A wise man once said that the first things we do in life are to map our world and to want what we don’t have. 

But do those things bring us happiness when we get them? In this season of frantic holiday buying and wanting, many find no real happiness in getting. 

But human beings were clearly made to want things – with desires that are not satisfied by "things."  Our article "What Do You Want?", uploaded today, looks at the story of human wanting and at some of the things that we can want that do bring happiness to ourselves and others.  Read the article here.

“Surely you have granted ... unending blessings…”  
Psalm 21:6

Normally, we speak of “counting our blessings” when considering the many good things with which we have been blessed. But for many of us privileged to live in areas where those good things are abundant, “calculating our blessings” with the help of an adding machine or calculator may be more appropriate!

In fact, perhaps the analogy is one that holds true for all of us. This is because when it comes to looking at the blessings we have been given, it is very human for us to look around at what we have in the here and now. Yet when we look back and consider the blessings we have enjoyed over time, for so many of us the numbers begin to require calculating help.

Our perspective begins to change when we realize that many of the things we may take for granted are only occasionally enjoyed by a large percentage of Earth's population. Think, for example, of the statistic that if we can afford to eat three meals a day for three weeks in a row, we are among the top 15% of the richest people in the world.  Even if they are not starving, we should realize that the majority of people in this world do not get food all the time.  But if we take our three meals a day, getting out a calculator and multiplying that number by the number of days in our lives might help us better realize the number of blessings in our lives – in that one area alone. 

But the same truth applies in so many areas. The doctor’s and dentist’s visits we may grumble about having to fit into our schedules seem different when we realize the very occasional access so many have to medical or dental care – if they have it at all.   If we have a steady job, the number of days for which we get paid adds up quickly compared to those without or unable to work – time for the calculator again. And what about the gift of life itself? The resting human heart beats some 60-80 times per minute. If we try to multiply that rate by a day, a year, or our lifetime so far, we definitely need that calculator. 

And so we could go on. But the point we are talking about here is obvious enough. For those of us in the United States who wish to celebrate Thanksgiving Day  with  a genuine spirit of thankfulness, we should remember to look further than only at the blessings that surround us on the Thanksgiving table. Sometimes we look around in times of economic downturn or other problems and feel less thankful because we only see the things we have now when we should perhaps try to look more at the blessings we have been given all the way to this point, and the many more that we trust lie ahead.

Perhaps it would be good, as we take stock of what God has given us on the Day of Thanksgiving, to do a little math regarding any one of the ongoing blessings we enjoy. We don’t really need to get out a calculator to try to add up the huge numbers of blessings we all have received, but then again, I may put a calculator on the table this Thanksgiving meal – just to remind myself  that if I tried to add up all those blessings I would need it.  

Most of us are used to lights. Bright lights.  They are all around most city dwellers to the extent that a candle or small lamp might seem insignificant indeed. Even from space, city and village lights on earth are clearly visible, while at ground level in many areas it’s hard to see the stars anymore because of the brightness of the ambient light.

As Christians we are all aware of Jesus’ instruction to “let our light shine” (Matthew 5:16), but even though we realize our light is “reflected from Christ,”  it can still be a little daunting, especially for those new to the faith, to think of ourselves as “lights.” We read the biblical stories of great men and women of faith, we see some of the things accomplished through those of faith in our own age, and it’s pretty clear that we are still at the candle power stage compared to what may seem to be the spiritual floodlights God has used and is using now.

But if we do feel any lack of confidence in this regard, we should perhaps remember just what an effect a single candle can have.  For one thing, the light of an average wax candle can be seen at amazing distances – and I’m talking about miles, not yards!  Because the earth’s surface curves below the line of sight at 3.1 miles, or 5 kilometers, you can see a candle in clear dark conditions at 3.1 miles at ground level.  But from an elevated position you can actually see a candle much further - on a dark night, in fact, the human eye is able to see a single candle flickering up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) away.

The only reason we are not aware of the amazing reach of a tiny light such as a candle is because of the bright lights that are often around us.  But that’s the same reason city dwellers often can’t see many stars because of the ambient light, although the stars are, of course, billions of times brighter than the lights around us.  Brightness seems relative to surroundings – if you are on a floodlit stage your candle or mine may seem not very bright at all. But where most of us live our daily lives – away from the spiritual floodlights – even a small candle can make a huge difference in the surrounding darkness.

The point of this analogy is just that if we allow Christ to work in our lives and to “shine” in us, we need never be concerned that our light is not bright enough, that we are not knowledgeable enough, good enough, spiritual enough. He supplies the light, not us, and even the smallest amount of light can be seen.

What Jesus said about the fact that a city on a hill can’t be hid (Matthew 5:14) also applies to our lowly candles. We don’t have to shine like a city – we don’t even have to be particularly bright. Physics teaches us that a little light can go a long way, and especially when there is no other light around, a little spiritual light can make a huge difference.

“Put on the full armor of God ...  with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:11-17, emphases added).

When we think of the “Armor of God” we all think, of course, of these inspiring verses in  Ephesians, but the analogy was not original to Paul.  We find in the Book of Isaiah, in the Old Testament, the origin of Paul’s metaphor in verses that the apostle and his readers doubtless knew well.

The first of these verses appears in Isaiah 59: “He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; and He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle” (Isaiah 59:17).  The second group of verses that would have been well-known to Paul is found in Isaiah 11: “He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked. Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist”(Isaiah 11:4-5).

Paul does not simply quote the words found in Isaiah about the armor of God, however. Instead, he develops the idea in two ways. First he focuses the  elements found in Isaiah. Instead of the 7 items of armor mentioned in the parallel verses in Isaiah, Paul lists 6 items of armor in Ephesians 6, and he adjusts and combines some items in order to do this. He combines the belt of righteousness and sash of faithfulness into the belt of truth, and also combines the only offensive weapons mentioned by Isaiah – the “rod of his mouth” and “breath of his lips” – into the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (also the only offensive weapon mentioned in Ephesians 6, and clearly the same thing: “rod of his mouth” = “word of God”). 

Paul leaves out the “mantle of zeal” and “garments of vengeance” as belonging to God alone (Romans 12:19), but the “breastplate of righteousness” and “helmet of salvation” are identical in both lists.  The only items of armor Paul adds to those mentioned explicitly in Isaiah are the “shield of faith” and the shoes of the “gospel of peace,” although the idea for the latter can also be found in Isaiah as well:  “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7) – a verse which Paul quotes in Romans 10:15.

More important than the minor adjustments to the individual items,  Paul’s developed analogy of the armor of God differs from those found in Isaiah by applying the concept of the armor of God Himself to the servant of God – the Christian.  He also lifts the weapons of spiritual warfare out of the realm of things that we must somehow put together of our own strength, for the items of armor Paul shows we need so badly are, like salvation itself, the gift of God.  When David tried the armor of King Saul he could not use it as he had not “tested” or practiced with it (1 Samuel 17:38-39).  Paul reminds his readers that we must not keep these elements of armor on display or locked in some spiritual armory (Ephesians 6:11). The armor of God is something with which we must practice. It is a gift to be used. 

Hezekiah is often remembered as the best king in the checkered history of the divided monarchy of Judah and Israel.  While a great many of the successors of David and Solomon turned from true worship to the pagan religions of the nations around them, Hezekiah is remembered for his faith and faithfulness:

“He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the LORD. He did not depart from following him, but kept the commandments that the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered” (2 Kings 18:5).

We remember not only the story of God’s healing of Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1-6), but also numerous other details of the king's reign, such as  his successful destruction of pagan idolatry and other figurative and literal enemies including the story of how God defeated the Assyrians on Hezekiah’s behalf when they attacked Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:32-36). He even survived, at least temporarily, the enemy of death (2 Kings 20:1).  All these events show a Hezekiah who was truly an individual who followed God and who was blessed in being able to overcome his enemies.

Yet there was one enemy which appears to have remained, that even Hezekiah was apparently unable to overcome.  A final undefeated enemy is evident in the record of Hezekiah’s last years.  When the king of Babylon sent diplomatic messengers to Hezekiah, the king unwisely showed the Babylonians every part of his kingdom and its treasures. We do not know whether this was the result of pride or just lack of strategic wisdom, but as a result the prophet Isaiah warned Hezekiah that this foolish action would result in the Babylonians eventually attacking Judah and destroying Jerusalem (2 Kings 20:12-18).

It is in Hezekiah’s  reply to this word of God that we see what was perhaps the king’s last undefeated enemy: “The word of the Lord you have spoken is good,” Hezekiah replied. For he thought, 'Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?'” (2 Kings 20:19).   The king’s words seem humble and accepting on the surface, but his recorded thoughts reveal an incredible degree of selfishness: that despite the horrors he had been told he had brought upon his country, Hezekiah's attitude was “Will there not be peace and security in my lifetime?” Unlike the incident in which the king turned to God in weeping supplication regarding a problem  that applied to him directly, when he had unwittingly triggered disaster for others,  Hezekiah’s reaction was one of selfish lack of concern – of “Why should I care?” – of “Whatever!”

It is clear that despite his many righteous deeds and the many enemies he overcame, Hezekiah’s last recorded enemy - the reality of his own unconquered selfishness - was one he did not overcome. The biblical record of this king’s reign essentially ends at this point, with Hezekiah’s thoughts recorded as a poignant lesson to us all. Whatever the victories we may have accomplished, they do not matter much in terms of the fulfillment of God’s purpose for us if we are not dedicated to overcoming the enemy of selfishness. Hezekiah’s story should remind us all not to let our lives – or even a single day – end in an attitude of “Whatever!” 

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” 

The apostle Paul would certainly have agreed with that little saying.  As someone who went from being one of the greatest persecutors of Christianity to one of its greatest servants, Paul knew, perhaps more than most of us, what a difference “changing the way you look at things” can make.

Paul came to see very clearly how conversion and coming to faith changes  the way we see things  entirely. Notice what he wrote to the Christians in Corinth regarding this change:  

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer” (2 Corinthians 5:16).

Here, Paul shows how we begin to see not only God, but one another in a different light, to see with love rather than lust, jealousy, resentment, hatred and all the other ways in which our human nature, left to itself, can twist our view of the people around us.

But changing our viewpoint doesn’t just stop at initial conversion.  It is an ongoing process. There are many times in the ongoing  path of growth and transformation that we begin to feel that perhaps we should change in some way or do something we have not been doing.  It is as if we feel  a continuing pull to make the change, but we are not entirely convinced in our own minds that we want to do so. Perhaps we are not sure we want to give up something, or we are unsure of what the repercussions will be if we make some important change.

It’s at times like these that we need to remember that often we have to change before we see why we needed to change or realize that the changed situation is in fact better.  There is nothing mystical in this – it just means that we need to step out and act, and then we begin to see the situation differently once we do.  That’s when  “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change“ comes in to play. Once we begin to turn from something we are coming to see is wrong, the more we stop wanting whatever it was. Once we  begin to view a person we had disliked with an attitude of  love, it’s surprising how often they seem to change for the better.  And once we try doing something we may have feared  or not wanted to have to do, we may find ourselves very happy that we did.

The important thing is to remember that spiritually we cannot wait until we see things differently – we must change, and then the different view develops naturally.  It is very much like the situation Mark Twain described when he wrote: “When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.”  When we change, we change the way we see things – and it really is amazing how those things then change.