A Few Thoughts for Thanksgiving

If God were to never answer another prayer you prayed, could you still pray? Would you still thank Him? In other words, have the benefits you have already received from His hand established Him as unendingly worthy of your gratitude?

When we browse the scriptures on this topic of thankfulness, we often see specific reasons for gratitude provided: deliverance, provision, mighty deeds in the past, covenant faithfulness and the like. But, the scriptures are also replete with calls to thanksgiving for which no precise cause for gratitude is mentioned.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.  – Colossians 3:15

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  – Colossians 4:2

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.  – Ephesians 5:3, 4

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  – 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Paul seemed confident that believers should require neither coaching nor prompting in this matter. When we are still before God, truly attentive to His presence, thanksgiving ought to be instinctive, a natural posture for each of us.

Twenty centuries ago, Paul described the attitudes that typify the people who would populate the last days:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful …  - 2 Timothy 3:1, 2

At best, the natural man thinks about giving thanks once each year. The Thanksgiving holiday has a way of thrusting a “gratitude attitude” into one’s face. He may acknowledge a few good things in his life (without acknowledging their source.) But then, he digs into the feast. Of course, we also live in this world. If we are careless, we can be heavily influenced by our society's attitudes of discontent, self-centeredness, grabby-ness and ingratitude. This is why the call to self-denial is a daily one. It takes a special resolve for a Christian to peel away the jaded filter through which others in this world view life so that he might always be captivated by the goodness and generosity of his God.

In her now classic book, The Hiding Place, Corrie Ten Boom tells about an incident that taught her the principle of giving thanks in all things. It was during World War II. Corrie and her sister, Betsie, had been harboring Jewish people in their home, so they were arrested and finally imprisoned at Ravensbruck Camp. Their barracks were extremely crowded and infested with fleas. One morning they read in their tattered Bible from 1 Thessalonians 5 the reminder to give thanks in all things.

"Betsie said to Corrie, 'Corrie, we've got to give thanks for these barracks and even for these fleas.'

Corrie replied, 'No way am I going to thank God for fleas.'

But Betsie was persuasive, and they did thank God even for the fleas. During the months that followed, they found that their barrack was left relatively free, and they could do Bible study, talk openly, and even pray there. It was their only place of refuge. Several months later they learned that the guards never entered their barrack because of those blasted fleas."

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good ...   - Psalm 107:1

When Facts Take the Fun Out of Being Sure

The simple believes everything,

    but the prudent gives thought to his steps. - Proverbs 14:15

If one gives an answer before he hears,

    it is his folly and shame.  - Proverbs 18:13

The one who states his case first seems right,

    until the other comes and examines him. - Proverbs 18:17

God prefers caution on the part of His people rather than a habit of jumping to conclusions. This has always been His will, but these days, the urgency for our taking it to heart seems especially acute. Rumors, accusations, and innuendos targeted at public figures seem to be daily occurrences. Via social media and mainstream news media, I have observed that many people have no qualm deciding "what is so" about the veracity of the charges and running with their judgments.

This has become especially vivid with the recent explosion of accusations touching on sexual abuse and domestic violence that have saturated the news in recent months. Please understand that I have no sympathy for any abuser or predator. And, I have nothing but sympathy for the victims. I am simply confessing that I am not clairvoyant. In other words, I do not reflexively know who is telling the truth. Just this week, I read multiple posts by persons who clearly "know" that the charges of sexual misconduct against an Alabama senatorial candidate are absolutely true. That was followed up by breakfast with some fellows who are just as sure that they are false. I am left wondering from where all this so-called "certainty" comes. I know that there are bad people in the world who do bad things to other people. I also know that there are deceitful people who lie because of various agendas. I have not yet mastered identifying either.

I have the same tendency to react with knee-jerk belief and disbelief as anyone else, but I have also come to the conclusion that my reactions contribute nothing to establishing the facts of any case. So, without facts, why do we make up our minds so inflexibly? The reasons we do so are the very same reasons that God commands us NOT to jump to conclusions.

We are hopelessly biased. Our own life experiences color our judgment. Our ideologies shape our conclusions. Some social or cultural narrative of the day that is being pushed poisons our objectivity. Even loyalty to a sports team can impact our verdict of "Guilty" or "Not guilty" regarding a charge levied against some star player. We do not know our own hearts well enough to read the hearts of others.

Am I making too much of this? After all, we are not directly involved in the real processes of establishing guilt and innocence. Perhaps, our popping-off without knowledge is harmless, even recreational.

Christian, it DOES matter because Jesus only calls us to operate in the realm of truth. Do not be indifferent to the real fact that you are making your own contributions to the rancor, the chaos and the intellectual clutter of this age by speaking "folly" as Proverbs calls it. There is always a fifty-fifty chance that your judgment devoid of knowledge will be dead wrong. And, when we factor in all the nuances of any given situation, the chances are almost 100 percent that you will NOT trip across the absolute truth of any matter.

(On a parenthetical note: While the children of this age delight in elevating their idle speculations to the status of fact, they also delight in using Jesus' own words, "Judge not ..." against believers who speak to matters of sin. That's quite the irony. Christian, we are to speak what we believe God Himself revealed through His creation, His Word and His Son. To echo His revelation is to honor Him, not to be judgmental. Never be rattled by the world's silly accusations. Man cannot judge what God has already judged. In the proper perspective, the world's appropriation of Jesus' words becomes pathetic ... tragic only in relation to the blindness in which the accusers are steeped.)

As scintillating as it can be to pass judgments without being privy to the facts, learn to keep your mouth shut and your keyboard under control. You are a steward of your own words. Don't waste them on such "folly and shame"  (not my words). Besides, at the end of the day, when the facts do come to light, you wont have to be angry or embarrassed for being wrong, or smug for being right. Neither reaction is a fitting reflection on the kingdom where your true citizenship resides.

The Saddest Song in the Hymnal, or, "Sheol on Earth"

While preparing a Sunday School lesson touching on an introduction to the Psalms, I ran across a piece of miscellaneous trivia that I passed along as such to the class: "Psalm 88 is the only psalm that ends without some sense of praise or hope in God." Of course, I knew I would have to look into that. I am familiar with the sorrowful language voiced throughout the psalms, but for the most part, the sufferer comes around near the end, as if expecting some answer or relief.

That is not the case for the pitiful soul behind Psalm 88. His hope in God is implied, but he never articulates a request for deliverance. Has he grown so accustomed to his lot in life that he feels it is no longer appropriate to keep on requesting a turnaround? He is certainly not claiming or demanding any such thing, a notion peddled by so many Gospel hucksters today.

In the ascription, the song is attributed to Heman and to the Sons of Korah, the former probably a member of the latter. There is no back story and no clue as to where or when this psalm was written. The only thing that is obvious is one man's distress.

It is often speculated that this is the psalm of someone in the throes of a disease, specifically, leprosy. The theory is not without merit as the word "Mahalath" in the ascription bears a similarity to a Hebrew word for disease. The anguish of the language certainly reflects what we might imagine a leper would experience.

• He is near to death. He is, in fact, counted among the dead already. He moves among others who are counted as dead (in the realm of Sheol) (vss. 3-5).
• He is shunned by his companions (vs. 8).
• His sight is failing. (The delicate tissue of a leper's eyelids would deteriorate, rendering him susceptible to maladies of the eye, even blindness (vs.9)
• To plea for healing would be to ask for his own special miracle, unprecedented in the greater community of lepers (vs. 10).

Of course, the greater questions are: "What is Psalm 88 doing in a hymnal?" "What is the author expressing to God?" "What is the psalm's teaching value for God's people?"

The most positive phrase in the psalm appears in the first verse: "O LORD, God of my salvation ..." but the meaning of even that stanza is unclear. Is the psalmist speaking of a present and spiritual salvation that he perceives he already possesses? Or, is he speaking of a potential deliverance from what is currently afflicting him?

What is clear is that YAHWEH is this man's only hope? As he attributes his suffering to the hand of the LORD, one might conclude that he is lashing out at or even blaming God. I think it is more reasonable to conclude that he is simply acknowledging God's sovereign activity, or, in this case, His sovereign inactivity. A handful of older writers speculated that Job is the author if this psalm. While there is no shred of evidence to support this idea, I can concede that it is difficult to conceive of a second man who is bearing his intense suffering with such acceptance.

I can think of few things so detrimental to securing commitments to authentic discipleship as the unwillingness of many believers to acknowledge the place of suffering in the Christian experience. How many times have trite clichés and empty promises, foolishly attributed to God, caused only shipwrecked faith in others when they did not come to pass. If we constantly present to the world the notion that faith in God must expect some remarkable, short-term pay-off that only applies to this temporal realm, then, we are undermining the essential message that people must be reconciled to God simply because they are sinners and He is holy.  

I wish I could bring some satisfactory closure to all the curiosity that is piqued by this psalm, but no one ever has. What does seem clear is that this is a man who remains steadfast in believing there is nowhere else to go. If there is to be any deliverance from this malady, it must come from God. And, even if God does not deliver him from this temporal affliction, He is still too good, too wise, too sovereign, too omniscient, too glorious, too faithful ... too God ... to be abandoned. Where else could this suffering soul turn?

Even though this man is almost certainly not Job, one cannot help but to think of the tenacity of that precious ancient soul:

"Though he slay me, I will hope in him;

            yet I will argue my ways to his face.  - Job 13:15

"Nature Abhors a Vacuum"

You may recognize this postulate credited to Aristotle. It is generally accepted in science though some debate occurs. Jesus seemed to endorse the idea in the spiritual realm (see Luke 11:24-26). I suspect that it applies to society as well.

But, bear with me. We'll get back to that.

A few weeks ago, a female reporter asked quarterback Cam Newton a question that suggested a somewhat sophisticated knowledge of wide receiver routes and techniques. It took Newton by surprise and he responded, "It's funny to hear a female talk about routes like ... it's funny." From the media reaction, this was apparently the most egregious, condescending and sexist assault on women in the workplace year-to date.

Newton continues to insist that his reaction was complimentary. As awkward as his words were, I can process how they could have been generated by a sense of being impressed. But, the talking heads on the sports shows, those who read the minds and know the hearts of athletes say, "No, it was an insult," so that's the narrative we're stuck with. The following week, as Newton was muddling through his requisite penance, he showed up with a "Rosie the Riveter" pin on his hat to let the world know that he understood the contribution of women to the war effort during World War II. This act of penitence appeared more clumsy than the original sin.

Some of those same talking heads like to tell us that the NFL is a cross-section of America. I always found that sentiment a bit odd considering that the league tends to have more multi-millionaires per capita than the block where I live. But, now I must reconsider. In a culture that seems to be losing its collective mind, the NFL may very well be representative.

Like most of my acquaintances, I struggle mightily with this current culture of political correctness as well as with the speech police who monitor it. I sincerely wish it would go away. So, I am probably being wildly optimistic when I detect evidences that the PC culture may be losing ground. People seem to be ignoring it, even belittling it on social media. I suspect that our current president's aversion to political correctness had much more to do with his election than his adversaries would care to admit.

So, let us assume that my instincts are right; that political correctness has overplayed its hand and is on the decline. What's next? Back to Aristotle: "Nature abhors a vacuum." I do not foresee the vacuum being filled with decorum and thoughtful arguments. I can only anticipate elevated vitriol from all sides.

You have already noticed that very little of the dissent against the PC crowd is thoughtful and measured. On the contrary, it can be quite fierce. For the lack of a better word, the resistance puts the "fun" back into matters of sexism, racism and the like. I don't have the time to count the memes that appear daily on my Face Book feed that serve very little purpose than either "to preach to the choir" or "to tweak the leftists." Don't get me wrong. I am not exempt from getting caught up in it. Some are hilarious. But, others are angry and still others are quite coarse.

Strange, but when I see the memes and the articles from the other side of the political spectrum, my reaction is that they are unoriginal and lazy ways of saying, "Gotcha!" by people who cannot express themselves. They just aggravate me. Suddenly, I had an epiphany. If left-wing memes and forwarded articles do nothing but annoy me, it is highly likely that right-wing memes and forwarded articles do nothing but annoy left-wingers. Allies within their respective camps may exchange a digital "thumbs-up" or a "high-five," but no one from the other side is persuaded of anything new -  or is even inspired to think.

My concern is the role of God's people in all of this. Ultimately, we do not abide on the right or left fringe of a political ideology. Our call is to seek and to advance a kingdom that is not of this world. We will be utterly impotent in that endeavor if we engage our culture using the methodologies of the age.

It is not easy to reflect Christ in such a torn and divided world. On the contrary, it is very hard. We have the burden of being clear and uncompromising in matters of morality and societal rot without being flippant or mean-spirited. If the only tool in our toolbox is to comfort ourselves, amuse ourselves, work ourselves up, or play "gotcha" by forwarding memes and articles on social media, then, the real battle will be very uphill.

Our speech is to be seasoned with salt, not cayenne pepper.