Ukulele Music and Similar Matters

As I type this I am listening to Ukulele music. I like all kinds of music, but rarely listen to anything played on the Ukulele. But I was feeling a little blue, so I did a quick search for happy sounding music, and this is what came up. It is not a cure-all, but it helps. Music affects our mood. So do colors, temperature, and posture. As Screwtape reminded Wormwood, “…they can be persuaded that bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they are constantly forgetting, what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls.”

The fact that someone is kneeling does not prove that they are offering a humble prayer. The fact that someone is running does not prove that they are not offering a humble prayer. But, the one position is more conducive than the other. A person might be happy while listening to sad sounding music. A person might be sad while listening to Ukulele music, but the odds are somewhat against it.

When I was in high school the dress codes were beginning to be relaxed. We were allowed to wear jeans to school. Most of the time I kept to the old dress code (dress shirt, dress trousers and dress shoes), but occasionally I wore jeans, a work shirt, and my combat boots. I never got in a serious fight at school, but a couple of times I was tempted to try those boots out on someone. The clothes did not set my mood, but they had an effect on it.

So, what am I saying? Am I judging you according to your clothes? No. No. And absolutely, No.

I am just suggesting that how we dress, what we listen to, our posture, and even the colors around us have an effect. So let’s keep that in mind. If you get down, put on some upbeat music, turn on brighter lights, dress up in your best clothes, and smile. [I tried it just then and it did not hurt (well, not much).] If you struggle to pray, try a different posture, or even a different place. Sometimes getting out into God’s creation can help a lot with this. For certain kinds of prayer, kneeling can sometimes be a significant tone setter.

Screwtape was right. What our bodies do has an effect on our souls. Let be aware of this fact and respond appropriately.

A Good Book Getting Better

I have never cared for the “new and improved” label. Vista was new, but it was not an improvement over XP. The Chevy Vega was not an improvement over the Nova. But the latest changes to Howard Belben’s book The Mission of Jesus will be welcomed. The text of the book is unchanged from the way it was republished last year. But we have added a “reflection and discussion guide” to help those who might use it in a small group setting, or even for individual reflection. The cost is unchanged, it is still $5.75 in paperback and $2.99 in the Kindle edition.

Not The First Generation

We live in a dark and sinful world. It is discouraging. But we must remember that we are not the first generation to live in a climate of spiritual and moral decline. The world is dark and sinful, but no more dark and sinful than it was when “Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” That is the last sentence in the book of Judges. When the context is considered, it may be the most discouraging verse in the Old Testament. What many of them considered right was clearly wrong – very wrong.

The next sentence in the Bible reads, “In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.” That is the first verse of the book of Ruth. Truly, there was a terrible famine in the land at that time – spiritual as well as physical. But the LORD, unseen by human eyes, was working through the lives of Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz (and even through the deaths of Naomi’s husband and sons). God was preparing the man who would become the benchmark leader for the nation. Several generations would pass before David became king. But the faithfulness of the few, people like Boaz, would help to prepare the way for David.

We are not the first generation to face discouragement; ours is not the first generation to struggle against spiritual and moral decay. The Hebrew writer remembers those who were tortured and those who suffered mocking, flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. He says that “They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy…” (Hebrews 11:37-38, ESV).

J.C. Ryle wisely pointed out that “It is not ‘the good and successful servant,’ but ‘the good and faithful servant,’ to whom He will say, ‘Enter into the joy of your Lord.’”

We may not be successful in trying to brighten this dark world; but let us be faithful. And let us remember that while we are to be the “light of the world” (Mt 5:14) Christ did not mean that any one of us could brighten the whole world, or even our whole community. Sometimes we have to merely brighten our little corner.

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9, ESV).

Which is the Bigger Issue, Opportunity or Attitude?

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” (Eccl 9:10)
Many years ago I read of a young man who grew up in a poor neighborhood where there was very little to do. He wanted to stay in shape, but had no money for a gym membership. For exercise the young man used to push a car up and down the street.

Eventually he went from pushing the car to tackling running backs. He was pretty good at it. My brother once had the opportunity to speak with NFL running back Ron Johnson. He asked him, “What is it like to be tackled by Dick Butkus?” If I remember right the answer was, “A lot like being run over by a train.”

Dick Butkus could have become bitter about his lack of opportunities. Most American kids have more than a junk car to entertain them. But then, most American kids do not sign a contract for $200,000 as soon as they leave college. Most do not end up with a net worth of 8 million.

What is the lesson here? Perhaps the lesson is that sometimes our lack of opportunities, if responded to properly, become our opportunity.

So, if you do not have the opportunities that you wanted and prayed for, if God does not seem interested in giving you the gifts and ministries that you sought, maybe you should find an old car and push it. I am not suggesting that it will lead you to a net worth of millions, but I am sure that it will lead to something better than you will find by crying over the lack of opportunities.

If you cannot do the big jobs, do the small ones. If you cannot find the jobs that will gain you notoriety, do the ones no one will notice. But whatever you do, do it with your might – the best of your ability. Even if no one else notices, the Lord will know. Deep down you will know also, and you may in the end find more satisfaction in the simple and homely tasks than you really would have in the things you dreamed of doing.

A Balanced Perspective

The following is a statement that I have heard and even used myself. It is, within the right context, a very true and useful statement. “If one has done his best, no one can do any better than that.”

Sometimes we have tried our best but things have not gone well. Sometimes we lack the skill for the task at hand. Sometimes factors beyond our control kept us from succeeding. In those situations, the words of J.C. Ryle are helpful, “It is not the good and successful servant, but the good and faithful servant, to whom He will say, “Enter into the joy of your Lord (Mt 25:21).”

But while all of the above is true, it could be over-extended and misapplied.

On July 11, 1970 I attempted to preach a sermon about heaven. I collapsed a few minutes into the sermon and never finished it. I had done the best I knew how at the time; but frankly, it was not a good sermon and it is remembered only because I fainted, not because the content was worth remembering.

I had done the best I could at the time, and that is okay. But it would not have been okay for me to have taken the attitude, “That was my best and God will accept it.” Surely, if that had been my attitude, it would have been a sinful attitude. Surely, while taking some comfort in the fact that I had done my best at the time, it was only right that I should desire to improve my best.

In preaching, teaching, singing, praying, in giving, serving, and in all that we do, it is one thing to say “I did my best” and something very different to say, “I did my best and God will have to accept it.” No!!! As soon as we add that second part to the thought, we have said too much. If we are not striving to improve on our preaching, teaching, singing, praying, giving, serving, and all that we do, then we are sinning and God decidedly will not accept it.

Dr. Bob Whitaker, assisted by my oldest son, attempted a brain surgery. Dr. Whitaker was not a brain surgeon. But the man was going to die if someone did not do something, so Bob tried his best. The man died. But Bob did not take the attitude, “Well, I did my best and I will do the same again next time.” Living where he did, he knew that this would come up again. So he asked Dr. Charles Branch (a neurosurgeon) to teach him how to do the surgery right.

God may accept our best, if it really is our best. But our best should be getting better. If it is not, then probably it is not really our best.

What Price Are We Willing to Pay?

While not the most famous words of his inaugural address, this statement by President Kennedy was significant. “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.”

It was understood in January of 1961 that anything worthwhile in life had a cost. It was understood that there are burdens and hardships to bear. It was understood that a man or woman seeking only their own comfort was a man or woman without significance, meaning, or purpose.

At that point in our history, the worth of pain and the might of self-sacrifice were understood by many. The mindset of our nation at that time was still heavily influenced by the scriptures. We were not really a Christian nation, but we were a nation strongly influenced by the faith that has a cross at its center. We are no longer such a nation.

Today the question is not “what can I do for my country?” but “what is the government going to do for me?” That shift in attitude may be the most destructive force in our national life. But I am not writing primarily about our national life.

Is it any different with Christians? Has our faith and focus also drifted? Do we gather to sing our favorite songs and to see our friends? Or do we gather to honor the Lord? Do we live as consumers, trying to get the best bargain we can from the local merchants, on the Internet, and from the Lord? Or do we live as those who “have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (2 Cor 5:14-15)?

I am sorry to ask such challenging questions. But somehow I don’t think the church was built by means of positive thinking pep talks, and I don’t think that is what will restore it to its original purity and purpose. What price are we willing to pay, what burden are we willing to bear for the cause of Christ? Admittedly, it is a challenging question, but then most worthwhile questions are.

Pork Fat and Faith

I do not pay much attention to the news. I do not take the paper; I do not listen to the television or radio news. On those occasions when I want to be a bit depressed, I can always look up the news on the BBC web-site. I suppose it was our years in Africa that made the BBC my favorite source for news (although it was only by means of shortwave radio in those days).

New Year’s Day I saw an article on the BBC site that claimed to list the 100 most nutritious foods (hwww.bbc.com/future/story/20180126-the-100-most-nutritious-foods). I ran through the whole list rather quickly, reading the details on only a couple of items. The biggest surprise was “pork fat.” That is right; they listed pork fat as one of the most nutritious things we can eat, and said that the rumors of it causing heart attacks have been proven false.

For more than forty years we were told to avoid pork fat. Now, a group of 100 nutritionists have listed it as one of the best foods. Frankly, I do not know (or care) who is right on this particular matter. I just want to make one simple point.

The next time someone tells you that there is scientific evidence that homosexuality is unavoidable for those who have the “homosexuality gene,” you could say, “Pork fat.” The next time someone claims that scientific evidence supports the idea that children should not be made to mind their behavior, just say, “Pork fat.” The next time someone claims that monogamy is bad for us, just say “More pork fat” and keep going.

The sad truth is that the so-called scientific community is full of people who are anything but scientific. Some of these people manage to prove (to their own satisfaction) whatever it was they set out to prove. No matter what they claim to have proven now, they will someday be busy proving the opposite. On matters of faith and morals we will do best to just stick with what God has said, and let the manipulators of statistics go their merry way. We really do not want to go where they are going anyway.

If God says something is bad for us, it is. If he says something will eternally separate us from him, it will. If he says that a given action is evidence that the person engaging in it has an arrogant and sick mind, they do.

One of the great things about being a Christian is that we do not have to keep up with the constantly changing claims of contemporary theorists. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Heb 13:8).