Answers for Today, February 7, 2011
What Comes First
Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 18:12
“Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” goes the old question. That one and its multiplied variations have been good for many an argument, but the Bible specifically weighs in on a more weighty subject, here: Which one comes first, humility or honor? The Bible’s answer: Humility comes first, then honor.
The Superbowl is never an exercise in humility; it would be closer to a national pride-fest. Yet, watching an interview of a member of the winning team yesterday, I watched him twice give glory to God, rather than himself. Hmm. Humility comes before honor. It also comes after honor. Kind of like an “honor sandwich.”
Many folks are so hungry for honor of any kind that they figure they’d better grab it for themselves while they can. A wise farmer friend whom I loved with all my heart used to start chirping, “Toot! Toot!” whenever he heard me or anyone else boasting. If we persisted in haughtiness, he would repeat the routine until we stopped and asked what was going on. To which Gib would reply, “Toot! Toot! I thought I heard someone tooting their own horn.” The joking response was, “He that tooteth not his own horn, it shall not be tooted.” He would grin, we would grin, and we’d shut up about our own greatness and go on to more humble topics. Every so often God just slides some great person like that into our lives.
Gib is in heaven, now. Everyone who knew him still misses him. He was one of the most humble people I ever knew, while being about the most talented person I ever knew, when it came to all things mechanical. His many friends treated him with an honor bordering on reverence. Humility first, then honor.
Those who bypass humility in order to gain honor nearly always fall short. And the haughtier the heart, the surer the destruction. “Humility, then honor, then more humility” makes a great sandwich. When we’re busily describing our own grandeur and we hear a voice from above saying, “Toot! Toot!” it’s either Gib or God. “He that tootheth not his own horn, it shall not be tooted.” If we refrain from tooting our own horn, God has a way of doing it for us. And when God toots someone’s horn, it’s very impressive.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: Humility comes before honor.
Answers for Today, February 8, 2011
First and Second Opinions
A man's gift makes room for him
and brings him before the great.
The one who states his case first seems right,
until the other comes and examines him.
The lot puts an end to quarrels
and decides between powerful contenders.
A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,
and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.
From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied;
he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
and those who love it will eat its fruits.
Proverbs 18:16-21
Proverbs is replete with little two-liners which can save our bacon, if we pay attention. Here is a whole gaggle of short scriptures packed with wisdom, requiring little explanation.
A man’s gift makes room for him and brings him before the great. Taking the time to show honor and thoughtfulness opens a lot of doors!
The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him. Those with great communication skills can get some of us to believe almost anything—until they have to prove it. Get a second opinion before swallowing everything that sounds good!
The lot puts an end to quarrels and decides between powerful contenders. Which is a better way to solve a quarrel, to keep pummeling each other with words or fists, or to ask God to show us what to do and throw the dice?!
A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city, and quarreling is like the bars of a castle. Don’t offend your brother. Don’t start quarrels.
From the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips. I’m not sure what this one means. Telephone soliciting?
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Self-explanatory.
Thank you, Lord, for bacon-saving bits of scripture!
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: We would do well to put these bits of wisdom to use!
Answers for Today, February 9, 2011, originally written 9-26-08
Doors Blown Open
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:37-39
Why this sudden openness to the Gospel? A number of factors preceded it.
*There were the facts of the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Without the reality of these events, the whole thing would have been pointless.
*There was obedience on the part of the Church. They had done exactly as Jesus instructed, and gone into Jerusalem to wait for the promise.
*There was unity, as the believers stayed together.
*There was the coming of the Holy Spirit, with signs and wonders: tongues of fire, the sound of a rushing, mighty wind, and miraculous communication about God’s wonders. Without this power, nothing much would have happened.
*There was the witness of the believers. Each of them was proclaiming God’s goodness to people in their own language.
*There was the preaching of Peter, which centered on the fulfillment of scripture, and the actions listeners needed to take. Peter’s preaching was to a point. He didn’t just relate history or information, and let it go. Peter drove home the conclusion that the Gospel demands a response from people. He got one.
At Pentecost, God blew the doors open to evangelism for His newborn Church, and they went through. In today’s America, some of our preaching should start from the beginning. We talk about Jesus dying for people’s sins, expecting them to respond, when they’re still asking, “Why would I need somebody to die for me in the first place?” “Sin. What’s that?” “I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m a good person.” “What does any of this have to do with me?” and so forth. Sophisticated pagans need to hear the Gospel from the beginning. Many aren’t even at the “God created the world” stage of belief. They need at least a capsulated version of the whole Bible, to understand what the deal is about sin and needing a Savior, about what it is to live a Christian life, the truth about life after death. There is work to do in preparing for modern evangelism, but most of all, we need to do like the Early Church: When God blows the doors open, we go through.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: God blew open doors to evangelism, and the Church went through.
Answers for Today, February 10, 2011, originally written 9-29-08
How to Preach the Gospel
Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” Acts 2:37-39
What was it about Peter’s message that was so powerful and life-changing?
*It was built on the foundation of Jesus’ ministry. Many of the listeners were people who had seen Jesus, or at least knew of Him. Jesus had already done the work of salvation. Peter was just telling them about it.
*It was accompanied by the miraculous. Like Elijah on Mt. Carmel, the miraculous has a way of getting people’s attention like nothing else! When you have signs and wonders, people tend to believe whatever you say.
*It was powered by the Holy Spirit. This is not a student wandering through his first sermon in homiletics class. This is a man, formerly cowardly, who now boldly proclaims Jesus Christ to the people. This is not the same guy. People can see that.
*It was not a prepared speech, but a spontaneous witness.
*At the same time, the preparation was obvious:
-Peter had been with Jesus, and witnessed His resurrection.
-He knew his theology, and could testify about Jesus accurately.
-He knew scripture well enough to quote it and make a good application.
-When people asked Peter what to do, he knew what to tell them.
*There was a definite conclusion. People had to either receive Peter’s words or reject them.
*There was something for the people to do, to show their acceptance. They could be baptized. Three thousand were.
*The message came as a gift to the people. “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” (Acts 2:40) The message they were hearing was that God wanted them to be saved, and so did Peter. Compassion, not condemnation.
*The message was brief, and to the point.
*Peter followed up by answering their questions and encouraging them. This is how to effectively present the Gospel!
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: Effective preaching still depends entirely on God.
Answers for Today, February 11, 2011, originally written 9-28-08
A Heart for the Harvest
And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. Acts 2:40-41
What we need in America are people with Jesus in their heart and souls on their mind, who are willing to plead with bewildered non-Christians, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” I’m not talking “church growth,” which often translates into nothing more than finding nice folks to help make the building payments. I’m talking about believers who love people enough that they simply do whatever it takes to get them into the Kingdom of God and out of spiritual danger. It’s humbling, and even a bit irritating, to realize we have the same Holy Spirit poured out on the Early Church, yet so pitifully few results in comparison. Our casual approach to the Great Commission is reflected in our fruitfulness. In order to effectively evangelize, someone has to care—a lot. Not enough American Christians care all that much. So, we toss a few bucks in the plate to keep the professional Christians in beans and cable TV, and figure we’ve done our part. That’s not how they looked at it in Acts! They had a heart for the harvest. Harvest is what they saw.
We should be witnesses and harvesters. We need to lift up our voice and address the world, like Peter. But first we need to get our souls right with God, be filled with His Spirit, and have something to say!
We either don’t say anything, and leave the witnessing to preachers who usually only preach to church people, anyway, or we go blabbing about our latest ideas and idiosyncracies, without even bothering with the Holy Spirit. Either way, the world isn’t getting much out of us that’s helpful. It’s why the Church is considered so irrelevant to the world.
Telling people God is good doesn’t require a seminary degree! But we need to focus on Jesus, not ourselves , our institutions or doctrines. If we point people toward Jesus, we’ll do O.K. Everything else ends up being a distraction.
Peter’s approach was effective: Direct, yet compassionate. Solid answers. Glorifying Christ, not himself. Preaching, not to condemn people, but to help them.
When we have a heart for the harvest, we’ll see one.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: When we have a heart for the harvest, we’ll see one.
Answers for Today, February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine’s Day!
He who finds a wife finds a good thing
and obtains favor from the LORD.
Proverbs 18:22
Amen and amen and amen to that one! This is the 25th Valentine’s Day for my wife and me, since we’ve been married. As nearly as we can recall, it’s the very first one in 25 years we’ve not been together. We’ve never let distance be an obstacle to our love, though—we were introduced through a prank phone call, courted through the mail and over the phone from a distance of around 4,000 miles, and proceeded to fall in love and get engaged, then met for the first time!
If there was ever anything which was clear to me, it was the fact that this wonderful lady was God’s answer to my prayers. When God presented Eve to Adam, the first man knew he was receiving a gift from God. So did I, when He lined up so many “coincidences” it was breathtaking. “This thing is rigged!” I told myself on many occasions. Yep. When God does something, He does it right. And when God gives us a gift, we can believe that it’s good! (It’s also a very good idea to treat all God’s gifts as exactly that—a gift from Him—which means honor and respect, gratitude, tenderness, etc.).
There have been so many blessings associated with our relationship through the years, but one of them stands out because of its utter consistency. My wife is a good woman. What she has contributed to my life has been so good, day after day, year after year! Unless someone has experienced what it is to be married to someone like my lady, it’s hard to explain the magnitude of the blessing or the impact it has on our lives.
I was willing to serve God alone, for the rest of my life, but God knew I wanted a partner. He gave me an amazing, beautiful, deeply spiritual, rock-solid wife, who is also my best friend and my spiritual partner, who loves me and is devoted to me. She is, in every possible way, a gift from God. It’s pretty much what you call favor from the LORD! I will treasure this gift for all of my days. And I will be eternally grateful to the God who not only loves us, but gives the most wonderful gifts to us to demonstrate His love. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: I love my wife! She is a true gift from God.
Answers for Today, February 15, 2011
Job-driven or Spirit-led?
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel 7:1
Daniel, Jewish exile to Babylon, had been in continuous public service since boyhood, often at the highest levels of government. He was a person with enormous responsibilities. But the new king, Belshazzar, apparently had no use for Daniel (until the last night of Belshazzar’s life, when it was too late). So it came to be that in the first year of Belshazzar’s reign, Daniel, perhaps for the first time in his life, had some time on his hands. Is it coincidental that this is when Daniel gets his own dream from God?
After all, Daniel’s entire career had been in being the “wise man from God” who was able to interpret the king’s dream when no one else could, on top of being a top-notch administrator with absolute integrity. God had used Daniel repeatedly to bless the kingdom of Babylon. But up to this point, the messages had centered on others. This message was not for the new upstart king, Belshazzar, who ultimately would despise and defy the God of Israel. This message was for God’s man, Daniel, so that he could write it down for those of us, many centuries later, who would yearn to know what God had already said about our future!
Daniel was not only trusted by (most of) the rulers of Babylon; he was trusted by God. There’s nothing quite like being taken into God’s confidence! While a rare occurrence even for God-fearing people of Daniel’s era, it should not be rare at all for those of us who live in the days when the Holy Spirit inhabits every believer in Jesus Christ. Throughout the ages, God has confided in those who have spent time seeking to know His heart. In these days, we have the Holy Spirit to guide us—if we are interested.
Just this morning I was spending time in prayer, trying to listen to the Lord. One of the things I sensed Him saying to me was that as I transition back into a more traditional type of ministry, I have a choice. I can allow the perceived expectations of my new pastoral assignment to dictate my every move—or I can continue to seek God’s daily direction, even while occupying the role of pastor. My ministry can be either job-driven or Spirit-led. I choose Spirit-led. I’m pretty sure all of us will be better off, in the end.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: God confides in those who listen to Him. We can be Spirit-led!
Answers for Today, February 16, 2011
The New Normal
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
In comparing this description of what was considered “normal” in the Early Church to modern-day reality in the Church in America, I’m thinking our “normal” is abnormal. “Normal” for us is scant commitment to God, even less toward fellow believers. “Normal” is meeting with fellow believers two or three times a month, and being able to attend a large fellowship for many months, while still retaining near-complete anonymity. “Normal” for us is having disfavor with the majority of non-Christians and a good portion of the Christians! “Normal” is seldom seeing anyone come to faith in Christ. Is anyone else ready for a new normal?!
I’ve been reminded just today that God’s desire for us is not that we would try to precisely copy First Century disciples as if our situation were identical to theirs, but to try to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as closely as they did. More than anything, that’s what constituted “normal” for them—living under the Spirit’s guidance, in unity with one another. Theirs was a Spirit-led Church.
Something we’re lacking these days is the idea that it’s “normal” to be completely sold out to Jesus, and so committed to fellow believers that the world envies our love for one another, rather than despising the condemnation and division they too often sense oozing out of the Church.
God’s expectation is not that we would attempt to be First Century clones in the Twenty-first Century. He does expect us to live according to the direction of His Spirit, though. He does expect more than a casual commitment to Him and to one another. He does expect living for Jesus to be a daily occurrence.
We’re in need of a new “normal” in the Church in this century. It won’t be identical to 21 centuries ago, but it will have the same flavor. It’s a flavor which would be more appealing to God, to one another and to the world around us.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: Spirit-led, fully committed to Christ and one another=”normal.”
Answers for Today, February 17, 2011
Their Attitude
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Acts 2:42-47
What did the Early Church have going for them? A lot. A remarkable devotion to Christ and to one another. The power of the Holy Spirit, evidenced in signs and wonders. Daily gatherings, at the temple and in homes. Daily evangelism. What from this list is seen in the average American church? Umm... I’m not seeing much. Could we have another question, please?
Is it because we lack sufficient resources to pull it together? No, we have much, much more than they did, in terms of nearly everything. Not enough time? That’s not it. Are we unable to commit to Jesus like they did? I don’t see why we couldn’t. Power of the Holy Spirit? No, same Holy Spirit. They did have the power of a new idea, which counts for something. But we have things they didn’t have—the New Testament, for example.
The most glaring difference I see in America between the Church of today and the Early Church is in attitude. Their attitude was one of excitement. (The newness helped, in this regard). Our attitude, all too often, is one of boredom. Their lives had come to center on Christ and the fellowship of the Body. Everything else, including possessions, had become peripheral. Their lives revolved around the Church—not an institution, but the Body of Christ, led by His Spirit. Too many American Christians have a casual commitment toward Jesus, and very little connection with other believers.
If we chose to adopt the attitude of the Early Church for ourselves, we would see a difference. We could devote ourselves to Jesus Christ, and to one another. We could commit ourselves to one another in love, and reject the consumer mentality which has befallen the Church. We could choose to serve the Lord with joy, and once again, be envied by the world for our love and our joy.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: The Church could, once again, be envied for our love and joy.
Answers for Today, February 18, 2011, originally written 11-29-05
God’s Weed ‘n’ Feed
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? Romans 2:4
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:43-48
Kindness is God’s weed ‘n’ feed. It helps the grass, and kills the weeds. When you apply God’s kindness to the lives of healthy people, it supercharges them, and they grow like crazy. When you apply God’s kindness to angry, resentful people, it works its way into their lives, going all the way down to that root of bitterness. God’s kindness can eliminate the bitterness and bring new life to the very core of a person’s soul.
Apply kindness and love generously everywhere! The rest of the field will eat it up and flourish, and whenever it hits bitterness or anger, it acts like weedkiller and will follow it all the way to the root and change it. Isn’t this what Jesus was saying in the sermon on the mount? When you encounter hostility, apply love! You’ll win.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: Kindness is God’s weed ‘n’ feed.
Answers for Today, February 22, 2011
Not Just for Quiet People
If one gives an answer before he hears,
it is his folly and shame.
Proverbs 18:13
Back to listening. Just about the time we think we’re done with that one, God brings it back to us, doesn’t He? Sometimes it’s a gentle nudge in the right direction. This verse is the less subtle approach we occasionally need: If we pipe up with an answer before we’ve even bothered to listen, we’re earning ourselves “folly and shame.” It sounds as if God is rather serious about our developing this habit. “Listening—it’s not just for quiet people.”
In fact, it’s the non-quiet people who always have plenty to say who are most in need of practicing the discipline of hearing first, speaking later. The fact that it’s so hard to focus on listening for some people makes the resulting wisdom that much sweeter when the discipline is practiced.
There are a couple things which make listening before speaking harder than it sounds like it should be. One of them is knowledge. The more we know, the more we wish to let others benefit from our wisdom. I’ve noticed that with increased education seemingly comes decreased listening capacity. Some of the poorest listeners I’ve ever met are gifted public speakers or academics bearing credentials. They have a whole lot to say, but if we wish to tell them something, we’d best get to the point in three sentences or less, or we’ll lose their attention long before we get the message out. I believe strongly in education, but the more knowledge we possess, the harder it seems to be to listen first and fully, prior to bestowing our wisdom upon others.
Another stumblingblock to listening? Familiarity (read “marriage”). The longer and better we’ve known someone, the more of a struggle it is to concentrate on what they’re saying before giving our response. After all, we already know everything they’re going to say. Right?! Often it seems that way, especially in a relationship measured in decades. All the more precious when we follow God’s advice and show our dedication to them by listening to the same story for the umpteenth time, yet catching the slight variation this time through, and letting them know we truly love them—enough to listen. Nothing communicates genuine love quite like the patience to hear someone out—not because we’re so fascinated with what they’re saying or because it’s all new—but simply because we love them.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: Listen first, before speaking.
Answers for Today, February 23, 2011
Worship and Witness
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. Acts 3:1-10
It seems to have been a habit. At “the hour of prayer, the ninth hour” (3 P.M.), Peter and John would make their way to the temple to worship together with the other believers. Corporate worship was a vital, daily part of their lives. Witnessing, too, seems to have been a daily part of their lives.
At the Beautiful Gate, they see a familiar face, a man lame from birth who is daily carted off to the temple to beg enough money to subsist another day. The routine question is asked of the disciples, but something is different, today. It’s not just the fact that Peter is broke; today there is faith in the air. Today, it’s not good enough to toss a coin in the general direction of the world’s pain and call it good. Today is the day to engage. Lack of money turns into the opportunity for a miracle. Through the name of Jesus in the mouth of a willing disciple, a man unable to walk for his entire life is now doing laps around the temple, screaming out praises to God. The believer engages with the world in love, and the world is suddenly listening intently to the witness. And absolutely all the credit goes to Jesus.
It’s not really that hard. Worship and witness should be a daily part of our lives. How else is this world going to learn that God is good? When we daily focus on obedience to Jesus, when we engage with our world in His name and with His love, we can expect displays of His power to be a regular occurrence.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: Worship and witness should be a daily part of our lives.
Answers for Today, February 24, 2011
The Blessing of Being Broke
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” Acts 3:1-6
So, what’s so good about being broke?
What if Peter would have had money, that day? Wouldn’t he have just tossed the lame man a coin, instead of healing him? Perhaps that very thing had happened on numerous occasions, before. But when we’re “broke,” it causes us to have to depend on God, instead of ourselves. When we’re out of resources, we have no choice but to turn to God’s resources. Then miracles happen.
Although we may be short on money from time to time, if we make daily worship part of our lifestyle, we’re never short on the awareness of God’s power. We can’t get close to God without a sense of awe. Daily worship keeps us spiritually charged, like plugging in a cell phone keeps the thing operable. And neglecting worship has a similar effect to losing the cell phone charger.
Many people would complain they are too busy to worship, especially daily. So what do they do instead? They daily watch the news, or read the paper, or grab the news off the radio or internet. What is the result when we get the news on a daily basis? We have a continuing awareness of the world’s problems.
I’m not saying we should boycott the news. I’m just asking, which one of those two things better equips us to deal with life—a continuing awareness of just how many problems are in the world and how big they are, or a continuing awareness of just how big and powerful and loving our God is? Just asking!
When we engage with the world with God’s love, opportunities to witness sprout around us, continually. People come to us. When we genuinely care about people, Christian or not, they ask us about our God. And if it takes us being broke to switch over to God’s resources instead of ours, in the end being broke can be a blessing.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: Being broke can be good, if it causes us to switch to God’s power.
Answers for Today, February 28, 2011
The Friend at the Bottom
The poor use entreaties,
but the rich answer roughly.
A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:23-24
After watching the Academy Awards last night, I went to bed thinking of how few “cool” people ever seem to need God—as long as they’re cool. The fashionable few whose careers are currently peaking constitute the epitome of “cool,” a worldwide audience hanging onto every syllable of the acceptance speech. Wardrobe choices for one night make or break careers and companies. Extravagance of every kind is assumed; kindness is not. That’s often the way it works out, too. The rich and famous are not likely to also be kind and humble (which is why it’s so delightful to find one who is!).
Our star-crazed culture is good at elevating people of low character to astonishing heights, then dropping them. Those touched with fame find they don’t have to be courteous to get what they want—as long as they have enough money to afford it. The rules bend behind them as they saunter down the red carpet. Except when they don’t. Repeat offenders sit in disbelief as they hear judges handing out the same penalties for crimes given to lesser mortals. Big contracts get canceled when the stench of the scandal finally outweighs the former appeal which made them enough money to think they could get away with it in the first place. It’s a vicious circle.
A man of many companions may come to ruin. In fact, most do. The career, the “companions,” the fans and money... all gone. The wise don’t surrender their integrity in order to try to gain the top, so when the spotlight has moved on, they still have a life. The really wise humble themselves before the world does it for them. And the ones headed for eternal life are those who learn, sooner or later, that the best Friend they will ever have is the One awaiting them at the bottom. When “cool” and everything that went with it is gone, Jesus is willing to be a Friend and Savior, even to fallen stars. The sooner we figure out we can have an eternal-life-long Friend, the sooner we can know we never have to be alone.
Dave Ness
The Bottom Line: Jesus is willing to be our Friend when no one else is interested.
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Servant Connection, P.O. Box 1747, Longview, WA 98632
Servant Connection is a 501(c)3 non-profit ministry dedicated to the spiritual transformation of America.
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Contact Pastor Dave Ness, Servant Connection Founder, at connect@PrayingForAmerica.org
(360) 431-4245
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Tips for Tough Times
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Answers for Today
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To Donate
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