Obedience

As believers we have been given an example in how we should live through Jesus Christ. Yesterday, when reading this verse in Philippians, I realized that we were also given an example in how we should die. This is not a physical death of the body for us, but for Jesus it was. Scripture tells us in Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, Jesus humbled himself, “by becoming obedient to death-- even death on a cross” (Phil 2:8).

We are called to be obedient. Our obedience is not to death, but instead to Life itself, in Jesus our King and God our Father. Obedience for us is following the example that Jesus set for us.

Jesus listened to the Father. To listen to the Father, we must spend time with Him. Jesus was so obedient to take time away from everything else to get alone with God to talk, listen, and simply be with Him. We are called to do the same thing.

Jesus loved. He loved us to the extent that He gave everything to prove His love for us. We are told to love one another as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). I cannot imagine thinking of another person as often as I think of myself. Honestly. Jesus loved others and we are called to do the same thing.

Jesus was obedient to death. He died on a cross to give us direct access to the Father, through the Spirit. We are called to the same obedience. While Jesus’ death was physical, ours is a daily choice to let our sinful nature die. Jesus told us “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The denial of self is actively choosing Jesus and others above our own personal desires. John’s account of Jesus’ time on earth documents this passage:

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24).

I believe that when we are obedient to death of ourselves, we bear much fruit. Jesus was obedient to death and we are called to do the same thing. 

False Teachers

Shaming

Fifty years ago culture taught women to hide any part of themselves that did not line up with what was “normal”. Women should (and would) be housewives who stayed at home, cleaned their houses, made dinner for their husbands, and wanted children. Any woman who did not fit into this mold was shamed into thinking there was something wrong with her. It was a culture of shame and fear that taught women to hide their vulnerability and fall in line as they “should” or be ostracized.

Comparison Trap

In response to this culture, women began to judge one another. What was worse, emotionally, than judging one another was that women began to compare themselves to one another. Each person had to be better than the next. The concept of “keeping up with the Jones’” became common thinking. When women found that they weren’t measuring up to the same standard as their neighbors, they found that they would be made to feel better than those around them if they simply talked about all of the things everyone else did wrong. If Linda and Lauren could agree that Lisa was somehow unfit as a wife/mother/sister/employee, they would feel like they were somehow more fit as a woman.

Gossip leads to hate. The Word tells us that, “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

It hurt me to read that and to write it.

Because I am guilty.

And I don’t want to ever do something that the Lord hates, because I love Him.

… then enters social media, and with all of the joys of reconnecting with friends from school and old neighborhood buddies came the platform that everyone always wanted. A platform to share our innermost thoughts about any possible thing imaginable. Blogs, tweets, snaps, and pages gave us the opportunity to put our self-important thoughts on display for all to praise us for.

We can be so easily deceived.

This social validation gave us everything we needed to make it a quick idol.

We’ve often heard the old saying, “time is money”. The Bible says, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21). Our treasure is often our time, also our money, but often our time.

So, what do we do every moment it gets quiet, or we sit down for a second, or stop at a red light? Every time commercials come on or we are put on hold? We scroll through social media.

No, I don’t think that social media is evil. But, like all things, it is what we make of it. Therefore, if we allow it to consume our time, when we fail to make time to invest in our kid’s lives or in prayer or reading the Word. Then yes, it can be evil.

Not only that, but it has become our platform… and everyone else’s platform, to share their opinions, their voice, their perspective on the world around them. It created the opportunity to voice our dissatisfaction with anything and everything, including our neighbors and their opinions. 

Social media gave us the chance to put our culture on display, and then the culture shifted.

Acceptance

Women stopped shaming and comparing themselves to one another in an act of solidarity and began to just accept people as they are. 

Acceptance is tricky because it disguises itself as love.

The truth about acceptance is that when we accept other people’s sin we easily let our guard down and start believing that what everyone else is doing is right.

Acceptance culture and social media platforms have created a home for false teachers.

False teachers

The Bible teaches us the difficult truth of being a teacher.

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.  For we all stumble in many ways.” James 3:1-2

In the past, those who taught were leaders. Those leaders were looked at with intensity. Their lives were expected to be perfect and to line up with their teaching. Scripture warns us about how difficult that kind of living would be.

Today, we are all teachers. We each have an audience of people listening and watching our every move.

The Bible says, “Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us” Titus 2:7-8.

Based on this, as believers, we should be sure that anything we say in a forum where other people might follow it or glean from it, should be dignified and line up with the truth. The only truth I know is the Bible. So, if I teach anything that does not line up with that, then I am failing in my responsibility of being a sound teacher.

This includes when I tell someone that their behavior is acceptable when it is not.

A person who teaches something that is not the truth is called a false teacher. 2 Peter 2:1-3 says, “… there will be false teachers among you... and many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”

This type of teaching is so prevalent in the world today. The current message to women is that sin isn’t sin as long as it makes you happy, because that is what God cares about.

God loves you. He wants you to be happy, but not at the expense of your holiness.

Anyone who teaches you that acceptance is love and that God’s will is that you be happy is not teaching the truth.

The platform of social media and the propensity of false teaching is scary. It is scary because there are so many people desperate to hear some sort of truth in their life, and when what they hear lines up with what they feel they have the tendency to believe that it is truth.

Paul warned us in Romans 16:17, “to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them”.

Maybe this means we stop reading the internet and start reading the Bible. Maybe this means we stop talking to our friends about our lives and start talking to God. Or at the very least, we start talking to our friends that love God and love truth. Maybe this means we invest less in what our neighbors are doing and invest more in what God has called us to do.

That is what it means for me.

Because I understand that we want to hear what we want to hear.

2 Timothy 4:3 says, “for the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions”. 

The time WAS coming. I believe that the time is here now.

I am afraid for our world and our culture that we have stopped listening to truth because it is hard to hear and it hurts, and often requires us to stop doing what we want to do.

So instead we started listening for teaching that validated what we feel and what made us happy.

I understand that the very platform I am using to write this is exactly what I am warning against. I know that I am sharing my opinion while warning other people not to share theirs (without prayerful wisdom). I do so hoping and praying that it isn’t my words that are heard, but instead, the truth of the Word of God. I am praying that this message, that has been on my heart for several days now, somehow resonates. 

It really is a race.

This morning one of my girls and I went for a run. We layered up, stretched, went outside and mapped out our route. Half of the run is downhill and half of the run is uphill. The hills are awful because they last forever and zap your endurance. 

When your on the hill you want to stop. The higher it gets, the harder it is. The harder it is the more you want to stop. 

This is life. 

It really is like a race. 

When the Bible says "let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Hebrews 12:1).. it's talking about these days. This life that God has mapped out for us with all of its twists, turns, hills, valleys, and bumps, is our race to run. 

But, here's the thing. If you STOP when you are going up a hill, which we all want to do at times, because we are tired and feel we have nothing left to give, then we never grow strong enough to get to the top. It's the push that gives you the strength to face tomorrow. 

Because at the top of every hill there is the other side. The side that you get to run down. And the downhill is where you steady your pace, regulate your breathing and let gravity help you along. 

That's true in running and in life. Allow the "good" times to be an opportunity to prepare for the next hill. Regulate your breathing. By prayer and thanksgiving, steady your pace. 

Isaiah 40:31 says "But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint."

Trusting the God of the path helps us to be renewed in our spirit and not grow weary in the run. 

This lesson was for me today. 

Make the bed

Life is so chaotic. Everyone experiences different seasons at different times, but I think that it's safe to say: life is so chaotic. Sometimes it's good chaos, sometimes it's a beautiful mess and other times it's nearly impossible to navigate.

I've started making the bed. I'm sure that I am a terrible woman for not making it regularly before, but I didn't see the point as a single person. Now, I rarely have time for something as simple as making the bed. But I do it. Every single day. Having the bed made makes me feel better. It's like a good hair day in the midst of 100 bad ones. It brings a tiny bit of peace to my life. The made-up bed doesn't hide the laundry that still needs to be put away. It doesn't make the toys strewn from one end of the house to the other any less messy, but it does remind me that the chaos is never going to destroy me.

It's a simple act that reminds me of two things.

1.) Peace often comes by active choice.

The Bible tells us repeatedly not to fear. Yet our lives are crippled by it.

We know that comparison is the thief of joy but we absent-mindedly do it anyway.

Striving only brings stress and anxiety but we continue to bring forth our best efforts of busy schedules to prove ourselves worthy... to ourselves.

We must choose peace. Just as I choose to make the bed regardless of the time I don't have.  The act of laying down all fear, striving, comparison and anxiety and putting on peace is exactly what God instructs us to do. His yoke is light and our burdens are heavy. He offers to trade.

2.) It's not all bad.

I love my children with an amazing amount of love. More than I dreamed I could love. I love my husband, I love my job, I like the puppy, and I enjoy school. BUT, boy is it hard. Life is chaotic, remember?

It is easy to become bogged down by the work of each day and forget the joy that's available in the little moments.

I look at the laundry, toys, dishes and paperwork and can become overwhelmed. Especially when crying toddlers are desperate for my attention. The made-up bed reminds me that I may not be able to do it all, but I can do one thing at a time.

I start with the bed. Some days I don't get much more than that done, but that's okay.

The small act of making the bed in the morning reminds me that God made me and despite all of the chaos inside, there is peace and joy available to me when I choose it.

I should mention, my husband could care less if the bed is made. This may not be true for everyone else. This is a great reminder to me that it isn't his job to bring me peace and joy. That's a burden that wouldn't be fair for him to carry. Yes, he does make me joyful, and yes, he does help with the chaos. But the big picture peace and joy can only be found in Jesus. I'm so glad that He makes me to lie down in green pastures and leads me beside quiet waters (Psalm 23:2).