Three Index Cards

Batsell Barrett Baxter was a busy man. He was a fulltime college professor who also preached two sermons each week at a local church. He also spoke once per week on national television. I once heard him give this advice on how to get more done.

Brother Baxter said that at the beginning of each week he made three lists (on three index cards). The first card listed things he considered his most urgent tasks for that week. The second card contained things that were important, but not urgent (they needed to be done, but not necessarily that week). The third listed things he would like to do, but which were not all that important. He carried these cards with him all week.

Whenever he had a spare moment, he would pull out the first card – the one that listed matters that were both important and urgent. If possible, he worked on one of those items. He reached for the second card only if he had either completed everything on the first card, or if a situation had arisen where he sincerely could not work on the items on the first card. He went to the third card only if the first two had been completed, or had turned out to be impossible at this time.

That sounds like an effective system, and it certainly worked for Brother Baxter. But, in case you do not like it, let me suggest another way of handling your time.

Do not make lists; just do whatever comes into your mind at the moment. If you get bored or lonely, turn on the television. If you have a spare moment that is not long enough for watching television, play a computer game or search the web a little. I am sure that you can stay busy this way, just as busy as Batsell Barrett Baxter. Of course busy is not the same as productive, but let’s not split hairs.

Perspective on the Times

Garrison Keillor used to joke about a radio show called “Lutheran Whispers.” This mythical show was sponsored by Kierkegaard Hardware and hosted by Thorny Thornburg. Mr. Thornburg was always depressed. He questioned why he had been born Scandinavian (“the food is bad, the weather is terrible, the theology is enough to break a man’s heart”).

I thought of “Lutheran Whispers” this morning. Yesterday I had read a headline in the Christian Chronicle that seemed designed to depress, and it had been effective. I started to question why I had to live at this discouraging time in history.

My morning reading today was the book of Lamentations -- five chapters of lament over the destruction of Jerusalem. It is amazing how a little reflection on biblical history can change our perspective. The year 2018 may not be the greatest year to be alive, but it sure beats 586 BC in Judah!

We may feel like saying, “I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath” (Lam 3:1). And that is all right, provided that we go on to remember, ‘The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. (Lam 3:22-26, ESV)

It is a difficult time in history. Perhaps it is our duty, and privilege, to make a small but positive difference at this time. Perhaps, like most of the prophets, we will find that our efforts will seem to have failed. But, if we are faithful, at least God’s word will have been proclaimed, even if people fail to respond (Ezek 2:5).

The tide comes in, the tide goes out. The tide is constantly changing. Whichever way the tide of popular public opinion turns, let us be faithful (2 Tim 4:2; 1 Cor 4:2).

An Aid Worth Owning

The production of Bible study aids is big business. Millions are spent each year on commentaries, class books, study Bibles and computer programs designed to help us understand the Bible. Some of these can be of help, but they can also be dangerous.

Recently one form of Bible study aid has made its appearance that, I hope, no one will find objectionable. It is, pure and simple, the Bible itself – without note, comment or even chapter and verse markings.

Most of us are aware of the fact that the practice of dividing the Bible into chapters and verses did not arise until more than one-thousand years after the apostolic age. But what we may not realize is how much those chapter and verse divisions could be detracting from our Bible reading.

As originally written the thought in a given book of the Bible flowed continuously from beginning to end. As printed in most of our Bibles today, that thought is broken up into small pieces. The way most Bibles are printed unconsciously discourages us from reading large sections. Instead, the appearance of the text on the printed page tends to atomize the thought into disjointed pieces.

Several publishers now offer Bibles (generally called “reader’s Bibles”) that do away with the atomizing verse markings. These Bibles may not be handy for use in a class, but they might do something interesting to your personal Bible reading. You might find yourself reading more scripture, and enjoying it more, with one of these Bibles.

Thankful for the Family

The world today has no respect for family. Even many Christians have strayed from God’s plan. Why must we all get a degree? Why must we all earn a wage? Why is it that even Christians put more stock in where people went to school and what employment they have had, than in the job they have done raising a family?

That is not God’s way. His plan, for both men (1 Tim 3:1-5), and women (1 Tim 5:14), emphasizes family.
The world today has no respect for God’s family. The church and the family, the bedrock institutions in days gone by, are openly mocked today.

But God’s household, his family, the church, is important. The truth has been entrusted to it (1 Tim 3:15). The church is the fullness of Christ (Eph 1:22-23). It is through the church that the wisdom of God is made known (Eph 3:10). It is through the church that God is glorified and will be glorified eternally (Eph 3:20-21).

When we are in need, it is to our families that we should turn. We should turn first to our immediate family and then to our spiritual family (1 Tim 5). I have travelled to many parts of the world, and in every place I have gone I have found brothers and sisters. I have enjoyed sharing in worship and work with these brothers and sisters. From the frigid prairies of Western Canada to the mountains and deserts of southern Africa I have found family, people who honor my father, people who embrace me because they too are his children.

I am glad to be a part of God’s family. I am glad to serve with God’s family. I am thankful for God’s family!

Invictus Revised

William Ernest Henley authored the short poem “Invictus.” The last four lines are the only ones known these days.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

I first heard the lines on the old television show “Room 222.” I only watched the show a few times, and limited exposure perhaps has helped me remember what I did watch of it. During the episode that contained the poem, Mr. Kaufman, the school principal, hears complaints about the English teacher, Miss Brown, so he goes by the classroom to investigate.

She is an older teacher, one he had studied under when he was in school. When she sees him enter the room late, her mind goes back twenty years. She thinks that he is still her student. She berates him for being late again, and orders him to stand and recite Invictus.

It was an episode about the tragedy of dementia. It was also an episode about the error of Invictus. Miss Brown was not the master of her fate. She was not the captain of her soul. None of us is (Gal 2:16; Rom 14:7ff).

So I offer you my own revised version of the closing of the poem.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
Christ is the Master of my fate,
The Captain of my soul.

Made or Become?

I came across a quote the other day that looked like a misquote. Oswald Chambers quoted 1 Corinthians 9:22 from the King James Version, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” That did not sound right to me, but it is. It is not stated that way in other translations, not even in the New King James. Other translations say “I have become,” rather than “I was made.”

I looked the verse up in Greek, and read the thoughts of a number of scholars, and did not learn much from the process. Is the verb active (what Paul “became” of his own doing), or is it passive (what he was “made” to be by a power outside himself)?

Grammatically the matter cannot be settled, but I think in practical terms we know the answer.

We become what God wants us to be only by his power, but only as we submit ourselves to him. He does not work with the proud, but only with those who submit to him (James 4:6ff). We become capable of submitting to others and leading them to salvation only as we allow ourselves to be his instruments. We do not have that ability within ourselves, but we do have that ability made available to us by his grace. We “become” what we need to be only as he “makes” us what we need to be.

Until we recognize that we cannot “become all things to all” except by his power remaking us, we will not become capable instruments for saving others. Trying to remake ourselves is a pointless undertaking. Expecting God to remake us without our willing submission and active participation is equally foolish.

The Propinquity Effect

Research has shown that the more we interact with people, the more likely we are to become friends with them, be influenced by them, and become like them. It is not so much that “birds of a feather flock together” as “birds who just happen to be near each other grow similar feathers.” This is called the propinquity effect.

“Why might this research be important to us?” Well, aside from the fact that it confirms what we should already know from the Bible (1 Cor 15:33; Prov 13:20), it also tells us something about what will happen if we allow our children to grow up spending most of their time with non-Christians.

The propinquity effect is especially strong in youth. Since we no longer have arranged marriages, there is a very strong possibility that young men and young women will be attracted to one another simply because they find themselves thrown together often. I have known a number of young couples who did not have shared values or interests and yet decided to get married. Marriage is still expected of people at a certain age range. If, when they reach that age, there is no one around who shares their values and interests, they will often convince themselves that they are “in love” with someone who happens to be at hand – no matter the unsuitability of the mismatch. A few marriages like this work out, but most are disastrous.

Of course, we cannot guarantee that Christian camps or Christian schools, or Christian singles get-togethers will solve these problems. Perhaps it would be wise to talk with our youth about the propinquity effect. That will not solve the problem either, but at least it will give our youth a better chance.

Then again, maybe we should consider the possibility that we have all come under the propinquity effect. Is the church drifting from its moral and spiritual standards simply because we “flock together” so much with the world?