What's In a Name, Redux

A few months ago I wrote an article called "What's In a Name?" In it I talked about the name Christian and what it ought to mean to us as followers of Christ. What prompted that article was the growing number of strange names people are giving their children these days.

Well, according to Yahoo News, I'm not the only one fed up with seeing these ridiculous names given to children. According to a story posted July 24, 2008, a judge in New Zealand made a 9-year old girl a ward of the court so that her name could be changed. What kind of name would be so bad that a judge would take such drastic measures to change it? "Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii." Can you imagine being 9 years old and telling people your name is "Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii"? Well this girl would not tell even her closest friends what her real name was because she was too embarrassed. In his ruling, the judge said of the name the girl's parents had chosen for her, "It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap, unnecessarily." I think he's right about that.

Why do people want to give increasingly bizarre names to their children? Maybe they feel as if the common, ordinary names we're all used to hearing will cause their children to get lost in the shuffle. After all, if little Talula Does the Hula had been named Lisa, Mary, Susan or Karen (the most popular girl's names from the year I was born); or even if she had been named Emily, Isabella, Emma, or Ava (the most popular girl's names from 2007), she just would not have been noticed. The more people there are, the more bizarre the name will have to be if you want the child to be "unique."

So where's the spiritual point in this? When the Lord planned the church, He only planned for one to exist. Jesus promised His Apostles that He would build His church, not His churches (Matthew 16:18). From the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 throughout the rest of the New Testament, only one church is ever described. It is Christ's body (Ephesians 1:22-23), and we all know that there is only one body for one head. It is the bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2), and Jesus is not a polygamist. With only one church in existence, it is not difficult to identify it. The New Testament used several different concepts to describe and indentify the church and its relationship to the Lord; we read about the body of Christ, the bride of Christ, the family of God, the church of Christ, and so on.

But men have corrupted God's simple plan for one church to exist. Today there are hundreds of different unique religious groups that all claim to belong to Christ. But these groups must identify themselves in some unique way to set themselves apart from all the other groups. So, as it is with people's names, it is becoming more and more common with churches' names. As more and more unique groups are started, more and more unique names are devised for those groups.

Wouldn't it be easier if we just went by what the Bible says? If we went back to a single church that simply wears the name of its Head? After all, if this was the way God planned it, why isn't that good enough for people today? To do this, though, we have to get rid of our own ideas and all of the doctrines and practices that cannot be supported by the Scriptures. Paul said that we must do everything "in the name of the Lord" (Colossians 3:17), which means that we must do it according to His authority. If Jesus has not authorized what we believe, what we practice, how we worship, or the name we wear, we are wrong and need to change. Let's seek to be just the church that God designed, the church that Jesus built.

Pet Peeves

What kind of pet peeves do you have? I have to admit I have my fair share of them. For example, why can't people seem to understand how a 4-way stop works? If you get to the intersection first, you go first; if you get there at the same time, the one on the right goes first. Simple, right? Apparently not. Nearly every day I drive up to a 4-way stop and another driver should go first, but they wait and wait and then wave for me to go first. It's great to be kind and polite, but the rules of the road were set up for everyone's safety. If you want to let someone go ahead of you, do it at the grocery store check out or hold the door open for them. On the road, just follow the rules; it's safer for everyone.

OK, now here's the point of this. As I was just thinking about what I was writing, I could feel myself on the verge of getting "worked up." Why is that? Because this is one of my pet peeves. It's one of those things that I let bother me. Why do we seem to have a problem with letting things bother us like this? Should Christians have a mindset that leads to being easily upset and angry about things? I don't think so. I'm not talking about being a little aggravated or frustrated; I'm talking about getting angry over things that really don't matter.

Paul said, "Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand" (Philippians 4:5). The qualities of meekness and gentleness are evidence of the Lord's influence in our lives. Paul listed this among what he called "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23). If we are truly following the Spirit's teaching, then we will demonstrate gentleness rather than harshness toward other people.

Hand in hand with gentleness, and immediately following it in Paul's description of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. Without self-control, there will be no gentleness. You see, we demonstrate a gentle attitude toward others because we choose to do so. I suppose everyone gets frustrated or aggravated about different things now and then. I think Jesus even seemed to be a little frustrated with His followers at times. For example, Jesus told His apostles about how He was about to leave them, but that He was doing all of this to make it possible for men to come to the Father through Him. In response to this, Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us" (John 14:8). To me, Jesus seems to show a little bit of frustration with Philip in His response: "Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, "Show us the Father"?'" (John 14:9). If Jesus was frustrated with Philip, He chose not to react harshly toward him. He responded with gentleness. Frustration, aggravation, even anger can and must be controlled. Paul said, "'Be angry and do not sin': do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil" (Ephesians 4:26-27). By refusing to control these kinds of emotions, we give an opportunity to the devil in our lives. Many sins can result when someone fails to control his temper.

So let's be careful about our pet peeves. Let's make sure we maintain control and never let our emotions control us. Even if you're frustrated or angry, always try to maintain that spirit of gentleness.

Oh, and it would really help me out a lot if you would make sure you go when you're supposed to at that 4-way stop.

"Is that God?"

I was reading Adam Faughn's blog yesterday and he told a story about his little girl and teaching her about giving. His story reminded me of one with our daughter. Emma is 3 years old and my wife often gives her some money to put in the collection plate. When she does, she tells Emma, "it's time to give our money to God." Well one Sunday she had told Emma that after giving her a dollar. While they were waiting for the men to arrive with the collection plates, Emma looked at the dollar, saw George Washington's picture on it and asked, "Is that God?"

There's a pretty good lesson there for us. How many people look at a dollar and think it is God? They love money, they live for money, they sacrifice their time and sometimes their relationships for money--money is their God. I'm pretty sure this is the reason Paul said that covetousness is idolatry (Colossians 3:5).

I don't know how long it has been this way in American culture, but for a long time success has been equated with the accumulation of wealth. The more money you have, the more successful you are. Many people think they are better than others just because they have more money than they do. We need to be reminded of Paul's warning: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10, NKJV). Is it even necessary in today's world to enumerate the kinds of sorrows that result from a love for money? We've all seen too much evidence of the truthfulness of this statement to deny it. Everything from violent crime to broken homes is often tied directly to a love for money.

Here's another object lesson from a dollar bill that might be wise for everyone to consider. On the back of a dollar bill is a picture of an eagle with its wings outstretched. Whenever you see that eagle, think of Proverbs 23:5

Will you set your eyes on that which is not?
For riches certainly make themselves wings;
They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

Commitment

A few days ago I asked why we drove everywhere we went instead of walking or riding a bike if our destination is only a short distance away. The reason I offered was, convenience. Well, guess what: today is the second day in a row I've ridden my bike to the church building. We only live about 1.4 miles from the church building, so it's not a bad ride at all. However, there are 3 hurdles I'm going to be faced with every time I get on the bike.

1. The highway. The shortest route to the church building is the main highway through town. It's really not all that busy, but it's a 4-lane road and it's a little bit intimidating.

2. The hill. About 2/3 of the way to the building I can take a side road to get off the highway. The problem is that there is a pretty big hill to climb. I made it up yesterday, but today I had to walk part of the way.

3. The heat. Summertime in Alabama is not known for its cool temperatures. I may not live that far from the building, but when you carry as much extra weight as I do, temperature is a big consideration.

Individually, these 3 hurdles are not all that much. Together, they are a little more to consider. Now please understand: I'm 43 years old, terribly out of shape, and very much overweight. To a young and/or physically fit person, this probably sounds like nothing. But it's a pretty big deal for me. Oh well, you have to start somewhere, they say.

So what will determine whether these things keep me from riding to work on a regular basis? Commitment. If I am committed enough to getting in shape and saving a little bit on gas, I'll keep it up regardless of the difficulties.

Isn't that true in our spiritual lives as well? Living faithfully for the Lord is not always easy. We face pressures from many different sources. Will we stay faithful in spite of those difficulties, or will we allow the pressures to defeat us in our attempt to live faithfully? The answer is in commitment.

Jesus said that if we will follow Him we must deny self, take up the cross daily and follow Him (Luke 9:23). I'll never forget how Keith Mosher, one of my instructors at Memphis School of Preaching used to explain the concept of taking up the cross. He would remind us that in the First Century the cross did not have the same meaning to people that it does today. The cross today has a religious connotation, and so people think of taking up the cross as bearing some burden as we serve the Lord. But in the First Century, the cross was simply an implement of execution. When someone took up his cross in Jesus' day, he was on the way to be killed. Brother Mosher used to say, if we put this in modern day terms, it would be, "take up your electric chair and follow me." That sheds a whole different light on what Jesus meant. The commitment to follow Christ must be so complete that we put ourselves to death. We no longer live for self. In fact, Jesus must live in us. This is exactly what Paul said: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, NKJV).

There's another parallel here, too. The obstacles I face in my daily bike ride may seem insignificant to some. It all depends on where your strengths lie. If you are very physically fit and you begin to ridicule me for being discouraged by the kinds of things I mentioned, you might just keep me from pressing on toward my goal. Spiritually, we have the same situation. What may seem like strong temptations and overpowering pressures to one person may seem insignificant to another. We need to make sure that we never ridicule or make light of another person's struggles.

Have you ever been around someone who always has to tell you about something he's experienced that makes your difficulty insignificant? You tell someone about some bad thing that's happened to you, or some problem you're facing, and then you can always tell when it's coming. The first thing they say when you've finished your story is, "Well that's nothing, one time I..." This kind of attitude is very discouraging and demeaning.

Paul tells us not to have this attitude toward one another. In Romans 14, he gives instructions on how two different groups of Christians should treat one another. In that time, some people had a conscience problem with eating certain kinds of meats. There was nothing wrong with eating the meat, but some Christians believed there was a problem and would not eat it. Paul told the Christians who did eat the meat not to "despise" the ones who did not (Romans 14:3). The word "despise" means to look down on, to treat with contempt, to ridicule, to make of no account, etc.

We should seek to encourage one another. Commitment to follow Christ is the key to faithfulness. Let's remember that whatever pressure we face can never be greater than the reward Jesus has promised to us. And let's remember that we can be either a great source of encouragement or discouragement to others in their commitment to live faithfully.

Convenience

$4 a gallon for gasoline is making a lot of people reexamine the way they do things. It's made me think a lot more about how much I drive and whether every trip is necessary. For example, yesterday I had a funeral to attend. The funeral home is just a couple of blocks down the road from the church building. I've been to lots of funerals there before, but I've never even thought about leaving my car at the church building and walking to the funeral home. Yesterday I planned to do just that--but it rained, so I drove.

So I started thinking. Why haven't I ever even thought about walking to a funeral from the church building? Why do so many of us get in the car and drive somewhere that we could easily walk to? Convenience. It wasn't that long ago when we thought $1.89 a gallon for gas was high (today in Fayette it's $3.89). But still it didn't cost all that much to fill up the gas tank, so we got used to driving wherever we wanted to go. It was convenient.

Life in America in 2008 is all about convenience for many of us. Who could imagine life without a microwave, cable tv, vcr's, dvd's, cell phones, the Internet, central heat and air, delivery pizzas, dishwashers, washers and dryers, and on and on and on? The lyrics from the song by Queen sums up the American way of life: "I want it all, I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now!"

Well I'm not advocating a return to "simpler times" or "the good old days." But I am concerned about what all of this emphasis on convenience has done to us spiritually. Physically, this mindset has made many of us Americans fat and lazy. The same thing will happen spiritually if we're not careful.

Good Bible knowledge takes lots of time and effort to acquire. But what does the convenience mindset do to that process? Too many Christians show up for worship services having never opened a Bible since the last time they were at church. Are they looking for a pre-packaged, ready-to-consume Bible lesson that will only take up a few minutes of their time? Bible class teachers can fall into this trap, too. Some want to be able to come into class with little or no preparation time, read the lesson from the book, complete the fill-in-the-blanks and the crossword puzzle and think they have taught a Bible class.

Paul told Timothy, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15, NKJV). Notice a couple of things about this familiar verse.

First, look at the last part of the verse. The worker who does not need to be ashamed is the one who is capable of "rightly dividing the word of truth." The ASV, ESV, and NASB, respectively, translate that last part as "handling aright," "rightly handling," and "accurately handling" the word of truth. There is a right way to handle God's Word. We are not free to twist the Scriptures to make them sound like they teach what we want them to teach. You may have heard people say, "You can prove anything by the Bible." Well that statement is simply not true. You might be able to be dishonest with statements from the Bible and string together some verses so that it appears the Bible supports your proposition; but you have not "proved" anything by the Bible when you do that. Peter talked about some people who "twist" the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). Rather than being either dishonest or ignorant about the Scriptures, we need to be able to handle God's Word correctly.

Second, look at the first part of the verse. This is where we learn how to achieve the ability to handle God's Word correctly. "Be diligent." The KJV has the familiar word "study" here. Usually when people use the word "study," they use it in the sense of "applying the mind to the acquisition of knowledge." Certainly that is involved in what Paul was saying, but the word he used has a little more to it. That Greek word (spoudazo) means, "to do something with intense effort and motivation" (Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains). We must pursue the ability to handle God's Word correctly with intense effort and motivation. That will be neither convenient, easy, nor quick. It takes time; it takes effort; it takes deep thought and meditation.

Let's devote ourselves to being diligent, hard-working Christians not only in Bible study, but also in every aspect of service to the Lord. Christianity is not about convenience; it is about service to the Lord.

I wonder if my old bicycle is still in working order?

I'm Going to Quit

There was a recent news report that former NBA star, Charles Barkley, owed $400,000 in gambling debts to Wynn Resorts Ltd, a Las Vegas Casino. Mr. Barkley quickly made public statements accepting all responsibility for his failure to pay the debts by the date they were due. In a television interview, Mr. Barkley said he has paid the debt and that he plans to use this for something good. He vowed to stop gambling. Apparently, this is a major decision for the NBA Hall of Famer. In an interview with ESPN in 2006, Barkley estimated that he had lost a total of $10 million by gambling. He defended his actions by reasoning that he had not put himself in a financial strain, even after losing such a significant amount of money. Now he says he realizes it's time for a break. He plans to stop gambling. However, he doesn't know if this will be for life. He said it will be for at least a year or two.

I heard a recording of the interview on a sports radio station, while driving in my car today. The two hosts of the program then started talking about how difficult it is to give up your worst vice, both of them citing their own struggles to give up vices. One of the two radio personalities said that he had given up two vices with great difficulty: drinking and gambling. I didn't really have time to admire the man for his decision to get rid of such dangerous (and sinful) habits, because he quickly qualified his statement by saying (in all seriousness) he had given up gambling for 9 months and drinking for 32 days.

I applaud anyone who decides to quit bad habits like drinking and gambling. But what is the rationale for deciding to give them up for limited amounts of time? What good does it really do to give up a sinful practice only to take it up again later? Obviously, these men did not view their habits of drinking and gambling as sinful activities, just practices that could lead to bad things if they let them get "out of control."

God calls upon us to rid ourselves completely of every sinful practice. When we become Christians we die to sin (Romans 6:1-2). We are to put to death certain sinful practices (Col. 3:5). The mindset that says, "I'm going to quit this sin for a while," is completely incompatible with righteousness. John said,

God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:5-7, NKJV).

Paul said that we must have "no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness" (Ephesians 5:11). How can we think we are in a right relationship with God while participating in things God condemns?

Let me leave you with the words of Peter. If a person decides to quit some sinful practice only temporarily, consider this:

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Peter 2:20-22, NKJV, emphasis added).

Day of Silence

Today (April 25) is the day for the so-called "Day of Silence" in schools across the country. Never heard of the "Day of Silence"? I hadn't either, until someone called my attention to it. Apparently, this has been going on for several years. It is a day when students take something akin to a vow of silence. Now before all you parents of teenagers start asking, "Where can my kids sign up," let me tell you who sponsors this day and why. The Day of Silence is in its 12th year and is sponsored by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network. According to their website, they envision "a future in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression." The Day of Silence is a form of protest against what GLSEN calls "anti-LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender] name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools." They believe such harassment forces homosexual students to remain silent about their "sexual orientation and gender expression." So to protest the silence society has forced upon them, and to call attention to the problem of harassment, these people and those who support their cause have chosen to impose a voluntary silence upon themselves today. Those who are taking part will not speak today. Many will wear t-shirts and put up posters advertising the purpose of their silence. Some may hand out cards explaining what they're doing and calling attention to the problem of harassment. This is what this "Day of Silence" is all about.

First, let me say that name-calling, bullying, and harassment for any reason is wrong. Jesus teaches against that kind of thing in so many ways. There is the "Golden Rule" (Matthew 7:12); there is the command to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39); there is the command to preach the gospel to the lost (Mark 16:15-16); I could go on, but I think it is pretty clear that the Lord does not want us to be bullies. As Paul said, we must speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). So I'm all in favor of doing away with the cruel treatment of other people, regardless of who is on either end of the cruel treatment.

But what about the GLSEN and their "Day of Silence"? They want every child "to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression." Let's examine their directive. Should every child learn to respect all people? Yes, if by "respect" we mean to recognize that person as a fellow human being who was made in the image of God. But what do they mean by "accept"? One definition of "accept" is, "to regard as proper, usual, or right." Here is where I have to draw the line. We cannot "regard as proper, usual, or right" all people, "regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression." God does not do that and neither should we.

Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him." (Acts 10:34-35).

God deals with all people equally. He holds them to the same standard: the one He established. He accepts only those who submit to that standard. We cannot accept people "regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression" because God's standard clearly defines the acceptable conditions of sexual expression. Sex is limited to marriage; and marriage is for one man and one woman. Those who seek to "express" their sexuality outside of these boundaries are not acceptable with God, and therefore we should not regard their lifestyles as "proper, usual, or right." This teaching does not single out homosexuality, but it certainly includes it. All sexual activity outside of marriage is sinful, whether it is between a man and woman who are not married to each other, two men, two women, an adult and a child, or even a human being and an animal.

Maybe a day of silence is a good idea. The homosexual special interest groups have become so vocal over the past several years that it is almost impossible to get away from their influence. They complain that they are being discriminated against and denied their civil rights. Their willing accomplices in Hollywood seem to take about any opportunity they can to portray homosexuals in the most positive light, while often portraying those who believe the Bible as bigoted, corrupt, and immoral. If they would all remain silent about their agenda, it would be great. Maybe this day of silence is a great opportunity for those who believe the truth to speak up.