Know Your History

History was always may favorite subject in school. I loved learning about past people, events, wars, etc. In eighth grade I had to do a massive history paper where we researched a principle character involved in the American Civil War. I picked Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, and dove into learning as much as I could about him. For some reason, projects like this fascinated me. To this day, I love reading a good biography, historical account, and even the occasional piece of historically-based fiction.

As I read through Psalm 106 today, I realized anew how important it is to know our history in the context of our faith. In Psalm 106, the psalmist essentially summarizes the history of Israel from their slavery in Egypt to their exile in Assyria and Babylon. The contrasting themes in the psalm are the recurring rebellion of Israel and the unwavering love and faithfulness of God. The people of Israel had very short memories when it came to God’s miraculous deliverance and provision. They failed to adhere to the covenant, and thus God would allow famine, war, and eventually captivity to overtake them. The people would then realize how foolish they had been and cry out to God for help — and he was always faithful.

It struck me that Christians, collectively and individually, are no different from Israel. It’s easy for me to read the Old Testament and scratch my head saying, “How could they forget so easily?” But then I stop and think about how I am so much like Israel. The psalmist says of Israel, “…they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did. They served their idols, which became a snare to them…Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds. Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity.” I read those words over and over, and felt like they could just as easily have described my life, and the church at large. Instead of continually remembering all that God has done through Christ, and instead of living under the law of the “Spirit of life” (Romans 8), I fall into patterns of sin and seek after what the world has to offer.

We need to know our history. We need to study the Scriptures and the history of the church. We need to see the thread of God’s faithfulness weaving its way throughout the centuries. And we need to remember the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. Israel always had a hard time remembering God’s miraculous acts of deliverance. As Christians, we must never forget the miraculous deliverance and victory brought by Christ.

Paul wrote in Romans 8:14-17,”For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided that we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” We need to remember what God has done for us, and why He has done it.

God has brought us out of bondage and slavery to sin, so that we might live in relationship with Him — just as He brought Israel out of Egypt so that they would live freely under His rule. We must take care to avoid the amnesia that plagued Israel. Know your history. Remember who God is and what He has done. And then live in light of it.

Economic principles to live by

 In October 2008 I posted an entry entitled “A Christian response to the economic crisis.” The post was my attempt at approaching, from a biblical perspective, the economic havoc that was taking place during that time. Well, just shy of three years later we are experiencing similar instability. Congress bickered for weeks over a new debt reduction bill, and since the bill was passed and approved by President Obama the markets have plunged significantly, the U.S. had its credit rating downgraded, and there is general unrest over it all.

MSNBC was on in the breakroom at work tonight, and there were some “experts” talking about the stock market and various routes people should take with their investments. As these people were talking one of my coworkers said that she was “really scared” about what is happening on Wall St. I don’t think that she is the only one. Many people are fearful over what the future holds economically. I simply do not share these fears. When my coworker was expressing her trepidation, I simply could not relate to it. This isn’t because I don’t realize the importance of money or have a grasp of the cost of living. I don’t think I’m at all naïve about financial things.

My lack of fear comes from the fact that my treasure is not in earthly financial systems. I am not invested in Wall St. The fact of the matter is, as a Christian, I know that my future is entirely secure in Christ. I need not fear even the total collapse of the economy. God is faithful, and he has preserved his people through thousands of years, great wealth, and extreme poverty. And he will not neglect to provide through this most recent upheaval and its aftermath.

Below are three economic principles that I posted in my October 2008 entry on the economy. These are principles that have freed me from much worry over the economy and my earthly financial security. I pray that they might bless you as well:

1. Live in light of eternity. We must recognize that while this life is important, our existence does not end at death. Life is not a race to see who has the most toys at the end of the day. 1 John 2:15 says, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” Ander verse 17 states, “The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” We cannot embrace the world system in which we live because it will ultimately be destroyed. We must live with an eternal mindset.
2. Pray only for needs, not riches. When Jesus taught us how to pray in Matthew 6, he did not tell us to ask for God to lavish extravagant material riches on us. He simply told us to ask for “our daily bread.” God will give us all that we need to survive, if we trust in Him to provide. If we place our hope in the stock market, we will be disappointed. In fact, if we are faithful, God will give us more than we need. But we would be ill advised to ask Him for superfluous riches.
3. Accumulate true riches. We ought to flee from the love of money like Joseph fled from Potiphar’s wife. 1 Timothy 6:10-11 tells us, “For the love of money is the root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.” Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.”

It is in times like these where we as Christians especially must examine ourselves to make sure we are not succumbing to the lies of our culture that money somehow brings happiness, satisfaction, and fulfillment. As we can see now amid the economin turmoil, money guarantees absolutely nothing. In the end, all it will guarantee is grief if we allow it to take up a seat of importance in our lives.

Misunderstood

Earlier today, my brother told me about a recent news story which reported that Sacramento Kings forward DeMarcus Cousins had the word “misunderstood” tattooed on his leg. Controversial professional athletes have a tendency to claim that they are misunderstood in order to justify their questionable behavior. It’s kind of like prefacing a potentially offensive statement with, “No offense, but…” Just as one can still be offended by a “no offense” comment, so it is that people might actually understand Mr. Cousins perfectly well.

In John chapter 8, Jesus tells a crowd of people that they have failed to fully understand his message. And it is a misunderstanding that is far more impactful than anything DeMarcus Cousins could claim.

Jesus is speaking to a crowd of “Jews who had believed in him” (v. 31). These Jews are having a hard time wrapping their minds around Jesus’ teaching when he said, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (vv. 31-32).  Perplexed, the crowd informs Jesus that they had never been enslaved to anyone in their lives, so what exactly are they being set free from?

Jesus then goes on to explain their enslavement to sin, but they simply cannot wrap their minds around Jesus’ teaching. John reports that, despite their belief in him, these Jews were out to kill Jesus because of his claims of divinity.

Jesus, recognizing that the people are unable to comprehend his connection with the Father, lowers the boom on them in verse 43. Jesus says, “‘Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.” 

This hit me like a ton of bricks when I read it. In recent months, I have been seeking answers regarding God’s will for my life. I have spent the three months since my college graduation unsuccessfully seeking my “dream job.” My prayer times have yielded little in the way of a picture of what God might have for me. Reading these words has caused me to ask the question, what if I am not getting an answer because I cannot bear to hear it? What if I have put God into a box, limiting him to just a few “acceptable” options about what I might like to do with my life?

Jesus was not one to mince words in his public ministry. He said what he needed to say, leaving nothing out. But his teachings were often incomprehensible to earthly-minded hearers, who simply could not bring themselves to think from another perspective. The Jews had their idea of who the Messiah would be, and Jesus did not fit it (even Peter fell prey to this after Jesus had predicted his own death).

I am convinced that I, along with a whole lot of other people, have the same problem when it comes to comprehending what God is trying to say. I come to God with my mind already made up and expect him to accept with my terms. Or I come to him with a couple of job possibilities and ask him to bless one or the other, never asking him whether either option is in accordance with his will.

I must be willing to truly submit to God and the path that he is leading me on. The last few months have not gone according to plan…my plan, that is. But there is no doubt that God is using them to show how small my faith in him really is. Why have I not been able to understand what God is saying and where he is leading? It is because I cannot bear to hear what he he really has to say. Until I can learn to come to him with open hands, open heart, and open mind, I will never be able to truly grasp his will for my life.

“The Discipline of Disillusionment”

I recommend that you find a copy of My Utmost for His Highest, the powerful devotional book penned by late-nineteenth/early twentieth-century  Scottish minister Oswald Chambers. Amid the mire of trite and trivial devotional books out there these days, Chambers words stand out as a jewel. It’s not Scripture of course, but it is rooted in Scripture and always encourages further study and meditation of Scripture.

Today’s chapter is entitled, “The Discipline of Disillusionment.” Here are a few lines that caught my attention:

“…the disillusionment which comes from God brings us to the place where we see men and women as they really are, and yet there is no cynicism, we have no stinging bitter things to say.

“There is only one Being Who can satisfy the last aching abyss of the human heart, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Our Lord’s confidence in God and what His grace could do for any man, was so perfect that He despaired of no one. If our trust is placed in human beings, we shall end in despairing of everyone.”

These three quotes tie together Chambers’ thoughts throughout today’s reading; and I think that he has hit the nail on the head. I think that one of the greatest problems we have, inside and outside of the church, is that we fail to account for the depravity of others. As Christians it is pretty easy to recognize our own fallen nature. However, I think a lot of us (perhaps most of us) operate under the assumption that other people are perfect. What’s especially dangerous is that this is often a passive assumption. In other words, we don’t even consider the fact that other people are just as depraved as we are.

Why is this a problem? When we carry the assumption that the people around us are perfect, life becomes no more than a series of disappointments and failures. Expecting perfection from imperfect beings is a recipe for disaster. We will always be let down if we expect perfection.

Strangely enough, I think that this problem is most prevalent inside the church. In the society at large there is a general aloofness and distrust towards other people. That’s why we have locks, alarm systems, pepper spray, etc. But for some reason, within our churches, we have this expectation that the people around us have all their ducks in a row (so to speak). One would think that Christians would be the most aware of, and sensitive to, the depravity of others. So why are we so shocked when the sins of others are dragged into the open? When prominent pastors fall? When churches split over doctrinal minutiae? When divorce rates among Christians are consistent with wider culture?

Why are we shocked by sin? Because we don’t account for it. This has to be one of the most destructive tactics that Satan employs against the church. If we do not account for the sin of other believers, we will always be appalled when we see it. The disillusionment that Chambers espouses is not a cynical dismissal of others. Rather, it enables us to truly embrace others and to love them for who they really are.

As Chambers points out, our God pursued relationship with us having our depraved nature fully in mind. God is under no illusions that we are perfect beings. Jesus himself “knew what was in man” (Jn. 2:25), but he was not dismissive. He responded with the greatest love imaginable. The heart of the gospel is that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8).

We must recognize that God is the only perfect being. He and He alone can satisfy our desire to be completely and perfectly loved. We must trust in the power of his grace to overcome the sin in our lives and the lives of others. We should not expect perfection from others; we should acknowledge the presence of sin and call upon God to exercise His transforming grace. The Bible is filled from cover to cover with detailed accounts of depraved people who are changed by the power of God.

If we are equally confident of human depravity and the ability of God’s transforming grace, we will never be shocked by the sin of others. Rather, we will be released to truly love others as we anticipate what God will do in and through them.

The Focus of our Devotion

Yesterday morning I woke up and got out of bed hoping to have a nice, relaxing morning. I wanted to make a hot cop of coffee, listen to some music, and have quality time reading my Bible and spending time with the Lord. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Needless to say, my morning did not exactly pan out how I had hoped. When I came downstairs there was a pile of dishes in the kitchen, so while my coffee was brewing I began washing pots and pans and loading things into the dishwasher–most of which, I noted, I had not been responsible for in the first place. This process took a considerable amount of time, far exceeding the time needed to brew my coffee.

By the time I finished with the dishes and sat down with my coffee–about 25-30 minutes later, it was no longer up to my temperature specifications. Lukewarm coffee is not nearly as enjoyable (and for those who might suggest the microwave I offer two rebuttals: 1) I was using my microwave-unsafe San Francisco Giants 2010 World Series Champions mug, and 2) the microwave tampers with the taste of the coffee).

I decided to get by with the lukewarm coffee and sat down. As I got my music ready to go and began my devotional time, a request to make a run to the grocery store interrupted me.  I was frustrated by this request, as I knew that it removed any possibility of achieving the desired outcome of my morning. I begrudgingly went to the store and returned just in time to leave for my brother’s baseball game (which we arrived late for, adding further annoyance).

Do you see the irony in the above story? I was so committed to what I wanted–MY music, MY Bible study, MY prayer time–that I was thoroughly annoyed by having to serve and meet the needs of others. This dawned on me later in the day as I was still dwelling on my “lost morning.” The reality is, my morning didn’t have to be  “lost.” I had the opportunity to joyfully clean up around the house and go to the store so that other people didn’t have to, yet I chose to dwell on what I could have been doing instead.

My intent here is not to marginalize time spent alone with the Lord. Such time is vital to maintaining a healthy, vibrant relationship with Him. However, the selfish way with which I approached my time with Him on this particular morning distracted me from being obedient in service to others.

I think that it is common for Christians today to allow their piety to inhibit their service. There seems to be somewhat of a disconnect between what happens on Sunday mornings (or Wednesday night or Saturday night) and in our quiet times, and how we live and interact with people on a daily basis. I am reminded of Jesus’ words in Matthew 15:11-18:

And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

We need to be very careful when it comes to emphasizing different worship rituals over the actual content of how we live our lives. Jesus condemned this type of living when he encountered it, teaching that what comes out of us (e.g. how we live) is far more important than the pious appearances we may construct through “devotional time.” When I cast my personal time with the Lord as more important than living in a Christlike manner so that others might be drawn to Him, I am in error. On the contrary, a healthy devotional life will energize our desire to love and serve others. The natural result of a relationship with the Lord is an overflowing of His love out of our lives onto other people. We must never think that our time is too valuable to spend on others.

 

Quote of the Day, from Oswald Chambers:

The real fasting of the preacher is not from food, but rather from eloquence, from impressiveness and exquisite diction, from everything that might hinder the gospel of God being presented.

A Healthy Appetite

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” -Matthew 5:6 (ESV)

The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:2-12), for good reason, is a passage of Scripture that receives a lot of attention. Anyone who has spent more than a few years in the church has likely heard many messages exploring the rich depth of these proverb-like statements of Jesus delivered in the Sermon on the Mount.

In my most recent encounter with the Beatitudes, I was particularly struck by the fourth statement of Jesus–that God blesses and satisfies those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. The appetite of the Christian ought to be righteousness. What does it mean to have an appetite? The definition is quite simple: “A desire or liking for something.” The funny thing about our physical appetite for food and water is that it cannot be satisfied just once and then never addressed again. Abstain from food and water for too long and your body will begin to function improperly, with death following soon after. We cannot physically survive without meeting our appetite for food and water. We have a natural desire for them.

Jesus’ words here in the Beatitudes are foreshadowed by his temptation at the hands of Satan in Matthew 4. After being baptized, Jesus went out into the wilderness and fasted for forty days and forty nights. As Matthew astutely points out: “he was hungry.” It is at this time that Satan comes and tells Jesus to “command these stones to become loaves of bread.” Considering Jesus’ ability to turn water into wine (John 2), turning stones into bread would not have been beyond his ability. But Jesus responds by saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” This direct quote from Deuteronomy 8:3 reveals a stunning truth: meeting our physical hunger and thirst is not adequate for remaining healthy and satisfied. We will only be healthy and satisfied when we desire the righteousness that comes from the words of God.

The sin of Adam and Eve, and every sin committed by every person since, is the result of misplaced desire. We turn away from God to hunger and thirst after the wrong things. We completely and utterly neglect and reject Jesus’ promise in Matthew 7: “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

What a beautiful and glorious truth! God recognizes the desires and needs that we have, but these only come to us when we are not seeking them. They will come when we are so captivated by pursuing and desiring Him that we forget about them altogether—when we hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Now for the obligatory C.S. Lewis quote (from Weight of Glory):

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

God does not offer us a boring life in which we must deny the things that make us happy and joyful in exchange for boring worship services and an outdated manuscript. He offers us new life, a life filled with joy and excitement in which we are completely satisfied in Him and by Him alone. The trouble is we don’t often believe that the holiday at the sea is better than making mud pies in a slum. We continue to pursue our desires by our own strength because we do not trust that the life offered by God is better than what we can create ourselves.

How foolish of us! The promise is plain to see in Jesus words: ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” Not “might be” or “could be”—no…”will be.” Our problem is not our desire to be satisfied, but that we misplace that desire. The only way to be healthy and satisfied is to place your desire in the only One who can fully satisfy, both now and forever and unto ages of ages.

Marks of the True Christian

Every time I read through the book of Romans, I am blown away by how much I learn and grow. It is a book that busts at the seams with rich doctrine and theology, and in some ways it is the very bedrock of Christian teaching. Romans contains my favorite chapter in all of Scripture (Romans 8) and my favorite verse in all of Scripture (Romans 8:38).

As I am now working my way through this book yet again, I continue to find new things that strike me and cause me to ponder. For the last few days I have been stuck on chapter 12. This chapter is perhaps best known by its first two verses (“present your bodies as a living sacrifice”, etc.), but this time around I have been particularly intrigued by verses 9 through 21.

What initially peaked my interest in this passage is that the English Standard Version labels this passage as “Marks of the True Christian.” I thought that with such a label this passage must contain characteristics that God expects from his followers. As I read through it, I was blown away both by the content of the passage and how fall short I fall of meeting God’s expectations.

This is a list of these “Marks of the True Christian”:

• “Let love be genuine”
• “Abhor what is evil”
• “Hold fast to what is good”
• “Love one another with brotherly affection”
• “Outdo one another in showing honor”
• “Do not be slothful in zeal”
• “Be fervent in spirit” or “be fervent in the Spirit”
• “Serve the Lord”
• “Rejoice in hope”
• “Be patient in tribulation”
• “Be constant in prayer”
• “Contribute to the needs of the saints”
• “Seek to show hospitality”
• “Bless those who persecute you and do not curse them”
• “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep”
• “Live in harmony with one another”
• “Do not be haughty”
• “Associate with the lowly”
• “Never be wise in your own sight”
• “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all “
• “If possible, as far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all”
• “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God”
• “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink”
• “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”

In just twelve verses, we receive 24 things that are supposed to mark our lives if we call ourselves Christians. I could write a full blog post about each one of them. The painful thing is that most of us see very little of these traits in our everyday character. I can think of ways just today in which I have not fulfilled almost every one of these items (some purposely and others not).

Now we need to be careful here. These are not things that we “must do” in order to be Christians. Christianity is not about what we do, it is about what Christ has done. But these are things that should appear in our lives as we continue along the lifelong path of surrendering our lives to the Lord. We also need to be careful not to make this a checklist of things to accomplish during the course of our day. They must overflow naturally out of a heart that is deeply committed to and satisfied in God.

What we can do is immerse ourselves in the Scriptures, in prayer, in worship, and in meditation, allowing God to transform our hearts and lives so that these things flow naturally. In other words, we must do exactly what Paul implores in verses 1 and 2 of this same chapter:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

The only way these traits will take root in our lives is if we give ourselves completely to God and stop giving ourselves to this world. These marks do not make sense to the world, at least not in the deepest sense. While your average person may agree that we ought to abhor evil, for example, they do not understand what true evil is.

It is a lot easier to ignore these marks than it is to actively seek to bring them to fruition in our lives. But the Christian life is not meant to be easy. In order to become who God has called me to be, I must surrender myself to God each day and ask him to bring these traits into my life. you must do the same. Take an inventory of yourself and see how apparent these things are in your life. Chances are you will also find yourself with a need to bow before God’s throne of grace and ask Him to work His mighty power in your life.

Forgive us, as we forgive others?

In Matthew 6, part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer. It is one of the most quoted passages in the Bible, and yet I wonder how often the weight and depth of this powerful prayer is overlooked.

I am thinking specifically of one verse in particular, verse 12: “…and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Of course it is a central part of the Christian faith to repent of our sins and ask God’s forgiveness, but it is the second part of this verse that bothers me a bit.

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Here’s the thing, what if I have not done a very good job of forgiving others? What if, deep down, I have buried lingering grudges–things I am unwilling to forgive? Do I really want God forgiving me as I have forgiven others if I really have not forgiven others as I should?

I mean, would I want God to treat me as I treat someone who cuts me off on the road. Would I want God yelling, “Idiot! What is your problem!?” and trying to get even? What if God held a grudge for every way in which I have wronged Him? Just asking these questions makes me shudder in a way. If the same standard of forgiveness is extended to me as I extend to those who have wronged me, I am in trouble.

Here is my point: it is far to easy to fly through the Lord’s Prayer and not even realize what we are asking God to do. Do we really want God to forgive us, as we also have forgiven others?

There is no excuse for witholding forgiveness as a Christian. This is clear elsewhere in Scripture as well. “…if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive” (Colossians 3:13). What God has forgiven goes so far beyond anything we could be asked to forgive. He has forgiven every sin that has been committed. Can I say the same? Have I forgiven every wrong committed against me? I don’t think so…it’s not even close.

This is an issue that I know is huge in my life and I am willing to bet is an issue in the lives of many other Christians as well. Ask God what condition your heart is in when it comes to forgiveness. What things have you been unwilling to forgive?

Ask yourself: “If God were to forgive me as I have forgiven others, where would I be?”

A Simple Plan

I watched a really interesting movie the other night that I have been thinking about ever since. I watched A Simple Plan starring Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Brent Briscoe, and Bridget Fonda. The basic plot is that these three guys find a small airplane that has crashed in the middle of the woods. The pilot is dead, and there is a duffel bag in the plane containing $4.4 million–which is a lot of money. The guys have a discussion about what to do with the money. Two of them (Briscoe and Thornton–who are unemployed alcoholics) want to split up the money evenly, but Paxton’s character initially wants to turn the money in to the police.

To make a long movie short, they keep the money. But, through a series of arguments and attempted cover-ups, 6 people end up dead–including Briscoe and Thornton. The money turns out to be ransom from a kidnapping, and when Paxton finds out (after the deaths) that the FBI recorded some of the serial numbers, he burns the money. Yes, that means all those people died for nothing.

This movie provides a look about the perils of greed. Had the money been turned in, six people would have lived. But because of greed, they lost their lives. These people were so taken by the money, that they were willing to do anything, including murder, to make sure they kept it.

To be honest, the movie made me really sad. Yes it is just a movie, but there are millions of people in this country to whom, like the people in this movie, money is everything. At one point during the movie (after several people are already dead) Thornton’s character asks Paxton’s character (they are brothers) something like this, “Hey, after all this is over we’re going to be happy, right?” His answer? “Yes, we’ll be happy.” They thought money would bring them happiness. And there are so many people in this country who believe the same lie. But this movie shows how futile the love of money is, when six people die and the money is burned.

Now, this may be an extreme example. But you do not have to look to hard to find everyday examples of the destructive nature the love of money carries. How about the dad whose family falls apart while he climbs the corporate ladder? Or the man who yells at kids in the neighborhood for having their baseballs roll onto his driveway near his car (true story)? You can name your favorite ridiculous lawsuit. The examples go on and on.

Here is the bottom line truth folks: The love of money is sin, and it is destroying this country. The Bible is pretty cut-and-dry and this issue. Look up Ecclesiastes 5:10, Matthew 6:24, Luke 6:13, 1 Timothy 6:10, and Hebrews 13:5. Money, in and of itself, is not evil. But the worship of money, which is what is happening in our society, is a root of evil. Only evil can come from money-worship.

Sadly, Christians are not doing too much by way of resistance. At a time when Christians ought to be fighting money-worship, the prosperity gospel is at its peak. Joel Osteen is the most popular “pastor” in America. Why? Because Christians love money just as much as the world does. We have not been reading our Bibles. And while we may not be involved in the murders of six people to protect our money, the poison of our money worship is quite evident. It’s time to stand up, and fight against this garbage.

A Beautiful Song

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt of life, no fear of death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand