The Lord God is a jealous God and he does not want us to put in place anything that we value more than him! Exodus 20v5 - in the passage where God gave Moses the 10 commandments - says "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God”; there are similar passages in Exodus 34v14 and Deuteronomy 4v24.
The first of these passages says we are to 'break down the altars, smash the sacred stones’ of anything that does not worship God alone.
I am a Christian and do not have any carved idols or sacred stones, so I can race past such Bible passages without seeing any relevance for me.
But one of the ways in which we see whether we are genuine about loving God is when we seek his guidance. For it is here that we often put in place provisos, limitations and loop-holes. When our prayers take the form:
- “Lord, if you will do this for me, then I will do that for you" - then we set up a proviso
- “Lord, I will happily do this for you, but I couldn’t do that” - then we put in place a limitation
- “Lord, please let me know what you want me to do, and I will do it if I can” - then we leave ourselves a loop-hole.
And by so doing we are revealing those things that we value more than God; in effect, they are false gods!
We are very good at setting limits on what we will allow God to do! Sometimes we are directly disobedient, and will not obey what we know is right, but much more often we simply and subtly put in place provisos, limitations, or loop-holes in what we are prepared to do for God. Frequently these sound very good, even ‘Christian’, and much less blatant than the examples above.
For example, I am fairly new working in my current work place, which is a mission counselling centre, and am about to take a leadership role there. So, here are some of the things that I want for this job:
- I want our centre to be successful in supporting people who are going through difficult times
- I want our centre to be an example of what good missionary care looks like
- I want us to contribute to the mission of supporting those who are in the front line of sharing the gospel to those who have not yet heard
- And I want to be a good team leader
These are some of the things I care about - and there is nothing wrong with them. Except that God is a jealous God, and He is not really interested in my ideas, but He is interested in whether I am open and obedient to His plans!
If I am just concerned about what I want, it leads me to praying like this:
- Lord, please help us to be successful in supporting missionaries
- Lord, please make us an example of what good missionary care looks like
- Lord, please make me a good team leader
- etc.
And these prayers all centre around asking God to do my will! I need to tear down these good ideas of mine, these altars in my heart. For God is a jealous God and He will not stand for things that I love more than Him.
Like God testing Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, God requires us to let go of the very things we love the most.
For it is only when we lay down our good ideas, and the limits we try to place on God, that God will show us His perfect way forward. God will not guide us while we set limits, or if we are just going to consider His leading! Our ideas may be ‘good’, but they are not as good as God’s perfect plan!
God is a jealous God, but He is also utterly loving - His desire is not to thwart us, but to bless us!
When we set limits, we are probably trying to protect ourselves – after all, I am frequently afraid that God will ask me to do something that is too difficult. But God’s purpose is not to curse us, but to bless us! He wants nothing but the absolute best for us – as individuals, couples, as families, and as Christian organisations. He really does not want us to have second best by going after some other goal or god, however good they may look, when we can be truly safe and totally blessed by following wherever He leads us!
So, next time we face some decision, or seek God’s guidance for the way forward, remember that God does not want us to experience anything less good, less safe, less perfect, than He has planned for us. We are to say to Him, "Show me what to do and where to go, and I will do it; I put no restrictions in place. The things I care most deeply about, even if they are good, I will put them aside to follow wherever you lead."
For God is a jealous, and absolutely loving, God.
We have been surprised a number of times in the various churches in Nairobi that we have been to in recent months, notably the first time we saw we saw gifts to the church being blessed. Traditionally Kenyans eat with spoons, so when a member of the congregation gave a large number of spoons to the church, these spoons were blessed by the pastor for the members’ future use.
I admit that initially this struck me as strange, but, on reflection, I think they are on to something. Very clearly the attitude was that all gifts, even spoons, are gifts from the Lord, and are to be used in ways that bless the Lord through the members of the church. Nothing is to be taken for granted or used carelessly, it is all His provision and to be used accordingly!
Coming from a materialistic culture, it has made me realise how much I take for granted that most things can just be bought, used and, sooner or later, thrown away.
So this week we blessed some new dustbins that a member had given to the church to help keep the compound clean…
So, the next time we go shopping - whether for food, household goods, clothes, cash from the hole in the wall, or whatever - how about we come back home and dedicate their use to God’s glory?
The story in Matthew 14 of Jesus feeding the five thousand with just five loaves and two fish, is well known.
Having moved continents recently, I have realised that there is a cultural component to how food is shared when in a group. Back home in the UK, when invited to eat with others, we do a kind of mental calculation about the quantity of food available. For example: ‘there are 8 pieces of chicken and 6 people, so I better take just one piece; to take two would look greedy!’ In this way everyone has their share, and the awkwardness only comes later when considering seconds, and then we say ‘No, after you’, ‘No after you’ etc, or perhaps engage in some more devious manoeuvring to increase our chances of getting one of the two remaining pieces of chicken!
In some African cultures, the sharing of food is handled quite differently. The first person to help themselves takes all the food they would like, with no thought that there may not be enough for later eaters. This is not an expression of greed, but simply a different understanding of responsibility.
In the British model, it is the eaters’ responsibility to ensure everyone has food and so they calculate their share. In the African mindset, it is seen as the host’s responsibility to ensure that there is enough food for everyone, and so if the people at the end of the line end up with nothing, this demonstrates the under-provision by the host, not the greed or insensitivity of those at the front of the queue. In the event of the food running out, the host is expected to go and prepare some more.
But, if you are anything like me, I find it difficult not to look at those ‘greedy and insensitive’ people at the front of the queue who have left me without! It is very difficult to put my British mindset aside!
Back to Jesus and the five loaves and two fish.
Imagine yourself sitting in the crowd - a huge crowd of "about five thousand men, besides women and children” (Matt 14 v21), and one of the disciples eventually gets to where you are sitting. You can see that he only has a bit of bread and even less fish, and there are many, many people behind you, still waiting to eat. How much bread and fish do you take?
My first thought was to take just a tiny piece of bread - like at a communion service! - and maybe a flake or two of fish. Even that is more than my share! So I see it as a symbolic meal rather than an ‘eat-all-u-can’ offer that you sometimes see at a restaurant.
The trouble is, that in doing this, I have robbed myself of feasting on Jesus’ abundant provision; I have not realised that the Host is very well able to provide all that I - and everyone else - could possibly need, and indeed much more!
And this Bible passage tells us that He can, and He did!
... is thinking that we already know the answer!
This is an issue in every area of life, but it is a particular problem for people of faith. As Christians we have a precious truth that we know and must not be compromised. And yet, if we think we already know everything about our faith, we are greatly mistaken! So, how do we continue to be open to learning more of God, while holding firmly to what we already know?
Moreover, we have another related problem: we have inevitably already added onto the core Biblical truth all manner of 'knowledge' that we have unconsciously accumulated around it. This is an encrusted layer of culture and a multitude of assumptions that we have collected while growing up and through our life's experience - but which are not actually there in the Bible! We have ended up with a 'boat encrusted with barnacles', which slows us down, make us unresponsive and difficult to steer. But we are so used to all this stuff we 'know', that we don't even realise that underneath this encrusted, misshapen faith of ours, there is smooth pure truth.
We no longer seek to learn, for we already 'know'. So we shut our minds to new understanding, and we also resist having the barnacles of our unredeemed ‘knowledge’ scraped away! We continue to wear our blinkers, oblivious to the far greater truth that God wants to reveal to us!
So, how do we keep our hearts and minds open to God’s further revelation? (Note: I do not mean to imply that He has ‘new truth’ to reveal to us, merely that we have much more of God still to know.) How do we keep growing and learning whilst not changing the Gospel already fully revealed through Christ and recorded in the Bible?
Of course, this is not a new issue. The early church leaders wrestled with the same question, and this was part of what led them to lay down the early creeds - those fundamental truths of the Christian faith that were not to be compromised. The creeds are surprisingly short!
When we think we know, we are at the greatest risk of pride. Where we are certain we know, we are most vulnerable to deception! In fact the very things we hold most dear are likely to be the same areas where we are blind and deaf to Jesus' challenging love, where He desires to show us more of His grace - and yet we will not listen!
Can we daily come in an attitude of humility, with two prayers: "Lord, what more do You want to show me?" and "I ask You show me what I think I ‘know’ that is not really of You".
The greatest block to being open to Christ is thinking that we already know the answer!
On the first occasion I visited Africa I was advised not to carry any expensive belongings, for example, not to wear an expensive watch in case it was stolen. My 30-year old Seiko didn't seem like an obvious target, but I did as I was told and instead wore a very cheap black rubber Casio watch, and I survived, unthreatened, unscathed; in fact I felt welcomed and accepted wherever I went.
But it set me thinking about what thieves steal. I remember when DVD players were first available, they were expensive and few people had one - and they were targeted by thieves; then mobile phones, then laptop computers, now smart phones and tablet computers are common targets.
But why do we set our sights on such minor things?
We probably only see the things that are just one or two steps beyond our reach, instead of those items which are beyond our comprehension entirely. While a thief looks at my watch or camera, I look at my neighbour's slightly newer car and slightly bigger house and think how nice it would be to have such things; however, I don’t pay any serious attention to a 'super-car' or a mansion, as these will clearly never be within my reach.
But there are things that are much, much more valuable than any such possessions and are readily within our reach and to which we pay little or no attention.
Perhaps we assume, wrongly, I am convinced, that being able to have an abiding sense of peace, to have good relationships, to have a sense of purpose and fulfilment in life, and to not worry about current circumstances - are all well beyond our reach? They may even be beyond our comprehension, as we perhaps assume 'life is stressful; that is just how it is'! So we grasp for the tiny things that appear to offer some momentary respite, a fleeting happiness; trinkets of little value, and are taken in by ‘jewels’ made of glass, which are worthless and easily shattered!
Yet we covet that bigger house, and plan and scheme for how we can earn a little more or save a little harder, or hope that we may win the lottery, or find out whether the building society will give us a mortgage based on a higher than usual multiple of earnings… And then we don’t know whether the mortgage rate will go up and make the payments impossibly high, or whether the price of houses will go down instead of up, leaving us trapped in negative equity. So, if we do acquire that desired house, we find ourselves worrying even more!
The disabled man in the Bible (Acts 3 v1-10) was not only unable to walk, but was an outcast from his society. But when Peter and John came along, all he asked for was money! But looking at him they saw his real needs - to be able to walk, to be accepted by God and to be restored into society. And that was what they gave him in the name of Jesus - not money! And he leapt to his feet, went into the Temple and praised God.
Why do we set our sights so low? Why covet one thing or another, when what we really need is peace and to be restored? These are available in Jesus name!
The current psychological orthodoxy is that we are most fulfilled when we are being most wholly 'true to ourselves’. The belief is that 'whatever I am is good and should be fully expressed’, and out of this comes one strand of the rights agenda.
Yet there seems to me to be an inherent flaw in this argument that I don’t hear expressed.
So how should we express and be ourselves? Should we express those inclinations that are clearly bad? For example, as we naturally covet the things that other people have, should we go ahead and just take them; if I am naturally a thief, then should I go ahead and be a thief?
Most people would recognise this a bad idea, for thieving is not just illegal but is immoral, unethical.
What about if I am naturally drawn to watch pornography? Should I go ahead and express this side of myself? This is a legal activity (where it involves adults), so the judgement is not about legality, but can be about morality or ethics, for those involved in the production of pornography may be coerced or indeed trafficked! It is also a question of whether this behaviour enhances or damages my own life and those around me.
Yet we use the argument about having a 'right to be myself' as if it is a self-evident truth and without any consideration of whether a behaviour is good or bad, ethical, moral, life-enhancing or harming.
So, how come it is acceptable, indeed good, to resist the temptation to be a thief or to act in other ways that are damaging, and yet we still claim our ‘right to be ourselves’?
For Christians, the matter is explained by the fact that we were made in God's image, yet are fallen beings living in a fallen world:
- Christians know from Genesis that God made men and women in his image; alone of all creation, humankind is said to be made in God’s image (Gen 1v27). After all, if God made us good (Gen 1v31), it is incumbent upon us to be who God made us to be!
- Yet we are all ‘fallen’ (see Gen 3), and in fact, not very much of what I am is actually good even by human standards, let alone by God's standard!
So we rely on the God the creator to distinguish what is good and to be expressed, and what is fallen and is to be rejected.
In fact, if I recognise that I am a fallen, sinful being, rather than harming my well-being or stunting my expression of myself, I am free to enjoy a fulfilling relationship with God, with others and to be fully the person God created me to be.
There is no ‘right to be myself’. In fact, be yourself at your peril!
There are two common pitfalls into which Christians may fall.
First, there are many good Christians who know Jesus as their Lord and King. They know that the Bible is God’s Word and is to be obeyed, and they know about the seriousness of God’s judgement. They know that God is the Lord and King who commands – and they are to obey. And when they read ‘Do not be afraid!’ they hear this as a stern rebuke. So they grit their teeth and go and try to do what God has commanded - in their own human strength.
Second, there are many other good Christians today who revel in God’s love for them, feel his personal touch, His loving caress (as it were), they know his voice, and are familiar with him saying “Do not be afraid for I am with you” and they know these are the words of the Good Shepherd and lover of their soul. They enjoy being in his presence, loving and adoring him. But they may miss his command to obedience, to strike out beyond their comfort zone and be obedient to his command.
The first group know Jesus as Lord and King, but may know much less of Jesus the Shepherd and about staying in His presence as He comes alongside them to put His arms around them; they may have little experience of His presence close to them and His touch deep in their lives and how He can work in and through those who rely entirely on Him.
The second group know Jesus as the loving Shepherd, but they know much less about Jesus’ as the Lord and King who expects to rule in their lives and commands obedience.
What does a King do? He commands and rules, and expects to be followed, to be obeyed; he is a judge, and is all-powerful, and is to be feared …
What does a Shepherd do? Guides, leads, feeds, protects, gathers together, holds close, goes looking for the one loved, lost sheep …
If you just know Jesus as Lord and King, you don’t know him fully. If you just know him as Loving Shepherd, I’m sorry to say you don’t know him fully either. He is both! You cannot separate these characteristics or choose the facet that happens to suit your inclination or preference. If we hold to one facet without the other, we are worshipping nothing more than a man-made creation, not Jesus of the Bible; one without the other is unbiblical(1). Jesus is the Shepherd-King!
For those who do know Jesus as their Shepherd-King, when he calls them to do something quite outside their normal experience, in obedience to their calling they may move well outside what is comfortable, but all the time they remain in the familiar arms of their loving Saviour who says: "I have commanded you to do this, but do not be afraid, for I am right here beside you; I can accomplish this through you even though you cannot do it yourself!”.
However, even when we are submitted to God's will, this does not mean that we are immune from difficulty, for he leads us through, not around such experience. But we can pray that most difficult of prayers, “I put myself into your hands, with no preconditions, trusting that wherever you lead, and whatever happens, you will be there with me.”
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(1) If you are unsure about the Biblical basis for this, here are some references to get you started:
- Isaiah, prophesying of Jesus, said: "‘Here is your God!’ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm.
… He tends his flock like a shepherd: he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart...” (Isaiah 40 v9-11)
- David is the prime ‘type' of Jesus in the OT, and he was a shepherd-king. In 2 Samuel 5v2 it says: "All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, ‘We are your own flesh and blood. … And the Lord said to you, “You shall shepherd my people Israel, and you shall become their ruler.”’
- Matthew and Luke tell us about the birth of Jesus. There were only two groups of people who came to see the baby Jesus: they were shepherds from the hillside and the Kings (or Magi). Is that just a coincidence? (Matt 2 & Luke 2)
- Jesus, who made it clear in many places that he had come to bring in the Kingdom of God, also said “I am the good Shepherd” (John 10v11).
- Jesus is described in many places as Lord or King, but he is also described as the ‘Chief Shepherd’ (1 Peter 5v4)
If you are a person who knows Jesus primarily as Lord and King, go and do a study on all the references to Jesus as Shepherd. And if you are a person who knows Jesus as your Shepherd, go and do a study on Jesus as Lord and King. See how often the two appear, and how often they appear together, side by side!
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I am grateful for hearing a talk on this subject from Ellel Ministries, and acknowledge their input into this post.
