A HOUSE OF CARDS!

“These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards.”

Matthew chapter 7, verses 24 thru 27; from The Message (Msg)

Think about this:  We Get To Choose Our Own Morality!  This is important; very important.  We get to determine what is right and what is wrong; what is good and what is bad; what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior.  Now, there are some who declare that you cannot legislate morality!  But yes you can!  In fact, it has been happening for eons and it will continue to happen until time ends.  Legislation, or the term laws if you prefer, is by definition establishing morality.  Someone may disagree with me here, but they would be wrong.  Every law enacted is a declaration of what is right and what is wrong; what is good and what is bad; what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior.

And now this question demands to be asked:  Who or what determines morality?  And this is where the problem began.  Everyone has an opinion about this.  And those opinions are as varied and different as the people who form them.  Quite the conundrum, wouldn’t you say?  Many want us to accept that everyone should be free and allowed to form their own morality.  Yet society cannot exist unless there is a single source that is consistent throughout for determining what is right and what is wrong; what is good and what is bad; what is acceptable behavior and what is unacceptable behavior.  Without that single source, the guaranteed result is chaos, hate, anger, and all of their cousins and in-laws.  Look no further than the United Methodist Institution, or Washington D.C.

Progressive (or as I call them: Pro-Aggressive) theologians and thinkers want to dismantle the tried and proven true morality of The Bible.  Just flush it all down the toilet.  Well, all except that part about love.  They see love as God giving us permission and the empowerment to determine our own morality and call it good–as long as you love.  They tell us that Jesus came to show us how to love.  Well, I can’t dispute that.  But that’s not all He came to show.  Case in point:  this parable about house builders.

This particular lesson is best presented in the rawness and bluntness of The Message translation. The very idea, and then acting upon it, that God has given us limited in thinking human beings the power and authority to determine what’s right and what’s not right in The Bible is. . .is. . .is. . . like building a house of cards. Listen again to what Jesus said: “These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on.“ And at this point I must add this thought: Those of you who can quote and throw Bible verses out like throwing rocks, you haven’t reached the standard that Jesus set. We have to work these words into our thoughts, attitudes, words, AND actions. Listen again to the rest of His words: But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach.

And for those who have flushed down the toilet the Morality of the Bible for a more pleasing-to-you form of Morality, you are building that proverbial house of cards. All it takes is a good sneeze to blow it down. And the problems of life are much more than a sneeze. But we, the followers of Jesus, cannot change others view about Morality by our words. They must see it in our day-in-day-out life. Denominations that have adapted to the world’s Morality continue to be in decline. The solution to this morass we are in will not be found by hanging the 10 Commandments in government buildings, putting Bibles back into classrooms, and opening each school day with prayer, and having prayers to Jesus in public events. This is akin to using watered-down paint to cover over graffiti. No–we need to build the Morality of the Bible into our day-to-day life. After all, that’s what Jesus did!

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An Inch Is An Inch Is An Inch–Or Is It?

Have you ever closely examined a measuring tape? You should because they teach us an important lesson about life–to be more exact–how to live in the way that makes us whole and complete. You didn’t know that? My ESPN just kicked in and someone just thought: “How in the word does a measuring tape do that?” Well, I’m so glad you asked.

An inch is an inch is an inch is an inch. Be it a Stanley Tape Measure, or a DeWalt, or a Milwaukee, or a Lufkin, or a Klein, or a Ryobi, or a Rigid, or one of those cheap store brands. Compare them all, lay them side by side–one inch is the same on all of them–well maybe except those cheap store brands. There might be one that is two one thousands of an inch off–but there is consistency! At least close enough for government work.

If you are building a house, this is a comforting thought–that the architect, all the carpenters, plumbers, electricians, flooring installers, and HVAC folks are all using the same inch for their work. But–and I must throw this out there–WHAT IF the measurements each is using is different from all the others? The carpenter’s tape measure is different from the architect’s–the plumber’s is different from both of those. No one is using the same standard. Your bathroom may end up in a closet, and the master bedroom may be on the front porch. What? Man, my ESPN is really tuned in today.

Someone was just thinking: “That is so preposterous to even think about! There is no way on God’s green Earth that would happen!” And you’re probably right. But–this happens on something far more serious and important than building houses. It happens when people are building their lives. Lives are built upon this thing called ethics. This word comes from the Greek word ethos which means character.

A person’s character can be good–or it can be bad–based on their chosen system of morality. The predominant one today is based on a system originally called Situational Ethics, which, by the way, began as an alleged Christian Teaching (not sure how it qualifies as “Christian” though). The rightness or wrongness of decisions and actions cannot be determined by moral absolutes, but by the situation a person is in. In 1966, this over-educated man by the name of Joseph Fletcher unleashed a firestorm when he brought Situational Ethics into the limelight of academia. Overnight, people had a new way to do what they wanted without interference from those old-fashioned Judeo-Christians morals.

Today it’s called Contextualization. Right and wrong are no longer standardized. It’s about you, your situations, your feelings, your understandings. An inch is no longer an inch across the board. Contextualization is a way to justify disobedience to the long established, tried and proven orthodox values of morality. One is free to pick and choose whatever they like from the Bible–and disregard the parts they don’t like. An inch is no longer an inch. It’s whatever you Contextualize it to be.

I wonder if Paul had a vision of the 21st century when he wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.“ Of course, those who love Contextualization would say that it fits for Timothy’s day, but not ours.

The Greek word Paul used for Scripture is graphē and it means something written. For Timothy it would have been what we call The Old Testament. And Paul was confident that The Holy Spirit that opened Paul’s eyes to those Scriptures, would also open Timothy’s eyes. And fortunately for us today, we also have the New Testament.

And there is another Greek word being misused today–Rhema. It literally means an “utterance” or “thing said”. The misuse happens when Contextualization trumps Biblical Values. Rhema is a spoken word. Now, Jesus wasn’t called Rhema by John; He is called Logos–that self existent light of truth. Human Rhema does not have the power nor authority to override Scripture. While the proponents of Contextualization consider themselves Rhema, I see them for what they are: Tauros Onthos!*

(*Greek word for bull=tauros Greek word for manure=onthos. That’s all I got to say about that.)