Overpromising

The book of Proverbs could be subtitled, "How Not to Be Foolish" or "How to Have Common Sense".

In today's installment, we are examining the phenomenon of "overpromising".
Have you ever done that?

My family would say that I am a woman of action.  I love to "do things".  I am happiest when my calendar is full, when I'm engaged in meaningful activities.  Add to that - - - I am a "forest person", not a "tree person".  If you want to make me unhappy, force me to "count beans" or to focus on details.  I'm a visionary, not one to love "the fine points".

All of this is a prescription for "overpromising"!

If there is an exciting project with potential positive impact for Jesus Christ's kingdom, I'm ready to jump in with both feet!

Enough about me ... what about you?  Do you "overpromise"?

1My child, if you have made a pledge for your neighbor,

and have become a guarantor for a stranger,

2if you have been ensnared by the words you have uttered,

and have been caught by the words you have spoken,

3then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself,

because you have fallen into your neighbor’s power:

go, humble yourself,

and appeal firmly to your neighbor.

4Permit no sleep to your eyes

or slumber to your eyelids.

5Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare,

and like a bird from the trap of the fowler.

Proverbs 6:1-5 (NET)

Specifically, this passage hones in on making inappropriate promises about financial matters - - -

• co-signing on a loan that puts your assets at severe risk
• getting in over your head with debt
• etc.

But, the general principle is the same when you broaden it out to other life areas.

I'm thinking of the precious Christian lady at our church who leads our children's ministry. Yesterday, she and her team executed a marvelous end-of-summer "carnival" in our children's department.  But, notice....she does not take up the offering.  She does not greet people as they come in to church.  She does not lead in worship.  She does not work on the tech team.  What she DOES do is to narrow her focus and then to do what she does REALLY WELL!

See?  Some of us have this tendency to believe that the MORE things we do, the more valuable we are, or the more "good" we are, or the more .... whatever.  And, this is IDOLATRY!  Yes, it is idolatry that is rooted in sanctimonious pride!  As Christians, particularly Christians who actually do get out there and work for Christ's kingdom, we can be especially prone to this very idol.

Hear this:  your value to your Savior is not going to be increased by your overcommitment.  He cannot, nor will not, love you any more or any less than He does at this very moment.  His love for you is perfect, right now!  It is important that you LISTEN to His voice when contemplating a new venture to be sure that it is HIS will being implemented, not.yours.

Ouch!

Let's now focus on verses 2-5.  If you find that you have fallen into such a trap of overpromising, do NOT bravely "muddle through", hoping it will end well.  It probably won't, and your foolish choices will bring dishonor to the name of your Savior.  Ask for help!  Go to those who can help; admit your overestimation of your abilities or time or whatever, and ask for help.  It's not all about you, Sassafras!  Usually, "it's the teamwork that makes the dream work!"
Warning:  Don't just back-out and leave someone "in the lurch".  That is selfish and inconsiderate. Whomever you promised is depending on you.  So, don't withdraw; instead draw more help into the effort.  If you find that idea repugnant, then chances are that sneaky and pernicious religious pride has got its hooks into you pretty good!

Even wise people make mistakes.  The difference between a wise person and a fool is that a wise person recognizes them and takes the necessary (if often difficult) steps to correct them.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go look at my calendar..... ;)

Father Abraham...Had Many Sons....

Perhaps you have poked around in the web-based product, ancestry.com.  It is wildly popular, mainly because people want to know their parentage, heritage, ethnic make-up, etc.  Some even send a DNA sample off to be tested, so that their own unique combination of ethnicities can be revealed.  And, some have been surprised at the results!

As mysterious as our physical genealogy may be, the spiritual genealogy of the Christian is revealed in Romans 4.  In this chapter, Paul is continuing to teach the Jews, newly converted to Christianity, about the centrality of "salvation by faith", as opposed to "salvation by good works" (such as circumcision).  In so doing, he uses Abraham as an example.  You may or may not have realized that Abraham was not circumcised at the time God asserted that his faith in God had made him right with God (Gen. 15:6, 22).

11And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, so that he would become the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, that they too could have righteousness credited to them. 12And he is also the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised.

Romans 4:11-12 (NET)

Because Abraham believed God, he became the "father of all who believe".  In a way similar to how Abraham believed, we Christians believe in Jesus Christ for our eternal salvation.  Therefore, we are sons and daughters of Abraham.  It reminds me of the folksy camp song we used to sing at Bible camp:

Father Abraham had many sons

Had many sons had Father Abraham

I am one of them

And so are you

So let's just praise the Lord

And, then, there is some strange choreography that supposedly accompanies the singing of it; but, we won't go into that!

It is a beautiful thing, how Paul weaves the Old Testament into the New in the book of Romans (and elsewhere).  He was a famous Old Testament scholar in his day, before becoming a follower of Jesus Christ, and this expertise he brought into the infant Christian world.  The Holy Spirit used his gifts to shape early Church theology, as well as to spread the gospel.

Many Christians want to disparage the Jewish people.  This is a grave mistake.  My own pastor pointed out yesterday that God WILL keep all of His promise to the Jews. In Hosea 3:4-5, we read about this.  In Romans 11, we will see Paul talk about a "partial hardening" of the hearts of Jewish hearts to the gospel, during this present Church age.  But, that will change, once God's complete number of Gentile believers has been reached.  More about that in a few days!

Some people, in the past, have actually persecuted the Jews because they "blamed" God's chosen people for Christ's death.  How foolish!  It is plainly stated in the Bible that Jesus coming to earth, for the express purpose of sacrificing His life (laying it down of His own free will), was God's plan all along.  These misguided people have not represented Jesus Christ when they have either actively persecuted the Jews or (just as bad) stood by silently and allowed them to be slaughtered.

I've always admired the Jewish people, even secretly wishing I had some Jewish heritage flowing thorough my veins.  (Maybe I should check out that ancestry.com!)  But, more importantly, I have Father Abraham's spiritual heritage, and that is better than any human cultural or ethnic combination.

Heavenly Father, Your family tree is gloriously beautiful.  Thank you for grafting me in (Rom. 11), for allowing me to have a part in Your amazing grace!  In Jesus' name, amen.

Son-glasses

Good morning,

Do you like real estate?  I love to look at houses, both in person and online.  Back when we were actually building homes in this country, especially when Hubster and I were looking for a home, we loved to walk through homes under construction.  Now, I like to roam around Zillow.com and see what's out there, how much folks are asking, etc.  I love to build homes, although it is an awful headache. Hubster and I have been privileged to build 2 homes together, and we are still married! :)

Well, enough of that.  The reason I went off on that tangent has to do with today's passage, 1 Cor. 3:9-15 (Phillips translation) - -

9 In this work, we work with God, and that means that you are a field under God’s cultivation, or, if you like, a house being built to his plan.

10-15 I, like an architect who knows his job, by the grace God has given me, lay the foundation; someone else builds upon it. I only say this, let the builder be careful how he builds! The foundation is laid already, and no one can lay another, for it is Jesus Christ himself. But any man who builds on the foundation using as his material gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or stubble, must know that each man’s work will one day be shown for what it is. The day will show it plainly enough, for the day will arise in a blaze of fire, and that fire will prove the nature of each man’s work. If the work that the man has built upon the foundation will stand this test, he will be rewarded. But if a man’s work be destroyed under the test, he loses it all. He personally will be safe, though rather like a man rescued from a fire.

This passage deals with our "works" as Christians and how God views them.  This is something we've been studying in the college-age Bible study group I lead. Here are a few points to remember:

1.  Jesus Christ must be the foundation of all.  If He is not Savior and Lord, if that decision has not been made to accept Him, then all "works" (good deeds) are meaningless in view of eternity.  This is the most important point of all.

2.  Our eternal salvation is not dependent on our good works.  Paul makes this plain in verse 15 (and elsewhere).  We can accept Christ as Savior and do little to advance His kingdom, or even accept Him on our deathbeds (provided we receive that opportunity; no one is guaranteed it), passing on into eternity with little to show for our Christian walks (think "not resplendent" here).  Such folks will enter Heaven, but with few eternal "jewels".  They'll be smellin' like smoke, Y'all...

3.  Motivation matters.  If a person is working "for the Lord", yet really only doing so to please him/herself (for his or her own glory), those accomplishments won't stand the test of "fire" mentioned in this passage.

4.  So, why "work" at all?  If doing good deeds is not a factor in earning our own salvation, why bother?  Frankly, if a "Christian" has to ask that question, I have to wonder if he/she knows Christ at all, if the heart has even been converted/transformed by His saving grace. Let me quote Tchividjian1 :
The Gospel alone liberates us to live a life of scandalous generosity, unrestrained sacrifice, uncommon valor and unbounded courage.  This is the difference between approaching all of life from salvation and approaching all of life for salvation; it's the difference between approaching life from our acceptance, and not for our acceptance; from love not for love.  The acceptance {by God} ... cannot be rescinded, thank God!
Those who have truly been redeemed (purchased) by Jesus Christ's blood understand that they are FOREVER loved, accepted and saved.  Nothing more can be done (worked) to either add to that or subtract from it.  Those who have had this irrevocable transformation happen in their spirits approach life differently from every other type of person on the planet.  They "chomp at the bit" to serve Jesus, because they love Him.  They long to do "good works" as a love offering to Him.  They don't do this so that they will gain God's approval.  In Jesus Christ, they already have it!

Have you ever looked for your sunglasses only to realize that they were on the top of your head the whole time?  That's the way it is with God's grace.  Sometimes, we act as if we have to "add to" our salvation, or exhaust ourselves "staying in God's good graces".  We look and search for ways to achieve significance, when everything has been done for us.  The sunglasses were there on your head the whole time!  You already possessed them.

When as Christians we truly take hold of this crucial truth, it will revolutionize our lives.  Put on your "Son-glasses", Christian.  Can you see it? Rejoice in the beautiful, secure knowledge of what He has done for you; and then, live out your life as a love offering to Him.  Get busy "building", resplendent sons and daughters!

Father, I still cannot even conceive of the depths of Your mercy, the inexhaustible riches of Your amazing grace!  No wonder we sing about Your attributes in our worship.  You are so far "beyond me", yet You love me and want to draw me ever closer to Your heart.  Stupefying!  I am so grateful that I don't have to "earn" Your love.  Your supernatural acceptance makes me want to serve You with all that is in me, to glorify You with all the gifts You've given, to imitate Jesus Christ in everything.  Thank you for forgiving me when I fall short, forgetting that my Son-glasses were on my head all along.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:
One-Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World, by Tullian Tchividjian, 2013. (chapter 9)