The Silent Killer

Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined That 'Self' Contains The Drug, Pride, Which Is Extremely Addicting And Is Known To Cause Death.

I recently prayed, "Make me humble, O Lord" but then, presumptuously, preposterously, added the clause, "but don't break me completely."

Bake me a cake but hold the flour, sugar, eggs and milk, will ya?

Rather like Augustine's famous prayer, "Lord, make me chaste, just not quite yet," I asked for the cake and wanted to eat it too. I am thankful He has a sense of humor and is a merciful and faithful God.

I think God purposed in my prayer, as it was, a revelation of self. Pride, you see, is the Silent Killer, and I think God has used this to show me, in gruesome detail, just how deeply my own pride runs. Once we are broken (and I am sure this is now a part of the breaking process) we no longer care where we were prideful. We no longer think of ourselves at all, becoming truly humble. But before that happens, I think God wants to show me my sin so that I may properly repent of it.

It was once said that conceit is the first sin to come and the last to go. It's the weed that seeds all the other sins in life. In asking God to show me my pride, He opened windows on Hell itself! Thankfully, believers are given assurance that we won't be setting foot there, lest I despair completely, for I see now that on every motive I hang a tag that says, PRIDE.

I speak to someone only to boost my standing in their eyes. I am a "pleaser of men," working, no matter how hard I try not to, more diligently in front of others. I even go out of my way to wear clothes that will make me appear more humble yet I can't comb my hair without wondering how Brad Pitt combs his. How we walk, what we eat, the projection of our voice, the words we choose, the intricate web of self that we throw up so we won't look so pale and thin.

Who is more proud than I? Perhaps none, but why do I even compare except to feed my own ego?

God did not purpose us to be pale and thin though. We are sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. That brings with it enough honor to raise the head of any beggar and enough shame to bow the shoulders of the greatest king. It is enough to be content(1). We are meant to shine with the Light of God, the light eternal and unwavering, brilliant, all consuming and yet, like the bush in the desert, non-destructive. Our own light however is pale and given to extinction, though it's hot enough to burn us to cinders and often does.

I figure that's why God must break us; the very material from which we make ourselves cannot withstand our own flame, much less the supernova of God. He must break us down in order to make us of firmer stuff.

Break me Lord, break me.

(1) Paraphrase from Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia.

How to Fight

[Jakarta] has asked how to use Scripture to fight temptation. This is going to be a bit long (is it ever short?) but I think this one needs to be. If you want the short version, then I say, trust in Christ and pray His Word, walk away and let the situation pass. If that doesn't help (which it should) then, read on.

Temptation comes to all of us, no one gets a free pass. But we have a King that faced it just the same as we and defeated it. Christ Jesus was tempted in every way but did not sin and He has given us more than just a few things in this. One, hope. Two, strength in the middle of it. Three, weapons with which to fight. Four, a companion to walk with through the dark valley, and lastly, Five, a way out.

Proverbs says the way a young man may guard his paths against evil shall be to know the Word of God. John says that Jesus is the Word. Knowing Jesus is the only way to defeat temptation - because He already has! So we have hope. He experienced the same things you and I do everyday, even to the point of death, but in not sinning, in submitting totally to His Father, God, Christ received His Father's glory and then He gave it to us. To us! We have hope indeed!

Christ also bestowed on us strength. Let me use an analogy. I'm a fairly strong guy (smelling, you say? funny you). But you don't know how strong I am until you pit yourself against me. You don't know how strong you are either. Until we arm-wrestle and give it a serious go, you have no idea how strong I am. And you certainly don't know how strong I am if you just give in each time because you assume I am stronger. Its all theory until it goes into practice. So in arm-wrestling temptation, and being the only one never to give in, Jesus is really the only person to ever know how strong temptation really is. He knows better than anyone else what you are going through, precisely because He never sinned.

So it's true, in knowing God, and relying on His knowledge and strength, Christians know more about Good and Evil than those who have never tried to put up a fight, nor care anything about God. People prone to evil acts, or giving into temptation, have no real idea of what evil is, because they have never fought against it. On the other hand, resistance builds muscles, even spiritual ones. Resistance also brings knowledge. Perhaps this is good reason God told Adam and Eve not to eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, because God knew full well that relying on His knowledge is far greater wisdom than that of Man's. As Jack Lewis once pointed out, a thoroughly bad man thinks he is okay, a moderately good man knows how bad he really is. And it is in knowing how bad you are that you appreciate how much God has done for you in His Son. Strength through Grace. Amen.

Third, how was it that Christ defeated the devil? Perhaps a more pressing question might be, how did the devil tempt even Christ, Himself? By quoting the Word. Satan always tempts us with just enough truth to water down the bile he attempts to feed us so we won't spit it up. He quoted Scripture to Jesus then he arrogantly questions what God said, playing on our own sense of knowledge, wisdom, and strength, wholly apart from God's. He catches us when we think ours is sufficient. Satan says to Christ, 'If you are God's Son, do this, for it is written...' 'Did God really say...?' Now, how do you know what Scripture Satan is quoting or what from what context it was given if you don't know the Word, yourself? Christ answers Satan every time by quoting more of God's Word back to Him because He knows the Word well enough to respond accordingly. So must we. You need to know God's Word, memorize it, keep it in your heart ready to pull out at a moment's notice.

God's Word out of context is a weapon against us, but in context, with a Spiritual understanding, God's Word is a weapon against temptation. We must rely on the One who embodies and fulfills the Word, the One who knows the Word fully, Christ. And He knows the Word, because He IS the Word. God's Word is our weapon. Jesus is the Sword and the Sword Wielder.

We are given a companion to walk with as well, for the same reason that He is our Strength, the Weapon and the Wielder. He experienced it, fought it, defeated it. He knows well the paths you must travel and is there to help you along the way.

And for the very reason that He made it through this world by the Strength of God, has shared that Glory and Strength with us now, and walks with us and loves us with (truly) an undying Love, He is our way out. He really is all we need. So get to know Him well and let Him know you fully too, trusting Him with all your troubles.

If you need Scriptures to help with certain temptations, get your Bible, perhaps a good concordance, and memorize those helpful to you. I will give a short list, but as Satan attacks each of us differently, we must really be prepared to fight him according to how we are usually tempted. For instance, if it is sexually, you may want to remember

1 Corinthians 6:18-20, "Flee sexual immorality! 'Every sin that a man does is outside the body,' but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."

Remember this and recite it over and over each time you are brought to temptation, then flee, as it says. If you are tempted by the magazine racks, avoid them. If you are tempted by someone in your office, pray and physically turn away (or purposely act like a moron - he/she will think you're an idiot, but your spouse will think you're a hero!)

Perhaps you are tempted by material items?

Psalms 119:72, "The law of Your mouth is better to me Than thousands of gold and silver pieces."

Recite that, pray fervently and then walk right out of the situation. Trust in God to handle your temptation for you and He will. It will pass, I promise and the dawn will break. The Son will Rise again.

Taking Christ at His Word

I was chatting with Drew over lunch, which we should all do more of (with each other, and with Drew - he's full of gems that come out over a spread at TGIFs) and the convo went something like, "I prayed for God to open my eyes and show me my sins," says I. "Yeah, didn't think that one through did you? God is faithful to give, remember? Bet He wholloped you one, didn't He?" Oooh, yes, indeedy He did.

The more we talked about it, it kind of occurred to us that seeing our own sins so we can repent of them is good, but staring them down is not repentance. Repentance means turning away and not looking back.
I was getting down because I saw my own filth and realized, I'm still looking at myself and not at the Light!
Jesus came to make us free of our sins, not just to show us better what they were! He opens our eyes not so that we would be more afraid once we knew the bog we were wallowing in, but so that we might see and thank the Man dragging us to safety.
Now I realize its time to stick my hand out to others wallowing as well.

Shane Claiborne said once, "Pastors were telling me to lay my life at the foot of the cross, but not giving me anything to pick up."
So, my big question. How can a man, married with children (brum da daa dum, brum da daa dum (hum along)) like myself give his life up for Christ and yet still take care of his family? My wife sure won't go for moving to Calcutta and living in a shanty with Meg on a dirt floor while we feed the poor. There must be a way for us men to live for Jesus - and take the things He said seriously - and to make a difference here in Tokyo, one of the bigger cities of the world. There is much to do here, the harvest is ripe!

Can someone be saved while living a life of sin?

Can a person be saved living a life of sin? Of course. When they
accept Christ, they are saved once and for all. (Thank God for
that!!!)
But the Bible exhorts us to test ourselves to see if we are really of
the faith. If you really have faith in Christ, you won't WANT to sin.
We had the Law before, but now we have the Law of Christ. Kinda like
your parent's told you to brush your teeth when you were little and
they were strict about it. But now you are older, you don't have to,
but you know you should and you rather want to (in part because you
know what happens if you don't and also, because you like it. Its
refreshing - just like doing the "right" thing.) One day we will be in
a world without sin, where morality won't really be spoken of except
as maybe kinda of a joke. As for now, if someone is vehement about
sinning, willfully sinning, with no regard to his Faith - indeed
against it - then I would say he may not be Christian. He is calling
"Lord, Lord," but with no real regards to the Lord. Doing things for
himself and saying they are for Christ. If I do something in my own
father's name, but i don't really check to see if its in line with his
plans or will or "morals" (and I SHOULD know anyway, as I am his son,
right?) than, I'm not really doing it in his name, am I? Its in my
name with a lie attached to it. Something likely to make him mad.

On the other hand, the individual may have the Spirit of God in them,
and God has much to work with, so that the person may simply not be
mature enough yet to a) know the difference or b) its so ingrained in
them from a past nature, that God is kind of fixing the foundations
before he starts building new walls. God will never satisfied with a
coat of paint or wallpaper. He wants the whole thing down. Not a stone
left. He is the stone. He doesn't want a better looking apartment or
even a house. He wants a mansion. He is coming to live in it Himself.
That is why people who are "nice" are not necessarily saved. Having a
pretty house or even a mansion is wonderful FOR THE WORLD, but if its
only tenant is you, you are still just ... you. And no matter how big
that mansion YOU have built is, when God comes, he is going to claim
ALL of it.

Do you get what I am trying to say? The Lord is not
concerned with appearances, even beautiful ones. He is concerned with
reasons. (and that includes the forthcoming actions, "faith without
deeds is dead") And the main reason He is looking for, is Him. Like I
said yesterday, that is nothing to do with His being proud or wanting
more, He is simple THE thing, THE being, THE most real, wonderful and
true thing there is. (Even saying that sounds weird) But since HE IS
Reality in and of itself, unless you are based on Him, you really have
nothing to stand on. And humans are unique in this world (perhaps the
universe) in that we alone can choose where we stand. Nothing else
really can. So when we choose to stand on our own, we are really
standing on nothing. If your friend is of the opinion that his actions
are still his own, then he would be very surprised to find out that
they are more a collection of things that has come flying at him his
whole life, opinions forced on him and desires of libido, moods of
digestion, and tastes of the palate. His own real opinion or desires,
he has probably never known, and certainly not understood. A man can
only truly understand himself in the Light of Christ. That is why so
many throw disdain on the Lord, because they haven't come to see What
or Who He Is. And when they do, they just fall down and cry HOLY HOLY
HOLY.
It is easy to say you love God enough to die for Him. Muslims kill
themselves (and others) everyday in that regard. But do you (or I?)
love Him enough to LIVE for Him - even to the point of someone killing
you over Him?

Is your friend going to Heaven? I don't know. But if he says "I trust
my soul to Christ, and give my whole heart to the Lord God Almighty in
Christ's Name" then yes. Can your friend say that and mean it? (Can I?
I hope so. And my Hope is Christ.)