Randy Alcorn's Blog, page 151

When Is a Book Really Finished Being Written?

My friends have often heard me say that I finish a book about five or six times. After editing and revising multiple times on my own, I turn it into a manuscript, usually chapter by chapter, to editors at our ministry. Doreen Button, Stephanie Anderson and Kathy Norquist edit many things I write. They’re great editors with different strengths and different eyes, who excel at seeing various weaknesses. They point out what they don’t understand, and suggest many corrections. I go along with most of them. After all the feedback I finish the chapters another time, and finally finish the whole book a second time and send it to the publisher.

Typically, after what’s sometimes a wait of a couple of months (I welcome the break), I get input from the publisher’s in-house editor or outside freelance editor, and go over that. I follow many of his or her suggestions, choose not to follow some of them, and often come up with compromises between what I originally wrote and what they suggest. Then I “finish” the book the third time and turn it in as my final manuscript.

Sometimes there’s more back and forth with the editor, in which I receive and give more input still, negotiate and compromise, and finish the book a fourth time. Each of these times is less extensive than the previous. 

If a writer insists on seeing the fact checking and copyediting stage, which I do, then he must go over all of that. More changes and tweaks—maybe 90% of it is right on and helpful, and 10% is, in my opinion, misguided. But once again, even when it’s obvious they didn’t understand what I meant, it’s still helpful, because while I must reject some of their changes, I see what they were getting at, and improve the wording my own way, in keeping with my meaning. Then I finish the book for maybe the fifth time.

Next, the publisher sends me the galleys, the physical print-out, where they always say, “Changes at this stage are expensive, so please don’t make many.” And usually I make too many because I realize a sentence just doesn’t sound right, and why didn’t I see it earlier? And why didn’t multiple editors see it, not to mention the occasional misspelling? I shake my head in dismay sometimes, and write notes in the margin such as, “Who is the idiot who wrote this?” That idiot, of course, is me. :) Once again I have a couple of EPM staff go through the galleys and am always amazed to see that each of the three of us find errors that none of the others did! When we send that heavily marked up galley in to the editor, I’ve finished…for about the sixth time.

After the galleys, I hear back from the editor with further questions/clarifications and finish it a seventh time, only to wait to read the printed copies and find more errors and get emails from readers and submit corrections for the second edition, thereby “finishing” the book for the eighth time.

The most valuable lesson I’ve learned over the years about writing (and rewriting) is that it’s hard work. It’s energizing and draining, something I love to do and hate to do, something that’s never done because I can always continue to improve on it, but eventually I have to turn it in.

Sometimes I’ve said at writers’ conferences that while many people think they want to write a book, what they really want is to have written a book. (Sort of like the difference between wanting to be on a strict diet and exercise program so much that I actually choose to do it day in and day out, versus only wanting to have been disciplined enough to have done that in the past.)

But I think God called me to write and to develop the skill, so I do the hard work with a sense of purpose and calling and joy. And isn’t that what He’s called all of us to do, with the particular skills and opportunities He’s entrusted to us?

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Colossians 3:23-24)

Eternal Perspective Ministries is giving away a bundle of three of Randy’s books of your choice! The winner’s books will be signed by Randy. Giveaway offer ends Tuesday, April 5 at 11:59 p.m. PT. (If you're reading this post by email, go to the blog to enter.)

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Having a Jesus Heart for Children

I had the pleasure of meeting Kelly Needham and her husband, Christian singer/songwriter Jimmy Needham. I appreciate what Kelly has to share in this article about how we should view children. Scripture clearly teaches that God has a special love for children.  Look at Jesus—the way He took them onto His lap and said, “Unless you become like one of these, you won’t enter the kingdom of God.” Kelly thoughtfully challenges us to be like our Savior in our attitudes toward children. —Randy Alcorn

In every season of life, all of us encounter children—whether our own, or a friend’s, or nieces and nephews, or neighborhood kids. It’s important we have a Biblically-informed view of them.

Children Are an Inconvenience: The Common Attitude

Unfortunately, the pervasive attitude about children is that they’re inconvenient: they equal gaining 30 pounds, giving up on your dreams, and not living life your way. Children get in the way of your plans for you.

An increasingly sexually active culture has fueled this attitude. Years ago, pregnancy was the normal, expected outcome from having sex. But thanks to birth control and abortion, children are now only an optional result of sex. The push to separate pregnancy from sex is happening to appease a shamelessly self-centered lifestyle. Rather than a joyous moment, a positive pregnancy test is often received with fear as if it were a curse, a disease, or a punishment.

This mindset that children just get in the way continues beyond pregnancy. Career rules all in our culture, and men and women everywhere are finding ways to farm out their parenting responsibilities to daycares, nannies, and grandparents so they can continue to live their life the way they want. 

Sadly, this attitude isn’t just found in the world around us, but also among those who follow Christ. We see this happening even among Jesus’ disciples in Mark 10:13: “And they were bringing children to Jesus so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.”

Imagine that moment. The disciples see a bunch of moms with crying babies, busy toddlers, and rambunctious 7-year-old boys coming to Jesus. Perhaps the disciples thought they were being incredibly spiritual and Kingdom-minded: “All these kids are slowing Jesus down. He’s got places to be, sermons to preach, people to heal, demons to cast out! Get them out of the way so we can get onto the important stuff.”

The disciples considered children to be an inconvenience to Jesus’s ministry. And very often, so do many of His followers today. It might not be a career that causes us to sideline children; it might even be “important, world-changing ministry.”

Children Are a Gift: The Biblical View of Children

The Bible gives us no other way to think about children than this: they are a gift. A blessing. A reward. So how did Jesus respond to the disciples’ rebuke of the children?

And they were bringing children to Jesus so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them. (Mark 10:13-16)

Here are a few things we can learn from Jesus about children.

Do Not Hinder the Children

The disciples were trying to prevent these children from coming to Jesus. But He says do not hinder them. Literally, don’t get in their way! Don’t forbid these children to come to me! How often do we stand in the way of the natural curiosity of a child because we’re too busy with “more important things”?

A child may be interested to learn about this Jesus you’re talking about with your friend, or understand what’s so special about the Bible you’re reading. Do we respond like the disciples in those moments, rebuking the child to “Leave me alone, go play with your toys. I’m busy meeting with Jesus or talking about Jesus”? Do not hinder the children! Don’t stand in their way. Let them interrupt your plans and your day.

Learn from Children

Jesus tells the disciples that these inconvenient, time-consuming children actually have something to teach them: “The Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.” What a massive statement.

Not only should we welcome the interruptions of children, we should also have a heart to learn from them. Kids have something to teach us about true faith and love for God and His Kingdom. This should make us want to be around kids, and even seek them out, prefer them, and be eager to listen to their thoughts!

If Jesus had said, “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a lawyer will not enter it at all,” wouldn’t we find a way to spend time with a law student to understand what He meant by that? But Jesus has called us to learn from children. So pay attention to them, value them, and ask them questions. Learn from them.

Slow Down for Children

“And Jesus took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.” Jesus slowed down and engaged with these little ones. He got on their level. He spoke words of blessing over them. He stopped what He was doing to spend time with them.

Who are the children in your life? Do you purposely engage them? They may be your own children. Your grandchildren. Nieces, nephews. Friends’ kids. Children running around the lobby of your church. Maybe it’s the children who come into the doctor’s office where you work. Don’t let your primary assumption of these little ones be one of inconvenience. Welcome them. Engage them. Speak positively to them and about them.

Children Are Arrows: Thinking Strategically

“Behold, children are a gift of the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them” (Psalm 127:3-5).

I love that Scripture calls children arrows in the hand of a warrior. Not only are they a gift, they’re also an offensive weapon! Do you desire to make a difference in this world for the cause of Christ and  influence the next generation? Then pour into children! An investment in the life of a child pays huge dividends.

Think of your own childhood. Are there adults who took the time to slow down and get to know you? To teach you? To help you? Or adults that didn’t value you, but harmed you or spoke negatively to you? How did that affect your life? Think of your parents. The things they did (or sometimes didn’t do) have likely impacted how you see the world even to this very day. Adults have a tremendous impact on children’s lives, for better or for worse!

What if we determined to pour into the lives of the preschoolers, elementary age kids, and preteens around us? What if we taught them about God, who He is, and what He has done for broken sinners through Christ? What if we took every opportunity to listen to them and speak truth to them, to counsel and encourage them? This is an investment that is never wasted.

Look for opportunities to invest in the life of a child. Serve in your church’s preschool or children’s ministry. Become a mentor for a teenager through your school district. Do you have young siblings? Invest in them. Does your friend have children? Engage them when you go to visit. And of course, for those of us who have our own children, may we allow God’s view of children to permeate our homes and our actions.

As Christians, we’re to be set apart from this utterly self-centered world. We are those who follow the Selfless, Cross-Carrying Servant of God who welcomed children. May we do the same.

Kelly Needham is married to Christian singer/songwriter Jimmy Needham and is a full-time mom to their two young daughters. She blogs at  www.kellyneedham.com .

Photo credit: Danielle MacInnes via Unsplash

The Hope of Heaven: A Conversation with John Piper and Scott Swain

The major Christian creeds state, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” But I’ve found in many conversations that Christians tend to spiritualize the resurrection of the dead, effectively denying it. They don’t reject it as a doctrine, but they deny its essential meaning: a permanent return to a physical existence in a physical universe—living forever with resurrected bodies alongside the resurrected Christ and resurrected people on a resurrected earth!

When God sent Jesus to die, it was for our bodies as well as our spirits. He came to redeem not just “the breath of life” (spirit) but also “the dust of the ground” (body). When we die, it isn’t that our real self goes to the present Heaven and our fake self goes to the grave; it’s that part of us goes to the present Heaven and part goes to the grave to await our bodily resurrection. We’ll never be all that God intended until body and spirit are again joined in resurrection.

Our incorrect thinking about bodily resurrection stems from our failure to understand the environment in which resurrected people will live—the New Earth. Anthony Hoekema is right: “Resurrected bodies are not intended just to float in space, or to flit from cloud to cloud. They call for a new earth on which to live and to work, glorifying God. The doctrine of the resurrection of the body, in fact, makes no sense whatever apart from the doctrine of the new earth.”

What difference does it make in our present lives? Scripture tells us that grasping the implications of the doctrine of the resurrection, and knowing that this present world will end and be resurrected into new heavens and a New Earth, should profoundly affect our daily behavior: “You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God. . . . In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (2 Peter3:11-14).

Christ-centered righteous living today is directly affected by knowing where we’re going and what rewards we’ll receive there for serving Christ. After all, if we really believe we’re going to live forever in a realm where Christ is the center who brings us joy, and that righteous living will mean happiness for all, why wouldn’t we choose to get a head start on Heaven through Christ-centered righteous living now?

In this ten-minute discussion filmed by The Gospel Coalition, John Piper, Scott Swain, and I discuss the topic of Heaven in the hopes of providing a more biblically-informed picture of our future home.

Gospel-Driven Hospitality

I have the greatest appreciation for the ministry of Revive Our Hearts, and for Rosaria Butterfield, a sister in Christ with a powerful story. This article from Revive Our Hearts staff member Leanna Shepard, with thoughts from a conversation with Rosaria, encourages us to take a closer look at how hospitality can be a ministry and a way to share the gospel, as well as a way for us to grow in Christlikeness. —Randy Alcorn

Over twenty years ago, Rosaria Butterfield was a distinguished professor of English at Syracuse University. A staunch feminist, outspoken atheist, and practicing lesbian, she was the least likely candidate to become an advocate for Christ.

But that didn't stop one Presbyterian minister from reaching out to Rosaria in the form of a letter, encouraging her to consider the very questions and accusations she posed against Christians. From that snail-mail correspondence came the most unlikely friendship. Pastor Ken Smith and his wife, Floy, welcomed Rosaria into their home with genuine hospitality, building a relationship with her one meal at a time. Those open arms and the friendship that followed were what was needed to open her eyes to truth.

Woven throughout the tapestry of her personal testimony is this thread of hospitality. It was in the Smith home where she first heard the gospel. And it was through the loving, welcoming arms of their church that her heart was softened to the truth. Even now, hospitality is the avenue she uses to show the love of Christ.

The Gospel Comes with a House Key

In her interview on Revive Our Hearts, Rosaria emphasizes the importance of hospitality. She believes God has given us the gift of neighbors to practice being neighborly. When you open your home to others, you’re painting a picture of the gospel, for it was by invitation of the Master that you were welcomed into His family and given a seat at His table.

That open-door policy seems easy enough when we're talking about family or close friends . . . but what about the stranger, the outcast, or that nosy neighbor?

If you look up the word hospitality, what you’ll not find is a definition that reads, "Graciously hosting a weekly small group," or "Welcoming your best friend and her family into your home for a home-cooked meal and game of Monopoly."

Rather, true hospitality means loving the stranger; treating a new acquaintance like an old friend; sharing the best of your time and possessions with the underprivileged. Unless you live deep in the jungles or on a lone mountaintop, most of you can look in any direction from your home and see neighbors on all sides. But do you know who they are? It's hard to show Christ's love to the person next door when you don't even know their name.

Get to know your neighbors. The front yard is one of the most unused places in America, Rosaria says. But not at the Butterfield residence. Rosaria and her husband, Kent, make it a point to spend at least one evening a week in their front yard as a family solely for the purpose of creating opportunities for conversation and prayer with their neighbors.

"We're known as the praying family in our neighborhood," she said. "This community prayer time has become a source of strength to [our] community, and a witness—that we are people who believe that there is a God who made us and will take care of us . . . and hears our prayers. It is our responsibility as believers to take those needs to the Father for the non-believers who do not have access to the throne of grace."

The Purpose of a Bridge

Hospitality is actually a command we're to carry out, but under one condition—"without grumbling" (1 Peter 4:9). This means we all bear the responsibility of gladly showing hospitality to one another and to the stranger.

Depending on the climate you live in or your season of life, having a weekly prayer gathering in your front yard might not be feasible. But there are many other ways to invest in your community:

Host a summer block party.

Deliver a plate of cookies to the family who just moved in.

Offer to help your next-door neighbor rake his leaves or shovel snow.

Simply greet your neighbors as you pass on the street!

Rosaria uses this illustration: A believer in Christ is like a bridge. What’s the purpose of a bridge? To get walked on. We don't like the sound of that, do we? But as followers of the Savior, we should count it no great loss to sacrifice a little for the sake of the kingdom. What’s one evening a week or a few extra dollars from the grocery budget in comparison to what Christ gave up to redeem sinners from eternal condemnation?

At the heart of hospitality is the heart of the gospel—sacrifice, love, humility. And it's hard. Jesus bids us to come and die, and there's nothing easy about that! But there's much at stake when we fail to reach out in love before a watching world.

Hospitality is so much more than having a good time with a handful of friends. It’s one of the key ways prescribed to administer the gospel to a needy world.

Leanna Shepard serves on staff with Revive Our Hearts and currently resides in southwest Michigan. Her original article appeared on The True Woman blog.

Listen to Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's 5-part interview with Rosaria Butterfield.

Exploring the Happiness of Jesus

My wife led a women’s Bible study group in discussing a lesson she’d written about the happiness of Jesus. One woman who’d grown up as a churchgoer was startled. She shared how horrified she’d once been to see a picture of Jesus smiling. Why? Because she believed it was blasphemous to make Jesus appear happy!

She’s not alone. Ask a random group of believers and unbelievers, “Who is the happiest human being who ever lived?” and few would correctly answer: “Jesus.” 

Jesus is depicted with a glad heart.

In the first-ever gospel message of the newborn church, the apostle Peter preached that Psalm 16 is about Christ: “David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced. . . . For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. . . . You will make me full of gladness with your presence’” (Acts 2:25-28, emphasis added). This effusive statement, attributed to the Messiah, is a triple affirmation of his happiness!

The passage Peter ascribed to Jesus includes Psalm 16:11. The New Life Version translates it, “Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.”

I’m convinced we should view this first apostolic sermon as a model for sharing the gospel today. Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, asserted three times the happiness of the one at the center of the gospel—Jesus. Yet how many people, unbelievers and believers alike, have ever heard a modern gospel message that makes this point?

What if we regularly declared the happiness of our Savior? Imagine the response if we emphasized that what Jesus did on that terrible cross was for the sake of never-ending happiness—ours and his.

Jesus was—and is—the happiest of people.

In Hebrews 1:8-9, a direct reference to the Messiah quoted in Psalm 45:6-7, the Father says of his Son: “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.” The Contemporary English Version renders it, “your God . . . made you happier than any of your friends.”

Who are Jesus’ companions in this passage? This could refer to His immediate group of friends, all believers, or all His fellow human beings. If it’s the latter, He has gladness that exceeds that of all people (which makes sense, because He created us).

Reflecting on these passages in Psalm 45 and Hebrews 1, John Piper writes, “Jesus Christ is the happiest being in the universe. His gladness is greater than all the angelic gladness of heaven. He mirrors perfectly the infinite, holy, indomitable mirth of his Father.”1

The Bible repeatedly suggests that Jesus exemplified the joy of living.

Scripture contains many additional indications of Christ’s happiness. It takes a joyful person to instruct His disciples in the art of rejoicing. Jesus said, “Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). The CEV renders the verse, “Be happy that your names are written in heaven!”

The next verse connects His disciples’ joy to Jesus’ joy: “In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” (Luke 10:21). The Weymouth New Testament reads, “Jesus was filled by the Holy Spirit with rapturous joy.”

Consider this part of the verse: “At that very time [the Son] rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, ‘I praise You, O Father . . .’” (Luke 10:21, NASB). This clearly affirms the Trinity’s gladness—Jesus overflows with joy from the Holy Spirit, and the Father finds pleasure in revealing himself to his children.

Imagine this scene: “Children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people, but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.’ And he laid his hands on them and went away” (Matthew 19:13-15). This passage leaves no doubt about Jesus’ love for children. And the fact that children flocked to Him is telling: children are drawn to happy adults, not unhappy ones.

Jesus says, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11, KJV). The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament says that chara, the word translated here as “joy,” means “a state of joy and gladness—joy, gladness, great happiness.”2 The CEV renders the verse, “I have told you this to make you as completely happy as I am.” What a great life goal: to become as happy as Jesus!

Jesus’ happiness set Him apart from the religious leaders of His time.

First-century Pharisaism, with its endless rules, often negated the joy that God intended through feasts, celebrations, Sabbath days, and everyday life. But Jesus stood in stark contrast to “holy people” of his time. Serious rabbis were never in danger of being accused of gluttony and drunkenness, because they never went to parties. (They probably didn’t get many invitations!) Jesus wasn’t serious enough for their tastes, so they imagined he couldn’t be holy.

When I wrote my first graphic novel, Eternity, I had to decide how I wanted the artist to portray Jesus’ face in a typical scene. Having read the Gospels many times and known Jesus for forty years, I knew His default look should be one of happiness. Yes, I asked the artist to portray Him as angry when facing off with the Pharisees and sad when heading to the cross. But the man who held children in His arms, healed people, fed the multitudes, and made wine at a wedding was, more often than not, happy!

Jesus was both a man of sorrows and a man of joy.

It is written of the Messiah, “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised” (Isaiah 53:3). Note that He’s called “a man of sorrows” specifically in relationship to His redemptive work.

When He was headed to the cross, Jesus said, “My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death” (Mark 14:34, NASB). But this was the worst day of his life—he was heading to a worse death than any human has ever faced. It doesn’t indicate the typical, day-to-day temperament of Jesus.

Given the price He paid for our sins, does being “a man of sorrows” contradict the notion that Jesus was happy? Absolutely not. Sorrow and happiness can and do coexist within the same person. Jesus knew that the basis for our sorrow is temporary, while the basis for our gladness is permanent. In Christ’s case, He’d known unbounded happiness since before the dawn of time, and He knew that it awaited Him again. That had to infuse His days with gladness even in the face of suffering and grief.

William Morrice writes, “The very fact that Jesus did attract hurting people to himself shows that he cannot have been forbidding in his manner. It suggests that the ‘man of sorrows’ conception of his personality has been overrated in the past. Had he been a gloomy individual and a kill-joy, he would not have had such an appeal to common people and to children.”3

In Luke 4:17, Jesus unrolls the scroll of Isaiah and reads the first few verses of Isaiah 61, after which He says, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21). Isaiah 61 continues with its prophecy about Jesus: “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10). This passage tells us that the Father is the Son’s source of joy. The New Century Version renders the verse, “The Lord makes me very happy; all that I am rejoices in my God.” Again, God’s Word explicitly affirms the everyday happiness of Jesus.

Another remarkable verse tells us that “For the joy that was set before him [Christ] endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2, emphasis added).

On Good Friday, Jesus experienced the terrible burden of atonement, the trauma of dying on the cross, and the anguish of being temporarily alienated from his Father when He became our sin (see Matthew 27:46; 2 Corinthians 5:21). But this suffering was overshadowed by the joy of our salvation. When Jesus walked the Earth, He lived every moment with divine happiness in His past, the happiness of an eternal perspective in His present, and the anticipation of unending happiness in the future.

Since Jesus is happy, His disciples should follow Him happily.

Francis de Sales, the bishop of Geneva (1567–1622), said, “I cannot understand why those who have given themselves up to God and his goodness are not always cheerful; for what possible happiness can be equal to that? No accidents or imperfections which may happen ought to have power to trouble them, or to hinder their looking upward.”4

One explanation for our cheerlessness is simple: many of God’s people don’t believe that the Christ we serve is cheerful.

Spurgeon said, “We are happy to think Christ is happy. I do not know whether you have ever drank that joy, Believer, but I have found it a very sweet joy to be joyful because Christ is joyful.”5

Scripture commands us to follow in Jesus’ footsteps (see 1 Peter 2:21). When we become convinced that our Savior walked this Earth not only experiencing suffering and sorrow, but also doing so with an ancient yet forever-young happiness in His heart and a smile on His face, it will inspire us to love Him more deeply and follow Him more cheerfully.

 

Endnotes

1. John Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004), 36.

2. Johannes P. Louw and Eugene A. Nida, eds., Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), s.v. “chara.”

3. William Morrice, Joy in the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1985), 86.

4.  Francis de Sales, “Spiritual Life,” Christian Register, December 28, 1916.

5. Spurgeon, “The Special Call and the Unfailing Result” (Sermon #616).

Donald Trump: Do Character, Morality and Kindness Still Matter?

I promised myself I wouldn’t endorse any presidential candidate in 2016. I’m sticking with that. But I never would have believed I’d have to write what I feel the Lord compelling me to. (This isn’t to blame God for everything I say!)

This is WAY longer than my normal blogs, three times longer, but I don’t want to follow up with another, so this is all of it. Four years ago I wrote seven election related blogs; not this time.

This isn’t really a blog, it’s a long article, more of an essay—only for those with time and interest. I’m including many links to show I’m not making these things up (some will want to check them out), though I suppose it’s inevitable there will be a few inaccuracies.

People have been asking me to write on this, but some will be sorry I did. If this seems too little too late, I get that. If it seems to some irresponsible (I know it will), I still think every Jesus-follower needs to do some real soul-searching. I’m talking about much more than just voting, and the principles here apply to other candidates too, not only Trump.

I’m asking whether we should support, defend, or be entertained by behavior that’s condemned in Scripture. I’m questioning what leadership qualities we are drawn to. I avoid politics whenever possible. This time it’s not possible. My concern here is that God’s people should consistently value biblical Jesus-honoring principles, character, and behavior in all aspects of life.

I realize the races for the party nominations aren’t over yet, though they may be soon. As of today, the fact is this: a candidate who wouldn’t have been taken seriously by most evangelical Christians just twenty years ago, who would have been dismissed out-of-hand for his behavior and speech, is now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, and is supported by many evangelicals (though not as many as headlines suggest).

I know some will dismiss this the same way they dismiss all criticisms of Trump. Some concerns will be pragmatic: surely we must all vote for Donald Trump in the general election in order to stop a pro-abortion candidate with other problematic policies, right?

Please don’t let other concerns distract you from the only subject of this blog: what are Trump’s character qualities and moral standards, and should they matter to Christ-followers?

MY PURPOSE IS NOT TO OFFER A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM I’M RAISING. Given where we’re at now, I don’t know the solution! My purpose is to address the problem itself—and my conversations and reading indicate that many evangelical Christians do not recognize it’s a problem.

I can’t be held hostage to the pervasive viewpoint, “To criticize or oppose Trump is to support Hillary Clinton.” We dare not act as if any presidential candidate is immune to or above biblical principles and moral standards just because we may (rightly) oppose other candidates.

My other caveat is that of course I realize Jesus is not running for president! I’m not naïve; obviously we are not electing a pastor-in-chief, but a commander-in-chief. I agree we can’t expect moral perfection or even devout behavior in a candidate. Yes, there are countless compromises in politics. But after all the abandonment of idealism and lowering of standards for politicians, surely that doesn’t mean we should dismiss as irrelevant character qualities, decency, and respect and kindness toward others. Those can and should coexist with vision, courage, conviction, and the ability to lead. (See Max Lucado’s excellent article, “Decency for President.”)

I’ll pose a question. What would you do if a dinner guest in your home told a person of Mexican descent that most of her people crossing the border to come to America are criminals and rapists? What if he called one woman a dog, another a bimbo and another “a fat pig,” then addressed others as dummies and losers? What if he told certain people to “go F--- themselves?”

What if he made a demeaning reference to a woman’s menstrual cycle, then a lusting comment to a young woman in your home, in which he fantasized about her assuming a sexual position for him? What would you do if he started telling stories of his sexual conquests, saying, “Oftentimes when I was sleeping with one of the top women in the world I would say to myself, thinking about me as a boy from Queens, ‘Can you believe what I am getting?’” (Donald Trump, Think Big: Make it Happen in Business and Life, p. 272)?

What if your guest said of a woman, she “is unattractive, both inside and out. I fully understand why her former husband left her for a man—he made a good decision”? What if he said at your dinner table, “You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media writes as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass”?

What if your children heard this and witnessed this behavior? My guess is you wouldn’t laugh and make excuses for this man. I hope you’d insist that he apologize, then escort him out of your home and use him as an example for your children of how men should not talk about women. (My guess is you would not put out a lawn sign supporting him for president.)

As a husband of a wife and a father of two daughters I deeply respect, I wouldn’t tolerate someone demeaning women like that. I wouldn’t laugh—I’d confront him and if he persisted, I would escort him to the door.  

Would any of us be able to explain to our children or grandchildren why we’d tolerate such immoral behavior that violates so many biblical principles? (Not just principles Christians hold to, but that many atheists and agnostics consider basic human decency.)

I find it ironic that many of the current supporters of Donald Trump, including some pastors and Christian leaders, were vocal opponents of Bill Clinton in the 90’s, openly castigating him for his immorality. If character mattered in the case of Bill Clinton (as I believe it did), why doesn’t it matter in the case of Donald Trump? Isn’t it hypocritical to have been outraged by the behavior of one but not the other? If Barak Obama (who I generally don’t support) had said and done many of the same things Donald Trump has, would you view them differently? Why? Aren’t things right or wrong regardless of who does them?

The Bible is emphatic that the words we speak matter to God.  What statement, for instance, do we make to disabled people by supporting someone who makes fun of a disabled man by waving his arms to mock his particular disorder?

Russell Moore writes:

One may say that Trump’s personal life and business dealings are irrelevant to his candidacy, but conservatives have argued for generations that virtue matters, in the citizenry and in the nation’s leaders. Can conservatives really believe that, if elected, Trump would care about protecting the family’s place in society when his own life is — unapologetically — what conservatives used to recognize as decadent?

So why are so many people, including evangelicals, enthusiastically supporting Trump?

They believe he “tells it like it is,” without political correctness. He stands up to the media and aggressively confronts their biases.
They believe Trump’s promises that he will “make America great again.” He’s a negotiator, a successful businessman and strong persona, who they believe can get things done for the people and improve the economy.
His words have tapped into the anger and frustrations of many who are weary of higher taxes, crime, and seeing America’s continual international decline.
Those disillusioned with “politics as usual” like that Trump doesn’t have previous political experience; as an outsider, maybe he’ll be a change agent.

I get it, believe me. I too am weary of politicians and their broken promises. I roll my eyes at some media coverage of events, including events I’ve been involved in (of course, now that there’s a strong right-wing media too, there are biases both ways.) I like the idea of a political outsider. But shouldn’t we be looking for an outsider with stronger character, integrity, and humility than past leaders?

As for political correctness, I agree it’s often vapid and pretentious, but that doesn’t make political incorrectness inherently virtuous. Sure, it’s “politically correct” to be respectful to women, refrain from demeaning people, and to avoid profanity, sexual innuendo,  racism and disparaging disabled citizens—but it’s also Christ-honoring, isn’t it? (If I yelled at my wife and called her names would you applaud me for not being politically correct?)

What would Jesus say to someone who attacked a mild-mannered rival candidate rising in the polls by comparing an anger problem that person had 50 years ago to being a child molester? Would he approve? (As a physician, Ben Carson’s 14-second response was classic.)

Do we want America’s president to say to our children and to the world things like these?

“The beauty of me is that I’m very rich.” 
“My fingers are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.” 
“My IQ is one of the highest—and you all know it! Please don't feel so stupid or insecure; it's not your fault.”
“Rosie O’Donnell is disgusting, both inside and out. You look at her, she’s a slob…If I were running The View, I’d fire Rosie O’Donnell. I mean, I’d look at her right in that fat, ugly face of hers, I’d say ‘Rosie, you’re fired.’”
“All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.”(The Daily News, March 24, 2004)
“The only difference between me and the other candidates is that I’m more honest and my women are more beautiful.”
Regarding Carly Fiorina’s appearance: “Look at that face! Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that, the face of our next president?!”
Regarding John McCain, who flew twenty-three missions in Vietnam and spent over five years as a prisoner of war: he’s “not a war hero. … He is a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured, OK?”

Trump wrote, “Our great African American President hasn't exactly had a positive impact on the thugs who are so happily and openly destroying Baltimore!” That got 6,500 retweets. Okay…so if elected will Donald Trump take responsibility for the actions of all white criminals?

My main problem is not that Donald Trump says what he thinks, though the self-control to at times remain silent is certainly a virtue: “The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools” (Ecclesiastes 9:17). My problem is with what he actually thinks: especially his obsession with outward appearance, sexiness, superficiality, wealth, his own status and accomplishments, and his quickness to berate and insult people and seek revenge on his critics. (My other big problem is hearing the laughter and applause for Trump when he has said some of these things at churches and Christian universities.)

Here’s a list of direct quotes from Donald Trump, posted by him on Twitter, insulting and name-calling a wide variety of people. Just skim it. There’s no end to the insults, and it doesn’t include others, such as his tweets about Bette Midler’s “ugly face and body.” If anyone criticizes Donald Trump, he’s determined to crush them. He routinely calls people dummies, losers and bimbos. (If he were president, one of the most powerful people on the planet, would he be tempted to use that power to go after people? Or would his character, ego, and personality magically change?)

Does it matter to God whether a presidential candidate (or anyone else) acts as a defensive, demeaning, ridiculing, mean-spirited, self-obsessed, foul-mouthed bully?

Does it matter even more when a person behaves this way while claiming to be a Christian?

In light of his profession to be a believer, when asked if he has ever asked God for forgiveness, Trump responded, “I’m not sure…I don’t think so.” 

So though he claims he's a believer, he has never asked God for forgiveness or at least never remembers having done so. Seriously? Is it actually possible to be a Christian without asking God for forgiveness? “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Isn’t believing you don’t need to ask God for forgiveness the ultimate arrogance?

If we don’t confess our own sins and seek forgiveness, what can we do when things go wrong but blame everyone else? The natural target is outsiders, people who don’t look and talk and act like us. Isn’t this utterly contrary to the Gospel, which involves us confessing our own sins and unworthiness, and gratefully embracing the loving forgiveness of Jesus?

Can you imagine Donald Trump as president accepting responsibility for making bad decisions? Wouldn’t he always find someone else to blame?

If, as he claims, the Bible is Donald Trump’s favorite book, shouldn’t he know not to reference “Two Corinthians” but “Second Corinthians”?  (Doesn’t that “out him” as a phony in claiming familiarity with God’s Word?)

More importantly, shouldn’t it matter to him that the Bible says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29)?

Let’s examine one claim. Trump writes, “You can’t be too greedy” (The Art of the Deal, p. 48).

What does the Bible say about being greedy? The tenth commandment condemns coveting, which is greed (Exodus 20:17). Jesus said, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15). Jesus denounced greed in the parable of the rich fool. God says that [apart from repenting and seeking his forgiveness] “the greedy… [will not] inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:10). God commands us to “put to death…greed, which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5). Since it’s idolatry, greed also violates the first and second commandments.

Whose beliefs about being greedy do you believe? Donald Trump’s or God’s?

Regarding the parable of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21), Bible teachers often point out this man repeatedly engaged in self-reference (I, me, mine), bragging about himself and all he accomplished. The transcript of Trump’s announcement that he was running for president shows he said “I” 195 times, “my” or “mine” 28 times, “me” 22 times and “I’ve or “I’d” 12 times. That’s 257 self-references. Read it and it sounds remarkably like a long version of the parable of the rich fool. (Yes, most politicians are self-promoters, perhaps many are narcissists, but Trump takes it to a new level.)

If he believes it’s impossible to be too greedy, is there anything about Donald Trump that suggests he would not use public power for private gain?

How do we evaluate whether a profession of faith in Christ is real? Jesus told us, “Every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:17).

It’s difficult for me to believe anyone could read, watch and listen to Donald Trump without concluding he is unusually arrogant and prideful, well above the 90th percentile of people we know. What does God say about pride?

Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate. (Proverbs 8:13)
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom. (Proverbs 11:2)
One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor. (Proverbs 29:23)
The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. (Isaiah 2:11)

When arrogance brings down a man, doesn’t it often bring down his family, business, and whatever else he has authority over? Why would we think God’s promise to bring low, disgrace, or destroy a proud man wouldn’t result in bringing low, disgracing, or destroying the country he leads?

God has often humbled proud leaders of nations. Nebuchadnezzar is a prime example (Daniel 4). If God opposes and humbles Donald Trump the businessman, casino owner and entertainer, that’s one thing. But if God humbles Donald Trump the president, might an entire country be humbled with him, paying the price for disregarding God’s warnings against pride and arrogance?

Any commander-in-chief who holds in his hands lives of our armed forces, both men and women, should be a man willing to humble himself before God. He should not be tempted to wage war and sacrifice lives (both domestic and foreign) against any international leader who dares to question or offend him. (Do we want a president whose default reaction to criticism is arrogance and retribution?)

“Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13 ESV). Is it unreasonable to expect a United States president to be not only strong but also wise and understanding and to be characterized by the meekness of wisdom?

The Message is only a paraphrase of Scripture, but sometimes it’s a good one. Here’s how it renders James 3:13-16:

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

Ask yourself how those words above match up to Donald Trump (and any that remain in the presidential race).

I vowed many years ago never to vote for a candidate who defends the legalized killing of children, any more than I would vote for one who defends the legalized killing of Jews or the disabled. But I have sometimes, with reluctance, voted for “the lesser of evils” (I prefer the “greatest good of a limited field”). I have voted for them largely to support their prolife position (I’m not always certain how genuine their prolife profession is, and certainly the same applies to Donald Trump).

I’ve always advised people that they should be idealistic in the primaries, then realistically vote for the best remaining candidate in the general election. But I confess that if the current leaders win the nomination, I will be faced with a moral dilemma. Others have confided they feel the same.

I’m well aware of the pragmatic arguments against voting for third party candidates or writing in someone who can’t win. But in the face of the evidence concerning pride, selfishness, immoral sexual references, and bullying tactics, some Christ-followers can’t help but ask themselves whether voting for such a candidate would violate their conscience and the Christian values they seek to live by (Romans 14:23). If you have no sympathy for them, please realize that some of your brothers and sisters in Christ are equally dismayed at how people of faith could support Donald Trump without embarrassment or shame or the conviction of the Holy Spirit concerning so much of what he says that flies in the face of Jesus and God’s Word.

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble” (James 4:6). If Donald Trump is as proud as he appears, doesn’t that mean God promises to oppose him? (And yes, he can oppose another candidate for that and other reasons.) It’s one thing to vote for someone who falls short of God’s standards; most of us have been doing that for decades. But isn’t it counterintuitive for God’s children to support those who God explicitly says He opposes? (A vote is not an unconditional endorsement, but surely it reflects at least some support.)

I’m well aware of the pushback I’ll get for writing this. Many friends will disagree. (For all I know, our ministry may lose supporters.) People will say, “By speaking against Donald, you might as well be voting for Hillary, and putting her bumper sticker on your car.” But this blog isn’t about Hillary. I do not and will not support or vote for her. But that doesn’t mean I can’t or shouldn’t express my deep-seated concerns about Trump.

If the two front runners win the primaries, I have Christian friends who will unreservedly vote for Trump, others who will vote for him with great reluctance, some who will vote for Hillary, and still others will write someone in or not vote because in good conscience they can’t. I know the arguments against all of these. But I also know that despite the constant calls to pragmatism, when a candidate’s statements and actions clearly contradict the words of Jesus, we dare not ignore or minimize them, and we certainly should never applaud them.

In the end, some of us will not be able to live with ourselves if we allow a pro-abortion candidate to be elected, and some will not be able to live with ourselves if we help elect someone whose pride and boastfulness and treatment of others dishonors the Jesus we know and love, while he professes to believe in Him and love His Word (and in the process wins votes).

This “no win” feeling troubles me, and I’m not alone. I console myself that God is on the throne, indeed, “O LORD, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You” (2 Chronicles 20:6).

I trust God’s sovereignty over all, including elections. But that doesn’t mean what we do doesn’t matter. It does. Part of me says, as in the past, we will get the president we deserve, and that is not an encouraging thought. Like many of you, I am still wrestling, and seeking God’s wisdom. But it doesn’t help God’s people to deny that there are profound moral principles at stake with the electable candidates who will likely be on the ballot in November. This isn’t nearly as easy a decision as some people are telling me it should be.

This we should agree on: we really need to pray and ask for God’s grace, even if we deserve His judgment. And we need to remind ourselves that no matter what happens to the USA, we are first and foremost citizens of another country, one whose future isn’t in jeopardy, and which will forever thrive on God’s New Earth.

Okay, I’ll wrap it up. I appreciate the ministry of Desiring God, and wholeheartedly agree with Jon Bloom’s compilation of Bible verses, “How to Recognize a Foolish Leader.”

Christianity Today proposes some interesting thoughts on why so many evangelicals are Trump supporters despite the fact that he violates so many of the most basic evangelical values. Here’s a fascinating analysis of how Trump uses language differently than other candidates, giving people the feeling he’s making strong points even when what he’s saying has little or no substance.

Finally, here’s columnist Matt Barber’s thought-provoking piece, with quotes from both Donald Trump and Scripture:

God Has Coffee with Donald Trump

What would happen if Donald Trump sat down with the Creator of the universe in a SoHo bistro?

The following statements attributed to Mr. Trump are not fabricated. The man truly uttered them. Those attributed to God are likewise genuine.

With whom do you agree?

Lattes are poured and chairs, scooted.

The discussion begins.

Read the rest.

Photo credit: By Gage Skidmore [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Kevin DeYoung on Why Jesus Was Hated and Put to Death

I’ve shared before my appreciation for pastor and writer Kevin DeYoung’s blog, as well as for his books, including The Hole in Our Holiness, What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?, and his children’s book The Biggest Story.

With Good Friday and Easter upon us, Kevin recently posted an answer to the question, “Why did they hate Jesus?” It’s common to hear people focus solely on the compassion and love of Jesus, and neglect the other parts of His character, including His holiness and wrath, sovereignty and lordship. Jesus was indeed a friend of sinners, but He was crucified for much more than that. The gentle, compassionate Jesus is also the Jesus who drove the merchant-thieves from the Temple and spoke condemnation against self-righteous religious leaders. Were Jesus as meek and mild and utterly tolerant as many think, He never would have been crucified. But His less popular qualities so outraged people that they nailed Him to a cross.

In particular what bothered the religious leaders was His bold claims about His identity, which they considered to be blasphemy:  He asserted Himself as God’s only Son, one with the Father, having come down from Heaven and destined to rule the universe as King, thus making Himself equal with God.

Here’s what Kevin has to say:

Why Did They Hate Jesus?

It is sometimes said that Jesus was killed on account of His inclusion and tolerance, that the Jews hated him for hanging out with sinners and tax collectors. This is the sort of sentiment which has a bit of truth to it, but only a tiny bit. No doubt, Jesus upset many of the Jewish leaders because he extended fellowship and mercy beyond their constricted boundaries. But it is misleading to suggest that Jesus was hated for simply being too doggone loving, as if his inspiring tolerance were the cause of his enemies’ implacable intolerance.

Take Mark’s Gospel, for example (because it’s the one Gospel I’ve preached all the way through). By my reckoning, Jesus is opposed once for eating with sinners (2:16), once for upsetting stereotypes about him in his hometown (6:3), a few times for violating Jewish scruples about the law (2:24; 3:6; 7:5); and several times for “blaspheming” or for claiming too much authority for himself (2:7; 3:22; 11:27-28; 14:53-64; 15:29-32, 39). As Mark’s Gospel unfolds, we see the Jewish leaders increasingly hostile toward Jesus. Although the fear of the crowds stays their hand for awhile, they still try to trap Jesus and plot his destruction (8:11; 11:18; 12:12; 12:13; 14:1: 15:3, 11). There is a lot the Jewish leaders don’t like about Jesus, but their most intense, murderous fury is directed toward him because he believes “I am [the Christ, the Son of the Blessed], and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven” (14:62).

The four Gospels, as we might expect, emphasize different aspects of the Jewish opposition. Luke, for instance, makes more of Jesus’ identification with the society’s cast-offs as an issue for the Jewish leaders, while John makes more of Jesus’ unique status as God’s equal. But the basic outline is consistent in all four accounts. As Jesus’s reputation as a healer and miracle worker spreads, the crowds come to him in larger and larger numbers, prompting the elites to despise him more and more.  As a general rule, Jesus was popular with the masses (the exception being in his hometown of Nazareth), and as his popularity increased with the crowds, so did the opposition from the Jewish leaders.

The Jewish leaders disliked, and eventually grew to hate, Jesus for many reasons. Mark 15:3 says the chief priests “accused him of many things.” They were angry with him for upsetting their traditions and some of their scruples about the law. They looked down on him for eating with sinners and associating with those deemed unclean or unworthy. But most of all, they hated Jesus because he claimed to be from God, and as time went on, dared to make himself equal to God.

That’s why they hated him; that’s why the crowds turn on him; that’s why Jesus was put to death. The Jewish leaders could not recognize Christ’s divine authority and identity. Jealousy was no doubt part of it (Matt. 27:18). But deeper than that, they simply did not have the eyes to see or the faith to believe that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. That’s why in all four gospels, when the opposition against him reaches its climax, Jesus is not charged with being too welcoming to outsiders, but with being a false king, a false prophet, and a false Messiah (Matt. 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:66-71; and less clearly in John 18:9-24). They killed Jesus because they thought he was a blasphemer.

In the end, it was the implicit and explicit claims Jesus made to authority, Messiahship, and God-ness, not his expansive love, that ultimately did him in. This is not an excuse for our own hard-heartedness or a reason to distance ourselves from today’s “sinners and tax collectors.” We need Jesus’s example to set us straight. But we must put to rest the half-truth (more like a one-eighth truth, really) that Jesus was killed for being too inclusive and too nice. The Jewish leaders may have objected to Jesus’s far-reaching compassion, but they wanted him dead because he thought himself the Christ, the Son of the living God. If Jesus simply loved people too much he might have been ridiculed by some. But without his claims to deity, authority, and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, he likely would not have been executed.

So as we approach another Holy Week, let’s certainly talk about the compassion and love of Jesus (how could we not!). But if we don’t talk about his unique identity as the Son of God, we have not explained the reason for his death, and we have not given people reason enough to worship.

I highly recommend to you Kevin DeYoung’s excellent blog, one of my favorites: “DeYoung, Restless and Reformed.” 

photo credit: Jacob Meyer via Unsplash

Does Punctuation Really Matter?

In 2014, I was laboring over the galley stages of my book on sovereignty and free will, called hand in Hand. (The small h in the title is deliberate, as is the capital—our little hand, God’s infinitely big Hand. And while capitalization isn’t exactly punctuation, it can be very significant.) Even at the final stages of the book, after looking at it dozens of times, and other people finding things I hadn’t, I was still finding errors, some of them very small, such as commas that misled or a lack of a comma—a reminder that punctuation really does matter.

For instance, sometimes we have exactly the same words, but the punctuation makes a radical difference in meaning. For instance, consider the sentence “Let's eat, Grandma!” The same words with a single change in punctuation are, “Let's eat Grandma!” (Which may be an actual line in a Stephen King book.)

Here’s another example from online:

An English professor wrote the words: "A woman without her man is nothing" on the chalkboard and asked his students to punctuate it correctly.

All of the males in the class wrote: "A woman, without her man, is nothing."

All the females in the class wrote: "A woman: without her, man is nothing."

Punctuation is powerful!

I saw this somewhere, but after looking online I’m still not sure who to attribute it to. Here are two identical letters written by a woman named Gloria to a man named John. The words in each are identical. Only the punctuation differs.

Letter one:

Dear John,

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior.

You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever
when we’re apart. I can be forever happy—will you let me be yours? 

Gloria

Letter two, identical except for punctuation:

Dear John,

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior.

You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?

Yours,
Gloria

Still, punctuation isn’t exactly life-changing stuff, is it? There’s a story, presumably apocryphal, that demonstrates how it could be.

A prisoner was about to be executed. He stood with a noose around his neck, on a platform that would soon be dropped. Suddenly the telegraph operator ran across the yard yelling, “Wait! I just received a telegram from the governor!” Breathlessly, he read it: “Pardon. Impossible to be executed immediately.’”

They removed the noose and walked the man away. Then the telegraph operator came running out again. “Wait!” he cried, “I got the punctuation wrong. It says ‘Pardon impossible. To be executed immediately.’”

Well, punctuation usually doesn’t matter that much, but it does matter.

photo credit: Damian Zeleski via Unsplash

Six False Expectations That Diminish Our Happiness

Most people intuitively know that our expectations profoundly affect our life experiences. Yet even as believers, we simultaneously expect too much and too little. We need to discover what we should expect less of and what merits higher expectations. That involves lowering our expectations concerning all the advantages we think life should bring us while raising our expectations concerning Christ and what He is daily accomplishing in us.

Here are six false expectations—those that are not grounded in Scripture and undermine our happiness:

1. God’s Love for Us Should Look Just Like What We Want

God has promised us His undying love, but we often imagine how we’d do things differently for those we loved if we were all powerful. We’d surely keep anything bad from ever happening to them, right? That may be our understanding of love, but it’s not God’s.

If we ignore countless passages that promise us persecution and suffering while focusing on those that promise us God’s blessing, we lose sight of His promise to discipline us, build our character, and increase our Christlikeness through suffering.

We ought to expect with the highest confidence only what God has clearly, fundamentally, and absolutely promised. And if our gratitude is lessened with such an understanding, the problem is our expectations, not God’s promises. If we expect God to make our lives easy, our expectations are unbiblical.

2. We Won’t Be Persecuted for Our Faith

Jesus said, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first” (John 15:18, NIV). Peter said we should be firm in our faith, “knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9).

In spite of multiple promises of suffering throughout Scripture, many Christians seem shocked or outraged when they have to face these trials. Americans have been slow to accept the extent to which Bible-believing Christ-followers have become socially unacceptable. Though we should work to hold on to our religious liberties, it’s likely they’ll continue to erode. But cheer up! Opposition is nothing new for God’s people, and historically the church’s greatest advances have come at the lowest ebb of its popularity.

The Christian faith may never return to its central public role in our culture, but Christ’s gospel is bigger than every obstacle. Sometimes a less popular church becomes a more faithful, dynamic, and joyful church. Any church whose happiness hinges on its popularity will either compromise its integrity or surrender its happiness—in either case failing to show the world the true and joyful gospel of Jesus.

3. Jesus Must Return in Our Lifetime

“Stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. . . . Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:42, 44).

Christ will surely return, just as He promised (see Luke 21:27). Since the beginning of church history, many believers have thought Christ would return in their lifetimes. So far, everyone who has died in the past two thousand years has been wrong in that expectation.

In recent years, I’ve often heard believers say, “Christ has to return within the next few years.” No, He doesn’t. He may, but He may not return for decades or centuries. That’s entirely up to Him. Meanwhile, it’s up to us to continue living for Him.

4. Life Will Go Smoothly and We’ll Always Have Health and Wealth

M. Scott Peck opens The Road Less Traveled, “Life is difficult. . . . Once we truly know that life is difficult—once we truly understand and accept it—then life is no longer difficult.” Well, it’s less difficult, anyway!

Paul said, “We brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Timothy 6:7-8). Food and clothing may seem like low expectations. By the standards of the health-and-wealth gospel, these expectations are dismally low, but they’re accompanied by dramatically high expectations of God, who gives us riches in Heaven. After all, He’s the source of our joy!

Has God promised to make us healthy and wealthy? No, not in this life—only in the resurrected life on the New Earth.

5. Life Will Be Fair and People Will Treat Us Kindly and Thoughtfully

Jesus said, “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? . . . But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great” (Luke 6:34-35).

All Bible passages about forgiveness involve lowering our expectations of people and not insisting they live up to our standards, or demanding perfection we don’t measure up to ourselves. God’s grace should calm us and cheer us.

If my saying, “Cheer up” seems naive, someone else—Jesus—said it first: “I have told you this, so that you might have peace in your hearts because of me. While you are in the world, you will have to suffer. But cheer up! I have defeated the world” (John 16:33, CEV).

6. Churches Owe Us Better Treatment than We’ve Received

I am sadly aware that churches have contributed to much unhappiness. But when our expectations of church people, and especially pastors, are inordinately high, we become deeply disappointed, thinking that Christians should know better and have no business being imperfect (often not realizing how imperfect we ourselves are and that the problem with church people is often that they are too much like us).

Scripture tells us we shouldn’t be “neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,” but should gather together, “encouraging one another” (Hebrews 10:25). When we back away from the local church, we often engage in spiritual isolation that’s likely to not only distance us from God’s work but also sour us and our children to the great good churches are doing.

We need to fix our eyes on Jesus, raise our expectations of our personal need to obey Him by being part of and serving the church, and lower our expectations of others so we’ll be more understanding and forgiving. Sometimes we need to find another church that teaches God’s Word and centers on Jesus. He sees all the flaws in the church, but He hasn’t given up on His bride, and He won’t (see Matthew 16:18). Neither should we.

Excerpted from Happiness.

Photo credit: Christian Spies via Unsplash

Watching Our Words on Social Media

The power of the words we speak and write is far greater than we realize. Proverbs 18:21 tells us that “Life and death is in the power of the tongue.” In fact, usually our written words assume more permanence and reach further and wider than our spoken ones.

Yet as I’ve observed Christians interacting on the internet, including through social media, I'm concerned that many of us are failing to use our words in a way that is honoring to Christ. We’re neglecting to remember that these powerful tools many of us are using—whether in blogs, as comments on blogs, on Facebook or Twitter, or as responses to them—can serve either God or Satan, good or evil.

God holds us accountable for every word we say, including the careless ones we share over the internet. Jesus said, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matthew 12:36). This means we better think carefully before we hit post or reply.

Words as Weapons

Jackie Hill Perry writes, “It is not wise or healthy to disassociate what you say on social media from who you are. It seems as if many, including Christians, feel the freedom to be critical, divisive, harsh, and flat out wicked with speech via social media as if it is not AS damaging. Don’t be fooled, you will be judged just as much for what you said with your mouth as you will with what you’ve typed with your hands.”

I’ve seen Bible-believing, Christ-centered people post thoughts on a blog or on social media only to receive a string of hypercritical responses from people who wield Scripture verses like pickaxes, swiftly condemning the slightest hint of a viewpoint they consider suspicious. Others quickly join the fray, and soon it appears that no one has bothered to read what the blogger actually said. Responders assume the worst, not giving the benefit of the doubt and engaging in shotgun-style character assassination. (If I were an unbeliever reading such responses, I certainly wouldn’t be drawn to the Christian faith!)

I wonder why it’s not immediately recognized by those engaging in such behavior that what they’re doing is utterly contrary to the faith they profess and the Bible they believe. How is it that perpetual disdain, suspicion, unkindness, and hostility are seen as taking the spiritual high ground? We dishonor our God and each other when we accuse and delight in our brothers’ and sisters’ alleged errors.

A Call for Wisdom

The ancient book of Proverbs has much to say about our words. These biblical principles apply every bit as much to our written words as our spoken ones. Proverbs 12:18 says, “Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” “A man of knowledge uses words with restraint, and a man of understanding is even-tempered” (Proverbs 17:27). “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).

Paul David Tripp writes, “…you have never spoken a neutral word in your life. Your words have direction to them. If your words are moving in the life direction, they will be words of encouragement, hope, love, peace, unity, instruction, wisdom, and correction. But if your words are moving in a death direction, they will be words of anger, malice, slander, jealousy, gossip, division, contempt, racism, violence, judgment, and condemnation.”

Truth and Grace

James 2:13 says, “Judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!” Where is the mercy among evangelical Christians? Personally, I’ve seen a lot of it. But I’ve also seen a lot of unmerciful condemnation of the sort that Jesus repeatedly denounced.

Yes, we can and will disagree in the Christian community, but we should speak the truth in love: “Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ” (Ephesians 4:15-16). God calls us “to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men” (Titus 3:2).

While we should desire that truth not be compromised, we should also remember that Jesus often condemned the Pharisees, those whose doctrine was closest to His own. Why? For their lack of grace. Our Jesus came “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He calls for us to be full of both.

Psalm 133:1 says, “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!” What are we doing to cultivate this kind of unity? Sometimes we must disagree with our brothers. But are we going out of our way to assume the best rather than the worst? Are we laboring to share our opinions in a spirit of love and grace? “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Romans 14:19).

A Higher Calling

Paul reminds us to “Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Corinthians 16:14). Wouldn’t it be wonderful for those of us who are already each other’s brothers and sisters to learn how to believe the best of each other? And to speak the truth to each other in love? And to be like Jesus toward each other: full of grace and truth? (One thing is certain: a world torn apart by criticism, suspicion, and hostility will never be won to Christ by a church riddled with the same.)

Galatians 6:10 is an apt reminder for our interactions on social media: “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” On social media, in our conversations, and everywhere in between, may we seek to do good to our brothers and sisters in Christ through our words, always remembering our accountability to the Lord Jesus.

photo credit: William Iven via Unsplash