A Touch of Humor - The Storage Room

Why do people keep coming up with more and more quick fixes? Can anything be done about it?

Old Erich Proverb - There

God is there for the broken, the helpless, and the hurting; His people should be there too.

A Voice from the Past - Leo the Great

There the blood of the spotless Lamb blotted out the consequences of the ancient trespass; there the whole tyranny of the devil's hatred was crushed, and humiliation triumphed gloriously over the lifting up of pride: for so swift was the effect of Faith that of the robbers crucified with Christ, the one who believed in Christ as the Son of GOD entered paradise justified.

Leo the Great, 400-460 AD, Sermons, Sermon LV, III (translated by Rev. Charles Lett Feltoe, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, T & T Clark and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1997, Second Series, Vol. XII, p. 168)

How can humility triumph over pride? How should we live in view of this?

The Invasion of Earth

The Quaster spaceship hovered behind the far side of the moon. They were a martial race, spreading out across the galaxy. They were a scout ship considering whether earth should be their next conquest.

"We have obtained prisoners," said the Scout Commander Third Level, "They are at an event called in their language a "philosopher's convention," which seems to translate as a gathering of thinkers. I thought you would like to know what these creatures' thoughts were."

"Has the translation matrix been programmed?" replied the Supreme Ship Commander.

"Yes, it is adequate for basic conversation."

"Then bring them in."

A group of rather frightened looking Terrans were herded in.

"We of the Quaster are traveling around the galaxy observing different cultures," stated the Ship Commander, glad the Terrans could not read his facial expression or tone of voice. "We understand  that you are thinkers among your people. Tell us, what is your basic thinking about life?"

"I believe that all that matters is what works," said the first philosopher.

"But does that mean that if I were to take a blaster and slowly burn your skin off, that would be acceptable to you?" replied the Ship Commander. "After all, that would work."

The man stood in silence.

"What do you see as the basic facts that order existence?" continued the Ship Commander.

"I do not believe there are a set of ready made facts to adhere to," said a second philosopher. "Truth, after all, is different for everyone."

"Does that mean we are not really in a space ship traveling on the far side of your moon having a discussion?" remarked the Ship Commander.

This philosopher launched into a long lecture on how existence preceded essence, which totally stumped the translator, and it could only reproduce a few random words.

"I do not know your language that well," interrupted the Ship Commander. "Can you sum it up in simple terms?"

"You must find whatever is true for you. You must make a choice and pursue it."

"So if I decide to take my space ship and attack your world and conquer it, is that a good thing? After all, it would be what was true for me."

The second philosopher stood, looking perplexed.

The Ship Commander turned to a third philosopher. "What do you think of this?'

"Before we can answer, we need to understand the meanings of the words involved," responded the third philosopher. "What is 'good'? What is 'true'? And what is 'fact'? We must answer this before we begin."

The Ship Commander pulled aside the Third Level Scout and asked, "What do you think of this? Could they be trying to trick us?"

"I do not understand their species well, but they seem to be honest. The ship's sensors have not picked up any indication they are lying. They should be easy to conquer. Their outlook on life could not allow for any real resistance."

"But they would make very poor slaves," returned the Ship Commander. "You could never give them any orders and expect them to carry them out. I suggest we leave this madhouse and seek a more sensible world to conquer."

Fear of Sin

There is, I believe, a legitimate fear of sin. One that is based on our love of God and results in a fear of doing what displeases Him. But there is a fear of sin that simply tears us down. That sends us dredging up things in the past and second- and third-guessing everything we do. It can also send us rationalizing our sin or blaming it on other people to avoid admitting the fact that we have sinned. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23; Jeremiah 17:9; Isaiah 64:6). But if we put our faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 4:4,5; Philippians 3:9), our sins are forgiven by God (Romans 8:33,34; 5:6-11; Ephesians 1:7). But God wants to transform us (2 Corinthians 3:17; Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14) and requires our involvement (Romans 12:1,2; Hebrews 12:1,2; Galatians 5:16). What we we need is enough fear of sin to make us turn to God in repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10; Proverbs 28:13; 1 John 1:8-10), but not so much that we despair or live in denial and pretend it does not exist (Genesis 3:7-13; Matthew 27:3-5; 1 Corinthians 10:12). We do not want to be cavalier about sin, feeling it is not a problem because God will forgive us, but we also do not to go through life paralyzed or haunted by guilt. This is a delicate balance, but we must avoid going off track one way or the other.  

False Advertising

We live in the a age of advertising. It has gone beyond the selling of product to individuals advertising themselves for a multitude of purposes. And congregations and Christian ministries have taken this up. It may be argued whether this is all bad. Certainly it seems to be reality. But there is one tendency in it which is nothing but bad. The tendency to make unrealistic and exorbitant claims. To maintain that the right brand of toothpaste is the key to improving your love life. Christians can pick up this idea of making dubious promises to attract people. I am not speaking only of the health and wealth gospel, though this is the extreme case. It is common for people who would shrink from that with alarm to nonetheless to offer Christianity as some sort of happiness pill that will make all your problems go away. But using any kind of deception to sell Christ is wrong (2 Corinthians 2:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-6; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5). It also sets the new convert up for a fall when things do not turn out the way they were promised.

Now there are benefits to Christianity. We are assured our sins are forgiven (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 8:33,34; 1 Peter 2:24,25) and we are children of God (Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:4-7; John 1:12,13) if we put our faith in Christ (Romans 4:4,5; Ephesians 2:8,9; Philippians 3:9). We can know God (Jeremiah 9:23,24; Matthew 11:27; John 17:3) and have the hope we will be with Him forever (Romans 8:18-25; John 14:1-3; Revelation 21:3-5). And we can rejoice and have peace because we know God and what life is all about (Philippians 4:4; John 14:27; 1 Peter 1:8). But all this comes out of a deep understanding of God and His truth and is not a superficial happiness pill. And God promises we will suffer real trials in this life (John 16:33; Acts 14:22; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18). We are told we will face opposition (John 15:18-21; 16:1-4; 1 Peter 4:12,13). We are also told we will face genuine spiritual struggles (Ephesians 6:10-13; Galatians 5:17; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6). Christ told people to count the cost of following Him, for there is a real commitment involved (Luke 14:25-33; 9:57-62; Matthew 16:24-26). Therefore, we must be careful what we promise people. And we must remember that real faith is a choice and that manipulating people into a profession of faith for the wrong reasons can easily produce false converts. And these can actually be harder to really convert, believing that they already are Christians or have tried Christianity and found it wanting.

A Touch of Humor - Offer of Assistance

How can we deal with people who offer us ideas we are not comfortable with? How should we look at these things?