Climbing the Ladder of Humility

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Your presumptuous heart has deceived you, you who live in clefts of the rock in your home on the heights, who say to yourself, “Who can bring me down to the ground?”

Obadiah 3

As I continue to journey through the Old Testament, I have a fresh appreciation for how the prophets address contemporary issues with great precision. Obadiah is the shortest book in the Bible, but it packs a powerful punch when it comes to the dangers of pride. The question of Obadiah 3 is attributed to Edom, the descendants of Esau. It’s a question that is saturated with pride: “Who can bring me down?” Great question Edom, are you ready for the answer? Of course, the answer is “God”. Obadiah shows that pride encourages foolish invincibility. Though we may never ask such a presumptuous question with those exact words, it’s an attitude that can easily creep into our lives. How do we overcome it? In the 6^th century, Benedict of Nursia addressed the need of his day with an ironic call to ascend the “Ladder of Humility”. It’s a ladder that we need to climb.

“The first step of humility is to have a constant reverence for God before our eyes. We must shun our tendency of forgetfulness and be always mindful of God’s commands…Let us remember that God sees all form heaven, that the eyes of God are upon us at all times and in all places.”

Benedict reminds us that it is impossible for our pride to grow alongside of reverence for the Almighty and a mindfulness of God’s commands.

Woe to you who are at ease in Zion, and trust in Mount Samaria

Amos 6:1

When I read Amos, I find myself thinking of terms that are common in our world today. Words like “threat assessment” come to mind. I don’t mean to simply equate God’s judgments with threats, but there is an overall tone of impending danger. You probably know that the U.S. government has a National Threat Assessment Center. If you access the United States Secret Service website, you can read the following words: “The United States Secret Service has long held the view that the best protective strategy is prevention”. Sounds like a wise strategy to me. During the days of Amos, Israel enjoyed a time of relative peace and prosperity. Despite the warnings from the prophet that judgment was imminent, the people seemed disinterested in any strategy of prevention. Isn’t it just like a prophet to disturb the “peace”? Amos warned Israel of a “real and credible threat” to the status quo. Yet, they did not respond. They didn’t want to hear it. In fact, Amos 6:1 describes the state of Israel as a mixture of false security and apathy. Simply put, Amos pronounced a woe on those who were “at ease”. Not only were the people at ease they misplaced their trust in Mount Samaria. This is a reference to their belief that Mount Samaria was deemed to be impregnable. In hindsight, we know they were wrong. Amos knew they were wrong because God clarified His perspective in an earlier chapter. God reminded the prophet that He formed the mountains   and He treads on the high places of the earth. Mount Samaria could never protect them from His judgment. Thankfully, Amos is not just about judgment. Amos pointed to the remedy for apathy and false security, The Lord said, “Seek Me and live”. In God alone we find true peace, protection and security.

What do I seek?

For the Lord says to the house of Israel: Seek Me and live!

Amos 5:4

What do I seek? What do I pursue? What motivates me to take disciplined and focused action? These are questions that define us. Sometimes we cast these questions aside and sometimes we wrestle with them. Whether we take the time or not to wrestle, the answers define our lives. During the days of Amos the prophet, the people of Israel had developed some bad habits. These habits affected their worship, their relationships with others and their identity as a nation. Amos, a shepherd, was chosen by God to deliver a strong message to the people. In Amos 4, he describes how God had attempted to gain their attention. Sadly, the result of those efforts was a stubborn refusal to return to God. I think we experience some of the same types of opportunities to return to God. We may react to our circumstance with anger or frustration or simply dismiss our state of affairs as just another example of “the way things are”. I believe that’s a mistake. In the context of Amos, the situation was dire and God spoke in direct terms. The message to Israel was “Seek Me and live”. What grabs my attention in Amos 5:4 is the offer of God. The reward God offers is life. Life is offered, not simply in contrast to death, but as something that cannot be gained elsewhere. Israel was guilty of seeking after many substitutes for the life that God offers. So are we. We convince ourselves that we can make life apart from God. In the midst of our busy lives, it has become so easy to forget that God is the source of life. This week, I will think about this. Perhaps many of my circumstances are subtle and not so subtle reminders of the need to seek God and receive life from Him. In God we find life. Not only will God provide direction, but He will breath life into my pursuits, motivations and relationships.

Help

After this I will pour out My Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions. I will even pour out My Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days.

Joel 2:28-29

Who me? That’s a common response in the Old Testament. Many of the prophets responded with their own version, but the essence was the same. For Moses, it was speech. For Gideon, it was the size of his family. For Isaiah, it was the fact that he was “unclean”. When God selected a person for a particular task, the response was frequently, “Who me?” I imagine an accompanying “deer-in-the-headlights” look of disbelief. As I was studying this remarkable promise of God in the book of Joel last week I was reminded of the details. God promised to pour out His Spirit on all. In Acts 2, Peter confirmed that God is good to keep His promises. When I slow down and read the details in Joel 2, I recognize that God’s promise anticipates our excuses. Who me? I am too young. I am too old. I am the wrong gender. I am in the wrong socio-economic class. In effect, God says, “not a problem”. God promises to personally provide the power that we need to serve as a witness. Our inadequacies are never a surprise to God. Sadly, our excuses do not end with age, gender and social class. No, we are far too creative in our excuses to leave it with the big three.  We are able present God with a long list of things that we presume that God hasn’t thought about when He asks us to serve Him. We throw up our past, our present, our limited understanding of our potential. In advance of our excuses, God made a promise. I will send help – a Helper, in great measure. I will pour out the Helper upon you.

The Pain of Discipline

Apply yourself to discipline and listen to words of knowledge.

Proverbs 23:12

With the Butler Bulldogs down one point against the Gonzaga Bulldogs, without the ball and less than four seconds on the clock, Roosevelt Jones stole the ball, ran it down the floor and lofted a game-winning floater just a fraction of a second before the buzzer. What an amazing finish! That shot lifted Butler to a 64-63 win Saturday night in front of a sold out Hinkle Fieldhouse and a national TV audience on ESPN's College GameDay. In the postgame interview Butler coach Brad Stevens was asked what he said at halftime to energize his team. In his comments, Coach Stevens made an interesting comment about the character of his team. He drew a comparison between the “pain of discipline” and the “pain of regret”. Stevens acknowledged the pain that is involved in both discipline and regret. However one pain is better than the other. Discipline is not easy. As the Proverbs note, discipline requires a willingness to invest, listen and apply. But it is a better pain than living with the regret that comes from a lack of preparation and commitment.

Also, Coach Stevens mentioned that the outcome (the win) was not the most important lesson. I agree. I like the fact that the coach brought up the pain of regret. I would add that the pain of “losing” a game is not as great as the pain of regret. Perhaps all of us have experienced the pain of regret. Regret is a dreadful  “after the fact” experience. It is the culmination of “woulda, coulda shoulda” thinking. And it is painful. In contrast, discipline is a “before the fact” preparation. It is arduous and it is akin to swimming against the current of our selfishness, procrastination, impatience and pride. Discipline trains the heart to respond to all types of circumstances in life. So, when you’re behind on the scoreboard and the other team has possession of the ball, you resolve that you will not quit. You will play hard until the buzzer sounds. No regrets. It is the disciplined resolve that allowed the Apostle Paul to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Eternity

I will take you to be My wife forever. I will take you to be My wife in righteousness, justice, love, and compassion. I will take you to be My wife in faithfulness, and you will know Yahweh.

Hosea 2:19-20

Have you ever been to a restaurant that serves a “soup of the moment”? Really? You can no longer commit to serve a “soup of the day”?  Oh how we love to live in the moment. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the importance of being “present” in the moment. But, sometimes in our momentary society, we lose sight of the Eternal. The Old Testament prophet Hosea tells the story of God’s relationship with Israel. More specifically, it is a story of the stark contrast between God’s enduring, faithful love and Israel’s fickle nature. Hosea “lives out” the message of God when he marries a promiscuous woman. His marriage illustrates God’s marriage to the wayward people of Israel. In the midst of this story, we gain a glimpse into the depth of God’s love. Notice that God is able to speak of eternity with ease. “Forever” is a concept that only God can fully understand. Though we cannot understand the infinitude of God’s love, eternity is essential to our faith. It should stretch our comprehension and makes us reach beyond today. Yet, eternity slips away. We are so easily distracted by things we “crave” in the moment. Kierkegaard warns against the effect of temporary passion when set against the Eternal.

Does not passion’s insidious temptation and its apparent excuse center in that deceptive ignorance about itself because, in the instant, it has forgotten the Eternal?

Søren Kierkegaard

Perhaps the best way to consider eternity, is to consider God's love. God’s response to Israel is intended to redirect our focus. God chooses His bride. God’s love is a forever love. His faithfulness does not diminish over time. It is because of His great devotion, that we are able to “know” the"unknowable". 

Why Stumble?

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Let whoever is wise understand these things, and whoever is insightful recognize them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.

Hosea 14:9

I joked with someone this morning that the older I get, the clumsier I become. This brief conversation followed the fact that I scraped my arm on the garage door this morning as I was preparing to leave for the gym. Upon arriving at the gym, I felt the need to explain the big red gash across my upper arm. Drawing from my extensive clumsy life experience, I can tell you that I prefer to walk rather than to stumble. I prefer to walk rather than to fall. Life is a journey filled with many steps. The book of Hosea provides a commentary on two ways to travel. One is right and one is wrong. After a reading through graphic descriptions of Israel’s unfaithfulness, the last verse of Hosea reads like a sharp summary statement. There is the path that God has designed. The wise understand that the ways of the Lord are right and those who are insightful and righteous walk in them. On the other hand, there are those who stumble. Why do they stumble? Are they clumsy? No. The diagnosis of those who stumble is fairly straightforward. The problem is rebellion. It’s so easy to dress up rebelliousness and justify our choices. But, rebelliousness doesn’t exist without a rebel. Hosea 14 begins with both the diagnosis and the cure: “Israel, return to Yahweh your God, for you have stumbled in your sin (verse 1).