“One nation under God, indivisible.”…but not invincible.

I read a very troubling story yesterday which I wanted to share (click here to read the full story).  A man by the name of Trevor Keezor was fired from his job at The Home Depot in Okeechobee, FL, for wearing a button on his work apron which had on it a picture of the American flag and the words, “One nation under God, indivisible,” a direct quote from the Pledge of Allegiance.  The Home Depot spokesman who spoke to this issue stated that, “This associate chose to wear a button that expressed his religious beliefs,” and that “expressing such personal beliefs is simply not allowed.”  While I know there are always two sides to every story and I will give The Home Depot the courtesy of waiting for them to have time to tell their side of the story, this appears to be yet another example of the sad truth that although we may be, “One nation under God, indivisible,” we as a nation are not invincible against the ploys of Satan, the pull of the world, and the pollution of sin.

After reading this story I typed up a letter to send to the Chairman and CEO of The Home Depot, Frank Blake (click here to read his bio).  Here is the letter I sent to him:

Dear Mr. Blake:

My name is Brian Parrish and I have been an enthusiastic customer of The Home Depot for several years.  My experiences with your stores have always been pleasant ones where I received great service.  I have never been disappointed with The Home Depot…that is until now. 

I read a story today about a young man, Trevor Keezor, who lost his job at one of your stores in Okeechobee, FL.  The story reported that he lost his job for wearing an American Flag button which read, “One nation under God, indivisible.”  According to Craig Fishel, a The Home Depot spokesman, “This associate chose to wear a button that expressed his religious beliefs. The issue is not whether or not we agree with the message on the button.  That’s not our place to say, which is exactly why we have a blanket policy, which is long-standing and well-communicated to our associates, that only company-provided buttons and badges can be worn on our aprons.”  The story also reported that before he was fired Mr. Keezor was offered another button which read, “United We Stand,” in exchange for the button he was wearing.

It is understandable that you are a private company who can set its own policies including dress codes, and that if those dress codes are not followed you can bring disciplinary action against the offending employee.  I would never want to take away from the rights our country affords to private businesses, but I do have some questions for you and then some comments.

Question 1:  According to your spokesman Mr. Keezor’s expression of his personal “religious beliefs” was part of why he was terminated.  Your company has stated, according to the report I read, that “expressing such personal beliefs is simply not allowed.”  Was this primarily an expression of personal “religious beliefs” or was it merely an expression of patriotism to the United States being that the quote on his button (one with an American Flag on it) was simply part of our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance?  I’m assuming you would never discourage or disallow the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of America.

Questions 2:  Mr. Keezor was offered a replacement button which read, “United We Stand,” another patriotic button.  What makes this button more acceptable and more appropriate?  Maybe the button offered said “The Home Depot” on it, I do not know, but assuming it did not why would that button be allowed while the other wasn’t if it was merely a dress code issue?

Question 3:  Mr. Keezor has reported that he had been wearing the button since March of 2008.  If this report is true, why was his decision to wear this patriotic button never an issue until earlier this month?  If this really was a serious breach of company dress code wouldn’t it have been addressed long before now?

Comment 1:  Mr. Keezor was wearing a button with an American flag on it along with the words, “One nation under God, indivisible.”  As stated above and as you know, this is a direct quote from our nation’s Pledge of Allegiance.  It is neither strictly a religious expression nor one-sided political propaganda and to call it either could be construed as unpatriotic.  Now, I would never say that you are unpatriotic, Mr. Blake.  I saw on your bio that you have publicly served our nation under Vice President Bush and Justice Stevens, and so I am sure you love and support your country very much.  Assuming you are a patriotic man leading a company that would never want to be considered unpatriotic, I am confused as to why The Home Depot would do such a thing and take this risk.

Comment 2:  I am puzzled and disappointed at the actions of The Home Depot in regard to this issue.  However, I am still reserving my decision of whether or not to completely abandon my patronage of The Home Depot because there are always two sides to every story.  I will wait in order to allow your company to fully give its side of the story.  If Mr. Keezor was proselytizing to customers on company time then that would be a completely different issue.  But, if this had been occurring I think it would have been reported by your company so as to avoid the public relations nightmare this could turn into.  According to The Home Depot’s spokesman, Mr. Keezor’s termination was merely because he “expressed his religious beliefs” by the button he was wearing thereby breaking the company’s dress code.  If this is the simple truth of the matter, I will have to cease any further business with your company as I feel this is a gross overreaction and offense against a person’s patriotism and First Amendment rights.

Final Comment:  You being a private company in a free, capitalistic America I fully acknowledge your right to set policies and dress code and hold your employees to certain regulations.  Having said that, when it comes to policies that limit a person’s right to reasonably show support for their country, it may be your company’s right to limit this but it will definitely have an effect on your business.  In this case, if the facts show that this situation is as cut and dry as it seems then you will have lost this customer’s business and I will make those I know aware of your seemingly unpatriotic stance.  And maybe it’s only the parts of American history and patriotism that mention or infer a belief in God (i.e. the Pledge of Allegiance, the Declaration of Independence, our National Anthem, etc.) which your company is against.  If this is the case then I do not know how in good conscience you accept U.S. currency since it has printed on it the words, “In God We Trust.”  This appears to be a major inconsistency on your part.  So, if everything is as it seems, as I would never want to do anything to make your company compromise its convictions, convictions which are guaranteed and protected under the same Constitution which allows Mr. Keezor to express his “beliefs” and support of America in the manner he was, I will kindly withhold my money from your stores.  I would not want the inscription “In God We Trust” to cause any offense to The Home Depot or to you.

Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.

A disappointed and most likely previous customer,
Brian Parrish

Here is The Home Depot’s corporate address if you would like to send a letter as well:

The Home Depot Incorporated
2455 Paces Ferry Rd
Atlanta, GA 30339

A Response to Evolution, both Theistic and Atheistic

This past Sunday I preached a sermon from Colossians 2:8-12, regarding the Supremacy of Christ.  In it I used the theory of evolution to illustrate one of the “hollow deceptions” the world uses in trying to “take us captive.”  In response to that sermon some questions were posed to me regarding how I refute evolution and how I can be so absolute in my belief against it.  Here is my response to those questions:

Okay, first allow me to define something about my belief (or disbelief) of evolution.  I can get on board with micro-evolution.  I do believe in species variegation in so far as God created a dog and through God’s immaculate, intelligent design of that dog He allowed for it to adapt to its specific environments through becoming different breeds over time.  I believe we do have evidence of minor changes of breeds over time, such as the birds that Darwin used whose beak sizes increased over time.  (We must acknowledge, though, that most of the birds on what is now known as Darwin’s Island in the Galapagos Archipelago now have the original sized beaks, so it wasn’t so much evolution as just the cyclical increase and decrease of certain types of certain species.)  I do, however, categorically refute and claim as heresy over and against the Word of God the concept of macro-evolution.  The idea that something came out of nothing (apart from God), or that man evolved from rocks over billions of years is simply not Truth according to the Word of God and, furthermore, does not even hold up to the Scientific Method.

Now, let me start from a Biblical point of view in response to “theistic evolution,” also known as “evolutionary creationism,” which is the belief that God did create but that he used the process of evolution to do it.  As for a literal six day creation, you hear many Christian scientists trying to find their place in the scientific community and the academic milieu by saying that evolution and creation (intelligent design) can be reconciled.  They claim that God started the process and then used the spectrum of millions of years to bring His creation to a full working order, and that the “six day creation” spoke of in Genesis is symbolic of that process over time.  Their claim is it is not meant to be taken literally.  I can appreciate the position these people are in but I have to disagree with their final assertion.  It seems one has to do far too much biblical interpretive wiggling and take unjustifiable liberty in their interpretation to get it all to work out.

The Bible does use symbolism and there are texts, although few they are, where time may be seen as a representation of an unspecified amount of time and not literal.  The Bible is usually more ambiguous when this symbolism occurs and uses less specific figures to represent this symbolism.  Usually where specific times are used as in days or hours, it is meant to be taken literally.  If these six days written of in Genesis are to be taken as symbolic then are we to take all reference to time as symbolic?  Did the Israelites march around Jericho for seven days or for millions of years?  Was Jonah in the belly of the fish for three days or for thousands of years?  Was Jesus in the tomb for three days or for many years?  In all of these other cases where numbers of days are given we accept them as literal days, but on the subject of creation Theistic Evolutionists call into question the literalness of these six days.  Why just these days?  If we question the specificity or literalness of the six days of creation then all amount of timing given in Scripture must become suspect and we must consider that it all could be merely symbolic.  And, as a point of understanding, the idea of theistic evolution was, of course, not on the scene until after Darwin made his views popular (only a little over 150 years ago).  This means that not only is it a very young view without the credibility of historical evangelical Christianity, it is a cosmological worldview created on the premise of and under pressure by a belief system created to support atheistic humanism.  Do we really want our beliefs regarding God and his work (our worldview) to be informed and corrected by atheistic humanism? (As a point of intellectual honesty, there have been a few in the history of the church who have questioned a literal interpretation of the six days of creation, i.e., Justin Martyr, Origen of Alexandria, and Augustine of Hippo.)

Many in their attempt to prove that the six days are figurative have pointed out 2 Peter 3:8, where Peter writes that to the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day.  In this verse, though, Peter is not giving us some kind of treatise on the use of time in Scripture.  He is referring to the return of Christ and that even though Jesus himself said His return would be soon, that could mean He could come tomorrow or he could come in 10,000 years or more.  Once again, Peter is not trying to define how time is used by the writers of Scripture but only to show the absolute eternality of God and His long-suffering and mercy in Him delaying His return so that as many as possible will be saved.  Here’s the verse in its context:

“3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.” 5 For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, 6 through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. 7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:3-9

It has also been pointed out how certain ideas (i.e. sun spots proving that the surface of the sun is not smooth and Galileo’s round earth theory) have initially been shunned by the Church only to be shown later as true scientific discoveries.  This is a regrettable part of the history of the Church.  The myopic nature of many in the Church has, unfortunately, been seen on several occasions (the Dark Ages, the Crusades, and the Inquisition, to name a few) and unfortunately it has put a stain on the reputation of the Church and of Christ in the world’s eyes.  So, we have this to contend with.  But there is a difference between the issue of the reality of the earth’s shape and the issue of the six days written of in Genesis.  Nowhere in scripture does it say that the earth is flat.  Nowhere in Scripture does it say that the sun is smooth.  It never denies the reality that the earth revolves around the sun instead of vice versa.  In no place does Scripture contradict anything which has been clearly shown to be true science.  (Unless, of course, you consider the miracles of the Bible, and though they “defy” the laws of nature they are fully accepted as specially effected by an almighty God who supersedes nature because He created it and sustains it.)  So, if a person in the Church disagrees with something like the shape of the earth they have nothing in scripture to back them up.  The Bible does, however, very specifically say without any indication of it being symbolic that the earth including the whole universe was created in a span of six days.  In fact, after each specific day of creation is described, Moses (who wrote Genesis) writes this, “And there was evening and there was morning…”  Moses is very specific in telling us what he means by day one, day two, day three, etc.  It was a time span consisting of an evening and a morning, a night and a day.  That’s pretty specific.  Then, after these six days, it is clear that creation is finished and God is finished because it says he “rested”.

This brings us to another question.  What does it mean that God rested for a day?  How long was that day of rest?  Is He still resting?  To say that the seventh day was a literal day while the rest of the days were symbolic of millions of years seems, in my opinion, to be quite erroneous.  They are all literal or they are all symbolic.  If the seventh day of rest is symbolic then we have a God who took himself out of the equation for a significant period of time and that line of thought is called Deism.  The theology of Deism says that God created the universe and then just left it to take care of itself without interfering.  It claims a distant and impersonal God.  The concept of creation which suggests that God used the process of evolution to bring about the world we live in brings people dangerously close to this heretical theology, if not right smack into it.   That’s what Theistic Evolution ultimately brings us to.  That God started it and then left it to its own demise.  If God is this distant, uninvolved God then the mere nature of creation is no longer in question alone, now we must also question God’s redemptive work throughout history and ultimately the reality of salvation itself.

Another philosophical quandary that comes up is: At what point in man’s evolutionary process between the points of single-cell organism, ape, and then onto full-fledged homo sapiens are we accountable for sin and in need of a savior.  Surely a single-celled organism isn’t pervaded by and accountable for sin.  Surely apes in their animalistic, instinctual nature are not considered guilty or, for that matter, candidates for salvation.  If they were originally apes, at what point did man become a “souled” being instead of merely a living creature on the same level of plants and animals?  Or do apes have souls?  If so, can they be saved?  And if they can be saved, will apes rein with Christ in the millennial kingdom?  Of course, this becomes more and more nonsensical as we go and yet this is the slippery slope we slide down as we begin to ponder all the implications of a belief in theistic evolution.

Now, in regard to the age of the earth, I believe in a young earth of about six thousand years give or take.  The reason I believe this is because I have done a timetable using the genealogies given in Genesis.  Between creation and the flood and then the flood to historical events that we can accurately date such as the Davidic Kingdom, the exile of the Jews to Babylon, and the crucifixion of Christ, it comes out to be approximately six thousand years old.  And as for many of the things which it seems an impossibility for them to have happened in a mere six thousand years, the reality of a cataclysmic world-wide flood can explain a lot about layers of the earth, great ravines such as the Grand Canyon, and other things of that nature.  Even the idea of Pangea can become a plausible theory in light of the flood.  Plus, as for carbon dating, it has been shown on numerous occasions to be grossly mistaken on its calculations.  For example a petrified piece of wood found in the northern United States was dated by carbon dating to be several thousands of years old, when actually it was proved to be only about ten years old.  So although I do not discount carbon dating completely we must recognize it does have its apparent problems.

So I deny all forms of macro-evolution, theistic and atheistic, based on a Biblical standpoint.  And if that’s all I had it would be absolutely enough for me.  I do not need science to prove or disprove something that is made so clear in the Word of God.

There is science, however, to back up intelligent design and a great lack of science for evolution.  The phrase “irreducible complexity,” holds a lot of sway for me.  It may have been coined by another source but I first became aware of this idea in a book by Michael Behe, a biochemist, called, Darwin’s Black Box.  This book very aptly pointsout the falsehoods and inconsistencies of macro-evolution.  The idea of irreducible complexity basically states that organisms, even single-celled organisms, are so complex in their makeup and design that to take away even a single part would make them dysfunctional and terminal.  Without one part of which all are vital for survival the organism would not have survived for even a short time let alone the millions of years presumably necessary for it to evolve into a functional organism.  Another great resource that I have used in my own research is the Discovery Institute made up of credible scientists many of which who are not Christians but all of whom recognize the lack of scientific evidence for evolution and the amount of evidence for intelligent design.  Here is their website address, http://www.discovery.org/csc.

Brevity was never my strong suit so this has been much longer than I planned.  Allow me to end with just a few quotes by Darwin himself and a few others in the science community.

“…the number of intermediate varieties, which have formerly existed on the earth, [must] be truly enormous.  Why then is not every geological formation and every stratum full of such intermediate links?  Geology assuredly does not reveal any such finely graded organic chain; and this, perhaps, is the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory.” – Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species, pg. 292

“The geological record is extremely imperfect and this fact will to a large extent explain why we do not find intermediate varieties, connecting together all the extinct and existing forms of life by the finest graduated steps.  He who rejects these views on the nature of the geological record, will rightly reject my whole theory.” – Charles Darwin, On The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, pg. 341-342

He says himself that the geological record (the fossil record) does not show any real proof of macro-evolutionary process.

“I will lay it on the line – there is not one such [transitional] fossil for which one could make a watertight argument.” – Colin Patterson, evolutionist, paleontologist, London Museum of Natural History, quoted in Of Pandas and People.

“We are now about 120 years after Darwin and the knowledge of the fossil record has been greatly expanded.  We now have a quarter of a million fossil species but the situation hasn’t changed much.  The record of evolution is still surprisingly jerky and, ironically, we have even fewer examples of evolutionary transition than we had in Darwin’s time.”- David Raup, Director, Field museum of Natural History (one of the largest fossil collections in the world), cited in David Noebel’s Understanding the Times

“If it could be demonstrated that any complex organism existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” – Charles Darwin, cited in Michael Behe’s Darwin’s Black Box

Well, modern day electron microscopy (something Darwin did not have the convenience of) has shown us the absolute complexity of even a single-celled organism “which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications.”  So this, coupled with many other points of fact (not to mention the teaching of Holy Scripture), in my view, absolutely breaks down Darwin’s theory.

The End of an Era

Well, after almost three years of working for LifeWay Christian Resources, my time there is over.  This past Thursday at 2:30 in the afternoon I was told that my department, the Church Relations and Consulting Call Center, was being deleted.  Although it was somewhat of a shock that it happened so quickly and that it was the whole department, I must admit it wasn’t completely unexpected.  LifeWay, like many other companies, is having to cutback in several areas because of the economy.  LifeWay has been a great employer and has been very good to me.  I hold no ill-will towards them.  Unfortunately, though, when companies have to do this, and I trust that it was necessary, it isn’t just numbers on paper but people’s lives that are affected.  So my only sense of sadness and concern is for my co-workers and for the almost 80 other LifeWay employees in other departments who are facing unemployment.

You always say that when stuff like this happens you’ll trust God in it, but you really don’t know how you’ll act until you’re in the situation.  If you know me at all you know I’m prone to be a worrier, but God was so faithful, as He always is, for when I heard the news there was just a peace and a calm which came over me.  Admittedly, about four months ago I started sensing from the Holy Spirit that a major change was about to happen in my life, so Katie and I were waiting for something to happen even though we didn’t know exactly what it would be.  We were a little prepared for this, but still, God gave me peace when I could have been worried and He provided joy when I could have felt devastated.  He truly is a Great and Awesome God!!

Job 1:21 says, “…The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.  Blessed be the name of the Lord.”  We can’t praise God in the giving and not praise Him in the taking.  We would be hypocrites if we did.  Yes, my job situation is different now and my future is unknown, but my Lord still sits on the throne and my salvation is still secure in Jesus Christ.  Nothing has really changed.  The Father who gives us every Spiritual blessing in the heavenlies is still my provider.  Although He used LifeWay to supply my needs, LifeWay was never my provider, only the instrument of provision.  And so I’ve lost nothing for God will raise up another instrument when the time is right. 

Until that time, I will wait in anticipation for God to show me what He has for me next.  LifeWay has given me a generous severence package so that is a blessing within itself and will give me some time to pray and study as God prepares me for this next step.  Please pray with Katie and I as we lift up my ex-co-workers. 

17 Though the fig tree should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
18 Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
                                         – Habakkuk 3:17-18

B-Daddy

Well, it is official.  Katie and I went in for an ultrasound on Monday and she’s pregnant.  We couldn’t be more excited about this news (and a little intimidated to say the least).  We covet your prayers as we go on this journey. 

Please check out our new family BLOG where we will post updates on momma’s and baby’s progress.

God’s Love and Wrath – Two Sides of the Same Coin

Several months ago a question was posed to me regarding the Love vs. Justice of God.  It is the age old series of questions, “If God is all loving then how come he seems so ‘mean’ in scripture, especially in the Old Testament?” or ”Why does God, who is supposedly all powerful and so big, command us to worship him and threaten very harsh things if we don’t?  Doesn’t that seem a little desperate and needy and not consistent with who he claims to be?”  Here was my lengthy answer to this question:

 

Before I begin I would say that God is God.  He is not a god or human.  He has the right to make the rules and if He wants to say if we don’t worship Him we will go to hell then He has every right to say that.  He doesn’t have to justify Himself and is not bound to show why this does not contradict His love.  We as Christians are not bound to this burden of proof either.  Our purpose isn’t to defend or justify why God does what He does, it is to spread the Gospel and the Truth whether the world likes it or not.  But, since we are called to a certain amount of apologetics, we will seek to do more than just say, “He’s God and He can.”

 

Secondly, I would say that God is Love, but he is not just Love.  He is God, and being God He perfectly is everything that makes Him God: Love, Mercy, Justice, Wrath, Holiness, etc.  His actions are never done out of just one of these attributes.  We cannot compartmentalize Him like that.  His actions are always out of all his attributes together in unison.  He acts not out of love, but out of Him being God; Love being a part of that but also Justice and Wrath being a part of that.

 

The first reason I would say He commands worship from us and punishes us when we do not (don’t forget, though, that He usually withholds His punishment for a long time so there is much grace involved) is because He is a Holy, Perfect God and He deserves our worship.  It is right to worship Him and Him alone and wrong not to worship Him and Him alone.  Since He is the Perfect, Just, Holy God, He cannot stand sin and therefore must punish the sin of neglecting to worship Him.  It is like a judge that does not punish the murderer or the rapist.  If he does not then we say he is an unjust judge and we remove him from his bench.  If God does not punish sin, then he ceases to be God because he is no longer Just.  Not worshipping Him is sin.  As God, He can only act Perfectly, and not punishing sin would be unjust and imperfect.  So He must punish people when they do not worship Him because He is God and ultimately can/will do no other.

 

Remember that, in regard to the Old Testament, Israel had entered into covenant with God to do all 10 commandments (two of them being worship the Lord thy God and to have no other God before Him).  If you neglect to pay your house mortgage you lose the house because you did not keep your side of the covenant.  Israel was not making good on their end of the bargain.  They had been told the consequences of not making good on their covenant from the very beginning at Mt. Sinai when they made the covenant.  One of those consequences was punishment from God.  It wasn’t like He was just showing up and saying to a random unknown nation, “Because you haven’t worshipped me I will destroy you.”  He was only holding them accountable to the promise they had made to Him.  At all other times God punished a nation other than Israel in the O.T., to my knowledge, it was never because they just didn’t worship Him.  It was normally because of their great wickedness and/or their harsh treatment of Israel, God’s people (Nineveh, Egypt, the Philistines, etc…).

 

The second reason I would say that God commands us to worship him is because He is Love.  As has already been said, God in his Perfect Holiness must punish sin.  To let it go unpunished would be for Him to cease to be God.  Since we are all sinners we all rightfully deserve to face the consequences of our sin which is ultimately hell.  God is not to be blamed that people go to hell.  Only we are to be blamed for our sin and for the consequences of that sin.  We are completely sinful and our sin does and will have consequences.  The only way for us to escape the consequence of hell is for our sins to have already been punished.  They must be punished, but will we suffer the punishment or will we accept the punishment that was placed on Christ thereby allowing us to personally escape the ultimate punishment?  God in His love desires us to miss out on that punishment.  He must punish the sin, but He has provided, through Jesus Christ, a way not to have to punish the sinner.  Because He is an infinitely loving God He uses consequences here on earth to guide us to the cross.  He is occasionally harsh with us here so we will be directed from His absolute wrath in hell.  That would be my second answer.  God brings upon us the consequences of not being right with him in this life in order to get us to come to Him in repentance before it’s too late.  Think of the parent who punishes his child for sticking something in an electrical outlet so that the child learns to avoid the outlet in the future keeping him from more serious eternal consequences such as death.  God brings on momentary, temporary punishment so that we may avoid eternal punishment.  His wrath and punishment this side of eternity are now shown to be his Grace and Mercy.  He disciplines us because He so loves us.

 

Thirdly, I would say that God demands worship so that we can be truly joyful.  I’ll let C.S. Lewis from his Reflections on the Psalms speak here:

But the most obvious fact about praise-whether of God or any thing-strangely escaped me. I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor. I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless (sometimes even if) shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it. The world rings with praise-lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game-praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. I had not noticed how the humblest, and at the same time most balanced and capacious, minds, praised most, while the cranks, misfits and malcontents praised least . . .

I had not noticed either that just as men spontaneously praise what ever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: “Isn’t she lovely? Wasn’t it glorious? Don’t you think that magnificent?” The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. My whole, more general, difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can’t help doing, about everything else we value.

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.

 

What Lewis communicates here is that God calling us to praise Him is Him allowing us to complete our joy.  It not only glorifies God and shows the world who we trust in being a form of evangelism, but also, as Lewis says, it allows us to complete our joy.  We are most joyful when we are allowed to express our joy in and gratitude for all God has done for us through worshipping Him.  God knows that we will be most miserable when we are not in relationship with Him, a relationship that is defined and filled with the praise and worship of Him.  Once again His love is seen here.  God commanding us to worship Him is not only what glorifies Him supremely, which He deserves, but it’s also what is most advantageous and blessed for us.  He is glorified and we are blessed.  It’s actually a pretty “love” filled and motivated system.  Once again we see that His Justice/Wrath never work independently of His Love/Mercy.  What a mighty God we serve!

They Love Jesus; They Don’t Like the Church

Kathy Franklin emailed me a great article this week regarding a generation who is in love with their Savior, but who has become disenfranchised with His bride, the Church.  I would encourage you to read it.  I have placed a link to it at the end of this post.

My favorite quote in the article from one young pastor is, “So many people live their lives avoiding hell instead of seeking the kingdom of God.”  Another quote in the article that hit me square between the eyes is, “Christians have become political, judgmental, intolerant, weak, religious, angry, and without balance. Christianity has become a nice Sunday drive. Where is the living God, the Holy Spirit, and amazing Jesus, the love, the compassion, the holiness? This type of life, how I yearn for that.”

It is true we must view the Church through the lens of the grace of God and realize it is not perfect.  And we must NEVER forsake the Church (read Hebrews 10:24-25).  However, we who have ears to hear must heed this word as the seven churches in Revelation were called to “listen.”  We have become satisfied with where we are, but where we are is nowhere to be satisfied with.  I see many of the things the seven churches in Revelation were guilty of present in the 21st century American Church.  Let not our lamp-stand, our effectiveness, be permanently taken away.  We have already lost much of our effectiveness to the current world we live in.  It is crucial that we return to our First Love to regain our intimate relationship with Christ and our effectiveness in reaching the world.

Click HERE to read the article.

Anthropomorphism, A Risky Business

Anthropomorphism is the act of giving human characteristics or attributes to something that is non-human.  “That book I read last week really spoke to me,” “The rushing wind made the flowers dance in the field,” and “This car is being stubborn and won’t start.”  These are a few examples of anthropomorphism.  This is normally a harmless practice used largely in literature to paint pictures with words.  It is also a great rhetorical tool in preaching which I have personally used often.  The danger, however, comes when we begin to use this in describing God.

First, we must understand that our limited human language is all we have and since none of us, so far as I know, have ever actually met God in person, the best we have to utilize in talking about God is our own human experiences and our own human attributes.  So to an extent it is necessary to use anthropomorphism when speaking of and describing God.  The fact that we were made in the image of God coupled with the fact that the Bible itself is full of places where God is described as having human characteristics forces us to admit that this is not unconditionally wrong.  The problem arises, however, when we begin to abuse this practice of ascribing similarities to God to pull Him down to our level instead of allowing Him, whose image we were made in, to pull us up to His.

There is a Bible study I was reading this past week which did this exact thing.  To be fair, the author is seeking to encourage the body of Christ in a world where many people, even many Christians, are cynical, jaded, and deeply hurt.  This is a noble effort and in many ways he was very encouraging.  The places I baulked at, though, were the places where he began to ascribe to God the attributes of humans which are results of the fall.  There are two places specifically I will mention as examples.  In one place he stated that because of the sinful condition of the world and of His prize creation, mankind, God has been, at times, “discouraged.”  At another instance the author said that “God is emotionally wounded” because of His children.  He used many Old Testament passages concerning the children of Israel to support this.  I will not disagree that we have caused God great disappointment, sadness, and anger due to our sin, but never discouragement and never emotional wounding.  To be wounded is to be less than whole.  Because God is self-sustaining, immutable, and sovereign He is never discouraged, He never changes, and He is never less than whole or perfect.

I understand what the author is attempting to do which is to demonstrate God’s emotional similarities to us to show that it’s okay to be discouraged or hurt because God has been as well.  A God who understands is the author’s point of hope.  This is not theologically wrong depending on which person of the Trinity you are considering.  When the author refers to God, he refers to God the Father as he uses Old Testament references to illustrate God’s emotional vulnerability.  In this I believe he has erred.  I will not argue that God understands our predicament as He is omniscient, all knowing, but His sympathetic experience occurs not with God the Father, but with the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, God the Son.  The author of Hebrews is very clear that we have a Savior who can and does sympathize with us.

 

Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.  Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. -Hebrews 2:14-18

Then in another place it says:

 

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. -Hebrews 4:15-16

 

Notice that even in describing Christ’s similarities the writer of Hebrews makes sure we know of the one glaring difference which allowed Christ to have victory over sin and death, both for himself and for us, and that allows us to now draw near with confidence to the throne of grace.  The difference is even though He was tempted in all things as we are, yet He was without sin.  That one exceptional difference is what makes all the difference.  It’s not how God is similar to me that my hope is based on.  It is the infinitely blatant distinction between His Holiness and my utter depravity that gives me any kind of hope for my present and my future.

 

We are most certainly created in the image of God and I would never ever say anything to the contrary, but let us never try returning the favor by recreating God in our image.  Instead of working so hard to bring God down to our level to reflect our likeness, why don’t we invest that time and energy into asking Him to make us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ.  If I may be so bold to take some liberties with the English language, let us stop our vain efforts to “anthropomorph” God and allow Him to “theopomorph” us.

 

Click HERE for a really great article on how God is the only one who always hopes; quite opposite to the view that God sometimes gets discouraged.

The Principle of Supply and Demand

I apologize it’s been awhile since I last wrote on here.  Time is a precious commodity and one I sometimes do not have enough of or don’t use wisely.  I am afraid it is more often than not the latter instead of the former.  Anyway, here is something I’ve been meaning to write for several weeks and just haven’t gotten around to it until now.  It was a week ago this past Sunday in Sunday School that I heard a very profound statement come from the lips of one of Woodmont’s young men, Luke Ross.  Allow me to share it with you.

I had prepared a lesson for that morning, but had forgot my notes at home causing me to have to choose a different passage for that morning, Ecclesiastes 5:10-20.  The discussion was in regards to how money and the things of this world (everything under the sun) never satisfies.  Solomon is very clear about this.  He says he has experienced everything under the sun and found it all to be lacking.  He calls everything of this world, even his superlative wisdom, vanity, or futile.  God and His gifts are the only things that truly satisfy.  His invitation and warning to us is to be satisfied in God regardless of what we have because that’s where true joy lies.  This is easy to say but hard for most of us to comprehend, let alone practice.

In the midst of our conversation I used the Principle of Supply and Demand as an illustration of how the things in our life are intrinsically worthless and only have value because we ascribe it to them.  The more something is demanded the more value it has (one of the most basic concepts in economics).  The less we feel the “need” for something the less value it has.  No material possession has true value of its own but only a forensic value which we place on it.  This is true of everything even money (the gold standard no longer backs the U.S. dollar).

The conversation was going well with the guys in class when Luke Ross made a very insightful observation.  Thinking of how the principle of supply and demand works in that the less something is demanded the cheaper it is and the more something is demanded the more expensive it is and then applying this to our Christian life he said, “So, the more we value things on earth the more it will cost us and the less we value things on earth the less it will cost us?”  I just looked at him and said, “Wow, Luke.  That’s exactly right.” 

We have this twisted perception that the things of this world merit our affection.  Because of this we do everything we can to get as much as we can.  But as Luke has so profoundly taught us, the more we value the things of this world the more costly it becomes for us.  We think that those things will be to our advantage, but it is actually quite the opposite.  Those things cost us time, energy, relationships, and joy.  We lose focus of what’s really important causing us to miss out on the truly valuable.  As Solomon said we spend our days and nights trying to get more instead of enjoying what we already have.  In his own words,

The one who loves money is never satisfied with money,
and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income…
This too is a sickening tragedy: exactly as he (the rich man) comes,
so he will go.  What does he gain who struggles for the wind?
What is more, he eats in darkness all his days, with much
sorrow, sickness, and anger. -Ecclesiastes 5:10, 16-17

The cost of materialism is too great!  So what is valuable?  A relationship with the Father.  Christians can be content in any and every circumstance because we already have the ultimate reward, a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  God the Holy Trinity is the only one with inherent, intrinsic value; value that is not given or merely perceived but value that just is, regardless.  And He is not just truly valuable.  He is ultimately valuable. 

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his own soul?”  It profits him nothing and costs him everything.  The more we value this world the more we lose, but the less we value this world and instead value, above everything else, our Creator and Redeemer we gain everything.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it;
but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
                                                        -Matthew 16:25

My Security Insecurity

This evening Katie and I returned home from work and realized our electricity had gone off some time during the day.  We knew this because looking at the clock it was 12:00 every other second.  Looking back now I wish I had given Katie a gift during the off second because it truly would have been the timeless gift (can I get a ba dump chhh).

 

Anyway, because the power had gone off our security system had gotten messed up and the box was beeping every few seconds.  So doing what all intelligent people do when they don’t have the pass code to their security system because the person they bought the house from didn’t give it to them, we just started pushing buttons.  I know what you’re thinking, “What a great idea.”  Well, it wasn’t.  It was in fact, not a great idea.  I know this because at exactly 12:00, or was it 12:00?  Yes it was, no it wasn’t, yes it was, no it wasn’t, yes, no, yes, no; stupid incessant, flashing clock.  At some point, the security box was fed up with all our button pushing and decided to let us know it had had enough.  It began to emit the most awful, ear-splitting noise out of its tiny little speaker.  If I hadn’t been so annoyed and deafened, I might have been impressed with how much noise came out of such a small speaker. Who knew Bose made security speakers?

 

In response to how badly our plan of pushing random buttons went, we, of course, continued pushing buttons, except this time with more intensity.  I don’t know why.  Maybe we thought that our initial round of button pushing hadn’t been passionate enough, or maybe we thought if we showed the security box that we really meant our button pushing that it would concede and stop its effort, apparently, to let people in Japan know that someone had really pushed its button (pun completely intended).

 

Finally we had had enough and in a real moment of genius I retrieved my wire cutters out of the garage, pulled the speaker from the wall, and there in our kitchen euthanized that speaker.  Who’s the boss now, speaker, or should I say, “the bose”?

 

Katie and I have since learned that we could have just disconnected the security box from its power source which we finally found in an undisclosed location in the house.  But where’s the fun in that?  I am happy to report that order and time have been restored in the Parrish house.  There is now a non-functioning speaker on our table and a couple of wires coming out of a hole in our kitchen wall, but other than that everything is fine.  And, I am certain I will be able to resurrect the deceased speaker once I reattach it to its wires.  I just hope it’s learned its lesson.  I know I have.  If I ever decide to start robbing houses I’m investing in a good pair of earplugs. 

My Sinful Waste of Haste

This morning I was a few minutes late to work because I was working on a video I had filmed at work two years ago tomorrow.  Our office did a mocumentary on Groundhog Day which I hosted, did all the video editing, and put together a DVD with the video and outtakes.  An easier and less time consuming job, I’m sure, for someone more gifted than I at media production.

Just last night and this morning alone I put in about 10 hours of work having to make several corrections on it due to the video editing software malfunctioning (thank you very much Pinnacle).  That doesn’t count the time filming and the editing time I had put in up to that point.  With all the time and effort put into it and feeling such a sense of urgency this morning so much so that I was willing to be late to work it really made me stop and consider how I spend my time and what I consider as “urgent”. 

The conviction of the Holy Spirit even now floods over me as I reflect on my morning.  Why was this of all things something I stressed over and at several points became very frustrated about?  All over the world there are great atrocities happening such as starvation, homelessness, poverty, genocide, and to top it all off over 4 billion people in the world who are lost and going to hell; and this video is the thing I chose this morning to be the most concerned about.  Oh, God, how evil and selfish my heart is.  What a Waste of Haste!

This was not necessarily a bad thing, putting together something that would bring joy and humour to the lives of my co-workers.  You might even say it was a noble effort (my co-workers definitely would say this because it got us all out of work for about 25 minutes).  But the value of the issue was nowhere near worth the focus it received.  My concern and conviction stems from the fact that not once this week or this past month have I been that overwelmed with urgency about people who are without Christ headed straight to Hell, or even about my own relationship with the Father.  Oh, God, forgive my apathy and misdirected concern.  Help me not waste my haste on trivial, temporal matters, but give my whole attention and life to eternal issues that have infinite value for my life and the lives of others.  Let not my life be wasted.

Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God.  But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception. – Hebrews 3:12-13