August 11, 2016 – Devotions: passages from David and Goliath – Bigger Is Not Always Better

“Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Matthew 19:16-30

“…wealthy people and wealthy institutions and wealthy countries–all Goliaths–fall into (a trap)–they assume that the kinds of things that wealth can buy always translate into real-world advantages. They don’t, of course. It is good to be bigger and stronger than your opponent. It is not so good to be so big and strong that you are a sitting duck for a rock fired at 150 miles per hour. Goliath didn’t get what he wanted because he was too big. We all assume that being bigger and stronger and richer is always in our best interest. A shepherd boy named David…will tell you that it isn’t.” (David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell, p. 61-62) 

It is not always good to be a Goliath – for as the saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall. Recently our church has been having trouble with our soda machine. The problem is not in dispensing sodas, it is not in accepting dollar bills or change – the problem is getting the machine filled on a regular basis. It has gotten so frustrating we have called the company numerous times to see how we might be able to resolve the problem. The first two times I called the company, I talked to a representative who was in Oklahoma. Oklahoma!!!!! We have a local distribution plant just blocks away from our church, and I had to speak to someone in Oklahoma. Naturally, this soda company is a Goliath – in fact it is bigger than a giant. They are the official drink company of the Rio Summer Olympics, and they have such an influence that the athletes cannot even get a cup of coffee in the athlete living quarters. Not even a cup of coffee, because this company does not have a coffee division (yet). What good is it to be a Goliath if you cannot see your weaknesses that are right in front of you? Yes our church is a small-time customer, but we also have the ability to give positive and negative reviews about customer service, product and company response.

Over time, Goliaths run the risk of believing that they are more powerful, more influential, and therefore will be more victorious simply because they are big. And once you allow that attitude to drive your business model, you soon lose your perspective on what made you a giant in the first place – serving a quality product to people, no matter how big or small, and responding quickly to their interests, their needs, and their concerns – both the big and the small.

The rich young man in the above-mentioned lesson today wanted to be a good, faithful follower of G-d, he wanted a personal relationship with G-d – but his wealth and possessions, the things that made him a giant in his community, got in the way of finding a personal relationship with G-d and his neighbor. So when he asked Jesus what the secret to eternal life might be, Jesus said it was not found in possessions and other stuff. The secret to eternal life was actually standing right there in front of him, but his need for stuff and money kept him from following Jesus. Jesus concludes his comments to his disciples with these words: “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”

If money and prestige and fame and possessions make you feel like a giant, then Jesus has a word of warning: many who are first will be last and the last will be first. Or, in other words, strive to be big in Jesus, to make Jesus first in your life, to allow the Holy Spirit to lift you to the height of being rich toward G-d.

Pastor Dave

August 10, 2016 – Devotions: passages from David and Goliath
The Classic Inverted-U

“Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. But law came in, with the result that the trespass multiplied; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, just as sin exercised dominion in death, so grace might also exercise dominion through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?” Romans 5:18-21, 6:1-2

“A classic inverted-U curve can be seen in the relationship between alcohol consumption and health. If you go from not drinking at all to drinking one glass of wine a week, you’ll live longer. And if you drink two glasses a week, you’ll live a little bit longer, and three glasses a little bit longer–all the way up to about seven glasses a week (These numbers are for men, not women). That’s the up slope: the more, the merrier. Then there is the stretch from, say, seven to fourteen glasses of wine a week. You’re not helping yourself by drinking more in that range. But you’re not particularly hurting yourself either. That’s the middle part of the curve. Finally there is the right side of the curve: the down slope. That’s when you get past fourteen glasses of wine a week and drinking more starts to leave you with a shorter life. Alcohol is not inherently good or bad or neutral. It starts out good, becomes neutral, and ends up bad.” (David and Goliath, Malcolm Gladwell, p. 54, footnote) 

The classic inverted-U curve is one way to look at a situation as you assess its effectiveness. The above example is most instructive. And, most of us know it to be true. A little of anything can be good – too much of the same thing can be harmful, if not dangerous. Can we say the same about sin? Can we? Is a little sin ok, but too much sin harmful if not dangerous? Didn’t Luther say something like “If you are going to sin, sin boldly?” This is what he said: “God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong (sin boldly), but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world.” What on earth could he have meant by that?

Luther often used hyperbole (exaggerated statements) to make his point. Is he saying, like many Christians believe today, that the Cross covers continued, willful sin – even if we decide not to change our lives? No, he is not. He also said elsewhere: “If you do not give forth…proofs of faith [good works], it is certain that your faith is not right…for where faith in the heart is right, there is no need of much commanding good works to be done; they follow of themselves. But the works of love are only an evidence of the existence of faith.” Although Luther stressed that we are saved by faith alone, faith by its very nature produces good works. The idea that a person can be saved while continuing on exactly like before is a dangerous misunderstanding of both the Apostle Paul and Luther. Imagine this scenario: let’s say that Satan suddenly comes after me and brings to the surface something that had been in my heart all along. When I’m still down, he says: “Look at you. What a disgrace! And you call yourself a Christian!” It is at that moment that I can shout to Satan saying something like “Yes I am a sinner, and thank you for reminding me that I am a sinner, and yes sometimes I fool myself into thinking I am above sin. But you remind me of my true nature and then I remember the cross: it is what I will cling to, the cross is where I will fall and clutch onto and hold on tightly for it is sufficient for all my sins.”

It is here that the inverted-U comes into play – a little sin is what we all do because we are by nature sinful and unclean. But if we willfully sin thinking “I am saved”, then we pass onto the other side of the “U Curve” where sin, and Satan, looks to destroy us. G-d’s grace is sufficient for me, G-d’s word reminds me of grace, and Jesus calls us to “go and sin no more.” The cross of Jesus gives me not just forgiveness but victory over sin as well.

Pastor Dave