Stint on the Sideline

When my dad lived in Michigan as a teen, he suffered a broken femur during a game of "king of the hill" in the snow.  The object of the game was to stand on a heap of snow and fend off everyone else who wrestled their way to the top.  People teamed up to overthrow the present "king," and when my dad fell in a tumble of bodies his leg snapped near his hip.  Because of the location of the break, he was hospitalised and in traction for nearly two months as his bone mended.

Though an injury sidelined my dad, he came out of hospital much stronger than he went in.  There wasn't much to do with his whole leg in a plaster cast suspended in the air, but he discovered he could do pull-ups on the traction equipment.  He missed out on playing and working for months because of the leg break, yet his focus was not on what happened or that he wasn't able to be where he wanted to be:  he put in hard work through exercise because of where he was heading.  When he walked back into class the following year, he looked like a different person and ready to take on anyone.

This is a good illustration for those who feel like they have been sidelined from what was enjoyable, and it wasn't your choice.  It could be through an injury, condition, having a baby, moving house, being let go from a job, or the breakdown of a close personal relationship.  It is easy when things happen that were never our choice to lose heart, to focus on who broke our leg or ruined our lives, to fixate on what has happened rather than where we are and where we are heading.  For Christians, we realise God is with us and He is able to redeem for good what others intended for evil.  So you have been sidelined from where you want to be:  how about exerting yourself to gain strength, endurance and joy as you seek the LORD and do what you can to be ready for the next season?  When God opens the door, He will be faithful to help us walk through it--and walking means work.

Christians can learn from the diligence and dedication of athletes who suffer a serious injury, miss an entire season and work their way back to the field; we can glean wisdom from those who toil for years in lower levels of professional sport who never make it to the big leagues.  Some of these go on to coach, manage, to work in scouting and the front office.  They were waiting for their "big break" that never came the way they expected, but the LORD used their time in dusty dugouts to be part of a team in another way.  Joseph did not go to Egypt to seek fame, wealth and power:  he was sold as a slave and taken there.  He was made to serve in a rich man's house, and after he was thrown into prison he took the lead in looking after other prisoners.  In suffering his relationship with God deepened, and the LORD orchestrated an opportunity for Joseph to exercise God-given wisdom to interpret dreams.  In time he was brought before Pharaoh, was promoted to second in command, saved nations from starvation and was reunited with his family where there was food to spare.

How different Joseph's story would be if he brooded over the wrongs done him, shirked his responsibilities as a slave and rebelled against God!  Joseph did not set his sights on where he was or even where he wanted to be but looked to the LORD.  He never aspired to govern or rule in Egypt.  The one thing he wanted was to be released from prison, and in time by God's grace he was.  As a slave and in the prison Joseph continued to develop godly character, and he was useful wherever God opened a door.  So you're in traction or on the sidelines; you've been sacked and feel like your feet have been taken out from under you.  I encourage you to look to the LORD and exert yourself to seek, serve and praise Him right where you are.  Maybe pull-ups are the only thing you can do in your hospital bed, or perhaps all you can do is spiritually exercise in prayer.  But know that there is a season God has for you beyond that hospital bed, and God often provides opportunity in that bed to prepare for it.

Return and Rest

I am often amazed when I hear about pets that have been separated from their owners and manage to find their way back home.  I needed help from others as a kid finding my way to my parents when separated in a store!  Of all the dogs our family owned in my youth, I don't believe one of them ever escaped and voluntarily came back of their own free will.  We had to go after them, find them and bring them back to the safety of our spacious back yard.  Though they lived outside and were fed, watered and washed with care, they seemed to enjoy exploring outside the confines of our property.  It was always a chore to bring them back--especially when picked up by animal control and taken to the pound.

In the book of Judges, at Calvary Chapel Sydney we have read how the children of Israel forsook the LORD God of their fathers and worshipped other gods--dumb idols fashioned by the hands of men.  By God's grace, He allowed their sinful, calamitous decisions to prompt their return to God by terrible consequences.  While we assume a good God will prevent all calamity or bail His people out of difficulty, God let the consequences of sin run its course.  Sin would utterly ruin them without God's intervention, and God was powerful to redeem them from sin and the oppression of their enemies when they repented and returned to Him.

This fact God saves did not mean God's people were always willing to submit to God.  Centuries later the word of the LORD well-described the historic tendency of God's people in Isaiah 30:15-16:  "For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: "In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength." But you would not, ¹⁶ and you said, "No, for we will flee on horses"--therefore you shall flee! And, "We will ride on swift horses"--therefore those who pursue you shall be swift!"  Those who forsook God and tried to flee from the consequences of sin would be pursued and caught by their enemies.  Rather than returning to God, repenting of sin and finding rest by faith in God, God's people resembled our pets that tried to run away from safety and salvation!  See the grace of God to ensure His people could not flee from sin's consequences that would hound them.

When people wished their oppression would cease, God's desire was to do an inner work in the hearts of His people to return to Him and freely cast their stubborn rebellion away from them.  Isaiah 30:18-19 says, "Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him. ¹⁹ For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you."  What awesome promises God gives to those who face tests, trials and tribulations--even when they are self-inflicted wounds!  God is patient, gracious and merciful, and blessed are all those who wait for Him.  Rather than casting us away from Himself as an unclean thing (for who among us is without sin!), He draws us to Himself by His grace to redeem and save us.

The question is, in the midst of calamity will we return to the LORD and wait patiently for Him?  Or will we try to run from Him?  In returning and rest we shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be our strength for God, our God, is glorious and good forever.  Come to Jesus in faith, for in Him alone we find rest for our souls (Matthew 11:28-29).

Sin and Spiritual Growth

The Pharisees were very concerned about maintaining their religious image, and they viewed themselves as learned experts and teachers.  They were very wary when Jesus appeared on the scene and seemed to undermine their legalistic norms they followed and imposed upon others.  Yet Jesus was not like other men, for He taught with authority and did miraculous signs that led even some Pharisees to conclude Jesus was sent from God.  When Nicodemus met with Jesus by night, he divulged this to Jesus personally.

What impresses me about Nicodemus is his willingness to be vulnerable and ask Jesus genuine questions to His face while others in his circle gathered behind closed doors to plot His murder.  They were weary of Jesus showing them up and dodging their accusations with wise answers, exposing their hypocrisy, calling them a brood of vipers, and comparing them to whitewashed tombs that appeared clean on the outside but were full of uncleanness within.  As the Light of the World, Jesus Christ directed the light of God's word they knew upon their own hearts and motives, and conviction gnawed at them.  They would not admit defeat or that they were even sinners:  they saw Jesus as the real problem to be eliminated, and their wicked hearts were hardened without repentance.

We had a pine tree removed from our backyard a couple months back, and it was not long after it was cut down before little pine shoots began sprouting throughout the turf.  At first I assumed these shoots were sprouting from seeds, but investigation revealed the pine tree had sent thick roots throughout the topsoil.  When this came to light, there were two options:  I could run the lawn mower over the grass and pine sprouts at once and preserve the lawn, or I needed to use a mattock to remove the roots which would pose an ongoing problem.  This would damage the lawn in places, but removing these roots was the key to a healthier lawn moving forward.  The envy, hatred and murder of the Pharisees was evidence of sin in their proud hearts, and they were like one who would rather mow the pine shoots in an attempt to preserve the appearance of a healthy lawn rather than remove the roots by repentance.

When evidence of our stubborn sinfulness reveals itself, we ought to be like Nicodemus who was vulnerable before the LORD Jesus concerning his ignorance by admitting and repenting of our sin.  Rather than merely apologising over the appearance of sin, we ought to dig down and examine our hearts so we might deal with the root problems that hide under an image of religious piety and maturity.  Leaders, teachers and people who have taken a clear stand for the truth can be uncomfortable to admit having ongoing sins and problems the LORD brings to light, but it would be better to rip up sin by the roots than to keep cutting the grass and pine shoots as if we are beyond the reach of sin.  Attempts to keep up appearances undermines maturity, and genuine repentance causes us to grow spiritually to be more like Jesus.

Esteem God Highly

Since I can remember, in western society doing all we can to increase self-esteem in people has seemingly been universally accepted and viewed as good without controversy.  The tendrils of this worldly wisdom have wormed their way into education, workplaces, government, media, parenting and culture.  There is a scene in The Matrix when Morpheus says of Neo, "He's beginning to believe."  The quote referred to Neo's self-belief, that he could do things he once imagined impossible because he was "The One," the prophesied saviour.  The themes of self-belief and self-esteem has been emphasised ad nauseam, that the greatest inspiration is found within ourselves.  If we believe it we can achieve it, that we can be whatever and whoever we want, that the power to shape our destiny has been laying dormant inside us all along--and our self-esteem was the key to unlock it.

The tenor and teachings of the Bible take a completely different approach, for it makes a strong case for low self-esteem--not that we ought to think little of ourselves but by esteeming God more we think of ourselves less.  It is important to understand the natural posture of human beings is to esteem self more than everyone else.  Ephesians 5:29 says, "For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church."  Those who hate their bodies or their lives do not hate themselves, for people merely inhabit a body for awhile on earth.  Even people in the world can see how pride, arrogance and selfishness are sinful snares that lead to great harm for self and others.  "Pride comes before a fall," the Bible says, and the once humble King Saul was rejected by God when he became great in his own eyes, sought his own glory, and refused to submit to God.  Satan esteemed himself highly, believing he could be as the Most High--and it led to his catastrophic fall from grace.

Haman is a prime example of a man who esteemed himself highly, and this man was a deceiver with murderous intentions.  Through his friendship with the king he managed to enact a law that commanded the annihilation of the Jewish people, and he was often enraged when people did not give him the respect and honour he craved--despite his privileged position, perks and great wealth.  He esteemed himself so highly it coloured the way he saw the world, and Esther 6:6 illustrates this:  "So Haman came in, and the king asked him, "What shall be done for the man whom the king delights to honor?" Now Haman thought in his heart, "Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?"  These are not the words of a man plagued by low self-esteem!  Haman had just literally constructed a gallows to hang the Jew Mordecai because he felt slighted by him, and all he could think about was seeking honour for himself because he esteemed himself over all others.  Literally before the day was over, Haman would be hung on those gallows for his foolish pride.

As a contrast, consider those who esteemed God highly and saw themselves in the light of His glorious goodness, wisdom and power.  After God revealed Himself to Job in a series of questions Job 42:1-2, 6 reads:  "Then Job answered the LORD and said: ² "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You...⁶ Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."  When Isaiah saw a vision of the LORD lifted up, Isaiah 6:5 states, "So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."  David expressed a desire to build a temple for God, yet God forbade him from doing so as the task would be completed by his son.  Rather than being sullen or upset like a petulant child who demands his way, David was overwhelmed by gratitude for God's kindness, promises and he blessed the LORD of hosts gladly (2 Samuel 7:25-29).  Each of these men were comforted, strengthened, and blessed by God who knew and loved them.

These godly men are just a few examples in Scripture of those who feared the LORD and esteemed Him rather than themselves.  It was not positive thoughts about self that lifted them from depression, brought healing or filled them with joy in the midst of trials but esteeming highly the good God they worshiped and submitted to in humility.  Jesus Christ taught His disciples that rather than embracing the pursuit of high self-esteem they were to deny themselves, take up their cross daily and follow Him.  He spoke to His disciples in Matthew 6:25-26:  "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"  Rather than esteeming themselves, their own needs and desires, Jesus taught His followers to look to God to supply all that was needed for life, knowing He valued them.  What is more important:  to esteem ourselves or highly esteem God who esteems us with love?

The higher we esteem God as worthy, the less we will esteem ourselves.  Knowing we are loved, chosen and accepted by God's grace, He causes us to increase in love for one another--not so others will esteem us, but because we are loved and valued by God.  Trying to build our own self-esteem or the self-esteem of others from a biblical viewpoint is futile, for the more we succeed in doing so the further our focus drifts from God, His word, wisdom and ways.  While high self-esteem seems reasonable and desirable according to worldly wisdom, it ultimately leaves all who invest in it totally bankrupt and bereft of enduring hope.  One might as well do as Baron Munchausen did by lifting himself and his horse out of the water by his own hair.  The benefits of a high self-esteem are shown by the Bible to be fantasy that defy spiritual physics like the Baron lifting himself to safety.  James 4:10 flips the script on self-esteem:  "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."  Those who esteem God He will exalt. 

(“Aventures du baron de Münchhausen.” Traduction nouvelle par Théophile Gautier fils; illustrées par Gustave Doré. Paris: Furne, Jouvet et cie, [ca. 1862])