two dreams foreshadowing the coming famine in Egypt; Joseph’s brothers make two visits to Egypt to seek his help; and so on.

The reduplication does not mean that the two events are not both part of the story, but that they are carefully selected to make the story’s main points.

The same principle is found in the New Testament.  We see the same repetition of individual words and phrases for effect –  for example “… But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God ... For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:11-14) or, more simply: “… Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty …” (Revelation 4:8).

But repetition of ideas was also used in the Old and New Testaments as well as the repetition of words. We often find Jesus himself employing this more subtle form of repetition in order to stress important points in his teaching.   For example, in his Sermon on the Mount we find that he gives numerous pairs of examples with only slight variation.  He uses salt and light to teach about the responsibilities of the disciple (Mathew 5:13-14); he speaks of food and clothing as things that we should not be worried about (Matthew 6:25-31); he mentions both birds and lilies to show God’s care (Matthew 6:26-30); and he also uses dogs and pigs as examples of animals to which we would not give things of great value (Matthew 7:6).

This kind of reiteration in the teaching of Jesus was not accidental or unplanned. Both biblical and rabbinic tradition used the repetition of ideas to teach, and Jesus utilized the principle carefully in some of his most important messages.
​
So if we realize we are “seeing double” in our study of the Scriptures, we need to take special notice – seeing double in the Bible often means that what is being said is doubly important!

Ironic as it might seem, the further we progress along the Way to which we are called as Christians, the more it seems we see the failings and errors  of our own nature.   That can be discouraging at times, but when it happens we need to remember something. 

The Bible gives us two stories that speak to this situation, though we might not realize it unless we give the matter some thought. The first story, in the Old Testament, relates to a vision of the prophet Isaiah:

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple… “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty” (Isaiah 6:1, 5).

Isaiah’s very clear reaction on seeing God in this vision was one of understanding his own spiritual inadequacy and “uncleanness.”   Now compare this story with another in the New Testament  – how Jesus revealed his divine power to Peter and the men fishing with him:

“One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret … he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”….   When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break …. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”  (Luke 5:1-8).

Although these two stories may seem very different on the surface, Peter’s reaction to seeing even a small glimpse of Jesus’ divinity was not unlike the effect of the vision of Isaiah – it was a realization of his own unworthiness and sinful nature.   Admittedly, these events occurred at the beginning of the careers of the two servants of God, but the principle remains the same – the more we come to understand of God, the more we are conscious of our own failings. 

It was many years after the conversion of the apostle Paul that he wrote: “What a wretched man I am!” (Romans 7:24), and “… I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle…” (1 Corinthians 15:9). Yet Paul continued this same thought to the Corinthian Christians: “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect” (vs. 10).  Despite his painful awareness of his own failings – after many years  of God working with him – Paul could still say near the end of his life: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).  Both statements were true! Just like the rest of us, Paul doubtless realized his own spiritual failings all the more as the years progressed, yet he knew that God was changing him and completing a purpose in his life.  

To use a simple analogy, before conversion we live in spiritual darkness – like living in a dark room – and cannot see any of the “stains” and “black marks” of sin that cover us.  As we are converted and move  toward the “light” (remember, God is spiritual light), the more we begin to see those black marks on ourselves – and the brighter the light becomes, the more we see even the smallest stains.

It is a  simple truth of the Christian life that the more we grow and come to see God, the less we like what we see of ourselves. Yet this can be encouraging – looked at the other way around, the less we like what we see of ourselves the more we are probably seeing of God and moving closer to him! 

This is not the same as living our lives in a despondent spiritual attitude that focuses on how unworthy we are.  It is just an honest realization of our own spiritual inadequacy and a heightened awareness of ways in which we do fail – sometimes in small things that we would never have noticed earlier in our Christian lives. 
 
Perhaps we can say that our occasional discouragement with our own failings can be turned around.  The more we see the failings of our own nature, the more we can be encouraged that we are doubtless moving closer to God who is enabling us to see those things.  We can rejoice that just as we see ourselves more clearly as we move closer to God, he can continue the process of helping us to see him and making us more like him. ​

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Scripture in Focus:

“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you” (Proverbs 25:21-22).



From a Christian perspective, the proverb’s admonition that we give food and water to our enemies so that “burning coals” will be heaped upon them may seem strange indeed.  Helping someone just to bring punishment on the person seems contradictory to most biblical teachings, yet this exact Old Testament proverb is also cited in the New Testament –  by the apostle Paul:

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head” (Romans 12:18-20).

But we do not need to understand this proverb literally in order to understand its message. If we look at it in its original setting in the Book of Proverbs, we find that it occurs in a group of sayings that all use physical imagery to describe emotional conditions.  Proverbs 25:20 – the proverb directly before the one we are looking at – tells us, for example: “ Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.”  Proverbs 25:23 –  the saying directly after the one we want to understand –  likewise tells us: “Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain is a sly tongue — which provokes a horrified look.”  All of these proverbs are not to be understood literally, rather they are meant to supply a graphic image of what a given feeling is like.

In Proverbs 25:22 we are given an analogy showing what the emotional feeling will often be like for someone who is treated kindly despite their own behavior toward the person showing the kindness.  In a great many cases that feeling will be one of emotional discomfort – the flush of acute embarrassment –  that might well be symbolized by having “burning coals” tipped upon the person’s head.  There are other examples of the metaphorical use of “burning coals” in the Scriptures, as in 2 Samuel 14:7 which uses the image of a “burning coal” to  represent a person’s heir, but the meaning of the expression in Proverbs 25 is clearly that of a feeling of  emotional embarrassment and perhaps guilt. 

There is a wonderful example of this principle and its effect in the Book of 2 Kings (6:8-23) which tells the story of how the Prophet Elisha asked God to strike an Aramean army that was invading Israel with blindness.  When the enemy soldiers did become blind, rather than having them killed as many expected, Elisha led them to Israel’s capital city Samaria where he instructed the king of Israel to “Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master” (2 Kings 6:22). This is the exact application of the principle of giving food and drink to one’s enemies, in this case to those who had sought to harm the people of Israel.
 
Not surprisingly, when the sight of the enemy warriors was restored and they had been fed “a great feast” by those they originally intended to harm, we read that: “after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory” (2 Kings 6:23). The Aramean warriors who had been treated in this way felt great embarrassment at the kindness of those they had considered enemies and that feeling doubtless was responsible for their cessation of hostilities.

That is why the apostle Paul could cite Proverbs 25:21-22 as a practical example of not being overcome by evil, but overcoming evil with good (Romans 12:21).  The principle of embarrassment also underlies Paul’s words to the Thessalonian church:  “Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed” (2 Thessalonians 3:14).   Paul knew that it is better, where possible, to embarrass others with right behavior than to ignore or reciprocate their wrongdoing.  “Heaping burning coals” in the context that Paul uses the expression clearly means to cause temporary emotional discomfort that may lead to good.

 
“Our moods do not believe in each other.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
 
Emerson hit the proverbial nail on the head in this succinct little quote.  It’s a simple yet important truth that the philosopher elaborated upon: “Life is a train of moods … as we pass through them they prove to be many colored lenses, which paint the world their own hue, and each shows us only what lies in its own focus.”  There is a great deal of truth in that observation. When we are up, it is hard to imagine being down and discouraged, but when we are down, it is often difficult to believe that the feelings are temporary and will pass.

Although we may understand and live with this aspect of physical life, as Christians we don’t always apply that understanding spiritually – although it is equally true of our spiritual lives. In his thought-provoking work The Screwtape Letters* C.S. Lewis noted that there are times when God seems particularly close to us and our spiritual lives seem to go easily: our faith seems strong, we want to do what is right –  and temptations to do otherwise seem relatively easy to overcome.  Yet there are other times when God seems more distant, our faith seems less secure, and overcoming temptation may seem infinitely harder.

So our spiritual lives, just like our physical lives, are a series of ups and downs, of peaks and troughs that “hardly believe in each other.” But that is not the bad news we often presume it to be. In writing about this fluctuation in our spiritual experience, Lewis stated:  “Now it may surprise you to learn that [God] … relies on the troughs even more than on the peaks; some of His special favourites have gone through longer and deeper troughs than anyone else.”

In fact, Lewis tells us, although God may often seem close to us and we may frequently experience true spiritual “peaks,” God never allows this state of affairs to last long: “Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from … conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs—to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish.”

On the surface, this situation may seem extremely discouraging, but Lewis effectively argued that it is during such “trough periods,” much more than during the peak periods, that we are growing into the sort of creatures God wants us to be: “He wants [us] to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there, He is pleased even with [our] stumbles.”

This is an important understanding. God allowing us to go through spiritual “lows” means that our efforts during those times are especially appreciated by him. “Hence,” Lewis writes, “the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best.”  That is an incredibly encouraging perspective if we can grasp it and make it ours. Although the spiritual aspect of our lives has its ups and downs and droughts  as well as times of abundance, our God can and does use the spiritual lows of our lives if we let him.
  
When we demonstrate that we want to continue to walk with God even when we do not feel inspired or particularly blessed or helped, we demonstrate the reality of our commitment.  The apostle Peter wrote: “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12).  Although these words apply directly to active problems and persecution the Christian may encounter, the principle applies just as much to the spiritual “low” times of our everyday lives. 

Just like the daily temperature cycle, we will always experience “lows and highs” in our spiritual lives.  Realizing that if we maintain our dedication lows do not last forever, and that while we are in them they are opportunities to grow that spiritual highs do not give us, can make a big difference in how we live and what we accomplish.  

The main thing is not to presume that whatever spiritual phase we find ourselves in is somehow our “spiritual condition.”  The only true measure of where we are spiritually is the combination of our highs and lows. So, as Lewis and many other Christian thinkers have stressed, we should not simply try to live and endure through our spiritual low periods.  Seeing them for what they are, we should accept our low periods as opportunities to fight the good fight with renewed dedication – realizing they are opportunities to accomplish more than we may accomplish even during our “highs.”
 
*All C.S. Lewis quotes in this article are taken from chapter 8 of The Screwtape Letters, originally published in London during 1941 and 1942. 

 
Every year countless people make “New Year’s resolutions” – setting goals ranging from cleaning out closets to getting more exercise.  Many people make resolutions regarding character issues, too –  resolving to stop doing things they wish to stop, or to do better at things they want to do.

Many Christians also make resolutions, of course, and like other people they find varying degrees of success in reaching the goals for which they aim.  But some think that making resolutions is not a biblically sound idea for Christians as they feel God has already given us his “resolutions” in the form of biblical admonitions and commands and we should just concentrate on trying to follow them.  Others feel that making resolutions encourages us to focus on our own human ability to accomplish spiritual goals.
 
But the Bible shows a number of God’s servants making resolutions –  ranging from Daniel resolving not to partake of the food and wine of the Babylonian palace (Daniel 1:8) in the Old Testament, to Paul resolving to go through Macedonia and Greece to Jerusalem (Acts 19:21) in the New Testament.

In fact, making resolutions can be an extremely important aspect of biblical living. Consider an example of this in the Book of Malachi:  “If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me” (Malachi 2:2).

In cases like this the Bible shows we need to resolve to follow God’s will whenever we come to see it in a given circumstance.  Also, each and every time we make a mistake and repent of doing something we have come to see is wrong, we need to be making firm resolutions to overcome the problem in the future. This kind of resolution does not in any way lessen our understanding of our need for God’s help, and the same is true of many New Year’s resolutions that involve spiritual issues.

Now, it’s clear that the Bible does not mention resolutions in the context of a new year, but new beginnings are psychologically among the best times to make resolutions and are among the times when they are most likely to succeed.  The great Christian writer G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936) doubtless understood this when he wrote: “Unless a … man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.” Chesterton’s point is a good one –  humanly we often need the impetus of some event to resolve to do better in our lives, and the New Year provides just such an occasion – and a “new beginning” to work from.

The main problem with resolutions, of course, is that so many of them do not last long enough. Humanly we so often begin with great dedication only to “lose steam” as we go along.  But as Christians that is exactly where we can ask for God’s help to continue to apply and to keep our resolutions. That, in fact, is exactly what we find in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian church: “To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power” (2 Thessalonians 1:11 ESV).

Notice that Paul prayed for the Thessalonians that God would help them fulfill every "resolve" or resolution for good. It’s a prayer we can pray for ourselves as we go into this coming year – and one that we can pray for each other, too.