Not all jealousy is bad

Many years ago, when my brother and I were teenagers, we would play our favourite albums on the family turntable in the lounge. Possibly in reaction to the teasing he received for buying a Jennifer Rush album, my brother decided to go hard core and bought something by AC/DC, the Australian heavy metal band. Talk about having eclectic tastes! Little did we know what he was letting us in for. But the music was wild, and we loved it. So we spent quite a few contented head-banging, air-guitar sessions of a Friday afternoon, bludgeoning the frustrations of the week to death with audio cudgels. That is, until our mom walked into the lounge one afternoon...

To this day, I can remember the name of the song that was playing – it was called Hell’s Bells. You would have thought that the title might have rung alarm bells, let alone Hell’s bells. But no, we were not terribly discerning in those days.  Mom sat down to listen to the song, which expresses a desire to attack and drag the listener’s soul to hell. Not terribly subtle, really. Needless to say, the album did not make it to the end of the day. It was unceremoniously broken over mom’s knee. Shortly after this, we received as a gift from my folks of a record entitled “God Loves Country Music”. Reader, it was not quite the same; I can assure you. And I hope there isn’t ANY country music in heaven. But I respect my mom for her courage and love, and I learnt a valuable lesson about jealousy.

The truth is a loving parent must often be a jealous parent. Now that I am a dad, I am jealous and protective of my children’s affections, just as my mom was. Mom did not want us to invest our affections and desires in something that was dangerous. Show me a good parent that would. Until our children are mature enough to self-govern, we must jealously guard them from dangerous affections in age-appropriate ways. And even when my children have complete freedom from my control, I will continue to jealously protect them through prayer whenever necessary. With God’s help, I hope to do it until the day I die or am incapable of praying one more sentence.

God feels the same way about you. He is a jealous God. And as we have seen, jealousy is not always a bad thing. In fact, God has every right to be envious of anyone or anything that takes His place in your affections. It is not that God needs your undivided loyalty; you do. Anything that takes the place of God in your life poses a threat to your safety. Idols are dangerous, and God will do what it takes to keep you fully satisfied in Him.

Cheers for now - Ian

Unfulfilled Dreams

I wonder what it was like for Moses when he climbed Mt Nebo at the end of his life, and the Lord showed him the whole of the Promised Land (Deut. 34)? He was 120 years old, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone (v7). He could have led the people in, but God forbade it, and he died there.

Was seeing the Land from afar the only compensation Moses would receive for enduring the living nightmare of leading over 600 000 grumbling, rebellious men and their families through one of the most inhospitable regions of the world? Believe me; the last 40 years of His life were not easy for Moses. On one occasion he asked the LORD:

"Why have you brought this trouble on your servant? What have I done to displease you that you put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land you promised on oath to their forefathers? ...'I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now-if I have found favour in your eyes-and do not let me face my own ruin." (Num 11:11-15)

Emotional melt-down was no stranger to Moses. “Put me to death right now”, he groaned. Yes, Moses endured more than you could ever imagine. Yet he was granted a mere glimpse of the Promised Land from afar. Despite pleading with God (Deut 3:23-25), He was not even permitted to dip so much as a toe into the Jordan River.

But here is the nub of the matter: Moses would have made it into the Promised Land if the people had not pushed him to the limit (Num. 20:9-13). In fact, Moses blamed the ban on the peoples’ sin (Deut. 1:37). It is not that Moses did not sin at Meribah, but without the peoples’ grumbling and rebellion, the temptation would never have arisen.

All of this could have embittered Moses. The people he led gave him an incredibly hard time. You and I get bitter over far smaller wrongs. Yet Moses continued to serve the people selflessly and without bitterness until the end.

Take the following as evidence of Moses’ lack of bitterness (Num. 14): when the Twelve Spies returned from the Promised Land, Moses, Caleb and Joshua were all for invading Canaan. But the other spies spread alarm and despondency. So Israel rebelled against God accusing Him of being weak and malicious. They were convinced that God had brought them out of Egypt so that their women and children could be carried away as slaves.

When the Lord met with Moses to discuss the situation, God said that He would destroy Israel and begin again with Moses. God actually offered Moses the opportunity to become the progenitor of a nation greater and stronger than Abraham’s. Imagine the temptation. A bitter man would have yielded. But Moses had found the antidote to bitterness; it was concern for the glory of God. The nations were watching, he told God. What would they deduce about God if He slaughtered His people in the desert? They would assume that God did not have the power to keep His promises and had committed genocide to hide that truth. Therefore, Moses implored God to forgive Israel.

If Moses had not forgiven Israel, he would never have asked God to. But Moses was a forgiver because he knew God as a forgiver, so he contended for the glory of God expressed as mercy. It seems to me that the perfections of God’s character and the all-satisfying pleasures of relating to Him became Moses’ delight. If you doubt this, read the words of the hymn Moses wrote on the day of his death (Deut. 33).

So might it be that as Moses faced death and an unfulfilled dream he saw something far more satisfying than the Promised Land? Maybe, in the distant haze of the western sea, he saw the far green shores of heaven and his Father beckoning. Maybe like Paul he said, “If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labour for me. Yet what shall I chose?” I am sure that for Moses to die was gain, as I hope it will be for all of us on the day when our work is done.

Cheers for now - Ian

Your trust reveals God to be the Hero He truly is

Have you ever witnessed one of those occasions when God’s name gets dragged through the mud? Maybe you were responsible. Join the club. We are all responsible for tarnishing God’s reputation more often than we would like to. The process usually begins with a lack of trust.

Take King Saul for example. Saul trusted in military might more than he trusted in God. But in his campaign against the Philistines, this was his undoing, for the Philistines produced a champion, Goliath. Saul - even though he was the mightiest Israelite, being head and shoulders taller than every other man in the nation - was no match for Goliath. Israel’s military might was not enough. If you elevate anything else above God, it will never be enough. And when God’s people value anything above God, He is not glorified. No, God is belittled.

                So, because Saul did not trust in God, his leadership failed and God was demeaned. For forty days, Saul was paralysed by fear, and he did ... nothing. What a miserable leader. Meanwhile Goliath strutted out every day and hurled abuse at the army of Israel.

                In contrast, David was a true leader. What was it that concerned David about this state of affairs? He asked:

“Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam. 17:26).

David was concerned about God’s reputation, His glory. Israel’s army represented the power and justice of the living God. Do you think the Philistines believed that the God of Israel was powerful when Goliath marched out to defy His army day after day? This is what concerned David. The fame and renown of his God was falling into disrepute.

So David chose to glorify God by trusting Him and not military might. And because David was concerned about the glory of God, He acted on the basis of trust. Striding confidently onto the battle field, David cried out to Goliath:

"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

                David didn’t say “I come against you with a longer sword or a stronger arm”. David knew where success lay. His confidence came from trust in God, and it overflowed in a defiant prophecy which was fulfilled quicker than Goliath would have dreamed possible.

“46 This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. 47 All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

Exit one giant! Not even John Cleese could claim that Goliath was merely “pining for the fjords”. Goliath was deceased. And may this be a reminder to us that only God is truly enough. If you trust in anything more than God – whether it is money, or success, or a person - you are headed for disappointment, and worse than that, God will be dishonoured in your life. The greatest way to honour God is to trust Him.

Cheers for now -Ian

In praise of emotions

Not sure about you, but I am a little wary of emotions. I guess it comes from being white, middle-class, and middle-aged. Seeing it in writing shows me that there is an awful lot of middle in my description – hopefully not too much in my figure! But being wary of emotions does not mean that I am incapable of feeling deep emotions. Possibly my caution comes from the fact that the people in my community do not express their emotions freely, and especially not publically. We worry about what people will think of us more often than we should.

Black Zimbabweans do not seem to suffer from the same hang-ups. Prize-giving, for example, is often accompanied by loud ululations, and proud mothers will often dance to the front of the hall and hug their children whilst crying un-ashamedly.

Jewish people also seem free to express their emotions. We were in Jerusalem at the time when people take to the streets and dance with the Torah. Gail and I sat at a road-side cafe from which we could watch the festivities in a nearby public square. Men swirled around vigorously to the sound of a live band, flourishing flags and singing. Each dark-haired head was crowned with a white kipa that seemed to gust through the air on its own, illuminated by the streetlights. Though the dancers were men, women surrounded them, swaying and clapping their hands. From time to time a small boy would pick up a microphone and sing to the music. Even a paraplegic had joined the whirlpool of dancers, swept around in his wheelchair by wildly enthusiastic friends.

John Piper has studied the theology of Jonathan Edwards whose preaching sparked a great awakening among the churches in New England two hundred and fifty years ago. Piper refers to a book written by Edwards entitled “A Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections”. In this book, Edwards argues that “true religion, in great part, consists in holy affections”. Today, we might call “holy affections” emotions. Edwards (claims Piper) was utterly convinced that there is no true religion without holy affections.

In his book “The Supremacy of God in Preaching”, Piper describes some of the “holy affections” that should be growing in our lives:

“Delight in the glory of God includes, for example, hatred for sin, fear of displeasing God, hope in the promises of God, contentment in the fellowship of God, desire for the final revelation of The Son of God, exultation in the redemption He accomplished, grief and contrition for failures of love, gratitude for undeserved benefits, zeal for the purposes of God, hunger for righteousness, and so on”.

                I desire for these holy affections to grow in me, for growth is a sign of life. Surely it is significant that three of the fruits of the spirit are emotions: love, joy and peace (Gal. 5:22). One of the ways to cultivate holy emotions is through worship. It is in worship that we exult in the redemption Jesus has accomplished; we express our gratitude to God for the many undeserved benefits He has showered upon us; we put our longing and hunger for God to music, singing of our desire to be more like His Son; and we declare God’s promises aloud and hope for their fulfilment.

                So may your worship this week fan into flame the holy emotions that go with a life that has been rescued and transformed by our glorious God.

Cheers for now - Ian