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Text: James 4 * The Bible was compiled in a world thoroughly convinced that reality was “multi-dimensional”; totally at ease with discussion concerning an “unseen” realm that they believed had major implications on the way that the lived. They knew that there was more to life than meets the eye! What we find implied/accepted throughout the story is that reality is involved in a cosmic-earthly conflict or battle. * The Old Testament offers hints of a cosmic rebellion against God by making frequent references to evil (“disorder”: Job 4:18; Isaiah 24:21; Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19), but it’s not until the NT that we find more clearly a name and face put together. The gospels depict this evil at work in and behind all of the conflict and introduces us to “Satan”, which in Hebrew means “accuser”, “adversary” or “one who opposes”. The biblical picture of Satan is one of a non-human creature bent on opposing God and his creation (humanity in particular) and thwarting all of his good purposes. And, we are also told by John the specific reason that Jesus came was to “destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). * C.S. Lewis, in his book, “The Screwtape Letters”, suggests that there are (2) equally dangerous approaches to Satan: 1) To imagine Satan as God’s evil twin (equally powerful) and determine that he is directly responsible for every problem and all of human suffering. 2) To mock or dismiss the idea of Satan. To perceive him as a figure with red tights, horns, hooves and a tail, and so depicting him in such a way as to call into question the “stability” of anyone choosing to accept him as a reality. * It’s this second approach that I suspect is most prevalent in our society. Talk of a “devil” seems so primitive for such an advanced society. Yet, without evil there seems to no explanation for the nightly news. Daily we are exposed to senseless acts of violence and injustice for which “progress” has offered no resolution. We convince ourselves that the world is basically “OK” and once we are able to establish democracy as a global approach to being with each other, we’ll finally overcome the conflict. * We are too often “surprised” by evil. Why? Because we have no means of coping with it; denial has not proven effective. Closing our eyes, covering our ears and running the other way has not eliminated evil. * Evil, although better observed than defined, may be simply described as “the inevitable consequences of choosing something/someone other than God”. And apparently, somewhere at the root of all this, is “pride”. The word itself is so offensive that we use euphemisms for it like ‘self-improvement’, ‘progress’, ‘individuality’, ‘maximizing our personal potential’, ‘self-made man’. * James offers us these portraits of pride. Pride… … is over-estimating ourselves and underestimating God. It’s to see yourself as the “axis” of life around which everything and everyone else revolves. … is about control. Taking control seems to be our reaction to a disordered world; it’s our attempt to assist God when he’s obviously in “way over his head”. We’ve watched him fumble around enough, it’s time to step in. We conclude that God cannot be trusted, therefore, we must assume control of our lives. As a result, we will need to ensure that everything in life works out the way that we predetermine that it should; which will require manipulating circumstances and people to ensure a favorable outcome. Maybe that’s what chaos is... the result of living with the illusion that we are actually ‘in control’. … is about defiant individualism. Philippians 2:3-11 “… do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit…” * Ambition, in and of itself, is morally neutral. But, selfish ambition is the pursuit of personal comfort at the expense of others, while vain conceit is the result of believing that you have no one to thank but yourself! … is about what we do to attempt to get attention as well as what we attempt to hide in order to avoid attention! Not always “overt”; it’s often the impression we attempt to create by what we hide. … is amnesia of the soul; forgetting God! Deuteronomy 8:7-19 “When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land that he has given you. Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands… Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God… never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy’… if you forget, you will certainly be destroyed.” Hosea 13:6 “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then, they forgot me”. * Pride takes various forms. In its more overt form, it is a defiant dismissal of God (“There is no God”). In its more subtle form, it is a casual disregard. Either way, it behaves as if we have no need of God. … manifests itself in presumption. Presumption is defined as: ‘an attitude that is boldly arrogant’, ‘a thing taken for granted’. “you who say”… (‘lego’ Gr.)- to lay out in words (lay forth) a course of action; the implication is “boasting”. It’s not just about the words spoken, but the intent of the speaker. Illustration: Interesting analogy from the childhood toy bearing the same name: one of the unique qualities of legos is the ability to create whatever you want, using the pieces you want and the pattern that you choose. You would purchase a box of legos with a picture on the cover, presenting you a purposed-end… a design, and some sense of direction for getting there. * So, presumption leads us to believe that we can pick out and control the particulars of our life in order to ensure a desired outcome, with virtually no consideration for God. It also assumes that I have all the pieces, which not only limits my view of God, but limits my options as well!
(continued on March 4, 2007) |
