'The Art of Divine Contentment'


Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment. 
 —1 Timothy 6:6
Introduction: Why Bother?
Christians are very often our own worst enemies. I might go so far as to say that the most effective argument against the practice of Christianity is the way Christianity is practiced. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then perhaps it might do to sit back and compare the life of Christ to the lives of most of us Christians. Christ was kind and understanding, and he knew just when to get mad. His followers are too seldom kind and too often angry. Christ appears to have had no home, but went from town to town trusting that God—through other people—would take care of his needs. We place too little trust in God, and too much trust in possessions. Christ was courageous, speaking the truth to power, and refusing—even in the face of certain death—to mislead people about who he was and what he was about. We are often too afraid to speak up when we could witness for our faith, or even when we hear a comment that denigrates a sister or a brother.
These are just a few of the examples of how we don’t measure up to Christ. And since this has always been the case with disciples of Christ, you’d think that the movement begun by Christ would’ve been condemned from the beginning. And if we are tempted to think that, there’s obviously something we’re forgetting—something that trumps all the negatives and shortcomings of the people who call ourselves Christian. And that is forgiveness and grace. In the history of religion—unless there is a religion somewhere that preaches mediocrity, cowardice, and hypocrisy—there has never been a group of adherents who live up to the ideals of their religion. But the Christian faith bases our obedience to Christ’s ideals not on the fact that we must do them in order to be accepted by God, but that because we are accepted by God, we respond by being obedient. That’s because ours is a faith based not on legalism and judgment, but on forgiveness and grace.

Quiet, Peaceable, Godly & Dignified

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.
—1 Tim. 2:1-2
Introduction: Compromising Situations

We live in a toxic atmosphere. I’m not talking about air pollution or water pollution—though that may be true, too. I’m talking about something else. Our attitudes toward those we don’t agree with are so negative, so bitter, so poisoned with prejudice, that I’m beginning to wonder what our future is. Seeing both sides of an issue is now seen as a weakness, while refusal to compromise is the ultimate strength. Sometimes I wonder if this was what this country was like in the lead-up to the Civil War.

One of the real problems with the current state of affairs is not that it exists—that’s bad enough—but the rôle of Christians in creating it and making it worse. Looking on at the rancor, you’d think that we Christians had a religious mandate to stand up for our beliefs to the point of refusing to be in dialogue with those on the other side of an issue. When we ask, “What Would Jesus Do?” in any given situation, doesn’t it require that we never be wishy-washy, and that we not tolerate compromise?

Ruminating on Justice

I. Introduction

One of the most beautiful images we have for God is found in both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures. The Lord is my shepherd, the psalmist wrote. And a thousand years later, Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. [1] So we can be forgiven if we think this imagery is unique to the Judeo-Christian heritage.

But it’s not. It was actually quite a common image for the divine among ancient religions. [2] And I suppose it’s easy to understand why. Shepherding was a common profession, and so everybody knew what one was. But more than that, shepherds represented something more than themselves. They stood for leading and protection and feeding—traits people also wanted to see in their gods.

Recreational Pottery Making

Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.
—Jer. 18:6b

We used to love today’s Jeremiah passage. The image of the potter and clay was an easy one to understand if we wanted a picture of God and God’s people. Later, we’ll even sing an old hymn that mentions this stanza in the first stanza. And it’s a hymn that pretty much proves my point—it’s one that’s very well known to me, but it’s not in our hymnal. To me it’s an old standard, but apparently the people who put together the Glory to God hymnal thought it was too old and not quite standard enough. Or maybe it was the theology that they thought was too old. Potter and clay. Have thine own way.

We like our independence these days. We want to have things our way, not somebody else’s… even if that Somebody is spelled with a capital S.