A Different Posture

All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to Him. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them! ”— Luke 15:1-2

Jesus is teaching in a new place. His reputation proceeded him and crowds come. These people were labeled as "tax collectors and sinners." Despised, tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Romans within the taxation machine all the while extorting their own countrymen for unfair profits. All the rest who weren't in the Jewish ruling elite are simply called, "sinners." Unrighteous. 

That elite "the Pharisees and scribes" saw Jesus as their enemy, not as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets but as a destroyer thereof. They ruled others by oppressive layers of manmade laws covering the Law of God which they meticulously kept. Their rule keeping, works based righteousness is legend. Self-righteous.

We often miss the power of these two verses due to their company. They begin the chapter containing the iconic parable trio of The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost (aka Prodigal) Son. Don't miss these verses, however. They contain two little words that teach us a big lesson.

The tax collectors and sinners came to listen to Jesus. The unrighteous were humble before Jesus. They saw their need of his message and salvation. Jesus was a man who welcomed, and ate with, sinners—those like them.

The Pharisees and scribes were complaining about Jesus. The self-righteous were arrogant before Jesus. They saw no need since they had it all figured out. Jesus was a man who welcomed, and ate with, sinners—those beneath them.

What is my posture before Jesus?

Should I adopt a different posture?

I Am An Idiot

Just in case you don’t know me well. Just in case you’ve never seen me in a weaker moment. Just in case you are my Mom and think I am perfect. Just in case, let me share a story with you.

Thanks to my good buddy, Chris, speaker of Techese, I use a handy dandy app called 1Password. It’s the swiss-army knife of important electronic information. It’s an electronic wallet. It generates and keeps voluminous website logins. It auto-fills forms. It’s available for all operating systems. It works on your smartphone, your computer, or your tablet. It’s totally secure. You just have to remember one super-good master password. It’s totally awesome!

Until you forget your password.

Yes. I am an idiot.

My 1Password super-good, super-stout, super-smart master password that I use multiple time every day password. Well, I came in the other day. And it was gone from mind. Like it was erased from my memory gone.

At this point some of you are giving some grace. You are thinking, “You’re not an idiot. You’re just getting old. You just forgot. Don’t worry, it gets worse. Last week I was looking for... What was I looking for?”

The rest of you who never forget a thing, of course, are still laughing at me. Thanks for that. You'll get yours in a minute here. Anyhow... 

Chris turned me on to 1Password over a year ago, then he got a job with them about six months ago. Every day he helps folks in need of tech support (or a brain transplant) like me.

So, I decide to call Chris. He patiently walks me through minutes, then tens of minutes of diagnosis, testing, backups and trying as I type in every possible iteration of my password at his direction. He then repeatedly, yet kindly states things like, “Man this just doesn’t happen with this program. Are you sure you didn’t forget your password?” 

He then said—not directed at me I am sure, or I hope—"This app is foolproof." To which I thought, "Unless you are dealing with a fool. Like me."

It was then I began to  think back... I generated this password as an acronym of a sentence I could always remember. Bit of irony there, yes, I know. My super-good password has upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols. In my minds eye, I can recall sitting at my desk trying out sentence after sentence. And it hits me, “I am forgetting the first three characters in my password! I am an idiot! I am the fool it's not proof of.”

And, just like that, all characters remembered, my fingers fly and I am back in business. 1Password open. My electronic life is saved. Yet my ego emaciated.

So, maybe I needed some humility. Maybe Chris needed a story to tell his tech buddies. Or maybe I needed some humility.

Idiocy teaches humility.

Failure teaches humility.

We need humility.

Clothe yourself with humility.

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 1Peter 5:5

Do you have a story of idiocy or humility to share? Do a guy a favor and write a comment below so I am not the only one looking sad on here.

He Knows It

Kind spirit. Broad heart. Discerning mind. Middle aged. Mentally ill. Robert we'll call him.

Robert was passed through school even though he could hardly read. And he knows it. He is on disability because he can't hold down a regular job due to his mental illness. And he knows it. He has few friends because of the way his good nature has been taken advantage of. And he knows it. He is a follower of Christ because he needed salvation from his sin. And he knows it. He has much of the Bible memorized in order to make better choices and show his love for God. And he knows it. Yet he is not a member of a local church because most Christians treat him judge him as lacking. And he knows it.

He knows he is judged. Measured as less than. Considered dependant. And he knows it.

Why?

By no fault of his own. Robert didn't choose mental illness. Who would choose such a life? He didn't. But it is his life.

As a Christ follower, I comforted and counseled Robert, while I boiled on the inside at the treatment of this dear man by so-called Christians. I want to scream to anyone listening: This is not right! He may not be who you think he should be, but he is a wonderful man! 

Robert had no harsh word for anyone. He simply stated his experience with people. Especially church people. And he used only one phrase that might sound negative. That is, if it applies to you. He said that people with jobs, particularly church people, can be so "self righteous." Just because they have a job and he doesn't, they see themselves as better than him. How does he know? Because they have told him so.

Are you a disheartened Robert? Are you a judging self-righteous? Are you an apathetic in between? Or are you a Christ follower that will meet people—every single one created in God's image—where they are at, as they are, and accept them with no self-righteousness?

Robert has been judged for who he is not. He has not been accepted for who he is.

If you are a Robert: The expectations of others do not define who you are. God alone counts.

If you are Self-righteous: You are not better than anyone due to anything. God alone judges.

What would God say of your attitude, Dear Reader? 

He knows it.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.—Philippians 2:5

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Bread You Did Not Know

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had know, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 8:3.  Not an easy verse.  Not too pleasing to consider.  Might make you down-right angry.

 God did what?  To his own people?  Who He says He loves with an everlasting, covenant love?  And he did it why?  That mean, hard, inconsiderate thing?  Humbled?  Hunger?

You might be tempted to ask God, “What were you thinking?”  Or to give him a piece of your mind, “That’s not nice! How dare you? Your own people.”

Before we go off on God, let’s remember a few things: One, He is all loving, all knowing, & absolutely without flaw - no matter what we think; Two, we are NOT Him - no matter what we think.

When life doesn’t seem to be going my way.  When I have sown poor choices and begin to reap the consequences.  When I have simply fallen into unfortunate chance but still have to deal with the mess.  When I want to play the victim making it the fault of anything but me.  When I want to name someone else the villain making it their fault alone.  When in any of these scenes or more as a follower of Christ I want to doubt God’s goodness or question His plan I need to remember.  I need to remember Him.

Don’t forget.  Remember.  God is sovereign.  God does love me.  God does have a plan bigger than I can imagine.  God has created me to fill a special role in His plan.  God knows all my circumstances.  God feels all my sorrows.  And God can use everything in my life for His glory.  Will I let him?

When I am humbled.  When I am hungry.  When I am hurting in any way.  Will I turn to Him?  Knowing He has a plan and He will carry me through.

And did you notice what God did in the midst of their hunger to remind them of His love and power?  He did something no one had ever known before.  He fed them with manna.  Miraculous manna.  God used bread they did not know to teach them about a living bread - His Word - they did know.

So it is today.  It is His Word that sustains us.  Maybe you’re feeling malnourished.  If so, then this might be a good time to start a new Bible reading plan this year.  Or maybe a new daily devotional.  There are so many ways to engage God’s Word that we have no excuse.  Other than our heart and commitment.

Remember.  God uses everything in our lives.  Especially the hard things.  To show us His power, to teach us His provision, and to draw us closer to Him.  Are you humbled or hurting?  God is after your heart.  Turn to Him in faith.

Tandem is an easy, electronic way to engage God’s Word throughout your day.  With a schedule & by means you choose.  Email, text, even voicemail.  All customized to you.  All done well.  You’ll be blessed.

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