Monthly Archives: November 2016

“You didn’t build that” (Nehemiah 3:1-12)

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No one gets anywhere alone.  There’s simply no such thing as the “self-made man.”

Literally everything we create is dependent on those who came before us.  Think about the technology in front of you right now.  You’re reading this on a device you didn’t create, relying on a data transmitted to you wirelessly across a world-wide information network.  Even the English language itself is an invention that has been shaped by culture and time.

In short, nothing you see before you is something you can take credit for—yet everything you see before you is something you can take joy in.

MICHAELANGELO, CEO

As human beings, we are created in the image of a Creator.  Creativity is in us deep down, all the way to our souls.  But because God exists as an eternal network of persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), we are equally made for community.

Creativity and community must go together.  You can’t have one without the other.

Five hundred-odd years ago Michelangelo completed his work on the Sistine Chapel.  It’s a masterpiece.  One can hardly imagine the creation of Adam without also picturing the famous scene splashed across the ceiling.

But according to  William Wallace, professor of art at Washington University, we should think of Michelangelo less as a lonely artist and more of a CEO:

“The romantic myth that Michelangelo worked by himself fits our notion of the lonely, self-sacrificing genius — conditions that presumably are necessary for creating art. Actually, he was never alone. He lived with two male assistants and always had a female housekeeper. Thirteen people helped him paint the Sistine ceiling; about 20 helped carve the marble tombs in the Medici Chapel in Florence, with its allegories of Day and Night, Dawn and Dusk. And to build the Laurentian Library in Florence, he supervised a crew of at least 200.”[1]

Wallace envisions Michelangelo as something of a thought-leader, helping the vision come to life through the efforts of the community:

“For these projects, he personally selected a work force of friends, associates and trained professionals. He imposed a flexible organization that permitted talented individuals to find a place on one or more teams. He encouraged creative competition and initiative in design and execution. He reprogrammed the hacker elite (marble carvers) so they could realize his vision. A trouble-shooter, he made alterations and solved problems as they arose. He darted in and out of the assembly line daily, and worked almost every Saturday and most holidays. His employees benefited from flexible leave, good pay and job security — except when the deaths of his papal patrons interrupted the cash flow.”[2]

No one gets anywhere alone.  We’re just not built that way.

NEHEMIAH, CEO

Nehemiah was very much the same way.  His God-given task was to build the wall, but it wasn’t a project he could complete on his own.

In Nehemiah 3, we see that he calls a whole team of people together to help achieve this task:

Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brothers the priests, and they built the Sheep Gate. They consecrated it and set its doors. They consecrated it as far as the Tower of the Hundred, as far as the Tower of Hananel. 2 And next to him the men of Jericho built. And next to them Zaccur the son of Imri built.

3 The sons of Hassenaah built the Fish Gate. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 4 And next to them Meremoth the son of Uriah, son of Hakkoz repaired. And next to them Meshullam the son of Berechiah, son of Meshezabel repaired. And next to them Zadok the son of Baana repaired. 5 And next to them the Tekoites repaired, but their nobles would not stoop to serve their Lord. (Nehemiah 3:1-5)

We might stop and wonder how it was that Nehemiah could expect to build these walls in the first place.  Surely the task must have seemed unbearably daunting.

We know from history—and even archeology—a few things about the wall that might be helpful:

  • Jerusalem was smaller than generally accepted—perhaps between 1.6—2.5 miles in circumference.
  • Only the eastern wall was built from the foundation; Nehemiah used the existing ruins to build the walls at the north, south, and west. This makes the project more of a re-modeling effort than a full-scale construction project.
  • The people were motivated—by God’s purpose as well as the threat of attackers. We have little difficulty imagining that these workers could find it in themselves to work on the wall.

Surely with these things in mind the task must have seemed more feasible, though still a task to place in God’s sovereign hands.

6 Joiada the son of Paseah and Meshullam the son of Besodeiah repaired the Gate of Yeshanah. They laid its beams and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. 7 And next to them repaired Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite, the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, the seat of the governor of the province Beyond the River. 8 Next to them Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, repaired. Next to him Hananiah, one of the perfumers, repaired, and they restored Jerusalem as far as the Broad Wall. 9 Next to them Rephaiah the son of Hur, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired. 10 Next to them Jedaiah the son of Harumaph repaired opposite his house. And next to him Hattush the son of Hashabneiah repaired. 11 Malchijah the son of Harim and Hasshub the son of Pahath-moab repaired another section and the Tower of the Ovens. 12 Next to him Shallum the son of Hallohesh, ruler of half the district of Jerusalem, repaired, he and his daughters. (Nehemiah 3:6-12)

YOU DIDN’T BUILD THAT

Not long ago President Obama ruffled feathers by telling entrepreneurs and businessmen that “you didn’t build that.”  Many took this as a slight against the sweat equity they had sunk into their life’s work, or a possible endorsement of the necessity of dependence on big government.

These concerns aren’t without warrant.  I agree that we should never dismiss the work that we put into our accomplishments, nor should we allow our dependence on one another to excuse unrestrained governmental regulation.  But let us never assume that we built it all ourselves.  I appreciate David Brooks’ more balanced assessment of the situation.  When a businessman wrote into the New York Times wrestling with how he should view himself in light of his accomplishments, Brooks responded by saying that “as an ambitious executive, it’s important that you believe that you will deserve credit for everything you achieve. As a human being, it’s important for you to know that’s nonsense.”[3]

If we are to be for our city, we may honor what God has done through us by taking joy in what we build and what we accomplish.  But we must never, ever assume that we have done it all ourselves.  This is the difference between gratitude and entitlement, and it is likewise the way in which God’s image-bearers reflect both creativity and community.

 

[1] William B. Wallace, “Michaelangelo, CEO,” The New York Times, April 16, 1994.

[2] Ibid.

[3] David Brooks, “The Credit Illusion,” The New York Times, August 2, 2012.

And who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:25-37)

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We’re greatful for another great post from Curt Snyder, on staff at Lifehouse:

Growing up in a very small town where my grandparents and parents owned and operated a small general merchandise store, I had the pleasure of basically knowing most everyone in our community. They shopped there, socialized there and often times just hung out there. For the most part everyone knew everyone and with that looked out and cared for each other in the process. Genuine relationships and community were the norm.

However, as the world expanded and localized community began to shift to more globalized community, this idea of true neighbors and care began to erode and disappear. Now with technology and communication as it is, what once was nearly impossible has become the new normal and it has blurred the lines of “who is my neighbor”. But that question isn’t a new phenomenon. Jesus himself was asked this question by a religious leader of his day.

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”   – Luke 10:25-29

But apparently that answer wasn’t enough so the leader, in an effort to justify his self-centered thinking, asked “and who is my neighbor.”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”   – LUKE 10:25-37

As Jesus unfolded his answer to the man’s question he spoke right to the issue; and in his parable he took those who should have been the first to respond to the need and have the greatest understanding of who our neighbor is and showed them as the most indifferent. Then he took the most unlikely character and demonstrated what true care and compassion looked like.

Here’s the catch! We would love to think that we more reflect the attitude and actions of the Samaritan, but the harsh reality is that, more times than not, we are closer to the two religious leaders and their actions toward the man who was in crisis.  We actually get as far away from the problem as we possibly can rather than getting involved in the need at hand.

You see, because of this thing called sin in each of our lives the tendency is to separate ourselves, to become insulated from the events around us and to look out for me first; but that is counter to what Jesus said we should be about. He said first we love God with everything in us and then we are to love people; and to be honest, you can’t truly love God with everything if you don’t love people.

Everyday you and I will encounter people who are in need. It may not be as critical as the man in Jesus’ story but in their life it is a crisis. Will we truly become the hands and feet of God by stepping into people’s lives and demonstrating the love of God to those who are far away from him? What steps can you take today to become that demonstration of God’s love?

Can you make this your prayer today?  “God help me to see the needs of people around me. Would you let me see with your eyes, hear with your ears and feel with your heart so that I can see the need in peoples’ lives?  And would you give me the courage to step into the situations I encounter and be a real demonstration of your love to others.  Amen.”

The Cross and the Call Away from “Fairness” (Matthew 5:38-43)

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“Individualism lies at the very core of American culture,” writes Robert Bellah in his influential work, Habits of the Heart. 

“Our highest and noblest aspirations, not only for ourselves, but for those we care about, for our society and world, are closely linked to our individualism.  Yet…some of our deepest problems both as individuals and as a society are also closely linked to our individualism.”[1]

In a nation of individuals, differences abound.  That’s actually a good thing: God created humans to each express their God-given design in unique and diverse ways.  The gospel isn’t opposed to individuality; it’s opposed to individualism. The difference?  Individuality celebrates our uniqueness; individualism denies man’s common purpose.

Thus, differences abound, and for lack of common purpose difference only breeds distance, and distance breeds distrust.

The problem of individualism is nothing new.  In fact, in Eden’s paradise man and woman chose to reject God’s designs to seek their own fulfillment—and we’ve been wiping the juice from our chin ever since.

How do we reverse this?

The temptation is to reclaim justice through a relentless devotion to fairness. Fairness is the currency of individualism, for through fairness do we hope to see ourselves validated and transgressors punished.

In fact, fairness is so central to our understanding of the world that we become incensed at the presence of a lack of fairness.  Even our conversations about racial reconciliation are replete with statements about fairness and equality.

The Christian ethic isn’t built upon fairness, but upon virtue.  The cross shatters any expectation I have about fairness, for through the cross the righteous becomes sin so that sinners become righteous.  God’s justice is met, yet we stand aghast at how this confronts any notion—or any demand—we might have of “fairness.”

So when Jesus asks that we “take up the cross” and follow him, we have to realize that Jesus’ ethics have little to do with self-validation, and everything to do with self-sacrifice.

THE GOSPEL AND FAIRNESS

Now understand, the ancient people lived by a principle we know as lex talonis—the famous “eye for an eye” system of punishment (Exodus 21:24) designed to maintain social stability.  But Jesus challenges his readers that now, in the shadow of the cross, this former way of thinking proves itself inadequate:

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you. (Matthew 5:38-42)

In the first-century world, Jews were merely tolerated by the Romans.  Therefore Roman soldiers were known to make unfriendly demands of the Jews.  We might imagine that many of the ancient people expected their Savior to call for a political revolution.  Jesus’ revolution would start with the human heart.

If we only had this passage to work with, we might assume that Jesus is calling his followers to serve as mere doormats.  Not so.  We must read this passage in light of the gospel.  The gospel says that despite my in-born brokenness, God revealed his eternal significance by rescuing me through the blood of the cross.  That means my worth can never be measured by what I do—positively or negatively—because nothing I do can be so good as to render the cross unnecessary, and nothing I do can be so bad as to render the cross insufficient.  This also means that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace.  Therefore to follow Jesus is to follow the way of the cross, to extend love to the world around us…even when it’s not fair.  Fairness appeals to human performance; God’s love appeals to Jesus’ performance.

COMMON GRACE

Jesus goes on to talk about the way we engage those who seem different from us:

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)

It’s tempting to divide the world into “liberal” and “conservative,” “democrat” and “republican,” “black” and “white”—all variations of the divide between “us” and “them.”

Jesus says that such divisions are impossible in light of God’s grace—and God’s grace is shown to all people.  Historically this has been called “common grace.”  Common grace isn’t about salvation, but about God’s kindness and compassion on his creation.  The ancient teachers used to see even the rain (a necessity when your whole economy was based on the growth of your crops) as a sign of God’s goodness.

Jesus therefore calls each of us to mirror that same goodness in love for our neighbors.

Are you willing to show love to your neighbors?  Even those who look, think, or act differently than you?  Your life, your love, your example may be the only gospel your neighbors ever hear.  Does your life story rhyme with that of Jesus?  Or are you too busy worrying about what’s fair?

[1] Robert Bellah, Habits of the Heart, p. 142.

Counting the Cost (Nehemiah 2:11-20)

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We would like to introduce you to Curt Snyder.  Curt is pastor of discipleship and outreach at Lifehouse Church, and will be sharing some thoughts on the book of Nehemiah throughout our series:

“In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.” – General Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses Grant, the 18th President of the United States, is probably best known as the commanding General that accepted the surrender of Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army at the end of the Civil War. Some have praised him for pushing until the union army caused the confederate army to surrender, but others have vilified him for his willingness to send so many men into battle and causing their death by his relentless pursuit of victory on the battlefield. Regardless of how you may feel about this, the reality is Grant understood the cost of victory and was willing to take the steps necessary to see that become a reality even if it meant continuing when others would have quit and sending men into harms way.

Nehemiah had a desire to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He had King Artaxerxes’ approval and he had arrived in the city to begin the process, but he didn’t have the backing of the city officials who were already there.  As a matter of fact he hadn’t even shared with them the plan he had. So, he made a private assessment of the disrepair, evaluated what it would take and then went to the officials to get their support. He counted the cost, gave the officials the information they needed and then gained their support to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

“I went to Jerusalem, and after staying there three days 12 I set out during the night with a few others. I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem. There were no mounts with me except the one I was riding on. 13 By night I went out through the Valley Gate toward the Jackal Well and the Dung Gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I moved on toward the Fountain Gate and the King’s Pool, but there was not enough room for my mount to get through; 15 so I went up the valley by night, examining the wall. Finally, I turned back and reentered through the Valley Gate. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, because as yet I had said nothing to the Jews or the priests or nobles or officials or any others who would be doing the work. Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.” 18 I also told them about the gracious hand of my God on me and what the king had said to me. They replied, “Let us start rebuilding.” So they began this good work.

Nehemiah knew the destruction. He had assessed the situation and drawn a conclusion as to what it would take to rebuild the wall but he couldn’t do it by himself. He needed the city officials on his side. He got their support, but it wasn’t that simple. He also ran into opposition.

But when Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official and Geshem the Arab heard about it, they mocked and ridiculed us. “What is this you are doing?” they asked. “Are you rebelling against the king?” 20 I answered them by saying, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding, but as for you, you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it.”

Everything in life that is worthwhile comes with a cost. It may not be a financial cost but it will be something that you hold dear and most times it will require something of others around you. Many of our cities and communities lay in ruin and there are those who oppose any change to the current situation. It is not necessarily a physical ruin where structures and buildings are falling down but rather a spiritual and moral ruin.  Division, disunity and despair fill our streets, our homes and our families. But that is not the end.

We have this great promise from the Old Testament and what is required is pretty clear.  2 Chronicles 7:14 states, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  

So, have you counted the cost of “rebuilding” your city? What are you being asked to do and are you willing to do your part? What steps can you take right now that will help “rebuild” the city?