Tag: apostle james

James 4:11-16 – On Planning Well

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Brothers and sisters do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who can save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. (NIV)

Listening is both art and hard work. A few years back I spent a week at a prayer retreat. It was time intentionally set aside to hear God. It was hard work. I stayed in a little one room hermitage in the woods surrounding by God’s creation. On the first morning, I was in bed and at dawn I heard this loud thud on one of the windows. I woke up and heard it again, and then again. Outside there was a big male robin going at the window like there was no tomorrow. He did it about a dozen times before finally flying away. I laid there a bit frustrated with this stupid bird waking me up, and yet also wondered about that robin. Since I was there to connect with God, I started asking the question: “God, what are you trying to teach me through that stupid robin?”

I did not get an answer to my question. Then, the next day it happened again. Mr. Robin came by and took about a dozen hard tries at my window before flying away. However, this time I finally realized what was going on. Mr. Robin was perching just outside the window and looking at his own reflection. All he could see was a big rival robin staring back at him, on his turf, and he was going to tear into that interloper. Little did the birdbrain know that he was fighting a losing battle, against himself. 

“God, what are you trying to teach me through this robin?” Now, I had my answer. I was a Pastor tackling the issues and problems of others in the church and the world. Yet, I came to understand that I was only tackling myself, seeing my own reflection and struggling in a losing battle. I investigated the face of the enemy, and the enemy was me.

We are our own worst enemies. Much of life is determined by whether we plan for and with God. The natural temptation of us all is to view the landscape of human problems, assign enemies, and then fail to see that our greatest enemy is staring at us in the window’s reflection. Another temptation is to believe that when things are going well, it is because of our own doing – as if somehow, we can live and move and have our being independent of God in the equation. So, I ask, is God in our plans?

That is a big question. Here is just a smattering of what Jesus said about living for him: 

“Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33)

“Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27)

“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (John 8:31)

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” (Luke 10:62) 

We are not called by God to control other people or events; we are called to practice self-control and listen to God as we determine the course of our lives in both the big and small things of life.

The Apostle James had to deal with some birdbrain robins. They were only looking at themselves and not doing the good they knew they ought to do.

The Actual Situation

Some of the people James addressed were planning and mapping out their lives without consideration of what God wanted. They neither looked to God before beginning their planning process nor intended on including him in their dealings. These certain businesspersons were independent minded. They viewed their time and money as their own. In their minds, they give God an hour on Sunday, and the rest of the time is their own; they make their own money and no one can tell them what to do with it; they make their own plans, and maybe ask God afterward to bless it all.

The actual situation was that people were holding back on God, only giving him a certain portion of their effort.  And this can happen to any of us, with anything we have.  We may not all have money and power, yet we all have time, and how we use our time says a lot about our faith.

One of the many things God taught me at my prayer retreat was through all my business and busy-ness that I was holding back in some ways. Yes, I could compassionately connect with people but was guarded with it. Having my armor up was coming from a fear of not doing something perfect, or at least not doing it really well; and, if I would give myself completely to compassionately connecting with others, I might get hurt (because I’ve been hurt before). I wonder if you can resonate with this.

God just wants us to show up, be present, and not be perfect. We are to do the best with the gifts and abilities given us and leave it all on the playing field so that it cannot be said of us that we did not do the good we knew we should have done.  Furthermore, there is nothing wrong with being afraid.  In fact, true courage involves fear because real bravery is doing what is right when it is scary to do it, no matter what the consequences might be.

The Analysis of the Situation

Life is truly short – like a mist that appears for a little while in the morning, and then vanishes. Thus, the scheming we might do to make money and guard our investments; the posturing to make ourselves look good; the power-plays we engage to get our way; and, the anxiety which prevents us from the things we know we ought to do amounts to nothing at the end of our lives.

I have talked with far too many people over the years who crucify themselves between the two thieves of regret over yesterday’s missed opportunities, and fear of what will happen tomorrow. I have observed far too many people who made lots of money, patented inventions, and won awards, yet had no one at the end of their lives to be with them. They were not there for others, and so others were not there for them. 

Jesus said we cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24). In God’s economy, money is simply a tool to be used to meet needs and bless others. Yet, we tend to make audacious plans with money through accumulating debt and presuming we can pay it off; encouraging our kids to get high paying jobs as their highest objective; and, putting faith in the market economy to provide for us in the end. 

James was not saying money is bad and making plans is wrong; he was saying that the almighty dollar is not to be the motivating factor in our lives, and that God needs to be squarely in the middle of all that we do.

The Alternative to the Situation

The alternative to making plans independent of God is to plan carefully for God to be in everything – to find and do his will without trying to impose our will upon the divine.

This requires listening well. It is easy to rush and keep busy and then are unable to hear what God might be saying. When things are rough, we may work so we do not have to stop long enough to feel what is really going on inside of us. James encourages us to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  Listening well enables living well.

The Audacity of the Situation

Some people in James’ day were boasting over their accomplishments.  Like Kings Nebuchadnezzar and Herod of old, they made plans and did what they wanted with delusions of grandeur. They believed they were the ultimate sovereigns of what could and should go on in the world of which they controlled. They had to learn the hard way that they were only masters of small worlds.

Boasting merely sets us up for a higher fall. We need God, and we need each other, and whenever we lose sight of that truth, we are on a one-way road to implosion. Whereas some might call it independence, God calls it evil.

The Awfulness of the Situation

The tragedy of independent planning and acting is that God is left out due to purposeful ignorance. Like the deceitful husband and wife duo, Ananias and Sapphira, there were certain persons who withheld their money and their resources so that they could look good to the rest of the community and influence happenings within the church (Acts 5:1-11).  It did not end so well for them.

Conclusion

Doing more with greater efficiency may help, yet it misses the point. We are to take the time and effort to relate meaningfully with God so that we can plan with confidence and make faith-based decisions on what we believe the Lord wants us to do.

Let us not find ourselves repeatedly flying into a window. Instead, let the Lord shape life in such a way that conforms to his purposes, so that we will then know genuine lasting joy and peace.

One mark of the mature person is that he/she has the same benevolence and character whether they are rich or poor. Since we are all rich in faith, let us continually demonstrate it by living for Jesus Christ, loving one another, and planning to reach a lost and unjust world with the good news of God’s grace.

James 3:13-18 – Living Wisely

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment

Geschftsmann muss sich bei einer Weg-Gabelung entscheiden

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. (NIV)

The great challenge of life for everyone is to respond to it rightly – to handle the people, situations, and responsibilities of life well.  We all need wisdom.  Wisdom is doing right and just things in the concrete actual situations of life.

Wisdom is much like driving a car.  There is a certain body of knowledge that you need to drive. Driving is much more than knowing the driving manual and passing the driving test.  The purpose of knowing the laws and how to drive a car is so that you can drive well on actual roads under all kinds of traffic and weather situations.  Driving wisely means you keep your eyes on the road and are mindful of all that is going on around you and even within you.  You do not fret about why there is a curve in the road or a stop sign in a certain location.  You do not try and figure out the mechanics of a stoplight, or the philosophy behind the engineering layout of the road system.  You just try to do what needs to be done on the road to get where you need to go by responding to the conditions as they come.  In Midwest America where I live, if you drive a car, you will face snow and ice conditions; you will have to respond to a deer in the road; you will have to deal with other drivers and practice wise defensive driving skills.  And you must come to grips with your own road rage when getting from point A to point B when it does not go as you think it should.

Wisdom in the Christian life includes and is more than knowledge. The Bible is not a three-ring binder that covers every single life situation that you can simply look up and follow the three steps.  Rather, Holy Scripture has a body of knowledge contained in differing kinds of literary genres to give us wise guidance for all of life.  Like driving a car, Christian wisdom involves being attentive and mindful of the people and circumstances around us as we move through life by responding with gracious practical knowledge to everything and everyone.  So, then, wisdom is the practical application of biblical truth to all of life.

Wise people possess two distinguishing marks: a good life, and a humble life. 

A wise person is the same inside and out, with integrity between the inner attitude and outward behavior.  The motive for being good springs from a disposition of meekness and gentleness.

The distinguishing mark of the unwise person is hidden agendas. 

The unwise are continually doing something, which on the surface seems altruistic and good, yet something else is driving them: bitter envy and selfish ambition. If we want to live the good life, it begins with identifying the envy that will sometimes arise within us and the selfish ambition that goes with it – then choose a path of true wisdom by embracing the good gifts and abilities of others and delight in them.  At the same time, we focus on our own gifts and abilities and are at peace with them, able to express them.  There is real beauty when this happens.

False wisdom (selfish pride) is earthly, unspiritual, and evil.  It relies on tactics of manipulation, power politics, parking lot conversations, and passive-aggressive behavior. Having good intentions but utilizing bad methods to get it is false wisdom.  Having an evil intention but cloaking it in good words is demonic. Our words and our behavior both need to be good.

The unwise person has a pathological progression occurring within them:

  1. Envy over not having something someone else has or losing something that was once possessed.
  2. Devious plans for dealing with it.
  3. Using pious language to cloak that plan in religious garb.
  4. Strife, division, and disharmony to get what they want.
  5. Unhealthy practices and habits of life which damage others.

The wise person, in contrast to the unwise, possesses seven characteristics which enables them to live well and enjoy a good life:

  1. Pure. There are no mixed motives with purity – no hidden agendas, no secret desires that are self-serving. It is a purification through repentance of the old unwise person and embrace of the new through the cross of Jesus.

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

  1. Peace-loving is more than the absence of conflict. Peace is to embrace harmony, to work well together, and to enjoy full relational experiences. Wise and godly people are healers, active in bringing unity and integration.

“Blessed are the peace-makers for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9).  “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies.  Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it” (Psalm 34:13-14).

  1. Considerate of others is to be flexible, open to reason, level-headed in anxious situations, gentle, non-combative, non-retaliatory, and generally understanding. It is the wisdom to make allowances for the weaknesses and shortcomings of others and takes the kindest possible perspective.

“Remind the people… to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone” (Titus 3:1-2).

  1. Submissive attitudes and actions are a choice. If a person is coerced into submission, that is slavery, not submission. To submit means to willingly place oneself under someone else’s authority. The submissive person is teachable and humbly receives correcting wisdom.

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21).

  1. Merciful. Mercy is compassion in action. It is to empathize with the needs of others, and then do something about it.  There is always good fruit that results from mercy.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

  1. Impartial people are without favoritism. It is to be the same person toward everyone. They are steady, consistent, and not swayed by the crowd; and, do not act one way with a certain group of people, and then act different with another group. Impartial people have a passion for justice and despise injustice, believing that all people’s needs must be met with equity.

“Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great but judge your neighbor fairly” (Leviticus 19:15). 

  1. Sincere hearts are without hypocrisy. The sincere person is the same both inside and out, having no ulterior motives and no skeletons in the closet.

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for you brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 5:22).

The telltale signs of false wisdom are envy and selfishness – resulting in disorder and all kinds of unhealthy practices.  Conversely, the signs of true heavenly wisdom are good deeds done from a devoted heart to God and a humble attitude – resulting in righteousness and peace. This, my friends, is the good life.

Heavenly Father take me to the place where I am saved from my pride and arrogance and where Christ’s humility is center stage, where I am lifting clean hands and a pure heart to you. Take me to the place where I am no longer looking at obstacles but looking down upon them, where I can see clearly, and my decisions are flooded with your divine light, truth, and justice. I bend my knee and receive your truth. I open my ears to receive your counsel. I open my heart to receive your godly wisdom through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

James 4:8-17

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
            The classic comic book story of the origins of Spiderman has Peter Parker, after being bitten by a radioactive spider, acquiring the commensurate strength and skill of a spider on the human level.  Young Peter comes up with a way to make some easy cash by putting on a spider costume and entering a wrestling ring.  After the match, the promoter takes advantage of Peter and shafts him of much of his money.  As Peter leaves, a robber enters and steals the promoter’s money.  Peter sees the thief flee and does nothing to stop him, although he could have overpowered him easily.  Tragically, the thief proceeds to jack a car with Peter’s Uncle Ben in it.  Through a twist of fate, Uncle Ben is murdered by the man Peter ignored. 
 
            This story illustrates for us the importance of doing the right thing, even when it appears that our inaction will do no harm.  Today’s New Testament lesson reinforces a teaching that comes from the best held wisdom tradition of Scripture.  “Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”  Maybe we too often think about sin only in overt actions like stealing, murder, and adultery.  But on the other side of the coin, sin is also about all the things people do not do – ignoring the poor, presuming that someone else will help, or simply not paying attention to the inner promptings of God.
 
            In our hectic society we tend to be so crazy busy making money, trying to make ends meet, and planning for the future that we fail to see the divine appointments that God has for us in the present.  The alternative to all this striving for potential gain is to slow down and humble ourselves before the Lord.  A good place to start is to take some unhindered time right now to carefully and attentively read these verses from the epistle of James.  Then, ask God:  What do you want me to do?  Perhaps if we created the necessary space on a regular basis to genuinely ask that question, we would not find ourselves later regretting, like Peter Parker, our sins of omission.
            All-wise God, you are the One who sees all things and has called your people to faith in action.  Help me to see the people and the divine appointments you put in my way so that I might follow your will, not mine.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

James 2:14-26

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
            Faith, by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  Believe is the verb to the noun of faith.  True faith is not mere intellectual acknowledgment, but moves from a noun in the head to the verb of believe with the hands and feet.  Genuine faith never remains static but always results in responding with action.
 
            I have driven across some impressive bridges.  When I lived in Michigan, I had occasion to drive over the Mackinac Bridge and the Blue Water Bridge many times.  If one is afraid of heights, it can seem a bit daunting to go over them.  Let us suppose that I come to one of those bridges, stop and read the sign that tells all about how and when the bridge was built.  I take some time to look at the large structure.  I conclude that the bridge indeed can hold me and my car driving over it.  But if I turn away in fear and do not cross the bridge, do I really believe the bridge will do its sustaining job?
 
            The Apostle James’ point is that faith and action work seamlessly together.  Biblical faith logically and fearlessly moves right into action and crosses imposing bridges based upon the object of our faith:  God.  Since God is good and trustworthy, we can respond to his Word with appropriate actions.  There are plenty of Old Testament persons that give us example of living by faith.  Abraham did not simply acknowledge God’s speech to him; he acted upon it.  Abraham believed God, that is, he not only understood God’s Word, but his faith was confirmed and counted as righteous because he acted by following through with what he heard.
 
            We like our comfort zones.  We do not typically like to be stretched beyond what is familiar to us.  Yet, faith is a muscle that must be exercised in order to grow.  If faith is not put to the test and placed in positions of stress, it will not grow.  Our spiritual growth occurs when we take the time to hear and understand the Word of God, and then seek to put it into practice no matter what.  We have the same choice and opportunity as all the people of faith who have gone before us.  Let us choose with faith and action working together.
            Lord God, what do you want me to do today?  As I step out in faith, I know that you will hold me up and sustain me in doing your will.  May your glory be shown through my obedient response to your Word.  Amen.