Dr. Peter Jones’ book, The Other Worldview: Exposing Christianity’s Greatest Threat, is aptly titled. Christians around the world have no difficulty recognizing that something is wrong in the world and identifying that there seems to be a shift away from Christianity and its values, but it is often very difficult to narrow down what are the real issues causing this shift. In this landmark title, Dr. Jones is able to show the history and evolution of the thought that is creating these shifts in society.
The secular humanism of a generation ago has evolved into something much more dangerous. Dr. Jones identifies 5 areas in which the “traditional plausibility structures that gave life meaning and significance under Christian influence” have become unrecognizable in the greater culture:
Morality is relativized by varied (and often contradictory) personal and social convictions
Honesty means being true to one’s inner commitments and longings more than to external expectations or objective facts
Acceptable models of sexuality and family allow various combinations of persons and genders
Marriage is often functionally indistinguishable from mutually convenient cohabitation
Motherhood is celebrated in the same breath as abortion on demand
Society is not homogenous and it is rare to find a society in which everyone lives in lockstep in agreement to a set of rules, but it is common for a society to have an agreed upon set of rules or standards, and that is what many westerners have assumed about their societies. The author quotes Peter Berger, who called it the “‘sacred canopy’ of basic Christian worldview, so that the fundamental ideas-about God, morality, sexuality, family, marriage, motherhood, spirituality, and religion-were understood from a Christian perspective, consciously or unconsciously.” As someone who has lived in a society that holds to a very different “sacred canopy”, I can attest to both the commonality of those standards in my society and the shifts that have occurred in the 20 years I’ve lived mostly outside of the US.
As a Christian, Dr. Jones desires to hold up what he is seeing in society and evaluate it according to that understanding. As such, he finds “two worldviews-one based on the ultimacy of creation, and the other based on the ultimate, prior, and all-determining existence of the Creator.” He calls these 2 worldviews Oneism and Twoism and defines them as following in more detail:
“Oneism sees the world as self-creating (or perpetually existing) and self-explanatory. Everything is made up of the same stuff, whether matter, spirit, or mixture. There’s one kind of existence, which, in one way or another, we worship as divine (or of ultimate importance), even if that means worshipping ourselves…This is ‘homocosmology,’ a worldview of sameness. The classic term of this is ‘paganism,’ worship of nature.”
“The only other option is a world that is the free work of a personal, transcendent God, who creates ex nihilo(from nothing). In creating, God was not constrained by or dependent on any preexisting conditions. There is nothing exactly like this in our human experience of creating; our creative acts are analogous with God’s. There is God, and there is everything that is not-God-everything created and sustained by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This worldview celebrates otherness, distinctiveness. We only worship as divine the distinct, personal, triune Creator, who placed essential distinctions within the creation. This is ‘heterocosmology,’ a worldview based on otherness and difference. This is often called ‘theism.'”
The author takes most of the book to talk about the history of Oneism and to point to what has contributed to its most dominate form in the modern age, such as humanism, Jungism, the sexual revolution and postmodernism. This provides a helpful framework for the reader to understand the viewpoints of many of those acting so differently in society than is considered normal or rational for someone who holds to a more traditional sacred canopy. The author describes how for many their worldview is as much a belief system as what is found in some of the more traditional forms of religion. People have strong, passionate beliefs that are based more on faith than reason, but have nothing to do with a belief in God. These are often centered around social and environmental issues.
In addition to examples of Oneism found in a more secular framework, Dr. Jones also visits some of the more “religious” forms found in the US, which can make use of the terminology of traditional Christianity, but abandons the orthodox theology. These forms can turn the focus on man-made ideals such as prosperity, nationalism or mindfulness. This path doesn’t lead toward a true relationship with God any more than Carl Jung’s teaching did.
The author ends by reminding the readers the Pagan society that Christianity was born into. Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire and was in the minority wherever he went. The ancestors of modern Oneism can be found in the societies that he engaged. Gnosticism had many similarities with the thought we see today. Dr. Jones implores the readers to not give up, but seek wisdom as they refuse to withdraw from society, but follow the Biblical commands to engage with those who hold a different worldview than our own. I highly recommend this book for any Christian leader or any Christian who desires to follow this path towards engagement. Dr. Jones’ book should be in the library of every pastor and college minister and would be a very helpful resource in training up new ministers for today and tomorrow.
Today marks the new year and I’m sure many people have either formally or informally begun making themselves promises about what will be different in the new year. We are forever starting out on paths to a new life or a new us that meet with the inevitable detour. I grew up with family and friends who talked about New Year’s Resolutions pretty regularly. Every year, people would begin the year talking about regular exercise, new diets and quitting bad habits. The one thing all of these resolutions had in common was that they were all inevitably broken. But that does little to discourage us from trying again the next year.
“Hope Smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering ‘it will be happier’…”
So, is this a bad thing, should we shun New Year’s Resolutions that are made, only to be broken? G.K. Chesterton had this to say about the topic:
“The object of a New Year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul and a new nose; new feet, a new backbone, new ears, and new eyes. Unless a particular man made New Year resolutions, he would make no resolutions. Unless a man starts afresh about things, he will certainly do nothing effective.”
G.K. Chesterton
I actually think it is very normal for a follower of Christ to continually resolve to be more than they are. As Chesterton said, to start “afresh about things”. We were made to try and try again. This is the hunger for the Kingdom that exists in the heart of every believer. We live as those who experience the salvation of Christ, but sin still exists in the world. In Scripture we find Biblical themes that talk about the good of resolving to be better and trying again.
Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? 3 Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. 9 We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. 10 When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. 13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. 14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
Romans 6:1-14 NLT
There are lots of thoughts about our old life versus the life we live in Christ, but what I read more strongly than anything else is the life that is in it. We are to live, not just lock ourselves away as people bound up by the sin that controlled our lives before. This is the picture of the grace we have in Christ. It gives us freedom to live, knowing we will sometimes fail, but will rise up free to live again. One person described it like living on the trapeze.
Watching a trapeze show is breathtaking. We wonder at the dexterity and timing. We gasp at near-misses. In most cases, there is a net underneath. When they fall, they jump up and bounce back to the trapeze. In Christ, we live on the trapeze. The whole world should be able to watch and say, “Look how they live, how they love one another. Look how well the husbands treat their wives. And aren’t they the best workers in the factories and offices, the best neighbors, the best students?” That is to live on the trapeze, being a show to the world. What happens when we slip? The net is surely there. The blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ, has provided forgiveness for ALL our trespasses. Both the net and the ability to stay on the trapeze are works of God’s grace. Of course, we cannot be continually sleeping on the net., If that is the case, I doubt whether that person is a trapezist.
What kind of life would that be if we simply slept on the net. We will fall, the Grace is there and sufficient to catch us when we fall, but we don’t fall to lay back on the net and go to sleep. We fall, so we can climb back up and live again! The Christian life should look like a historical chart of the stock market’s performance. Lots of dips, but an overall upward movement.
So, when it comes to New Year’s Resolutions, it isn’t the making of them that is the problem, but I think the real problem comes in the waiting until the New Year to make them. For example, if you resolve to be a better spiritual leader of your family and find yourself in February back in the lazy routine of life having failed in your endeavor, that isn’t a problem unless you give up and say, I’ll do better next year.
Instead, we should be ready to pick ourselves up from the state we find ourselves in and resolve to start again as soon as we realize that we aren’t where we should be.
So, why don’t we do this? Why do we continue to stay derailed from the path that we ourselves said we wanted to be on? Here are five common reasons from The Screwtape Letters on a section titled, “How to attack faith” As a reminder, these are written from the perspective of a greater demon writing to a lesser demon, so their enemy is God and Jesus.
Here’s what I recommend —
Don’t let him open the Enemy’s book. Have him think he’s not feeling spiritual enough. Suggest that it’s too complicated. Tell him he’s too tired. Be vigilant — five minutes of prayerful reading can set him back months (Rom 10:17).
If his faith is strong, don’t panic. Have him notice how strong his faith is. Then have him congratulate himself on how his faith is stronger than his wife’s, or his friend’s. Before you know it, his faith will no longer be in the Enemy, but in the pleasures of feeling superior.
If you do manage to weaken his faith, don’t let up. Remember, all he has to do is cry to the Enemy for help, and all your hard work will be lost (Mark 9:24). But be subtle. One of my favorites is to make them think they need stronger faith BEFORE they can cry out to the Enemy (when the only way they can have stronger faith is BY crying out to the Enemy — sometimes I am astonished at my brilliance!).
Keep him from others who belong to the Enemy. Don’t try to have him say “no” to fellowship. Instead, have him say “yes” to everything else. And when the Enemy stirs his heart about being part of a church community, whisper that he can get more involved “as soon as his schedule opens up” (and make sure that never happens).
If he does get time with believers — don’t panic. Work with our fellow demons to keep the conversation shallow. Whisper to him that he’s the only one with weak faith, and that if he says something — he’ll feel out of place. Don’t let any of them ask how he is doing. And especially don’t let any of them pray for him (that’s how I lost Peter — Luke 22:31-32).
So, by contrast, if you want to have a strong faith and continue in your resolve.
Stay in the Word
Be Humble in your successes
Turn to the Father at the first sign of weakness
Spend time with other believers, who can encourage you
Make sure that time is filled with fruitful conversation and prayer.
The Father has promised us in Hebrews that we can depend on Him:
14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. 15 This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. 16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Hebrews 4:14-16
This is the promise of God that He understands our struggles, He understands our weaknesses, and yet He still encourages us to come boldly to the throne of Grace, to bounce up off the net and get right back on the trapeze.
23 Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
hebrews 10:23-25
This is the role of us together as a Church. As we resolve to be better in 2021, we don’t have to be better alone, we should be better together. We should think of ways to motivate one another to act of love and good works, we should not neglect meeting together. Let’s resolve above all things in 2021 to not wait until 2022 to live together under the freedom of being slaves to righteousness in Christ.
If you are looking for some good resolutions to start with, here are some excellent suggestions someone who by all accounts, was a great resolution keeper:
Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God’s help, I do humble entreat Him, by His grace, to enable me to keep these Resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to His will, for Christ’s sake. [I will] remember to read over these Resolutions once a week.
Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general.
Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.
Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.
Resolved, Never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.
Resolved, Never to do anything out of revenge.
Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonour, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.
Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.
Resolved, Never to count that a prayer, nor to let that pass as a prayer, nor that as a petition of a prayer, which is so made, that I cannot hope that God will answer it; nor that as a confession which I cannot hope God will accept.
Resolved, To ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month, and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better.
Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.
Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them; what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.
Resolved, Always to do that which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it. Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak.
Christmas time is great! Most of the people I know enjoy this time of year. It is when the message to the shepherds rings true for all who would receive it. You find that message in Luke 2:10-14.
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Luke 2:10-14
The shepherds received this news, ‘good news that will cause great joy for all the people’ and they believed the message and later went and told others what they had seen and heard. This was truly good news to all people, the best news to ever be proclaimed on the earth. This was the news of salvation. People would no longer live under the weight of a law that they could not honor. Through the perfect sacrifice of Christ, they would no longer be required to offer the sacrifice of animals. The best news had come to them, but there is one problem with this good news.
The solution to all their prayers had come, but they would live another 33 years before the events of Easter that would bring that promise to fulfillment. The news is good, but they would spend most or perhaps all of the rest of their lives waiting for the promised change to come.
The situation they found themselves in after Christmas can be compared to our own after Christmas experience. Have you ever felt a letdown after the holidays? If your family practices advent, you spend a lot of time building up to the event and then on Christmas day it finally comes. We celebrate this amazing, indescribable gift from God, but in some sense, the gift isn’t fully opened until later.
In some ways, this is analogous to the Christian life here on earth. This message of salvation is good news to all people, including everyone here. I hope everyone who reads this understands the significance of Christ’ birth, life, death and resurrection. Through these events, we have hope for all eternity. In these events, Prophecy and History come together to change Eternity. If you haven’t accepted that truth, I encourage you to not wait, but receive that amazing gift today.
For those of you who have received it, congratulations on getting the best Christmas gift anyone ever received. But after receiving it, even though we have a complete and secure hope for all eternity with God, we continue to live here on this fallen world, surrounded by sinners like ourselves. This is the time in-between salvation and eternity. We have salvation and it is secure, but we haven’t received everything that comes with that salvation because of the reality that we live in.
The Christian life is normally not a straight ascension to Christ-likeness. It is usually filled with stalls and starts, great leaps forward and periods of relative stagnation. This wandering is a part of the journey. Our faith is not designed to be a cookie-cutter faith, produced in a factory, but a growing, living faith which reflects the dynamic relationship that Christ would have of all of us. When we give our lives to Christ, we are starting an incredible journey with Him. We have chosen to put our trust in Him and we trust that He will lead us along the way.
We know that one day, we will be with Him in paradise. One day, there will be no more tears, no more pain, but in the meantime, we are living here. That means the day to day grind on this fallen earth, with good days and bad days, mountain-top experiences and valleys of shadow. This is what it means to live in what is often called the “in-between”.
This is the time we have, waiting for the Glory of Christ to be fully realized. It is where we will spend the majority of our faith, walking and waiting with other fallen believers in that place between salvation and heaven. It is in this place that so many of us lose sight of who Christ really is and see our understanding of Him dim. Christ is still who He always has been in the in-between, but we can often lose focus on that as we walk upon this earth, waiting for heaven.
Waiting on God isn’t meant to be a bad thing, but it can be a trial. James talks about this in chapter 5, “Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:7-8, ESV)
In our walk with Christ, we “establish our hearts”. Continuing to have a clear view of the Lord is an active process. We establish our hearts in the Lord, by intentionally pursuing Him, not by ignoring our spiritual life. Christ desires that our hearts would align with His.
The choices we make about how we spend our time have consequences. If we spend more and more of our time on things that are contrary to our faith, our hearts will drift away from Him. By the same token, by building into our lives times with God and His people, we have regular reminders of His truth and grace. This is how we avoid drifting in the in-between.
All of us have a need for direction. We have a need to walk with faithful men and women, who will continually point us towards Him, as we return the favor in their own times of need. None of us should feel we are able to walk alone in our pursuit of God. We may have periods of time where we are physically alone, without church or fellowship, but we shouldn’t build our lives around such a lonely path.
This year, with the pandemic restrictions, we have experienced new challenges in meeting together to encourage one another. Jesus is enough for us, but He also blesses us with community in the Church and we benefit by taking advantage of it.
So, here we are, after Christmas, but before Easter. After salvation, but before heaven. We have the Good News that Christ is born. We have the truth of His salvation, but we live in the reality of our daily lives. Living every day in this in-between place of a fallen world and yet desiring so much for everything to be made right and just and true.
Every day we wake up and go out in the world (or maybe stay home to work because of the pandemic) and we deal with that struggle. We find a great encouragement for how to live during this time in Romans 12:1-2:
12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12;1-2
When the shepherds heard the message in that field, they were told about a new type of sacrifice, a once and for all sacrifice that could make all who received it holy in God’s sight, once and for all. Here you see Paul writing about a new type of sacrifice, only made possible in Christ.
Every other sacrifice ends in death, but Christ put an end to death for all who believed in Him. Now our sacrifice isn’t one of death, but one of life. It is a living sacrifice. Every day, living here in the in-between, we can recognize the great mercy of God and present our lives as a living sacrifice. We aren’t saved by this sacrifice, we are saved to be this sacrifice.
We succeed in following God, by aligning ourselves with Him, by learning to see Him for who He truly is and to transform our minds to align with His. Christ provides a means of persevering through the in between. As we gratefully close the door on 2020 and prepare to begin 2021, we don’t have to live bound up with the worries and concerns of the pattern of this world.
Instead, we can find peace on earth, resting in the favor of God, and provision to establish our hearts and minds in the Lord. That is the key to having a great 2021. It is not dependent on the dictates of government or the concerns of the day, but on the Holy One of God, the Savior, the Messiah, Christ the Lord. In view of that mercy, we can rest all of our hopes and trust in Him and encourage one another all the more as we see the day approaching.
If you want to read more about what it means to persevere through the in-between to grow in your relationship with Christ, some of this article was taken from my new book, Seeing God: For Who He Really Is.
Do you remember the first movie you saw with really amazing special effects? For me, my first memory like that was of the old Sinbad the Sailor movies with the monsters created by Ray Harryhausen. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch a sample here. Those were truly some epic special effects!
Unfortunately, if you actually take me up on that offer, you are likely to be disappointed. What was once spectacular can become commonplace and then something that is only background noise. Lucasfilms keeps updating the original Star Wars films with updated effects to try and make them more impactful. We can become numb to yesterday’s spectacle and ignore what was once miraculous.
The Christmas story can become like that. We hear it every you year, which is a good thing, but sometimes some of the amazing elements of the story get lost over time. I want you to approach it with fresh eyes. The audience for this feature had never seen a special effect. They had never seen an electric light, much less a Christmas light. Into the quiet of that silent night, sitting under the stars came something truly miraculous.
“That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.”
Luke 2:8-20 NLT
So many amazing things for these shepherds to experience. An angel shining with the Glory of the Lord followed by a heavenly choir of the armies of heaven. The only explanation could be supernatural. This was an unprecedented event in history. It was truly a God event. A group of shepherds, who had an essential role in society, but not one of great renown. Shepherds were definitely low men on the totem pole, but many Biblical historians have some other thoughts about these shepherds. They believe they weren’t just any shepherds, but they were the specific shepherds that took care of the sacrificial lambs. According to Jewish laws, the only shepherds who were allowed to watch over animals in the vicinity of town were those who were fulfilling the priestly duty of taking care of sacrificial animals. These sheep were kept separate from the other flocks because they were to be kept without blemish.
If this is true, we have shepherds watching over sacrificial lambs hearing this message of Good News about the birth of the Savior, who would be the ultimate Sacrifice. The shepherds’ fields outside Bethlehem, to this day, play a central role in the Christmas celebrations in the Holy Land. Countless tourists have visited the fields between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The church historian Eusebius linked these fields to a unique biblical location called Migdal Eder, which translated means the “tower of the flock”.
The Hebrew prophet Micah also refers to Migdal Eder. “And you, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion, to you shall it come, even the former dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.” (Micah 4:8)
Based on that prophecy, prominent Jewish writers concluded that from all of the places in Israel, it would be the Migdal Eder where the arrival of the Messiah would be declared first.
That means when the angels appeared that night to the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem, it was not just a declaration of the Good News to simple shepherds. It was a powerful prophetic sign to all of Israel. God uses amazing imagery and symbolism at different points in Scripture. This one is no different. God wasn’t just fulfilling prophecy, He was signaling an amazing transformation that was taking place to the sacrificial system with the birth of this child.
See, these shepherds were a part of the animal sacrifice system of the church. It was their job to prepare the sheep for Passover and other Jewish ceremonies. Then, out of nowhere, breaking the silent night, an angel from heaven appears to them with an update to Moses’ Law. Though the shepherds probably weren’t fully aware of what was happening, the angel was hand-delivering a message telling them the time for animal sacrifice was nearly over, and they were the first to know.
The Christ, the promised Messiah the priests had heard about from the prophets, the Savior of the world was finally born. Animal sacrifices would no longer be necessary. Now, Jesus would be the ultimate and perfect sacrifice to pay for man’s sin once and for all through His death and resurrection. No wonder these shepherds ran “with haste (v.16)” to see the baby the angel spoke about. What a shock when they found a baby lying in a feeding trough, wrapped in swaddling cloth, just as the angel said.
One quick note on swaddling clothes. The term used here is the same one used for cloths that the lambs were wrapped in to keep them unblemished before the time of the sacrifice. All these details would’ve been incredibly relevant for the Jewish audience that received this message initially. While we might marvel at the “special effects” of the angels, it is even more remarkable how God aligned prophecy and history to come together for this event.
To the shepherds’ credit, they believed the message and believed when they saw the baby in the manger. They rightfully praised the Lord as their response to the Good News of His salvation. I wanted you to understand a little bit more about what this message meant to the hearers of that time, but what does this amazing message means for us today?
The core of this message, the message that God has for you and for all the world, including the family you’ll be seeing over the coming days and your neighbors and co-workers is this message: “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!”
When we think of Christmas, this is what we must think about. We have simplistic phrases to help us remember this. Things like, Jesus is the reason for the season. But we have to remember just how good this news is. This tops whatever other good news you’ve ever heard. We think of good news usually in terms of victories and gains on this side of eternity, but one thing most of those examples have in common is when some people win, others lose. I might celebrate my team’s victory, but I’m sure I know many others who were grieving over their team’s loss. Some people’s budget surpluses are others budget cuts. This good news isn’t anything like this.
This was good news that will bring great joy to all people. I know there are those who don’t receive Christmas and Christ as good news, but does that negate it’s goodness? No, it doesn’t. The good news of salvation is still good to everyone, even those who reject it. God desires that none would perish and until people take their final breath, He continues to proclaim the opportunity for salvation to them. Everyone needs to understand that the foundation of our hope, our joy and our faith is found in this message.
When you go out to your holiday gatherings with family and friends, you can celebrate with true joy because you have something that is truly worth celebrating. This is the point of the Angel’s celebration in verse 14, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
If you are a child of God, His favor rests on you. The Christmas story is an amazing story, filled with many miraculous events, but the greatest part of the Christmas story is what God has done in bringing the opportunity of salvation to all people. In this season when people are focused so much on gifts that is the greatest gift of all. If you are missing that maybe you don’t understand the angels’ message after all. Maybe you aren’t seeing God for who He really is.
2000 years ago, God sent a message to shepherds in a field that they would understand like no other. This is the good news we share today and the good news that God brought into the world. It’s a message that is so great, it is better than any other gift, it is better than anything else you might gain. It is worth everything, even losing everything that you have in order to obtain it. This holiday season, we should be spreading this good news to others. As you gather with family and friends, remember what a great message it is and how it brings joy, hope and peace to all peoples.
Unity – 13 areas of unity such as, “be at peace with one another”, “forgive one another”, “don’t complain against each other”
Love – 5 areas about love such as, “love one another”, “tolerate one another in love”, “be devoted to one another in love”
Humilty – 7 commands towards humility such as, “wash one another’s feet”, “serve one another”, “regard each other as more important than yourselves”
They have a 4th category of miscellaneous commands, such as: “don’t judge one another”, “pray for one another”, “bear one another’s burdens”
So, if the Bible gives clear teaching on how we are to treat one another, why don’t more Christians do a better job conducting themselves according to this biblical standard they say is true. After all, not only are these clear commands about how the church is to treat each other, when not practiced they also lead to the most despised trait of the church in the eyes of the world, hypocrisy. Many people outside the church are generally familiar with the claims of the Bible, and when they see the actions of the church towards each other, they find it lacking.
This is completely contrary of the intent of the teaching of Jesus. The Church started out with nothing, they didn’t have money, power or resources, but they had their faith and through faith in Christ, they could obey these difficult commands. They could look around in the room at their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and realize that even if they didn’t agree about everything, they were in it together. They could love one another in Christ in all the ways taught in the NT, but only through His power, not through their own capability. As they did this, the testimony of the church was powerful. They preached the truth of the Gospel, Christ crucified and raised from the dead, and salvation through faith in His triumph over sin and death, but they also demonstrated that their lives had been changed for the better by that Gospel, not just for eternity, but for their community.
Today, it seems like we are missing the impact of this in many of our local churches. Here are three key reasons I think this happens:
First, there is the tendency to other, “one anothers”. I’m using other as a verb to illustrate the idea of dividing someone into a group different than our own. Maybe it is just a loose definition of the term, one another. We divide people from us so we don’t have to count them as people who need to be treated in the way the Bible defines. We make them “others” not “one anothers”. In the Bible, the community of faith is a “we”. People exist together and they treat each other as a part of their own group. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul told the church, they were the body of Christ. They were all pieces of the same body. This was a powerful illustration of what it means to be a group of “one anothers” not others. People in your church aren’t a decoration for the body, like an article of clothing or jewelry, they are the body itself. A part of the body that serves a purpose and is connected to the whole. This is meant to change our perspective and help us see the importance of taking care of our whole body. When we see things like this, it becomes easier to carry out the one another commands.
The second area of struggle is the overall lack of community in the modern church. It is much easier to other one another, when we don’t really know one another. The NT community that Paul and others were writing to were intimately involved in each other’s lives. They knew what was going on and practiced Biblical community by spending time together. In some cases, they may have had less available time than we do today when you consider hours worked and daylight hours, but it was a priority to make time for relationships. The transitory lifestyles that many people live these days make it difficult to build strong, lasting relationships where people are used to being in each other’s lives. But with effort, we can connect with people in our local church. Without community, it is very easy to other one another.
The third reason we don’t practice it is our disobedience to a particular command, Galatians 6:2, “bear one another’s burdens.” We generally ignore this because we are very independent. In the modern world, especially in western culture, people don’t want to appear weak and needy. Instead they want to present themselves as the person who has it all together and is very successful. Part of this comes from living in great wealth compared to every non aristocratic class in every period of history before this one, but it is also seems to be an unhealthy dose of pride. It is much more common in churches for people to put on the Sunday morning facade of “everything is fine” than to transparently share our true burdens in life. Developing the habit of sharing our burdens with one another, encourages the church to see each other as a true body.
The irony is by disobeying the commands of Scripture in the one another’s, we all suffer. Our churches are weaker, our marriages are more likely to be a struggle, we lose access to the wisdom of the body and we become more likely to be disconnected from Christ. God has given us to each other as a wonderful gift in order to encourage one another, love one another, serve another, etc, and the greatest barrier to receiving this gift is the walls we put up when we “other” one another.
We love our children, even when they are difficult to love. Many of us do our best to protect our children from harm. This could be physical harm, such as keeping them out of a busy street, or emotional harm, such as disappointment or a broken heart. As parents, we don’t want our children to experience many of the pains that we have dealt with.
Years ago, there was a boy who suffered from a deficiency that made his immune system not function. He was known as the bubble boy and his story was told in several ways, most prominently in a movie. He was kept in almost complete isolation from the environment, in an effort to protect him. He ultimately died from complications related to a treatment he had received in an attempt to cure him. I remember at the time some parents joking that they wish they could raise their kids in a bubble to protect them from various threats or influences in society.
Most of us weren’t raised nor are we raising our kids in a bubble like this young man, but we all make attempts to protect our children from some things in much the same way that this young boy’s parents acted to protect him from disease. We place walls between our kids and potential threats. We do our best to limit risk that they face and don’t desire for them to face pain as they are growing up. This is normal behavior for parents, especially when our kids are very young, but as they get older it should be normal for these restrictions and limitations to decrease.
We build walls
Another great desire of parents is for their children to feel loved. We love our kids and want them to understand that. We start out by showing our love by taking care of the needs of a baby and a toddler. They need us and a good, loving parent wants to take care of those needs. In time, we show love for them in other ways, such as physical affection, kind words, gifts and doing fun things with them. If you have read any of the books by Dr. Gary Chapman on The Five Love Languages, you can recognize that different kids receive love in different ways.
There is balance in all things and when things get out of balance that is most often where problems occur. Protecting your children from unnecessary harm is a good goal, but setting out to protect them from experiencing any pain is not possible and would be harmful in the long run. There are times as a parent when the most loving thing you can do for your child is to allow them to experience pain and disappointment.
Love is also not giving your children everything they want. It is loving to take care of the needs our children have, both physical needs like rest and hunger and emotional needs, such as the need to feel secure or to feel cared for. Love is blended with care and instruction, so children can know the benefits of our love, but also understand their place in this world and that the world doesn’t revolve around them. Our children are important to us, but they should not be the center of our universe. That isn’t healthy for us or them.
All of these things in healthy balance will help parents to be able to experience the joy of having a continuing relationship with their children into the future. The Bible points to discipline as a foundational part of this.
10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:10-12
11 My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.
Proverbs 3:11-12
God’s desire for your children is better than your own. He wants your children to know the love of Christ and your love. He wants your children to continue in truth and to experience a “harvest of righteousness”. Godly discipline is always in the context of His love. God’s discipline in our life works because of the context of His sacrificial love. Our discipline is effective in the context of our love for our children. This balance of love and discipline keeps parents on track as they attempt to balance showing love for their children with acting in ways that point them towards God, even when their children don’t often recognize it as loving at the time it is given.
When our children are grown and gone from our direct sphere of influence, they will grow even more into their own opinions and ideas. Some of these may be very different than our own. This is normal and as our children move out into the world, they have different needs than they did when they were home. The greatest need that they have throughout their life, is their need for Christ. The other need they have that will continue throughout their life is the need to know that they continue to be loved by us.
As kids become adults and become more of their own persons, it is important that we don’t allow the differences that exist between us to separate them from Christ or from our love. Teaching the truth is important, but as Christians, we always teach the truth in love. The truth was never intended to be a wall between our children and our love for them. Because of His great love for us, God provided a means of salvation for all mankind through His son, Jesus. Because of our love for our children, we desire them to know that truth and the truth of the love we have for them.
Walls are built up for eternally insignificant reasons, such as politics, finances and unfortunate personal decisions. These are man made walls and as a parent one of the main ways we can continue to love our kids is to make sure that man made walls like these never come between our children and the love of Christ or the love we have for them.
The last few months saw a great deal of attention on the United States Supreme Court. The passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the subsequent hearings that led to the appointment of Justice Amy Coney Barrett actually distracted the nation from the presidential election cycle for a few weeks and turned the focus on the Supreme Court. This was of course related to the presidential election in that both sides recognized the significance of this selection and would have loved for a candidate of their party’s persuasion to be making the choice.
Ted Cruz had obviously been working on his new book, One Vote Away: How a Single Supreme Court Seat Can Change History, for some time before this period, but he could hardly have chosen a better time to release it. Ted’s experience with the court, both as a clerk and as someone who has argued in front of the court many times, makes him a good candidate to write a book like this. Obviously, Ted Cruz is a conservative Republican and your response to his perspective on the cases he discusses will vary greatly depending on whether your viewpoints align with his. As an evangelical Christian with Libertarian leanings, I find myself in his camp more often than not. I would encourage anyone interested in the Supreme Court to consider reading this book, as it is helpful to understand both your own perspective better and those who you might not agree with. The following is a quick summary of some of the issues addressed:
Religious Liberty – Is it okay for a public government building to have a monument of the ten commandments or for court rooms to have them posted in the building?
School choice – Does a parent have the right to choose a school for their child and does a state have the right to help subsidize those choices, even if it means they choose a school of a religious persuasion?
Gun rights – Do states have the right to govern their own gun ownership laws and are their limitations on a state’s ability to restrict gun ownership?
US Sovereignty – Do other countries and the UN have the right to enforce their laws on US residents, legal or otherwise, even when it goes against US law?
Abortion – Do states have the ability to restrict abortion laws freely without federal interference?
Free Speech – Do individuals and organizations have the right to criticize elected officials? Do you have the right to disagree with candidates for office publicly?
Capital Punishment – Do states have the right to set their own crime and punishment laws and execute criminals as they so determine?
Democracy and the Electoral Process – How do the state and federal courts interact and help interpret the laws in national elections?
Personally, I was already familiar with 3 of the cases that are mentioned in the chapters the author covers, but found the details of those cases and the others fascinating. Mr. Cruz does an excellent job breaking down the complex issues in order to help the reader understand the cases and perspectives of the opposing sides. If you would like to know more about the importance of every Justice and every vote on the Supreme Court, I recommend you give One Vote Away a try.
Does everyone remember fidget spinners? It wasn’t so long ago that they were everywhere. Every kid wanted one and it wasn’t uncommon to see someone fiddling with one whenever you went out somewhere. Some people argued that they served some value. Some kids even had a doctor’s permission to carry it everywhere and use it. For most people, they were just a toy. It was a thing you or someone in your family had to have. People even began to collect them and get so many that they needed a place to store them like a rack or case.
Spinners spent their time as a default outlet for capitalism that gave everyone something to buy for the kids in their life. Fidget spinners were the latest in a long line of devices or toys that have filled this role for many people. Things like selfie sticks, beanie babies and even going back to things like a Rubik’s cube or a Troll doll for your pencil top. Unique, unusual, cute or memorable things are always calling for a place in our lives and our capitalistic nature often has us buying things because our neighbors are or because it is the new thing to buy.
So, what does this have to do about masks? This is my second post about masks that isn’t really about whether or not you should wear a mask. You can read the first one here. Masks entered into the conversation in the early months of Covid. First, we were encouraged not to buy professionally made masks, as they were needed by front line workers and there were limited quantities. This birthed a cottage industry of homemade masks. We saw lots of funny pictures and memes about things that people had made into masks. I remember seeing videos about how you could make a quick mask from everyday household items, such as socks and even underwear. People showed how to make face shields out of your Krispy Kreme box.
There were many creative solutions that people came up with to provide alternatives to help deal with the unknowns about the Covid-19 virus, but it wasn’t long before the cottage industry was surpassed by real industry. Not only could you buy and order hospital masks and respirator masks online and in the stores, but capitalism and commercialism began to cash in. There were stylish masks from most clothing stores. There were masks with themes, words and memes, so people could express themselves in the same way they might with a new t-shirt. When our kids started back to University, they were issued various masks with their school colors and mascot in order to show their school spirit. You could even get a mask with your own face on it, smiling, so you can wear a permanent smile even if you are doing anything but smiling underneath.
Suffice it to say, the lack of masks are no longer the problem. We go for a walk almost every day and I regularly see masks strewn on the ground, abandoned. These can be both reusable and disposable masks. This is where the connection to fidget spinners comes in. This week, I went to the mall for one of the first and only times since this all started. Not only did every clothing store have a mask display. The familiar kiosks in the middle of the malls had been joined by mask kiosks. Whole kiosks with perhaps hundreds of different styles of masks. That is when I began to realize how ridiculous this had become. There are now more masks in existence than anyone can possibly ever need. I personally have about 4-5 reusable masks that I have used and that is plenty.
Masks have become the new “thing” that people buy. People have obviously started buying more masks even though the ones they have are still usable. Masks are now a way to express their individuality or uniqueness in the same way some other things have been. Is it possible there are mask collectors? It wouldn’t surprise me. Back to fidget spinners. Did you know that we were on the verge of a worldwide ball bearing shortage because of the increasing production of fidget spinners? There were legitimate production of components necessary for industry and society that were held up because we had so many fidget spinners being made. The bigger problem now is we have millions of fidget spinners that nobody wants. While many of the components in a fidget spinner may be able to be reused, I haven’t heard of any efforts to do that.
I haven’t heard of masks causing any similar problems, nor do I expect to, but it is time to draw a line in the sand and say, “we don’t need more masks.” We don’t know how long there will be a demand for masks to be used. Many countries have already moved beyond using masks, but even if we continued to use them into the future, we don’t need more reusable masks to be produced. Masks have become one more output for our capitalistic instincts. Another opportunity to buy ourselves and others things that we don’t need.
We are entering a time that is associated with the giving of gifts. Christmas is a holiday that is defined by the birth of Christ, God’s son. Christ was the greatest gift ever given, through Him a means of salvation was provided for all humanity. We celebrate that gift at Christmas time and some celebrate by giving gifts to others. The purpose of this article is to ask you to examine your overall stewardship in buying things. Masks are a simple example, but they can point to a greater problem of people consistently buying things they don’t need. During this holiday season, don’t celebrate by giving your loved ones things they don’t need which may one day become the fidget spinners and beanie babies of earlier years, gathering dust in some closet or garage. Instead, focus on the things that really matter, the people behind the masks and real needs that people in the world have, the greatest of which is the need for Jesus.
Who here has played Calvinball, or its equivalent? This is the famous game played by Calvin and Hobbes where they constantly change the rules. Playing a game where the only rule is who can change the rules to their advantage can seem fun at first, but in time, it really becomes exhausting. If you have ever played games with a grade school boy, you might have experienced this and it can be difficult to keep up.
The challenge isn’t just related to being the most creative, but also dealing with the fact that a previous concrete expectation has now been smashed to bits and replaced by something more jello or quicksand. Instead of certainity, we only find uncertainity. When you go to lean against the wall of the building, you find it is just a facade that falls right over.
This is an amusing endeavor, but it is no way to live your life. We depend on boundaries and order to live our lives. For 19 years, I lived in a different country. It may not have always played by the same rules of the country of my birth, but it did have its own rules and way of doing things. Part of living in a different country is learning the cultural norms of that country so that you are able to function there. Some of those rules need to be adopted, but they all need to be understood, otherwise you’ll find yourself living out of sync with the reality you find there.
In the United States, there are many cultural norms that we take for granted. There are laws of the land and common practices that we sometimes treat as normal as gravity. Just driving down the road, we expect people to stay in their lane (something I couldn’t always depend on in Turkey). When people move to our country, most people expect them to learn our laws and cultural norms and adapt. The video below was made by an Italian which demonstrates the challenge of living by 2 standards of cultural norms. Italians are both Italian and EU citizens.
When I’m overseas, I’m often asked about cultural norms for America. Questions like, “What do Americans think of ….?” or “What do Americans say for….?” If you have never lived outside of one small region of America, it might be easier for you to answer that question, but if you have traveled around, you have probably noticed the amazing diversity in America. We are more like the EU than a single country, such as Turkey. States sometimes have different laws and cultural norms even than their neighboring states, but they all have them.
The vast majority of society desires to live their lives by the rules and cultural norms. I studied psychology and counseling and there are actually several psychological disorders that are defined by people’s inability or complete unwillingness to follow these guidelines. For most of us, when something happens in society, we expect it to follow the rules laid out for it. There is comfort in that and people can find peace in knowing that while the outcome might not be determined, the road that leads us to that outcome are clear.
As a lifelong sports fan, I can attest that it is much more frustrating to believe you were cheated out of something than to lose because of an exceptional performance by your opponent. We want the life we live, just like the games we play, to be “fair” and “just”. We desire boundaries and right and wrong. I believe this is something that is inside of us, created by God.
The problem with this is that there are many in society that desire to play their own form of Calvinball. They either want to have the right to change the rules, or they want the rules to be so obscure and ambigious that no one knows how to intrepret them. This allows for a redefinition of conduct as we go. One famous example occurred recently during the confirmation hearings for Justice Barrett. She used the term “sexual preference” when answering a question. This term was redefined on the spot to be offensive in an attack on the candidate. Webster’s dictionary even joined the fray, by changing their dictionary defintion that same day. Link
In some ways, this is just a more sophisticated form of Calvinball. Shifting the norms and rules so fast that people don’t know what to expect even in the moment. Some people seem even more willing to be complicit in this than others. This is incredibly problematic when it comes to cultural norms, but it is even more troublesome when it comes to the laws of the land. When people go out to drive their cars, run their businesses or even cast their votes, they need to know that the rules of engagement will remain constant. If they find that they have been changed after the fact, it not only demoralizes, but over time destroys people’s willingness to abide by any laws.
As a Christian, as much as I dislike it when something like this happens, I shouldn’t be surprised. There is absolutely no reason for any man without God to behave any differently.
““The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.””
Jeremiah 17:9-10 NLT
As much as we want to focus on obedience to laws that govern behavior, God is more concerned with the heart. We may try to enforce laws that will keep things “fair” and “just”, but if we have secret, sinful motives in our heart, then we have sinned and broken God’s law.
“Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God.”
1 John 3:4 NLT
As Christians living in this country, we must in some ways, be like the Italians living in the EU. We are here, living our lives according to 2 different standards, the law and rules of the land, and the law of God. Only one of the those laws is of eternal significance. God has given us a new covenant.
““This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.””
Hebrews 10:16-17 NLT
As children of this new covenant, we are “aliens and strangers” in this land (1 Peter 2:11) and we should live our lives according to the standard of Jesus, rather than the standards of man. Many times these standards will align, but we know that God’s standard will never change. He provides us with that solid foundation that we can build our lives upon in an every changing world. In that foundation, you will found hope, peace and true justice.
Wisdom is valuable. When we learn from our experiences, we gain wisdom. We avoid making the same mistakes in the future and we tend to have a better experience than we did in the past. It can apply to both simple and complex circumstances.
We learn not to burn the food, we learn to add a little more salt, we learn to get up a few minutes earlier so we aren’t late for work, we learn to take better care of our homes, our cars, and hopefully our lives. Wisdom can be a treasure of immeasurable value. Not only does it improve our lives in real tangible ways by the good practices it leads us to, but it greatly enhances everything by avoiding the foolish path.
The Bible contains many passages about wisdom, and in many cases, it contrasts that wisdom with the foolish path. Proverbs is often called one of the wisdom books and it lists not only principles but practical examples of both wisdom and foolish behavior. 2020 is a great year for wisdom. Information is flowing constantly, but discerning the value of that information is very challenging. People take information and they process it with wisdom or in a foolhardy manner. If you take the book of Proverbs and read through it, you will find relevant guidance for today that can help you avoid being a fool in your actions and in your words. Here are a few examples.
Don’t answer the foolish arguments of fools, or you will become as foolish as they are. Be sure to answer the foolish arguments of fools, or they will become wise in their own estimation.
Proverbs 26:4-5
These verses might seem to contradict each other, but they are actually 2 versions of the same principle. The difference requires wisdom. We certainly shouldn’t be drawn into a foolish argument with a fool. When you argue with a fool on their terms, you find yourself being drawn to their level. A fool that won’t listen to reason can lead you to come off looking just as foolish as they are. This reminds me of the kind of arguments we see regularly on social media, where people argue in circles, spouting one foolish platitude after another. Fools are known for to refusing to listen, as we will see later in Proverbs. On the other hand, we should be sure to collectively or privately answer the arguments of fools, otherwise their foolishness will reign as the truth of the day. Biblically, this could be a private answer that calls the fallacy to their attention, or with wisdom you may want to involve others in correction. Wisdom is the antidote to foolishness, not arguing, but that leads us to the next problem with fools.
Fools have no interest in understanding; they only want to air their own opinions.
Proverbs 18:2
Lots of people lack understanding or information. Not knowing about a subject doesn’t make you a fool. According to this verse, what makes you a fool is insisting on airing your uninformed opinion. If the goal is only for the opinion to be heard (which seems to be one of the main purposes of social media) then providing a fool with new information or insights will not be welcomed. Instead, you will find yourself on the path to becoming as foolish as they are. Many public arguments on social media head in this direction. Flamewars leave no one unscorched. Talking to someone privately or via direct message is a better avenue, but according to this verse, you will often find people who have no interest in understanding. Why?
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 1:7
Fear of the Lord is a moral foundation of truth and an understanding of your place in the world God created. Those who understand who He is have a foundation that is different and should have the confidence to not be drawn into foolish engagements. Fools lack the wisdom and discipline to do the same. A fool’s confidence and self-image are locked up in their own words. This contrast comes out in chapter 12.
Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others. A fool is quick-tempered, but a wise person stays calm when insulted.
Proverbs 12:15-16 NLT
To be wise is to not always assume you are right, but take the time to listen to others. To be a fool is to continue to insist you are right, ignoring contrary opinions. A fool gets ticked off at the most miniscule slight, but a wise person can endure a barrage of insults without losing it. The differences are stark between the two and it doesn’t take long to watch an interaction to identify who the fools are.
In might seem too simple to just say, “don’t be a fool”, but it really is something we should all strive for in our lives. Wisdom is valuable. When you pursue wisdom, you will have a better life. You will suffer less from your own foolishness and you will find yourself suffering less from being involved in foolish interactions. As you read through these verses, you may have been thinking primarily of other “fools” that you have seen in person or on-line, but the most important step you should take is looking in the mirror to see if you find yourself being foolish in any of the ways listed here or throughout the book of Proverbs.
It is horrible to lack wisdom and no one should desire to be a fool, but ultimately the biggest fools are those who refuse and continue to follow the path of Proverbs 26:11:
As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness.
Don’t be the person that lives off of foolishness and builds their life around foolishness. Build your life around truth, and especially the truth that is found in God’s Word. If you are interested in knowing more about who God really is and what it means to follow Him, I wrote a whole book on that subject. It is available here. The best source of wisdom is the Bible, start reading that today and read it every day.
Seeing God 
