Christian Know-It-Alls Are Frightening

 

“Pride is a person having too high an opinion of himself. Pride is the first sin that ever entered into the universe, and the last sin that is rooted out. Pride is the worst sin…Pride is God’s most stubborn enemy!..There is no sin so much like the devil as pride.”  Jonathan Edwards

 

  In the third century, Cyprian, the bishop of Carthage, wrote that Christians don’t “speak great things, but we live them.” Yet, it’s easier to speak about truth than it is to live out the truth. But Christians who only talk yet fail to walk are frightening. The most frightening Christians that I encounter are those who act like they have all of the answers. They love to share their opinions and pontificate to other “mere mortals.” 

  No doubt you’ve run across them. Hopefully, you’re not one. It sometimes feels like they’re ubiquitous. They either have a blog or use their Facebook page (or post on everyone else’s) sharing their insights. They’re on Twitter slamming all the other ignoramuses out there.

  By now probably a couple of names have popped into your head. These individuals believe that it’s their calling to correct everyone else who is not as enlightened as they are. Sometimes they’re disciples of some celebrity pastor and quote them ad nauseam. They’re modern-day Pharisees. 

  I wish I could say that pride or arrogance weren’t sins I struggle with. I frequently find Benjamin Franklin’s insights very apropos for my own life.

  In his autobiography, Franklin focuses on the weakness of human pride. He observed, “In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.” Most can relate to being “proud of our humility.” Like Franklin, we must admit that we, too, struggle with pride.

  The greatest danger of being a spiritual know-it-all is that you’re stuck spiritually. If you believe that you have the answers, you are no longer growing. Your pride has become a blockage to continued spiritual growth. 

  If you believe that you have all of the answers, attending church is little more than symbolic. You don’t come as a student or a disciple. Christian know-it-alls rarely attend a study or small group, after all, they have the answers. If you read books, you read those that agree with you. Mr. or Ms. Know-it-All doesn’t really think that they have to learn anything. They’re already there. They are, in effect, unteachable. 

  When you put a word like “unteachable” next to this, it’s a major sin problem. Christians, when thinking biblically, operate out of the realization that they actually do not know everything that they need to know. As believers, we are to be learners until we get Home to glory. 

  We have things to learn both intellectually and empirically. God designed the local church to provide a context where we can grow in godliness and Christian maturity. Consider Ephesians 4:11-14: “And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,  so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” 

  Notice that from Ephesians 4 that God provides teachers and these teachers are to teach Scripture. Saints (Christians) need to be equipped to serve so the local church is built up and this must go on until we all grow into Christlikeness. Christlikeness and spiritual maturity are the goal. So what are some symptoms of being a Christian Know-it-All?

  They tend to be critical and petty. It’s almost like they thrive in finding out someone’s “wrong view” about something. Instead of seeing the church as a place to grow, they see it as a place to show what they know.

  They talk (or post) a lot but don’t listen very much. This makes sense–why not talk (if you know it all) and why listen (if they don’t)?

  They enjoy squabbling about little things. They will argue about all kinds of things that would seem to be of secondary (or even lesser) importance.

  They tend to lack compassion. Having no perceived weakness of their own, they can’t relate to others who are struggling. Often times they’re condescending or devolve into harshness or disengagement with the weak.

  They like to talk about people. This is divisive to unity in the Body. Instead of prizing unity, Christlikeness, and spiritual maturity, they delight in knocking others down, disrupting unity, and building themselves up. Their conversations with other Christians devolve into stories of how much they know and how much others do not.

  They only seem to have a lot of biblical knowledge. They drop $5 words to effectively argue their point. Often they’re involved and appear to have things together. However, the fact that they’re unteachable makes them dangerous in the local church and a detriment to their own spiritual health and the growth of the Body.

  The Lord designed for a church family and small groups to be places where we feel the liberty to be the most authentic version of ourselves and admit how little we know and how often we struggle. Those who are truly wise depend on God’s grace and work to remain humble. 

  Humility and teachability go together. Humility begins by simply realizing you’re not God and how little you know. Spiritual growth always begins with humility. We must come cognizant of how little we know and thirsting to learn, to grow, and to apply God’s truth to our lives. The goal is not to outshine other believers but to be more and more like Jesus.

  Do you have a goal of becoming wiser and growing in your faith? Get to know God. Study Scripture. Listen to teaching, even teaching you don’t necessarily agree with. Read books and determine to read those who differ from you. Apply what you learn to your life. 

  As you expose yourself to other insights and perspectives, you’ll be wiser, and know better how to walk with the Lord and serve Him. Humility reminds us of how little we know and that we can learn from anyone. All of us have so much to learn. It’s why we must remain teachable, humble, and lifelong learners until we get Home.  

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

What Would Jesus Post?

“All of us would be wiser if we would resolve never to put people down, 
except on our prayer lists.”  D.A. Carson
 

  Though his worldview leaves much to be desired, Comedian Louis CK, tells fans he meets in public that he won’t take a picture with them, but he will talk to them. Some people are satisfied, but many walk away angry and frustrated. For many it’s because they weren’t after the opportunity to meet Louis—they wanted to be able to show people they met Louis. 

  The phrase “What would Jesus do”?, often abbreviated to WWJD, became popular particularly in the United States in the late 1800s in response to the widely read book by Pastor Charles Sheldon, In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do? The phrase had a resurgence in the 1990s as a personal motto for many Christians who used the phrase as a reminder of their belief in biblical values and the moral imperative to act in a manner that would demonstrate the love of Jesus through actions of the adherents. In popular consciousness, the acronym signifying that question—WWJD—is associated with a type of bracelet or wristband which became a popular accessory for many believers, particularly young people.

  Maybe it’s time to blow the dust off of WWJD yet make it WWJP? – What Would Jesus Post? Matthew 12:36 reminds us that God is listening and someday we will give account for every word, which would include even words posted on social media. As Christians, we represent Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:20 reminds us, “we are ambassadors for Christ.” As believers, what we say and do on social media matters.

  While many Christians carry themselves with kindness and grace at church, once they tap that social media app they transform from kind Dr. Jekyll to evil Mr. Hyde. In the cyber world of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tik-Tok, Jesus Christ can disappear from our lives. Yet, for believers, all of life should be centered around Christ, making His name great and honoring Him. Here are some things to consider:

  Be cautious about self-elevation. Pride is an evil, yet subtle sin. Glorifying and drawing attention to self is one of humanity’s oldest sins. Adam and Eve fell prey to the serpent’s lies, desiring to elevate themselves and to be “like God.” The same serpent is quietly hissing in our ears today. Avoid the temptation to use social media as an avenue to make yourself look great because only God is truly great (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Be cautious even about “spiritual bragging.” Things like how much you’re reading your Bible, praying or serving the Lord. The sin of pride is very subtle.

  Continually celebrate God’s goodness! Rejoice and celebrate a friend’s birthday. That friend is a gift from God to you. If you could jump up and down on social media, jump up and down over the birth of a baby or grandchild. And please go crazy over wedding anniversaries. In a day of rampant divorce where the typical U.S. marriage lasts only eight years and where cohabitation is accepted as “normal,” wedding anniversaries should be celebrated. It encourages others that God’s blueprint really is best!

  A healthy dose of real is a good thing. While no one wants to see a sink filled with dirty dishes, be cautious about acting like you have it all together. None of us do. We tend to only share the photo of our family smiling perfectly, but wouldn’t want the world to know that in order to get the picture we screamed at our kids or bribed them with ice cream. We share pictures of perfect families, perfect homes, and perfect lives and feel the need to continually share little snapshots of “perfect,” yet we know it’s all a sham.

  Christ didn’t die on the cross for us because we’re perfect. He died for us because we’re one big mess. So have the courage to share some reality. It’s okay to share photos of crying kids. Laugh at your own cooking failure or home maintenance fiasco that now needs to be repaired and countless other big “F’s” from your life. As ambassadors for truth, being trustworthy is more valuable than being attractive.

  Speak out for biblical truth, yet avoid being partisan. Both parties are made up of sinners and have their foibles. Wise were the words of President Abraham Lincoln: “My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right.” Politics are a serious distraction from the gospel and the Great Commission. For example, it appears to me that neither side truly cares for the poor, the immigrant, or the disenfranchised – the very ones God’s Word continually commands us to care for. So please stay with clear biblical values and avoid blind partisan loyalty. We are to be Kingdom people, not political animals.

  Be positive and encouraging. Sadly, there’s far more bad news than good on social media and Christians can easily tap into that. To chronically be negative fails to share words that build up (Ephesians 4:29). There is a lot of good and beauty in this world and we’re to focus on it (Philippians 4:8). Too many Christians are known for what they’re against rather than what they’re for. Too many seem consumed with outrage. While some battles are worth fighting, in reality, most won’t care about these controversies after a few weeks have passed. As Christians, we’d be better off representing our Savior with dignity and charity than having a meltdown over the headline of the day. With our social media accounts, we need to share truth, beauty, and goodness, after all, this is our Father’s world!

  Commit to being Christlike. Jesus said that a lost world will know we’re His disciples by our love for one another. Being kind and gracious honors our Lord. He didn’t call us to “win” because He’s already won. He does call us to live in a way so no one questions whether we truly know Him and are Christ-followers.

  Most Christians are more concerned about social media censorship than they are about how social media is shaping our hearts and what we’re communicating about our faith. Too few Christians are concerned about social media discipleship. We’re more interested in the ways we can form the world than we are in the ways the world is forming us. That’s not to say social media/internet censorship isn’t a problem. It is. Yet, as Christians, we are too often more interested in protecting our expression than we are the condition of our own hearts. The bottom line is: Would someone want to be a Christian if they saw your social media posts? 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

Just a Little Red Paperclip

 

“Sometimes it’s the little things that count most.”   Alexandra Adornetto

                                                             

  Stuck in a dead-end job and with little money, 26-year-old Kyle MacDonald, came up with a plan. Starting with one red paper clip and a dream, he would trade on the internet until he exchanged it for a house. He advertised the paperclip on craigslist.com and two women swapped a fish-shaped pen for it. Later that same day, MacDonald was able to trade the pen for a small ceramic doorknob with a smiley face on it. He traded the doorknob for a Coleman camping stove. Next, a US navy Marine swapped a generator in return for the stove. Then a guy from New York swapped “instant party package” (a beer keg and a neon Budweiser sign) for the generator. The beer package went to a DJ in Montreal, in exchange for a snowmobile. By this time Macdonald was starting to attract attention and he was invited onto Canadian TV to tell his story. 

  As a result, he was able to trade the snowmobile for an all-expenses-paid trip to an obscure little town in Canada called “Yahk.” He then traded the trip for a 1995 delivery van. He gave the van to a musician wanting to haul her gear around in exchange for a recording contract, with studio time and a promise to pitch the finished CD to music executives. He swapped the recording contract with a singer who gave him a year’s accommodation in a house in Phoenix Arizona. He exchanged the accommodations in Arizona for a day with Alice Cooper. The day with Alice Cooper he swapped for a snow globe of the band KISS! Now if you thought that was a weird swap get this. The KISS snow globe was swapped for an acting part in a movie! Apparently, actor Corbin Benson is an avid snow globe collector and was particularly interested in the KISS snow globe, so he swapped his part in the movie for the snow globe! Finally, a local municipality in Saskatchewan Canada handed over the title deeds for a house for the movie role. That’s the amazing story of how Kyle MacDonald turned one little red paper clip into a house! Macdonald says he has offers from Hollywood studios to turn his story into a film. 

  This morning we’re beginning a new series on the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, God of Reversals. Throughout this book, we’re going to observe that those who seem to be big in their day, in the forefront, the leaders, the ones in charge, the celebrities of their day – that sometimes in a moment – they are displaced and replaced. Often, God uses the little things, those that we wouldn’t consider, to put in places of priority and His blessing.

  If we’re honest, most of us feel like little people. Other than our families, our church, and to some level, in our community, we’re virtually unknown. It’s easy to feel like little more than your social security number with no real identity.

  There are 331 million people in the United States and nearly six million in Wisconsin. Then, there are nearly 200,000 people in Racine County with about 11,000 in the City of Burlington. The Village of Rochester where I live has a population of just under 4,000. If I walk a few houses down from my home, I don’t know anyone. You probably are in the same boat. Essentially, we’re a bunch of little people, just a bunch of nobodies. Even in our small worlds, we are smaller cogs.

  Little things though are important. Spark plugs are rather small, but without them your car engine won’t run and you won’t be able to get anywhere. Microchips that keep your computer running and hold billions of bits of information are usually smaller than a thumbnail. Athletes lose races by a hair, politicians lose elections by a single vote, vacuum cleaners won’t run because a tiny screw is missing. It just keeps adding up. Little things matter and they count. 

  If you look in Scripture you’ll find the same pattern developing. That’s mainly because God looks on the inside, not the outside. He doesn’t look at how big a house someone lives in, or how much money they have, or how educated they are. He looks at the heart. And God loves to do big things out of little packages.

  It’s a pattern that we find throughout the book of 1 Samuel. God used a godly woman struggling with infertility and her desperate prayer to change the destiny of a nation. He spoke and woke up a sleeping little boy and shared the future of the nation of Israel. He took a young man who was so shy, he hid out rather than be chosen as a leader. He takes another young man who when his family was asked to bring in all their sons, they completely forgot that he even existed. Then, God took a sling and a rock and took out a giant who was ridiculing His name.

  God loves to use the little things. He loves to bring about total reversals.

  The book of 1 Samuel could be pulled right from today’s headlines. There are wars, compromising religious leaders, political gamesmanship and intrigue, committed friendships, and even romance.

  It reminds us that there are no little things and no little people with God. It fleshes out that wonderful reminder found in Matthew 10 that God knows even when a sparrow falls and knows how many hairs we have on our heads. No one is a nobody with God. No one is a little person. Your life counts. You’re important to God. He’s got a place for you in His plan!

  Remember the last time that you stubbled your toe or got a splinter in a finger. All of a sudden something that previously seemed small and insignificant was very important. A match doesn’t seem important unless you’re in complete darkness.

  God designed you. He created you and He has a plan for your life. He uses those who surrender to Him, then what was small becomes huge.

  What changed? It all depends on whose hand your life is in. That’s the message repeated over and over again in 1 Samuel. Those who surrendered their lives to God, even though their lives seemed insignificant, made a difference in eternity.

  All of creation is created by God, blessed by God, loved by God. Even small, out-of-the-way communities; even unglamorous, common, run-of-the-mill places and things. Even young, scared, poor, forgotten people.

  God is the God of Reversals. He loves to use the little things and little places so that He gets all the glory! He loves to use “little people” like you and me! That’s one of the great messages of 1 Samuel. I hope that you’ll join us on this journey.

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address. 

 

Vladimir the Terrible

 “Man…does not do evil against his will, under pressure, as though he were taken by the scruff of the neck and dragged into it, like a thief…being dragged off against his will to punishment;               but he does it spontaneously and voluntarily.”  Martin Luther

   Do you remember the 2001 Pixar hit, Monsters, Inc.? The film centers on two monsters James P. “Sulley” Sullivan and his one-eyed partner and best friend Mike Wazowski who are employed at the titular energy-producing factory Monsters, Inc., which generates power by scaring children. The more the monsters make children scream, the more energy they collect. 

  One evening after work, scarer Sulley, discovers that an active door has been left. He inspects the door and accidentally lets a small toddler girl into the factory. The monsters in Monsters, Inc. are anything but monsters. They’re not evil or dangerous or even scary. They’re just misunderstood.

  But there really are monsters. Obviously, not the type found in Monsters, Inc. Our sixth president, John Quincy Adams, said, “America…goes not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy.” Inherent in his statement is the assumption that there really are monsters in this world.

  Yet, that’s the problem with our leaders in Western Civilization – they don’t really believe that there are monsters. There is a widespread belief that terrorists, tyrants, and demagogues are just misunderstood and if we could just sit down and talk with them, we could reason with them and come to some sort of middle ground. They’re not evil, they’re just trying to get their message out. That’s how Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri described September 11^th as a “message with no words” which is “the only language understood by the West.” Terrorism then as some political scientists describe it is only a “communication strategy.”

  It was that kind of naïve reasoning that led to then British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain to claim “Peace for our time” in his September 30, 1938 remarks in London concerning the Munich Agreement with Adolph Hitler. The phrase is forever remembered for its bitter ironic value since less than a year after the agreement, Hitler invaded Poland and World War II began after France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany following Hitler's refusal to withdraw from Polish territory.

  The leader of the independent Orthodox Christian Church, Metropolitan Epiphanius I of Ukraine, was more in line with Scripture when he recently likened Vladimir Putin to the Antichrist, “The spirit of the Antichrist operates in the leader of Russia, the signs of which the Scriptures reveal to us: pride, devotion to evil, ruthlessness, false religiosity…This was Hitler during World War II. This is what Putin has become today.”

  One of the most highly regarded books of the 20^th century was Ernest Becker’s “The Denial of Death.” It’s regarded as a classic for its analysis of how human beings deny their mortality. But there is something people deny more than mortality: evil. Yet, we are seeing evil unfold before our eyes in Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. In spite of the denial of those who also deny the truth of Scripture, the last century has seen more glaring evil than at any other time in human history. The descendants of Hitler, Stalin and Mao are Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin and the leaders of Iran, to name a few. The forces of evil in the world are now so powerful and so many and so difficult to corral.

  Iran continues to move ahead with its nuclear ambitions, which are a threat to both the United States and to Israel. North Korea has launched at least one hypersonic missile with nuclear weapons in the hands of an unstable, tyrannical, arguably insane regime.

  Consider the deceit and accusations of bigotry against any who dared to suggest that Covid-19 came from a Wuhan Lab. In spite of Communist China’s denials, the evidence seems undeniable. Yet, many Americans, especially the elite in the political class and media, immediately recoil in horror at anyone referring to China as an enemy because much of American foreign policy had been predicated for the last several generations on the opportunity of developing an unprecedented partnership with China that would basically create a new form of world stability. The United States now finds itself facing an evil world rival on an even greater scale than the Soviet Union through the entirety of the Cold War.

  It’s apparent that Putin is driven to be Vladimir the Terrible in his attempt to regain lost Russian glory. To understand Putin, one has to understand Russian history and the fact that what you have in Putin is a medieval mind with modern nuclear weapons. Putin’s understanding of Russia goes back to a ruler like Ivan the Terrible of the 16^th century.

  Historically, Russia has been led by despots, by tyrants, and there’s no national embarrassment for them in that. In fact, there is a sense of national glory tied to that kind of tyrannical leader and behavior.

  U.S. president after president, administration after administration watched Putin rebuilding Russia’s nuclear arsenal, even as the U.S. was spending less and less on defense. We’ve seen Putin not only build Russia's military but use it. Georgia, Crimea, Eastern Ukraine. No one should be surprised by what’s happening, yet most seem shocked, not just surprised.

  Understanding and knowing the Bible matters. Your worldview matters. As Christians, we must understand that. The Bible teaches, even when it allowed for kings, limited government. While the Bible does not provide support for one form of government over another, Scripture teaches a limited role of government.

  Due to our fallen human nature, God chooses to use government as a tool to uphold order, justice, and the rule of law. Thus, believers are to respect and pray for their leaders while submitting themselves to the authority provided by the government. Scripture makes clear that God has placed limits and expectations on the government. In the Old Testament, for instance, Israelite kings were expected to obey God’s laws as written in the Pentateuch. In the New Testament Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-14 teach the same with the focus primarily on justice,  law and order.

  Because of the evil of the human heart, the government is to be limited, controlled, and held accountable. That’s the foundational problem with Putin and other diabolical leaders, there is no accountability or control.

  But there is a God in heaven (Daniel 2:28). The same God who allows evil men to rise can and will take them down. While we do not know the future of Ukraine, we do know the future of this world. The King of Kings is coming back and one day there truly will be “peace on earth.” As the Apostle John said, “Even so come Lord Jesus” (Revelation 2:20, KJV). 

Can we help you spiritually? Can we help you know Jesus better? Please check out more resources on our church's web page, Gracechurchwi.org. Or, call us at 262.763.3021. If you'd like to know more about how Jesus can change your life, I'd love to mail you a copy of how Jesus changed my life in "My Story." E-mail me at Carson@gracechurchwi.org to request a free copy. Please include your mailing address.