Ingratitude - Part 6

II Tim. 3:1-2 ... "Realize this, that in the last days difficult  times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy."

It is important to recognize something about ingratitude that is rarely noticed -- TO BE UNGRATEFUL IS A SIN! It is one of the 19 that are listed in II Tim. 3:1-9. It occurs there together with being "brutal, haters of good, and treacherous," which no one doubts are sins. Being ungrateful is not restricted to one's relation to God who gives us everything that's good; it extends to being ungrateful to people about us who show us favor with gifts, helpful deeds, and shared time. It is covered by the principles of "lov-ing others as you love yourself," (Mat. 22:39), and "doing to others as you would have them do to you," (Mat. 7:12). We are taught in Rom. 13:8 to "owe nothing to anyone except to love one another."

From a previous article in this series, remember that the word translated "ungrateful" in II Tim. 3:2 essentially means "not expressing kindness for kindness received." According to I Cor. 13:4, kindness is a major component of pure love (agapê). This means God holds you accountable for returning kindness -- in the form of sincere gratitude -- for kindness received. There is a great deal of sin among Christians of which they are not aware, because they fail to show real gratitude when someone gives them a part of their life in the form of a gift or service. In fact, such favor shown is very often not even considered to be a gift. 

Perhaps most ingratitude is due to ignorance and indifference, which are products of a self-centered life. Such a person receives the gift and feels no motivation to express gratitude. In many cases, however, the recipient is so self-centered that he thinks lesser people than he somehow owe him special favor. But sin is not mitigated by ignorance, indifference, or conceit.  God has said that being ungrateful is a sin, (II Tim. 3:2), and so it is. I appeal to each reader, examine yourself objectively. If you recognize the fault of ingratitude, train your mind and heart to return kindness for kindness received. You will then recognize that, indeed, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," (Acts 20:35).

Ingratitude - Part 5

Rom. 13:8 ... "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another."

The word translated "ungrateful" in IITim. 3:2 is acharistoi, which is formed of the root charis (kind) and the prefix a- (not). The idea expressed is that of not responding to kindness someone has shown in giving you something or doing something for you. There is something about receiving a gift that is seldom recognized. Suppose someone gives you $100 as a gift. What did you receive? Well, $100! But there is a lot more to it than that. How did the person get the $100 he gave? He had to work for it! Now suppose he earns $25 an hour for his work. That means the $100 he gave you really amounts to four hours of life in hard work. When someone gives you a gift, they are really giving you a part of their life, that is, the time it took to earn what the gift cost. No one can give you anything more precious to themself that a part of their life. When I receive a gift, that is what I think about, and it truly touches my heart very much. If it is cash, or a book, of a visit when I am sick, what I consider is the part of that person's life expressed in what they have given or done for me.

To show gratitude really does not mean to return something of equal value to recompense for the gift, because that negates the gift. If someone gives you a part of their life, what you really owe them is a part of your heart in sincere thankfulness. When I receive a letter or card expressing appreciation and thankfulness, it means a hundred times more than a return gift to "pay me back." I prize such written letters and notes and save them. I enjoy reading them again and again. To me the only thing that corresponds to a part of life someone has given me via a gift is a significant expression of love and kindness in a sincere statement of gratitude ... preferably in writing so that it can be read, reread, and truly "felt."

Ingratitude - Part 4

Luke 17:17-18 ... Jesus said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine -- where are they? Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?"

In the list of sins in II Tim. 3:1-9, the seventh is being "ungrateful." Perhaps every reader knows what that means ... or do you? Of course, anyone can tell what it means in words, but do we show the mean-ing by our deeds? We know in our head what many things mean, but the deeds that proceed therefrom frequently indicate we do not show the meaning in what we do. And, my friends, true meaning is shown in action far more effectively than in words. In Jas. 1:22 we are told to "prove yourselves doers of the word (of God) and not merely hearers who deceive themselves." A "hearer" in the Biblical sense is one who both hears with the ears and understands with the mind. James refers to those who hear and per-haps understand well enough, but who feel no motivation to express in action the message coveyed in what they heard.  In the New Testament we are often taught to be grateful for what people give or do for us in kindness rather than to repay a debt.  But so much of the time we show little gratitude for the favor received.

In Luke 17, Jesus healed ten lepers who were doubtless jubilant they were rid of the loathsome disease. And yet, of those ten, only one returned to thank Jesus. That man was a Samaritan, a member of the non-Jewish enclave in their land whom they despised. It is generally claimed by those who must deal with large groups of people, that we in the United States are typically the most ungrateful people on earth. In agreement with that is my own experience as an educator. Quite a number of seniors (12th graders) asked me to write a letter of referral to help them gain admittance to a perferred university. I always wrote those letters, each one consuming an hour of my precious time when I was very busy. Only three times in my 42-year career did a student bother to thank me for the effort. One was a girl from China, one a girl from Cuba, and the third was the mother of a girl from Germany. Not one Ameri-can student ever showed such gratitude. Evidently, they thought I owed them the favor, which I did not. Thus I see ingratitude as a great problem here that needs to be addressed. In future articles in this series, I intend to do just that.

Ingratitude - Part 3

II Tim. 3:1-9 ... "In the last days difficult times will come, for men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, ... etc."

In the two previous articles I have stated that the origin and energy of sin is self-interest. That is what II Tim. 3:1-2 clearly states: "In the last days difficult times will come, for men will be lovers of self." In the following eight verses a list of 18 sins is given. It is my conclusion that each of them is an express-ion of self-interest, being a "lover of self," or simply being selfish.

Consider the first-named in that list, being a "lover of money." What is more selfish than that? Money buys good clothing, fashion, pleasure and power. To a great many people money is the Golden Rule ... "He who has the gold is the one who rules." In an election year in this country, every candidate for an office persistently begs people of their political party to donate money on regular schedule (monthly). If you dare ask, "How much should I give?," the immediate answer is, "MORE!" It takes mountains of money to win an election. The idea is paramount that money has power. Furthermore, the Bible strongly emphasizes that money buys pleasure, a reality obvious to everyone. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, what did Jesus say the young man did with the bag of coins his father gave him? (Luke 15:13, 30).

What has just been said of self-interest leading to the love of money can also be demonstrated by the third and fourth sins in the list in II Timothy 3 ... boasting and arrogance. I would like to go through the entire list and demonstrate from Scripture the way in which self-interest leads to each sin named. It is a very easy task, and so relevant to daily life. But that would take far more space and time than I am willing to give in this series of articles. There is, however, one of them that claims central attention in the development of this series. It is something rarely recognized as being a sin, because it has taken control of the mind of so many people. Even in the church it is prevalent, and yet it is ignored without thought or consideration. There are occasional lessons given on ingratitude, but they seldom boldly proclaim and emphasize that it is a SIN! The usual assessment is that it is unbecoming and the result of distraction, then the emphasis shifts to the need to be grateful. No one is confronted with the realtiy that ingratitude is a sin, named in the same list with being "brutal, haters of good, treacherous and reckless." (Read the list!) Everyone recognizes the sinful nature of these other spiritual malignities of human char-acter, but we glide over ingratitude and do not emphasize it as sin.

One may argue that being ungrateful refers only to the failure to show gratitude to God. But the text in II Timothy does not limit the direction of being ungrateful. It is a sin to be ungrateful either to God or to people who give you of their time and material resources. In future articles, this theme will be discussed further in the hope that it will generate a dominant spirit of gratitude within all of us.

Ingratitude - Part 2

Mat. 16:24 ... "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."

It is my axiom, which 65 years of careful Bible study and life experience have revealed to me, that the origin and basis of all sin is selfishness. And a corollary to that axiom is that selfishness, and not hate, is the opposite of love. Hate is just one expression of selfishness.

This may come as a new thought to many, but when you consider all things, it gradually becomes an irrefutable truth that selfishness is the origin and driving force of all sin. It is evident in nearly all of life that what consumes the attention, the interest, and the modus operandi of anyone's life is selfishness,  the desire to get what YOU want, to make YOU get ahead, and to make YOU feel good. If you do not agree, I challenge you to take any sin mentioned in the Bible. Then with a mind free of bias (unselfish thinking!) and willing to recognize truth, carefully analyze that sin to discover what motivates it and what it is meant to achieve. Then you will convince yourself, and there will be no room left for doubt, argument, and debate. Consequently, a new vision appears. The way to circumvent sin and live a pure life in the goodness of God's grace is to work strenuously to minimize self-inerest in your life and be willing to benefit others for their sake.

This is exactly what Jesus meant when He declared in Mat. 16:24, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." For two centuries in the Church of Christ it has been preached that there are five distinct steps that lead to salvation and conversion to Christ: -1- hear the Gospel, -2- believe it, -3- repent of sin, -4- confess Jesus as the Son of God, and -5- be bap-tized into Christ for the remission of sin (Acts 2:38). Then it gradually was recognized there is also a sixth step ... to be faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10). But, dear reader, I am now telling you that there is a seventh essential step which must precede baptism. It is what Jesus made perfectly clear in Mat. 16:24, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself."

Until a person denies himself, he is not ready to follow the path that leads to foregiveness and disciple-ship. However, very strangely this is seldom pointed out and emphasized. Consequently, many people (perhaps most!) become "disciples" with self-interest still dominant in their thinking. And that unabated, undiminished self-interest is the source of 100% of the problems experienced in our personal lives and in the corporate welfare of the church. The "five steps" that end with baptism are like spiritual surgery. But not denying yourself is like leaving the wound open and unbandaged. And then self-interest surges right into the new life in Christ, just like bacteria into an open wound. And that continuing power of selfishness contaminates Christian life, preventing spiritual growth and development. Without being aware it is happening, Satan appears and begins to "sift you like wheat" the way Jesus told Peter he would do with him during the night when Jesus was arrested, (Luke 22:31).

Ingratitude - Part 1

Acts 20:35 ... "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

In II Tim. 3:1-9, there is an extended statement of what lies ahead in the progress of Christianity. It begins with an ominous prophecy: "In the last days difficult times will come." There follows a list of 19 sins that will become prominent among people in general, and it is that mix of sin that shall bring about what is called "the last days." Sin is, after all, what brings difficulty into life. Were it not for sin, we would have no difficulty.

There was no problem in Eden until Adam and Eve produced it by believing Satan's lie and disobeying God. After that, all kinds of problems arose; and ever since then such problems have multiplied, become more difficult, and produced greater damage. The first problem was, that sin separated man from God. The second was that it made man mortal and set him on the path that ends in death and decay. Sin led to man being expelled from the Paradise of Eden into the raw world of nature where he was exposed to dangers of all kinds -- vicious animals, disease, accidents, storms, droughts, floods, and earthquakes. Sin brought into human experience jealousy, envy, hatred, cruelty, vain competition, and murder. And then man became his own worst enemy. Finally, sin imposed on man a new lord and master, Satan. The spirit and dominion of evil spread all over the world and enslaved everyone who lives, for we all sin (Rom. 3:23; I John 1:8) and yield our souls to Satan (Rom. 6:16).

In II Tim. 3:1-9, we are told that, when we enter the last period of world history, which is referred to as "the last days," the prevalence of sin and ensuing difficulties will progressively become worse, especi-ally for Christians and the Lord's church. It's both interesting and revelaing that the first of the 19 sins listed is selfishness, which is indicated by the phrase, "Men shall be lovers of self." Their primary interest will be whatever pleases themselves, not what pleases God or benefits fellow humans in need. So much of what is called "benevolnce" is really selfishness in disguise. By giving, the person is look-ing ahead to gain more than he gave -- credit form God, coveted recognition and praise, and the activation some strange law that giving yields dividends with interest to a giver.       

....... (to be continued)

For Whom There Is No Peace, Part One

Isa. 48:22 ... "There is no peace for the wicked, says the Lord."

One of the central concepts of the Bible is peace, and it is also a frequent subject of concern for people in every age. There are many aspects of peace, and it would take a lengthy dissertion to present and dis-cuss them all. This brief article assumes the usual meaning of peace as the welfare, safety, and pleasant course of life that prevails when there is no strife, conflict, or disturbance. Unfortunately, such a condi-tion is seldom entirely present, and when it does occur to our great satisfaction, it does not last very long. It is God's desire, however, that peace prevail so that we may live pleasantly. He sent His own Son down from heaven, to live among us in human form, to promote peace on earth. In Isaiah 9:6, Jesus is called the "Prince of peace." And when He was born in Bethlehem, God sent a host of angels to pro-claim, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

The way to peace is revealed in Rom. 5:1, "Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." The way to real and enduring peace is therefore "through our Lord Jesus Christ." There is, however, an esential prequisite, being "justified by faith." This means the recognition and total conviction that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of the living God," (Mat. 16:16). This is the faith that motivates the individual to submit His life to Jesus, (Mat. 16:24-27).  More is required than the pious cry of "Lord, Lord!" as hands are clasped and eyes are lifted upward. This is so often an emotional reaction in a church service that reverts to routine human behavior during the week following. One's appeal to the Lord must proceed into modeling your attitudes, speech, and routine conduct to the stan-dard of life which Jesus taught and then modeled in His own way of life displayed before us and des-cribed in Scripture. So Jesus said in Mat. 7:21, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."

The lack of real and enduring peace, which would make the world a wonderful place to live, is the result of rejecting the Prince of Peace sent by God. That rejection is often deliberate, resolute, and overt. There are many places in the world where the mention of Christ and His teaching are banned. Some of those places are in the United States, which was once called a "Christian nation." I myself was twice warned not even to mention God's name in the public high school where I taught in Nashville. Others have lost their jobs for mentioning Christ and commiting to His teaching on subjects that are no longer accepted in an organization. When the conscience of a generation is not formed and buttressed by a moral stand- ard that advocates morality, honesty, human dignity, and the unselfishness of real love, the result is the climate of conflict, danger, and outbursts of cruelty that occur practically on a daily basis in the USA and other countries.

When peace is established and maintained by force, it will never be fully successful or endure for long. The annals of history prove that statement to anyone who will bother to read them. When there is no higher being to whom a person yields than himself, or perhaps his group, there is the urge to defy authority, the peace-by-force entity. Thus, we see continual public protests, which often beome destruc-tive and inflict injury and sometimes death. The very enactment of a law to define human conduct becomes a provocation to many to oppose it, defy it, and use all means to dismantle it.  The only peace that will be effective and endure is that not based in power and managed by force, but that which God has offered to the world in His Son and the message of life, truth, salvation and righteousness which He brought down from heaven and gave to us for our greatest good, (Heb. 2:1-4).

Many will reject this brief discourse with the argument that Christ and His teaching have been with us for 2000 years and have failed. I will answer with this story. A well-known evangelist came to a town to offer the appeal of Christ and His Gospel to the public. Thre was a large factory in town that produced soap, and many earned their living by working in that factory. Somehow, the owner of the factory, to show good will to the preacher, invited him to lunch. In his car, driven by a chauffeur, the owner picked up the preacher at the place he was staying and took him to the restuarant. On the way, they passed through a slum where dirty kids played in the street, drunks staggered down the sidewalks, and harlots appealed to men on street corners. The factory owner said, "Just look at all this corruption! Christianity has been in the world 2000 years, and it hasn't prevented all this." The preacher then pointed to the dirt and squalor that motteled the skins and clothes of the people along the street and answered, "You mass produce soap here, and it hasn't made your town any cleaner." The owner rebutted, "That's an unfair statement. Common sense makes it obvious that soap will not clean unless it is used!" The preacher replied, "Precisely, sir! And Christianity won't lift people up to a level of dignity, morality, and good conduct unless it is used."

(This subject will be continued in later posts, if I may further write them.)