Avoiding the Influence of Mockers by Mark D. Roberts

Psalm 1:1-6

Oh, the joys of those who do not      follow the advice of the wicked,      or stand around with sinners,      or join in with mockers.

Psalm 1:1

We live in a society of mockers. People who mock consider themselves better than others. They do not enter into serious engagement with people or ideas when these people or ideas are not to their liking. They do not offer others the respect implicit in genuine debate. Rather, they seek to elevate their own status by scorning that which they dislike or disbelieve.

Scorn of this sort is all too common in our society today. I’m not referring to thoughtful parody, but rather to superficial scoffing. You can watch it on television. It’s all over the Internet. Political ads are particularly adept at scorn, since scorn allows one to put down an opponent without engaging the opponent in a serious way. These days, religious people are especially open to mockery from the irreligious, those who think religion is “religulous” (religious + ridiculous).

In a culture drenched with mockery, it’s easy for our hearts to be filled with a spirit of scorn. Scoffing not only puts down that which we dislike, but it also augments our own social standing. Thus, we need to heed the warning of Psalm 1:1 if we want to live joyfully.

In the New Living Translation, the last phrase of Psalm 1:1 asserts that those who do not “join in with mockers” will experience joy. Other translations replace “mockers” with “disrespectful” (CEB), “scoffers” (ESV, NRSV), or “scornful” (KJV). The Message paraphrases, “How well God must like you…you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College.” Beneath these translations lies the Hebrew word letzim. This word, which appears only here in the Psalms, is common in Proverbs. There we learn that the letzim are foolish (1:22), unwilling to accept correction (9:7), proud, haughty, and arrogant (21:24).

Psalm 1 does not say that we should have no dealings with mockers. Literally, it says that we will be blessed if we do not “sit in the seat of mockers” or “dwell in the dwelling of mockers.” This reminds us that the company we keep will have a powerful influence on our behavior. Hang out with scoffers, and it’s likely that you’ll become one yourself.

Our passage today challenges me to examine my own habits. Do I mock those of whom I disapprove? Do I scorn both them and their ideas? Have I allowed myself to be caught in the mocking spirit of this age? Do I need to repent of the sin of scoffing? Or do I take all people seriously, engaging both them and their ideas with respect? Do I show to all people the love of Christ, even my enemies?

FURTHER REFLECTION: Let me encourage you to consider how you would answer the questions I have just asked of myself.

PRAYER: Gracious God, how easy it is for me to be caught in the mocking spirit of this age. If I’m not scoffing with my words, I may be doing so in my heart. It’s so much simpler to look down, up, and laugh at those with whom I disagree or whom I don’t like. Forgive me, Lord, for the times when I have indulged in mockery.

Help me, Lord, to take all people seriously, to offer them respect even when they do not respect me. And may I associate consistently with people who do the same, so that I might honor you in all that I do. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/avoiding-influence-mockers

Beyond Thanksgiving by Mark D. Roberts

Psalm 136:1-26

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good!      His faithful love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1

At first glance, Psalm 136 is a psalm of thanksgiving. In the New Living Translation, 12 times this psalm exhorts us to “give thanks” to God. (In the original Hebrew, the imperative form of the verb yadah shows up only four times, but it is implied in many other verses. No other psalm uses this imperative as often.)

What does it mean to give thanks to God? Commonly, we give thanks to someone who has done something for us. Thanksgiving acknowledges a person for acting in a positive way. We see this sense of thanksgiving in Psalm 136. Verse 5, for example, reads, “Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.” Our thanks acknowledges God’s action in creation and gives him appropriate credit.

Yet the use of “give thanks” in Psalm 136 goes beyond our ordinary sense of thanksgiving. Consider the first verse, for example: “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.” Though one might rightly note that God’s goodness and faithful love are communicated through his actions, this verse connects thanksgiving, not specifically to what God has done, but to who God is. We are to give thanks, not just because God has done good things for us, but because God is good.

Thus, Psalm 136 takes us beyond thanksgiving to a deeper acknowledgement, not only of God’s actions, but also of God’s nature. The Hebrew verb yadah, translated here as “give thanks,” means more than “acknowledge someone when that person does something good for you.” It has the sense of speaking out what is true. Thus, beyond saying “thank you” to God when God blesses us, we are to confess his goodness, his grace, his beauty, his grandeur.

Practically speaking, thanksgiving often leads us to deeper praise. When we think of what God has done for us, we can’t hold back our gratitude. But, even more, our consideration of God’s actions helps us to reflect upon God’s nature. God does good for us because God is good. Thus, thanksgiving opens the door to praise by bringing to mind God’s character.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Why do you think Scripture calls us to praise God? What is the purpose of praise? What helps you to praise God?

PRAYER: Indeed, Lord, you have done good things for me, more than I can comprehend. You deserve every bit of gratitude I communicate, and far more. Yet, as I offer thanks to you, I am reminded of who you are. I turn from meditating on your works to meditating on you. My praise flows when I let your character fill my mind and heart, and therefore my mouth.

All praise be to you, O God, for who you are. You are a God of justice and mercy, of power and tenderness, of holiness and presence. Indeed, your faithful love endures forever! Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/beyond-thanksgiving

Is It Wrong to Be Proud? by Mark D. Roberts

Ezekiel 31:1-18

So now the LORD God proclaims:      Consider the fate of those who tower high!      When it allowed its branches to reach up among the clouds,      it became arrogant. (CEB)

Ezekiel 31:10

Early in my years as a pastor, I was leading a Bible study for several college students. We were studying one of many passages in Scripture that warns us against pride. To my surprise and chagrin, one of my students challenged me: “What’s wrong with pride,” he asked. “I was taught that it’s good to feel proud about your accomplishments. Pride motivates me to work hard in school and to be successful. Why is the Bible so down on pride?”

Perhaps you’ve wondered the same yourself. Is pride necessarily wrong? Does pride have to “go before a fall”? Should I confess when I feel pride in some accomplishment? Should I be on my knees when my children graduate? What’s so wrong with pride, anyway?

When the Bible warns us about pride, it’s not talking about the sense of delight that comes when you complete a project or see your children accomplish something wonderful. Indeed, if God stepped back and saw that his creation was very good, you and I have the freedom to enjoy similar feelings. Scripture focuses on the negative sense of pride, that which we often call arrogance.

In Ezekiel 31, for example, Assyria illustrates an inappropriate and destructive pride. Our translation says that when Assyria noted its own greatness, “it became arrogant.” Other English translations speak of Assyria’s “pride” (NIV, ESV). The New Living Translation uses “proud and arrogant” together. In fact, the original Hebrew of this verse could be literally rendered, “the heart [of Assyria] became lifted up in its height.” The Old Testament uses the image of the heart being raised up as a way of describing human pride that goes beyond the temporary enjoyment of one’s accomplishments. The lifting up of one’s heart means putting oneself in the place of God. It’s not just healthy pride, but unhealthy arrogance.

So, is it wrong to be proud? No, not always. It depends on what you mean by pride. But I would offer a word of warning. I have found that healthy, humble delight in my accomplishments can easily run over into unhealthy, arrogant over-valuing of myself. If you’re inclined to think too much of yourself, let the example of Assyria be a warning to you. Remember, all that you have is ultimately a gift from God. All your accomplishments come by way of his provision. So, yes, delight in what God has done through you, but don’t let your heart be lifted up to the place of God.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: How do you understand the difference between acceptable and unacceptable pride? Do you ever struggle with arrogance? When? Why? What helps you to enjoy your accomplishments in a way that is not sinfully prideful?

PRAYER: Gracious God, help me to see all of life as a gift from you. When I pause, as you once paused, to enjoy that which I have done by your strength, may my pride become thanksgiving, my thanksgiving become worship. In all things, may I humble myself before you, so that you might exalt me in your way and your time. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/it-wrong-be-proud

How to Have Successful Children by Mark D. Roberts

Psalm 112:1-10

Praise the LORD!
     How joyful are those who fear the LORD
     and delight in obeying his commands.
Their children will be successful everywhere;
   an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.

Psalm 112:1-2

People like me want successful children. To be honest, we don’t just want successful children. We’re obsessed by the need to make sure our children succeed in everything they do. Friends of mine once put their infant daughter under a mobile of musical notes and played Mozart for hours because they believed this would make her an excellent musician. (It didn’t.) A man from my church insisted that his newborn son sleep with a football at all times so that he might grow up to be a star quarterback. (He didn’t.) My generation of parents has driven their children to the point of exhaustion, whether in school or sports or music or drama or dance.

Psalm 112 speaks to parents (and others) who want the next generation to succeed. Here’s how the psalm begins: “How joyful are those who fear the LORD and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed” (112:1-2, emphasis added). The New Living Translation captures the sense of the Hebrew of the italicized phrase, which literally reads, “his seed will be strong in the land.”

Did you notice what parents should do ensure their children’s success? There’s not a word here about forcing young ones to master latent skills and talents. In fact, nothing in Psalm 112 suggests that parents who want their children to do well should make their children do anything. Rather, the emphasis in this psalm is upon what the parents do. To put it simply: Parents, if you want successful children, focus on yourselves. In particular, focus on your relationship with God (fear the LORD) and on living according to his revelation (delight in obeying his commands).

“But,” an eager parent might object, “this psalm says nothing about children succeeding in school or sports. It doesn’t offer a formula for how to get them into the best college.” Indeed. Psalm 112 is concerned about the kind of success that matters most…success in life, in faith, in influence based on integrity. This psalm shows how parents might lead their children to be godly people whose lives are truly blessed by the Lord. The key, if you will, is for parents to have a deep faith in God that shapes everything they do in life. Their children will be powerfully influenced by what they observe and experience from their parents, and will be drawn to a life of genuine success.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Why do you think parents in our day are so drive to make their children successful? If you’re a parent, how do you live out the promise of Psalm 112:1-2? Are you letting your children experience your faith in God? Will they say that you delight to obey God’s commands?

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for the encouragement and corrective of Psalm 112. It is so easy for me, as a parent, to become so worried about my children’s success in the idols of my culture that I neglect the success that matters most: success in faith, in faithfulness, in discipleship, in living each day for you. Forgive me when I get my values and priorities mixed up.

Help me, dear Lord, to have an authentic faith in you, so that my children might be encouraged in their own faith. Help me to delight to obey you so that my children my share in the joy of obedience.
Today, I pray for parents who read this reflection, that they might be encouraged and challenged to focus on the integrity of their faith and discipleship. May they live in such a way that their children are drawn to you.

I ask as well that all of us in the body of Christ, whether we are parents or not, might have a burden to see the next generations know and serve you. May we be encouraged and challenged to have a growing relationship with you and to live out our faith in every setting of life. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/how-have-successful-children

Grieving as a Christian and a Misplaced Comma by Mark D. Roberts

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Today’s reflection is a postscript to our recent study on Lamentations. Before we press on to our next book, I want to think with you a little longer about grieving.

As I have shared before, I grew up in a family, culture, and church that were reticent when it came to grieving. If ever somebody around me was sad, my job was to “cheer them up.” I can’t remember if anyone at church ever actually said grieving was sinful, but that was certainly implied. Many of my elders in church would have been influenced by the King James Version of 1 Thessalonians 4:13: “But I would not have you be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.” According to this translation, Paul wants us to “sorrow not.” As Christians who have hope, we should not be sad even when ones who are dear to us die.

The problem here is with the comma. To use the language of the New Living Translation, we have a choice: “so that you will not grieve, like people who have no hope” or “so that you will not grieve like people who have no hope.” The first says we should not grieve at all. The second says that we should not grieve like hopeless people. By implication, we are free to grieve, but in a new way because of our hope.

You’ll notice that the NLT, along with almost all modern translations, leaves the comma out. The translators of the KJV misinterpreted Paul’s meaning by adding a comma that was not suggested by the original Greek. Today, commentators and translators rightly understand Paul to be prohibiting hopeless grief, but allowing hopeful grief.

Hopeful grief! Now that sounds almost like a contradiction, doesn’t it? How can we grieve and be filled with hope at the same time? In tomorrow’s reflection, I’ll offer further thoughts about this. For now, I’d encourage you to think about how hope and grief might co-exist, and what might happen when they do.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: How can we grieve and be filled with hope at the same time? How might hope affect our grief?

PRAYER: Gracious God, how I thank you for the freedom you give me to be a human being. I know that sounds silly, especially since you made me. But, sometimes it seems like the culture in which I live, including the Christian culture, seeks to deny my humanity…especially when it comes to the matter of grief. Thank you for the permission I receive from your Word when it comes to feeling sad and expressing my sorrow.

Yet, I know my grief should be shaped by the reality of your presence and faithfulness. Grieving, for a Christian, is gospel-shaped grieving. I need to learn more about this, Lord, so that I might live each moment as an expression of the good news. Teach me, Lord!

I pray today for my friends who are grieving, that they might not grieve hopelessly. Rather, may their grief be flavored with the confident hope you give them, through your Word and by your Spirit. In the name of Jesus, Lord and Savior, I pray. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/grieving-christian-and-misplaced-comma