Honor Your Parents to Maximize Joy

 All of the 10 Commandments maximize the joy of the entire community.  Show me a community of people that follow all ten and I will show you a thriving, joyful community.  I'm betting I won't see a community like this until I reach Heaven's shore.  Sin kills joy; God's commandments are designed to give us full joy.  The 5th commandment is no different.

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you."  Exodus 20:12

Commandments one through four primarily deal with our vertical relationship with God.  Commandments five through ten primarily concern relationships within the community.  And following one, two, three and four certainly helps enable us to do five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten with gusto (read Psalm 119 if you aren't sure about the gusto part).

So, why should we follow Commandment #5?  How does it increase the joy of our community?

1) Strong Families are a Foundation of a Thriving Community.

How was this wandering group of Hebrews to become a thriving nation that persists in the Promised Land?  Answer: honoring their father and mother.  Yahweh gave them the secret sauce for having a long-lasting civilization and it was families in which the children, even grown children, honored their parents.  In societies in which parents are not honored the old are discarded, the young are wild and grow to become insufficient adults, and those in the middle are driven to give up.  In societies where parents aren't honored eventually no one is honored.  Think back to the key phrase in the chaotic book of Judges: "...everyone did what was right in their own eyes."

Some of you are thinking through the exceptions to the rule, but we know that this commandment is foundational to good communities.  Yes, we know that the Apostle Paul has to remind fathers not to provoke their children to wrath in response to this command (Ephesians 6:4), but honor usually begets honor in the family which begets communities that seek to outdo one another in giving honor (Romans 12:10).

2) Parents Can Enjoy Parenting.

Kids, do you want to know a secret?  I will tell you what I have told the youth group and my own teen:  

In the game of life parents enjoy being their kids' cheerleader far more than their referee.  

This isn't to say that parents never will set boundaries.  I'm saying that once boundaries are set it is a tremendous killjoy to have to repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat where the boundaries are.  It is a pain in the butt to be the enforcer.  "This hurts me more than it hurts you" makes so much sense to me now.  I hate being the heavy.  I love cheering for my kids when they do all the many things that are permitted in our family, rather than punishing for the few things that aren't.  

Anger, resentment, frustration and the like are contagious.  Have you ever had two phones call each other, put them on speakerphone and then place them next to each other?  The feedback loop is awful.  Anger, resentment, frustration and the like can create a feedback loop from Hell in the family and in the community.  Joyous honoring and cheering for one another can create a Heavenly feedback loop in our families and community.

Children, imagine how nice your life would be if you lived in a home like this.

3) God Knows Best.

Perhaps you have tried to honor your parents and you aren't feeling any joy.  Maybe you have a truly dysfunctional, crummy parent.  Unfortunately, in our broken world there are times you have to honor your Heavenly Father and trust that there will be fruit from the seemingly fruitless obedience to commands like this.  

I wish I didn't know parents that don't deserve very much, if any, honor; but I do.

When we come across those parents that aren't worthy of honor; when we come across those moments when our own normally good parents aren't worthy of honor, what do we do?  We honor them anyway.  We must never forget that our Heavenly Father really does knows best.  We can never forget that we were shown immense honor and grace while we were still dishonorable rebels fighting against a Perfect Father.  When we failed at honoring our parents, Jesus honored His Dad enough to follow through when His Father's plan included His being killed as a sacrifice for us.

Discover the joy of following the 5th Commandment today. 

Remember the Sabbath

 Iowa midwest values don't often directly fly in the face of one of the 10 Commandments, unless you're talking about #4.  We are bad a Sabbaths.  Outside of Fareway (if you don't get the reference, you're not from Iowa) we pride ourselves not taking a break, let alone a whole day.  

I'm bad at this, too.  I pride myself on the number of hours worked and the volume of games I broadcast.  I am bad at saying "no" to various obligations.  I'm not good at keeping the Sabbath and that makes me a sinner in this regard.

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.  Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God.  On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.  For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day.  Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."  Exodus 20:8-11

In a culture of taking pride in hours and days worked and in a culture of go, go, go, run, run, run; why should we Sabbath?  I'm preaching this to myself.  Why should I Sabbath?

1) I Am Finite.

The Sabbath reminds me that I am not infinite.  I have an end and I reach it if I do not rest.  Taking a Sabbath is a recognition that I need it.  If I don't recognize that I need it my health, mental and physical, will remind me.  God gave me the Sabbath to rest.

2) I Need to Remember That God Takes Care of Me.

Too often I work as though my existence depends upon it.  I work hard, not only because I enjoy it, but also because I think I am self-reliant.  Do you remember the story of the manna in the desert?  God rained down bread from heaven for the people of Israel.  For five days they gathered enough just for that day, but on the sixth day they gathered enough for two.  On the Sabbath they were not to gather manna. 

"Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.  Then the LORD said to Moses, 'How long will you refuse to keep my commands and instructions?  Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day He gives you bread for two days.  Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out.'  So the people rested on the seventh day." Exodus 16:27-30

There are times when I ignore the Sabbath in order to be more productive, only to realize, like the Israelites, that my Sabbath work is in vain.  God takes care of me through my efforts and in my rest.  There are times I don't Sabbath because I think other people need me too much.  Remembering the Sabbath reminds me that I am not God for myself or for other people.  God can take care of them much better than I can.

3) The Sabbath is Holy.

I am called to pray without ceasing, always rejoice and always give thanks to God (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).  Every single day I should rejoice and be glad in that day (Psalm 118:24).  But I know that Sundays are different.  I know that my time with the gathered local church is special.  God knew this, too.  The Sabbath is a holy (set apart) day unto the Lord.

4) The Sabbath is Made for Me.  

In Mark 2:27 Jesus said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath."  This passage has much to say and one thing it says is the Sabbath was designed by God for me, for us.  I can treat the Sabbath as a burden or a blessing.  Jesus says it is a blessing.  

This most recent Sunday I thought of this blessing.  We all went to church and enjoyed worship and conversations with friends.  We came home and took a good nap.  Then we went out and had our first fire in the new backyard fire pit before supper.  As the kids ran around playing and we sat by the fire I felt blessed.  That one day made the work of the week worth it.  That one day is lodged in my mind as a good memory.  It charged me.

5) God Told Me to Remember the Sabbath.

This one really should be enough, if I'm obedient.  Father knows best.

I'm bad at Sabbathing.  I need to get better at this.  I need to take time to take time.  Join me in trying to Sabbath better this week.  

Remember the Sabbath today.

Don't Misuse His Name

 I would rather people use the "F-word" than say the name of Jesus Christ as a curse word.  It is like nails on a chalkboard to me, especially when they use it in a way that brings other people down.  

I was taught growing up to not use the Lord's name in vain.  No OMG and no JC's were to come out my mouth, but is that the extent of the third commandment?

"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name." Exodus 20:7

The King James Version, which I grew up learning this verse in, says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain."  What does it mean to take the name of the LORD in vain?  What does it look like to misuse the name of Yahweh?

First, I do think it means not using it to curse others.  I don't think it should be used as an umm, as so many OMGers use it.  The way my parents, and your parents likely taught it, is solid.  But does it mean more?

I see my God's name misused in so many ways.  Rather than using His name to bless Him or bless others it is used to further our own agenda.  We see this every single November.  Team Donkey and Team Elephant use God's name to court voters.  Neither party and hardly any individual power seeker is excited to submit to God's Name but they are more than happy to woo Christian voting blocks with strategic utilization of Bible verses and God mentions.  Marketing executives throw enough God talk in to sell their product.  Bands that have ceased to believe in Jesus keep up the charade for the sake of the business until they can no longer stomach it.

I also misuse Christ's name.  I bear His name.  I proudly wear the name of Christ as a "Christ"ian.  Christian means "little Christ", yet I do not love my neighbor well and I enjoy the very sin for which He died.  When we fail to live changed lives we "are slandering the noble name of Him to whom we belong" (James 2:7).  Will we be perfect? No.  But when we show no interest in or effort toward bearing the Name well we bring dishonor on the most honorable name.  We must strive to live a life worthy of our calling (Ephesians 4:1) or we misuse His name.

God's name is not a joke.  His name is not a curse.  Jesus' name is not a tool to secure votes or a sale.  God's name is not to be held like an insurance policy, but rather as a high calling.  

We must repent of using His name in vain.  "...for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses His name."  Beware!  But thanks be to God that the One He sent wore the name in a most glorious way.  Jesus didn't bring shame to God's name but instead succeeded so well in using God's name that Jesus has now been given the name above every name (Philippians 2:9).

Use God's name well.  Be like Jesus and crucify the pursuit of your great name and pursue the fame of His.  If we can do this, we can keep the third commandment well.  And when we fail, and we will, we must lean on the work of Jesus to cover our sin.

Don't use the LORD's name in vain today.

Beware of Idols

 What does Jesus look like?  What does God the Father look like?  What does the Holy Spirit look like?

Most of your answers likely break the second commandment.  We are given some pictures and metaphors of God, but for the most part we are not given images of any of the persons of God.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James, Peter, John and Jude all had seen Jesus and none of them offer a scrap of physical description (save for Revelation when we have an apocalyptic vision of Jesus with feet of brass, eyes like fire and a sword coming out of His mouth).

I firmly believe that nary a physical description of Jesus exists in the Bible because if we had these details we would end up worshipping a picture of Jesus.  If we were supposed to know, Dr. Luke could have said, "He was sort of tall" or Matthew might have said, "His hair was shorter than most."  We aren't given a description because we are prone to making and worshipping idols.

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.  You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:4-6

This command certainly prohibits the worship of idols representing other gods and much ink has been spilled about that.  This command speaks against the actual idol in a yard I passed by this week, it scolds me for the times I have given a flag more reverence than I have given Christ, and it speaks against the physical things we treat as gods in our lives.  The Bible is clear that worshipping idols is evil and downright stupidly useless.

But why is commandment #1 "You shall have no other gods before me." If commandment #2 means the exact same thing?  I don't believe that it's simply a prohibition against making representations of false gods.

Making a physical representation of the real God will lead to the creation of a false god.

Consider what the Israelites did a few chapters after the recording of the Ten Commandments.  Moses, who was their intermediator between them and Yahweh, was on the mountain.  The people got tired of waiting for him and asked Aaron to make them gods.  So, Aaron fashioned a calf out of gold.  Then it says this:

"'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.'
When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, 'Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.'" Exodus 32:4b-5 (read LORD as Yahweh)

The golden calf wasn't supposed to be a different god but it was supposed to be the real God, it was an idol of Yahweh.  In the instant after making this idol, supposedly of God, they had a festival that was simply loud revelry and "running wild" (v. 25).

Alongside attempting to make idols of God Himself, we must also be wary of turning things from God into idols.  We must avoid thinking the cross in our sanctuary or on our necklace is a good luck charm.  We must not think the communion cups themselves have magical powers.  We are prone to do this.

In 2 Kings 18:4 we learn that the bronze snake that God TOLD Moses to make in the desert had been turned to an idol.  The people took a good, God prescribed object and turned it into an idol that later was called Nehushtan.

The Second Commandment is one we need to take more seriously. Does the commandment forbid objects in our worship and stained glass in our windows?  I don't think entirely.  Does this commandment prohibit our felt-board depictions of Jesus and our Easter Passion plays?  Maybe.  I don't know how to effectively do children's education, visual story telling, religious art and the like without ever attempting a depiction of our Lord.  But I do know that if the depiction becomes your perception of our Lord you are harboring an idol.  I do know that God is serious about this command even promising generations of curses and blessings based on the Israelites' keeping of the commandment.

Here's the bottom line.  We must have our perception of God the Father, Son and Spirit most and best shaped by the Word of God.  I'm not asking anyone to protest the use of the Jesus film or anything like that.  I just know that I wish I didn't have images of a long brown haired man or a giant white bearded man in my thoughts of God.  I know that my false images of God wildly miss the majesty of all He is.

This understanding of the Second Commandment took me a while to process.  I don't expect you to be any different if this is new to you (though you're likely wiser and more obedient to the Word than I). I do ask you to consider how we can avoid breaking this commandment today.

No gods Before Me

 Over the next several posts I want to look at the 10 Commandments.  These commandments are so familiar and yet likely rather unfamiliar to us.

In Exodus 20 before God issues the 10 commandments He says:

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." Exodus 20:2

The Lord begins like this to establish that He has the right to give commands to the people of Israel.  Yahweh says that He is their God, He is their creator and supernatural leader.  He says that He is the God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt.  In this statement He says that He has redeemed them, or purchased and rescued them, out of slavery and therefore now has rights over them.  God could very well say the same to me even though I have never been enslaved in Egypt.  God made me and He rescued me out of the dominion of darkness and brought me into His kingdom (Colossians 1:13).

God has the right to tell us what to do.  He had the right to dictate the kind of people Israel would be as He established them as a new, free nation.  So, what does He require of us in the 10 Commandments?

"You shall have no other gods before me." Exodus 20:3

God called Israel out of a land of polytheism into strict monotheism.  There is but one God and Yahweh is Him.  The people had seen Yahweh's dominance over the Egyptian gods of the Nile, the sun, frogs and whatnot during the ten plagues.  Israel was not to return to bowing down to any god but the real God.

Not many of us have other gods we say we bow to.  Not many of us would say that we struggle with polytheistic tendencies.  But do we?

I believe we do have other things that tend to be functional gods in our lives.  While we may not call them gods, we have things that function as gods.  When life gets tough we lean on the god of financial security.  When we want joy we look to the god of perfect Instagramable moments.  When we want wonder we turn to the god of sports excellence.  When we want direction we turn to the god of politics.  We are experts in turning the many goods in our lives into gods in our lives.  We turn innocuous things into toxic objects of worship and adoration.

But I argue that the biggest threat to keeping the first commandment is a would-be god much closer than the bank or the stadium.

Self.

Our culture is run by the priests of self worship.  We are implored to pursue our own happiness.  We are saluted and applauded for defining our own identity.  We are urged to determine our own destiny, to be the master of our fate the captain of our soul ("Invictus" by William Ernest Henley).  We are encouraged to find our own truth.  In the Garden of Eden the serpent  tempted Eve by suggesting that God was afraid that we would be like him and discover that we were just as capable as He is (Genesis 3:5). 

Today the pharisees of the Church of Self reenforce the worship of the god in the mirror and all the sacrifices the Trinity of Id, Ego and Superego require to be satiated.

"You shall have no gods before me."

This short, simply commandment requires our utmost attention.  This sentence demands that we focus our gaze on the God that rescued us out of slavery.  This sentence makes the believer recalibrate his or her worship regularly.  It makes us ask: what do I cherish, what do I find security in, what do I find joy in, to what do I sacrifice?

Next post we will look at the next commandment, but for now this commandment has given me plenty to consider and plenty to repent from.  

Be monotheistic in every sense of the word today.

Happy 30th Birthday, Christine!

 Today is my wife's 30th birthday!

She is spending today pregnant with my child and navigating "hold me" requests from my other two children and hanging out with her parents.  She is the wonderful mother of my children.  She is my best friend and lover.  She is a gift from God to me.

I have been blessed to have spent most of her 20's loving her.  

I first laid eyes on Christine in January of her 20th year.  She sat in the front pew as I spoke to a group about Ephesians chapter 6.  It was not love at first.

 Later that Summer I began to notice her character and personality and started to become interested.  By the Fall I had taken her out on our first date and I quickly fell in love.  

In January of her 21st year I proposed to her.  We were married in August of her 22nd year.  I hit a home run.

In years 22, 23, 24 and 25 I loved her deeply as my beautiful wife.  In May of her 26th year I began to love my Christine as the mother of my child.  In November of her 28th year I loved her as my beautiful partner in foster parenting  In February of her 28th year I loved her as the mother of my children.

On her 29th birthday I began to love her as my lovely quarantine partner.  Year 29 of Christine's life was, to say the least, an odd one and yet a wonderful one.  I'm so glad to have been madly in love with the woman I've spent so much time with.

Christine, loving you during your 20's has been a privilege.  The love we've had, shared and made during this span of your life has meant so much to me.   My only regret is I didn't love you at first sight that January morning.

Christine, a toast to a more normal year in your 30th year, for all of us.  And a toast to this new decade of me loving you being even more deep, rich, rewarding, satisfying and fun than the last decade. 

Thank you for letting me love you today.

My Phone: Good and Evil

 My wife was out getting a few things and I was outside playing with my kids as the warm sun hung overhead.  I grabbed my phone to check the time and without a thought pushed that blue square.  I had a notification.  That red number one had to be eliminated, so I clicked.  It was an invite to a page that a woman I went to high school with had invited me to join.

I shouldn't have clicked on that.  I didn't notice that page was an "only fans page".  Upon clicking there was the woman that was three years behind me in high school wearing a few pieces of floss.  I didn't need to see that and I declined the invite.  I got out but noticed the invite was still quickly accessible, so I thought I could swipe it to delete the request and avoid the temptation to see a nearly naked woman.  Whoops.  The swipe took me back to it and I had to back out again.

Meanwhile my kids continued to play.  I should have just kept playing.  I didn't do anything wrong by seeing the photo that was sprung at me, but I could have avoided the entire situation by remaining present with my kids.  

Our phones have the ability to access deeply sinful things.  I'm keenly aware of the pornographic power my phone has, and it terrifies me to think about my son having one some day.  I'm keenly aware when I'm on social media how tempted I am to be a jerk (you might not be surprised how quickly I think jerkish things and have to try not to type them).

Our phones can be boon and bane.  They can lead us into temptation, but they can also be used for great good.  

There are many ways in which my phone helps me.  I have less frustration and therefore my wife and I have fewer arguments thanks to GPS.  I'm better at my job thanks to instant information available from my pocket.  I'm able to talk to my sister in Australia face-to-face for free.  There are ways upon ways I can use my phone for good, but I want to highlight one easy good use for the phone.

My church has committed to spend 24 hours collectively in prayer on the first weekend of each month.  We sign up for times and we spend that time praying.  I've made my monthly prayer (so far) a time of prayer with my phone in my hand and I want to encourage you to try this some time.

I take the church directory and begin typing out my prayer for the person on that page in a text to them.  It's not anything extravagant, but just a paragraph or so of my prayer to God for them.  Then I send it.  That's it.  I don't try to make it through the directory, in fact I never get that far.  I set my timer on my phone for 30 minutes and have been surprised each time how short 30 minutes of this kind of prayer can be.  

Our phones are boon and bane.  I invite you to try my suggestion, or find another way, to use our phones to encourage and build up those we love.  

Try praying with your phone in your hand today.