Not As Bad As. . .

Have you ever done something wrong and then to make yourself feel better, you rationalize it by saying, “at least I am not as bad as. . . .(you fill in the blank).” It is easy to do for most in some instances, as I am not as bad as the serial killer sitting on death row, or I am not as bad as the guy who abuses his family.


The problem may come when someone uses your name to fill in the blank. At least I am not as bad as Alan. How would you feel if you heard that? But in reality it is feasbible isn’t it? We can all think of someone who is better then us, or at least seems outwardly to be nicer, more polite and has more friends. Whether you believe it or not it has probably happened, or will happen at some point in your life.

I have been performing marriage counseling now for over 10 years, and I have counseled long enough to see that play out in reality. Friends, spouses and relatives will use each others names to fill in the blank. At least I am not as bad as the Joneses, or I am not as bad as my sister/brother. Someone will use your name to fill in the blank, because not one of us is good enough all the time, and many times none of the time.

Psalm 14:2-4 says, “The LORD looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” This is reiterated in Romans 3:11-13, as the Psalm is quoted again to demonstrate our true selves, that we are all bad at some level, which is being bad in general. How do I know, because as stated before, we can all think of someone who is just a little better then us, who is more “righteous.” How many have said, “I am no Mother Theresa,” or “I am no Ghandi?”

At one level this is a sad situation, or I guess it makes it some what a level playing field. If we are all bad then what hope do we have? Again, no matter what great work we think we do, there is again, another we can point to that seems better than ours. You helped give to the poor, and then find out your neighbor helped give to the poor and volunteered to feed the homeless at the local shelter. There is never the ultimate good work to make up for the bad because we can always think of one good work that is better. I fed 100 people, then feeding 101 would be better. It is humbling, because we cannot look at our good works as the “end all,” nor can we look at ourselves as the example of goodness.

This is why we need someone to set the standard and to be that ultimate, and the only way it can be ultimate is if it is God doing it, because if it is a human, we can always think of another thing to add onto it. God on the otherhand can be infinitely good and perform the infinite good work. Romans 3:25-26 tells us, “God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

If you want to find what true goodness is in this life and how to share in it, then you have to look at God and ultimately at Christ. Compare His deeds to anyone else alive or dead and the others will be found wanting.

It's a Good Thing!

I was emailing with a friend I had not talked to in a long time. We were catching up on our families and what we are doing with our lives. During our emails I told him about my health issues that have been going on for a while now and his response was interesting. He wrote, “Good thing you don't believe in a God who rewards us for our actions on earth while we're still here or you'd be wondering WTF did I do?” He is absolutely correct, if I did believe that, then I would certainly be wondering what in the world did I do. It doesn’t mean that we don’t wonder, though, what we did to deserve what is happening to us.

I must admit, I have asked in prayer what have I done to deserve this pain. The self-pity comes through and you ask “Why me?” But as I thought about it more and more, I thought “why not me?” If I am to think of a God that rewards us on this earth, whether good or bad, then I probably do deserve it. As a Christian, I believe Christ died for my sins on the cross, which means I believe I have sinned. If I have sinned and I believe God is going to give us rewards (good or bad) for what we have done then I should not be surprised when bad things happen to me. Luckily, I believe my sins past, present and future were forgiven at the cross. I am not negating discipline or effects of sin on this earth, but God working on a merit program for what we do good or bad. If that was the case, we all deserve to be in pain, because not one of us has lived a perfect life without sinning.

During these times my mind wanders to Job. Talk about a time to wonder what someone did to deserve pain, it was him. God allowed Satan to take away everything; his family, money, and way of earning a living. He then allowed Satan to make him physically in pain and ill. It was so bad that his wife told him to curse God and die. His friends were telling him to confess his sin, because he must have done something to deserve what he was going through. Job actually did do something, and it was live a holy life before God. His friends were not privy to the conversations in Heaven that took place, that we as readers are privy to read. Job was picked for the exact opposite reason his friends thought. He was picked for how good he was.

It changes the perspective of pain at times. I am not saying that I am going through the pain I have because I am holy or good or anything, but it does give a different perspective. Maybe God allows His chosen people to go through certain physical or mental pains because He knows they will honor Him through it. We will never know this side of Heaven if we are being used by God to show Satan that there are those down here who will follow Him know matter what. Maybe it is just consequence of a fallen world, or the result of poor living and choices made, but what if it isn’t. Would that change the way you walk within the pain or suffering you now feel?

Though I know I fail miserably at times, I strive to honor Christ in my pain, because my goal is to store treasure in Heaven, and not on a temporal earth. I long to hear Him say, “well done good and faithful servant.” Maybe, just maybe I will find out that I was chosen like Job to go through what I am because He thought me special and worthy enough to suffer for His cause. If not, I still desire to walk in my pain to honor Christ in all things.

“. . . Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phillipians 1:20-21).



Surrender Some & Sharing None

We sang a song in church today that talks about surrendering all to God and sharing in His pain. We sing those words that are certainly based on Scripture (2 Timothy 1:7-9; Gal. 2:20; 2 Tim. 2:10-12), but how well do we follow it? Do we really surrender all and strive to share in His Pain?

How often have we not shared our faith or let people know our Christianinty because of fear, embarrasement or “not the right time or place?” Is that sharing in His pain or surrendering to Him? It is a good time to reflect on this since we just finished celebrating the ultimate pain done for us – the crucifixion, and then the greatest celebration – the resurrection. We celebrate these days with great fervor, but do we live it out in our lives, our whole life, and not just parts of our lives where it is comfortable. Do you think Jesus would not talk about spiritual matters with school students, even while at school? Do you think He would avoid the conversation at work, at play, or even over a cup of coffee?

Jesus exuded spirituality in all He did. He talked about spiritual matters in all He did, by living it out or purposely discussing it, because it was so much a part of Him and He saw it as the most important matter. Do we? I go back to the song of surrending and sharing, and do we do these? Because if we did then we would do the things that Christ did, because we are surrending to His will, which will lead to sharing in His pain, whether it is emotional, physical or psychological.

One will naturally follow the other because the world hates the things of God. When we are in His will, we naturally have a reaction by the world, and Christians that hold onto worldly things. Christ was always being ridiculed, thereatened and ultimately physically abused and murdered for walking the Christian walk. The same happened to the apostles and today many people around the world are being murdered, made fun of and abused for following Jesus.

I guess we have to ask ourselves that if our lives are so cushy and everyone in the world loves us, are we actually surrendering all and sharing in His pain. I am not saying we purposely try to have people ridicule, hate or abuse us, but are there things we should be doing that we don’t because we are afraid of those very things. Do we hold onto different items, beliefs or actions because we like them, want them to be okay or purposely rebel against God instead of surrendering to His will.

It is not easy and we all need to work in this area. How are you doing? I know I need to continue to work at it. John 15:18-19 says, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”

Love Wins Review!

I have not read the book, and probably will not as most of his books ended up causing me much frustration and concern. This is a good review in my opinion from a trusted writer. I have read enough of his book from the free pages you can attain and the many quotes from those that are both in support and against the book to get a good idea. Not much different from his other books. At least he is consistent in his universalistic thoughts, even if he will not say he is. I just don't know why he won't admit it, as I would respect him more as a writer and speaker if he did. I don't like it from any writer when they won't admit where they stand and hide in vagueness and tautology.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/files/2011/03/LoveWinsReview.pdf