WISDOM
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For wisdom is better than rubies;
and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it Proverbs 8:11

We are so easily distracted by things: wealth, power, prestige and possessions. To be rich, to have an abundance of things to be "moneyed," opulent, how alluring. To be influential in the ways of the world; to sway peoples opinions and impel them to action; how tantalizing. To be prominent and be well-known; to be recognized and acclaim by those who are, themselves rich and famous, how very enticing. Homes in the right neighborhoods, vogue vehicles and fashionable clothes are all so very gratifying. Don’t they all build our egos and inflate our sense of self-worth? Lustful carnality comes in many forms, not just in wine, women and song. It affects all, not just the lecherous and lascivious.

Solomon, son of David, wise man of the ages, was no less susceptible to their enticements that the rest of us. In spite of his request of our Lord God Almighty, Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people (2 Chronicles 1:10), he was, as some have noted, "a curious commentary on his early resolution." The first royal act he performed was to build himself a grand palace to replace his father’s inadequate hovel (1 Kings 7:1). He used the wealth of the nation for his personal aggrandizement rather than for public good (1 Kings 10:18). According to Unger’s Bible Dictionary, he was the "first great commercial king of Israel." One, just one, of his wives was the daughter of the king of Egypt, another was an Ammonite. There were also Moabites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites. None was an Israelite. All together, it is recorded he had 700 wives and three hundred concubines (1 Kings 11:3). Among them, perhaps, the queen of Sheba. All of whom God had specifically forbidden, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love (1 Kings 11:2). Within the holy Temple pagan religious practices were held and idol worship permitted (1 Kings 11:1-13) Not very wise. As wise as he was, he was not wise enough to withstand the seduction of carnality.

What more powerful lesson could there possibly be to illustrate the corrupting influence of material things than the life of Solomon? Granted wisdom by the very hand of God. Favored in His sight. Yet, he succumbed to their enticements. Remember what God said to Solomon?

Because he did not ask for these things, God gave them to him in full measure. Indeed He did, and he, Solomon, took full (personal) advantage of those bounteous gifts.

Are there lessons for us about what we should pray for in addition to the lesson Solomon teaches us on greed and carnal appetites? Let’s page forward to the temptations of Christ. What did Satan offer Him? His own physical "needs", doubt, power ------ aren’t they the same things? On top of this is Christ’s other admonitions about "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 19:23) and Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven." (Luke 18:22) Or what about this statement found in the book of James, Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten (ch 5 vs.1)? Does any of this suggest we should seek out riches, pray for them – for whatever reason or purpose? Can we soothe our obsession for wealth, prestige and power with tithes, justify them by claiming we are funding God’s work, using our gifts to His glory? Would that be wise? Would it even be true?

Where is the Scripture saying "gather ye the riches of this life?" Where are the passages that counsel us in our prayer life to send heavenward supplications for prosperity? Where is it written that we are to accumulate wealth to better serve Him? Indeed, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Proverbs 8 advises, "We must be dead to the wealth of this world, that we may the more closely and earnestly apply ourselves to the business of (sic) religion." And the International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia provides us with a Biblical principle, "Only moral and spiritual means to moral and spiritual ends. Amen.

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Submit To Government?
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Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God,
and the authorities that exist are appointed by God Romans 13:1

There is this persistent, nagging question about how much responsibility God has for bad things happening to good people. You see it all comes from the very nature of God as found in the pages of Sacred Script. He is all-powerful, all knowing and ever present. If He is all these things, and He is, then it is He who authors bad things or does He simply acquiesce? The question becomes especially troublesome when innocent little children succumb to deadly diseases, starvation or simply the unspeakable brutality of other "humans" toward them.

Well, in Paul’s letter to the saints in Rome, an equally disturbing little bit of news is provided. We are to obey those in authority over us – regardless. Yes, regardless, the statement is unequivocal. Notes on the verse from the NIV state, "Even the possibility of a persecuting state did not shake Paul’s conviction that civil government is ordained by God." We must agree with the specter of Jimmy Jones in Guyana legitimately ordering parents to poison their children just before they committed suicide. Christians living under the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein had to be in concert with his unbelievable reign of terror. There is apartheid in South Africa, the brutality of Joseph Stalin as well as the loathsome spectacle of Nazi Germany. Suppose the government ordered us to murder our children or kill our elderly, are we to comply?

Some commentators soften the obvious troublesome nature of this passage by saying Paul was referring to "moral authority." For example B. W. Johnson's People's New Testament states" It does not imply that we shall obey wicked magistrates when they command us to disobey God. See Acts 4:19" We Christians are commissioned only to obey those governments that are "moral." Without this "escape clause," of which there seems to be none in his letter, a terrible dilemma is foisted upon we Christians. Such "interpretations" may avoid the perplexing dilemma, but they really have no Scriptural foundation.

Others are much more conservative such as Matthew Henry’s Commentary for example "Whatever the persons in authority over us themselves may be, yet the just power they have, must be submitted to and obeyed. In the general course of human affairs, rulers are not a terror to honest, quiet, and good subjects, but to evil-doers." Strangely Luther is silent while Calvin and Wesley endorse the concept. Calvin’s position is summed up in this observation, "And by mentioning every soul, he removes every exception, lest any one should claim an immunity from the common duty of obedience. 3." Wesley goes so far as to suggest, "Because they are the ministers (officers) of God for the public good. This very thing - The public good."

We must remember the major figures in the New Testament, including Paul, were in such a state of disobedience with the "governing authorities that they were executed. On one occasion, the Apostles Peter and John were specifically forbidden to use the name of Jesus by the authorities. Their response, recorded in Acts 4:19, was to ask "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge." Jesus Christ could not possibly be considered obedient to clerical or civil authorities.

How frequently preachers, teachers and Bible scholars warn us not to take things out of context or to consider them in isolation from the rest of Scripture? How frequently are we told that God is not the author of confusion? Paul himself in 1 Corinthians 14:33 writes, For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints. While he was speaking of gifts and tongues, isn’t the principle is appropriately applied to other areas? As to the first point, many commentaries restrict the application of this statement to the particular time and place of its writing. Noting that Corinth was under Roman domination and that Jews, in general, were regarded as a seditious lot, Paul may have been cautioning his congregations not to be identified with them as troublemakers. It is totally improper to believe that our Heavenly Father would intentionally confuse us. Yet with the rest of Scriptures as witness, we must conclude the either Paul was misquoted, that he misspoke or that his message was for a very specific set of circumstances. The lives of Jesus and the Disciples cry in a loud voice against tyranny and injustice. We must not let a misapplication of this passage make us cowards.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2

 

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Send Money: Stay Home
(The Myth of Missions)
Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.Mark 16:15
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There are two of God’s commands we have obeyed to near perfection. The first, is found in Genesis 1:28 where He tells Adam and Eve to Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth. That we have done with great abandon. Then, in the Scripture above, He told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel. We have done that as well at least proclaiming we are proclaiming the Word. Two thousand years later we still are going into the world with nearly disastrous results. This passage from Mark is one of those that makes one wonder just how literal some verses in the Bible should be taken. He really didn’t mean, as it first appears, that we should start preaching to rabbits or cows – although it is reported some have tried to do the latter. The word "creature" in this instance comes close to meaning those who are unsaved another word (slur upon slur) for "gentile." We are also usually willing that the eleven disciples could not really be expected to go into every corner of the world – even the know world would have been overwhelming.

Elsewhere, Jesus tells us we are to let our love for one another witness to the unbelieving world. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another John 13:35 Are we really to take this exhortation as meaning all we are to do is "preach?" Does Jesus’ command to "preach" have to be taken literally – as the only way to go about converting "creature" to Christianity? The Greek from which we derive the word "preach" is Kerusso. That, " always with the suggestion of formality, gravity and an authority which must be listened to and obeyed; to publish, proclaim openly: something which has been done used of the public proclamation of the gospel and matters pertaining to it, made by John the Baptist, by Jesus." But the understanding here might be more directed to the public and authoritative nature by which we are to "proclaim" rather than the soap-box, pulpit model almost always employed.

Yet, as though that is exactly what He intended, the model of missionary work over the centuries has been for appointed missionaries to travel to those "far away places with strange sounding names," at no little risk to life and limb. Yet, in a strange reversal of fortunes those countries, Italy, Portugal, Spain, France and Britain that did so much to spread Christianity far afield, now lag far behind in their own church attendance. Respectively the figures are $45%, 47%, 25%, 21% and 27%. Apparently, no one has been keeping the home fires burning. Maybe Ugandan Christians can send missionaries into these desolate outposts.

Half the world's people live on less than $1 a day according to the World Bank. In 1999 1.2 billion people lived on less than $1.00 per day around the world. In the Sub-Sahara of Africa, over 300,000,000 live at or below the $1.00 a day poverty level. The majority of Kenyans live at this level. The120 million people of Nigeria, which is almost the size of Europe, have an average annual income of $290 – that’s less than a dollar a day. Air France will fly a missionary from LAX to the Ivory Coast, round trip for $4,723.33. That would provide a family in any of these areas twice the subsistence for 6 ½ years if the missionary stayed home. For the $2,475 it will cost a missionary to fly from LAX to Angola on British Air, a family can be provided double the subsistence for almost 3 ½ years if he would just stay home and send the money. A trip to Nairobi, Kenya from LAX costs $2,897.52.

Where would our missionary send his airfare if he chose to stay home? In the Ivory Coast, 20% of the population is Christian. In Kenya, 66% of the population is Christian. In Angola it is 85%. Burundi, one of the poorest African countries is 65% Christian already. 40% of Nigerians are Christian. The country of Malawi supports a population that is 75% Christian. It costs $ 1,848.52 for one person to fly round trip to the capital city of Lilongwe. These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. They don’t need to be introduced to the "bread of live," they need to eat bread to live. There are bound to be established churches there already – and there are. There are Evangelical Congregational Churches, the Evangelical Reformed Church of Angola, the Presbyterian Church is there along with others. Along the Ivory Coast you will find the Evangelical Protestant Church of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. In Kenya there are about a dozen denominations already in existence including the Reformed Church of East Africa, the African Gospel Unity Church with ties to the Baptists and many more. (see ref) If stewardship involves the careful use of the resources God has given us, wouldn’t that suggest we support these existing Christian rather than re-inventing the wheel on some pretext of a "purposeful vacation?" They don’t need us preaching the word. They are already doing that. What they need is our money to help fight starvation and the AIDS/HIV.

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