What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds, for their ancestors also praised false prophets. Luke 6:26 (NLT)
Woe, when all speak well of you! Have you ever gotten a pat on the back with praise for a job well done? Was it truly a pat on the back, or was the patter simply checking the target zone for inserting a knife? If you’re going to be in politics these days, you might as well get used to that kind of praise and pat-down!
Isaiah’s prophecy reads like a glowing reminder; a flashing, iridescent red caution light which ought to be on every world leader’s desk to be humble, worship and honor God, and lead as if the Lord God, Jehovah, Yahweh is watching closely…. because He IS!
In the text before us God is about to bring down the hammer of judgment on Israel for their ungodliness. And strangely enough God is going to use Israel’s enemy, Assyria, a pagan nation, to swing that hammer. If you read between the lines of this political mess you can see that conquering Israel will only mean harsher punishment in the long run for Assyria, while Israel’s punishment for deserting Yahweh, and acting like a pagan nation, will only be for a short time. Assyria, on the other hand, will be destroyed utterly. There’s a message in that for America…and for all the world’s leaders!
Of course, Isaiah was a prophet who, like Billy Graham, Rick Warren, and Jesse Jackson, had access to the king’s ear…the seat of power. And so, God’s warnings through Isaiah toward Israel and Assyria were widely published. But none of the powers that be listened to a word. Isaiah was put aside like the preachers of Christian faith these days.
It’s said that power corrupts, and absolute power, such as held by the king of Assyria, corrupts absolutely. Had Isaiah’s words been full of victory, praise, and prosperity for the kings, he would have been lauded as the nation’s hero. But Isaiah gave a stern warning of judgment because of the nation’s sin, and they threw him in jail. Eventually they killed him by sawing him in two pieces! So much for respecting the clergy!
Dateline: America c.2018
As we approach the 242nd anniversary of this nation’s independence there are some parallels and lessons we can draw from Isaiah’s prophecy about Assyria and Israel. There’s enough political wrangling in this story to choke anybody’s horse!
In Isaiah’s Israel the hot button issues were unfair judges making laws to line their pockets. They ignored the poor, favoring their rich friends, building palaces, extravagant lifestyles and reputations, while the widows and orphans went hungry.
With the King of Assyria, all that interested him was conquest; he was going to plunder whatever other nations had; he was going to make his mark in history. If Israel resisted, so much the better; he then had reason to make their blood flow like a river.
Some things never change.
In 2018 we have our controversial hot button issues too: abortion, homosexuality in the culture and church, and, today, the issue du jour: our border, who gets to cross it, and whether to separate children from the parents, or just charge entire families as criminals.
The debate over such things is endless, bitter, and entirely lacking in civility. Mostly all the arguing and bickering over these things accomplishes nothing.
There are more than a few “sides” on each issue; it’s not just the conservatives and liberals, Democrats or Republicans. In fact, considering we are talking about Washington D.C., there are as many sides as there are politicians. That’s because, in the halls of any government, there are as many different agendas – mostly hidden – as there are Senators, Congresspersons, and Administration officials, elected or appointed.
So, whichever “side” you see this from, remember that all sides these days seem to be claiming that the other side is the one making unfair laws concerning whatever they’re disputing.
In much the same tone, and with the same thought process where people claim victim status these days, where everything is always someone else’s fault, we have a political climate (and therefore, a cultural dilemma) in which there is plenty of blaming going on, but precious little accepting of responsibility. It’s a stalemate to righteousness.
In that atmosphere it is the people who wind-up choking on the bitter pill of empty promises. We are, in the words of James, the half-brother of Jesus, governed by empty rain clouds that proclaim the rains are coming, but somehow never seem to get here. James got that one from Solomon:
A person who promises a gift but doesn’t give it is like clouds and wind that bring no rain. Proverbs 25:14(NLT)
A Christian MUST be better than that! We are not arrogantly above others, but we must be above acting and thinking like the world…otherwise we deny Christ and make the cross a joke.
And so, to the point of being better than that; because there is both good and evil at work in all human activity…and because we are not God, knowing all things, there are some cautions from God’s Word we need to hear and heed about how we are to conduct ourselves in the world.
These cautions – warnings, really – are what help us approach any debate on our current hot button controversies, or any other issue that affects us in our family, on the job, at school, or in the stores, or at ball games, or even in church.
Here are four such CALLS TO EXHIBIT CARE in our words before we open our mouths:
1. Be respectful to everybody
If you claim to be a child of God, brother to Jesus, there is never a time when it is alright to denigrate the person or reputation of another human being. We are, every one of us, created with the image of God stamped on our souls. And, truth be told, we all sin that image away. That’s why grace is required – God’s forgiveness is not extended without the cross, and none of us deserved what Jesus offered, written in His own blood.
That being said, every time you trash someone else’s reputation, either behind their back in gossip, or in-person with an in-your-face belligerence, you assault the image of God. I have an older brother, Thom, with whom I have had disagreements – mostly when we were kids, over who gets the bigger piece of apple pie – but he is my brother. The two of us also have a bigger Brother, named Jesus. If I attack my brother, Thom, the line is blurry about where the attack on him ends, and the attack on Jesus begins.
Last week at Annual Conference I heard a speaker refer to our President as a dictator. That was disrespectful, and an horrific display of what has become commonplace in our culture. I do not agree with some of the things our President does, nor do I like the example his demeanor represents, but we must not let the atmosphere of our communication destroy any hope of fellowship.
And, by the way, that disrespect is learned VERY early in life. Children who are allowed to run rough-shod over their parents, peers, teachers, or anyone else, either in authority, or not, are being taught by their parents that the image of God in anyone else doesn’t count. They’re being taught to get their own way, be the center of attention, and win at all cost. In short, they’re being taught to live like Lucifer, instead of communing like the Christ! Respect is a hallmark of Christian character!
2. Don’t agree with those who demonize others
This warning is very much tied to respect. It doesn’t take much to agree with those who want to blame and demonize other people (make them the villain, or the sole cause for what’s wrong). All it takes is not speaking up in defense. The Latin phrase is: quī tacet cōnsentīre vidētur (he who is silent is understood to consent). If you don’t speak your objection you are complicit in someone else’s character attack on another.
Rather, then, speak-up; even when you’re afraid of the consequences, or embarrassed that you haven’t got eloquence on your side. Speak up anyway!
The only caution we ought to have about defending the weaker, or defending what’s right is to make certain we do it in the right spirit. Doing the right thing with a caustic, angry spirit is harmful in the long run. But keeping the right spirit, kind, loving, humble, and helpful, even if you make a wrong guess, or use insufficient words leaves room for God’s Spirit to work; it leaves the door open for reconciliation and progress in the Kingdom.
3. Don’t be boastful
Do you recall what Isaiah said about the King of Assyria? The King boasted he was invincible; and here’s what God said about that:
But the king of Assyria will not understand that he is my tool; his mind does not work that way. His plan is simply to destroy, to cut down nation after nation. He will say, ‘Each of my princes will soon be a king. We destroyed Calno just as we did Carchemish. Hamath fell before us as Arpad did. And we destroyed Samaria just as we did Damascus. Yes, we have finished off many a kingdom whose gods were greater than those in Jerusalem and Samaria. So we will defeat Jerusalem and her gods, just as we destroyed Samaria with hers.’”
After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purposes on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, he will turn against the king of Assyria and punish him—for he is proud and arrogant. He boasts, “By my own powerful arm I have done this. With my own shrewd wisdom I planned it. I have broken down the defenses of nations and carried off their treasures. I have knocked down their kings like a bull. I have robbed their nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs. No one can even flap a wing against me or utter a peep of protest.” But can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a rod strike unless a hand moves it? Can a wooden cane walk by itself? Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops, and a flaming fire will consume its glory. The Lord, the Light of Israel, will be a fire; the Holy One will be a flame. He will devour the thorns and briers with fire, burning up the enemy in a single night. The Lord will consume Assyria’s glory like a fire consumes a forest in a fruitful land; it will waste away like sick people in a plague. Isaiah 10:7-19 (NLT)
In the New Testament, Paul the apostle picked up on what the Psalmist had to say about boasting:
“If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:31(NLT)
And then a last call to be careful about our words:
4. Be ready to Hear twice and Speak once
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19(NLT)
This one is clear; God gave us all only one mouth and two ears. The progression concerning our physical bodies ought to be a constant reminder about what God expects from His family. We are given one mouth and two ears, so our speaking should be smaller than our hearing. Listen well before you speak.
We are given two hands and two feet; after listening well, we are to put hands and feet into action to do what God calls us to do. So, that’s the progression; we have one mouth, two ears, four limbs. Listen much, speak little, do help…lots!
God expects us to be faithful in attempting to influence the world and its culture for good and godliness.
That’s what Jesus meant when he told his disciples to occupy until [I] return. It was not the kind of “Occupy” movement of angry protest we see today. Rather it is with the heart of Christ we embody the role of servants to all; we occupy the place of meeting the needs of the least, the last, and the lost.
And if we ever hope to be faithful towards that end, we must press on with the example of civility, kindness, charity, and the compassion of God’s Holy Spirit.
It is time for us to repent of our name calling, demonizing, blaming, boasting, and running off at the mouth every time a thought crosses our brains. These are the kinds of things that destroy communion in the body of Christ and sour the world on the church.
It is better to be silent like Jesus before his accusers and be thought a fool, than to be constantly opening our mouths in worldly debates and prove it beyond all doubt.
Let the church say “Amen”!
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