Blessed Or Spoiled?

 

No one likes spoiled rich people.  They act ugly, snooty, and are just ungrateful.  They act conceited and better than others.   However, before we start pointing fingers, it might come as a surprise that we are more like these people than we think.

When we take a look at our lives, there is no doubt we are all blessed richly.  In fact, we are so blessed we don’t even know all the ways we are blessed.  The more I considered this, the more I wondered if we are really blessed or if we have taken it to the next level and are just spoiled.  Some of us are spoiled and don’t even know it!  So, what’s the difference between being spoiled and blessed?  The difference is attitude.  A blessed person is one who receives what he or she wants but is adamantly gracious and thankful.  A spoiled person is one who has everything he or she wants but isn’t grateful and expects such exquisite treatment. 

In America, many of us have become spoiled.  We complain when the room temperature is two degrees higher or lower than we want.  We get grumpy because we are hungry since we missed a meal, or sometimes even because we didn’t get enough to eat even though we had three meals and a snack during the day.  We complain about clothes fading or not fitting just right and sometimes throw them out.  Most of us have never gone a single day without food, clothing, and shelter unless we were sick or just chose to deprive ourselves.  We have come to expect this exquisite American lifestyle that many people in the world will never experience.  God has blessed us abundantly, but sometimes we aren’t thankful for what we have because we just expect it to be there.  As a result, we become spoiled.

With Thanksgiving around the corner, many are focused on being more thankful.  Our preacher delivered a phenomenal sermon about living the attitude of thanksgiving, which he called “Thanksliving.”  Facebook has been overflowing with people participating in the “30 Days of Thankfulness.”  There have been classes, articles, prayers and thoughtful conversations centering on this attitude.  All of this has been wonderful.  We can’t let this Christlike attitude die with the turkeys after Thanksgiving.

All of our physical and spiritual blessings come from God, even the small ones (Ephesians 1:3; Matthew 7:25-34).  As we distance ourselves from the holidays, let’s continue to be thankful and not develop a spoiled attitude.  After all, many of our blessings can quickly vanish (Job 1-2).   Let’s always remember to be thankful.  We close the beautiful words of 1 Chronicles 16:8-12, and a great example of the right attitude towards blessings: “Oh give thanks to the LORD, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.  Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; Speak of all His wonders. Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the LORD be glad. Seek the LORD and His strength; Seek His face continually. Remember His wonderful deeds which He has done, His marvels and the judgments from His mouth.”

God Is "Number Conscious"

Neal Pollard

Occasionally, the accusation, "You are just number conscious," flies. If we speak in terms of attendance and emphasize its importance, we may justify mentioning it by saying that numbers represent souls. That is true, but there is no need to be ashamed of "number consciousness."  After all, the Holy Spirit must have been.

Did you know that He moved men to use the noun arithmos (from where we get "arithmetic") 18 times in the New Testament, including five times in Acts. Each time the word is used, God has been counting. In Acts, God is keeping track of the numbers being converted and the numbers making up the church.  Arithmos, in the literal sense, means "to count," "to reckon," and "number" (TDNT 1:461). In these passages in Acts, arithmos is used literally and specifically--"the number of the men came to be about 5,000" (4:4), "a number of men, about 400, joined themselves [to Theudas]" (5:36), "the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly" (6:7), "a large number believed" (11:21), "the churches were increasing in number daily" (16:5). Except for Gamaliel's Acts 5 speech, the Acts passages report numerical growth in the early church.

Gearing our programs and preaching at all costs and compromise to optimize attendance figures is not the idea.  Truth offends and turns away many. The early church had a large share of enemies and detractors. While many submitted to immersion, some resorted to throwing stones (7:58; 14:19). The early Christians were tarred, run over, beaten, imprisoned, burned alive, fed to lions, exiled, and otherwise mistreated. Though this was sporadic, it could be intense. They had a number of enemies, but, through their living hope (1 Pet. 1:3), they worked at their mission and God gave the increase (1 Cor. 3:6).  All the while, Heaven kept count.

Long before the cross, God said, "All souls are Mine" (Ezek. 18:14). He's been in every delivery room.  He's heard every baby's cry, watched every skinned knee, been privy to every child's fear, and seen every sinful thought, word, and action develop. He was there at the moment every individual crossed the line from "safe" to "separated" (cf. Isa. 59:2). As Redeemer, God marks down each instance where one goes from "separated" to "saved."

Let's think like God on this.  Pursue evangelistic opportunities, teach the truth, and the numbers will increase. Be "number conscious"!

“If You Love Me…”

 

A man by the name of Jimmy Brown told a story about the first girl who ever caught his eye.  He was seven years old, in 2^nd grade, and her name was Sherri.  She was the cutest girl he had ever seen with little pigtails, a beautiful dress with a big teddy bear on it, and the prettiest smile, even with a middle tooth missing.  Best of all, she could jump off of the swing further than anyone.

One day Sherri passed down a note which read, “Do you love me?”  Jimmy didn’t even know what love was, but he knew girls like being told these things, so he checked “yes” and passed it back.  At recess she ran up to him with a big smile on her face and said, “Say it.”  “Say what?” Jimmy asked.  “Say you love me,” Sherri replied.  While it was a little embarrassing, he went ahead and said, “I love you.”

The next day Sherri came up to Jimmy and said, “Do you really love me?”  “Yes,” he replied.  Unconvinced, Sherri asked, “Do you mean it?  Because a lot of boys tell me they love me, but some of them don’t mean it.”  Jimmy went ahead reassured her that his love was true.  The next day though, Sherri came back again, “If you love me and you mean it, then why don’t you show it?”  Jimmy was now beginning to realize this “love” stuff was tricky.  So, Jimmy decided to stop pulling her pigtails, spent the day with her at recess, sat with her at free time, and even gave her his special GI Joe eraser.  From this point on, Jimmy learned some important lessons about love.

What a sweet story.  In this life, the words “I love you” are common and often used flippantly.  Jimmy Brown quickly learned that just saying the words were not enough.  We even say them to the Lord, but do our words match our actions?  Jesus said very bluntly in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”  Our love for God must be displayed through our obedience.  As Mark 12:30 puts it, we must love God with all of our “heart, soul, mind, and strength.”

Do we love God?  If so, our action must match.

From Bellbottoms To Skinny Jeans And Beyond

Neal Pollard

Born in 1970, I was (thankfully!) too young to get sucked into bellbottoms and leisure suits.  However, I was a fashion-child of the '80s.  I am proud to say that I never owned a pair of parachute pants, but my African-American best-friend, Greg Gwyn, and I did wear Miami Vice apparel to school many days in the mid-1980s.  Since I had a fro and his hair was cut closer, he was Crockett and I was Tubbs.

In the last few years, we have seen such fashion-savvy choices as "sagging" and skinny jeans.  Sometimes, people's fashions cross the line of decency, good taste, and modesty, but some fashion statements are more embarrassing than evil.  Given a few years, we live long enough to be embarrassed that we were drawn into something that seemed so cool at the time but in retrospect is funny if not mortifying.  I don't suppose this is a new phenomenon (have you ever seen the 18th Century pictures of our founding fathers in powdered wigs and stockings?).

Humanity is infamously fickle, ever-changing and in search of something new.  It is not unusual for a culture to be like the Athenians, spending "their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new" (Acts 17:21).  We have a tendency to be ever-ready for the next new thing.

In stark contrast to this remains this immutable, rock-solid entity that transcends culture and fashion.  It is the Bible.  Remarkably, as fickle fashion comes forward then fades as fast, the Bible remains timeless and true.  Certainly, it claims this for itself.  David writes, "Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven" (Ps. 119:89).  Jesus said, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away" (Mt. 24:35). Peter adds, "The word of the Lord endures forever" (1 Pet. 1:25).  

But, observation constantly proves the truth of it.  The "Golden Rule" will continue to prove fruitful for human relations (Mt. 7:12).  The Beatitudes will yield blessings on anyone, anywhere, and anytime who incorporates them (Mt. 5:3-12).  The Bible gives blessed assurance to those suffering whenever and wherever (Rom. 8:28-39).  The Psalms give universal comfort, Proverbs give universal wisdom, Job gives universal insight and inspiration, and the list of examples is endless.  Those who truly live by its pattern find the happiest, most meaningful life possible.  Those who have tried it have proven it repeatedly.  Thank God that for a changeless message in a constantly changing world!

What Is That On Their Faces?

Neal Pollard

There is nothing like a hospital to provide a reality check.  Most large, urban hospitals have hundreds of patients most of whom have family and friends who love and care about them.  Many of the concerned are spouses, parents, and children.  When you visit someone in the hospital, you will walk past a number of these concerned people.  How often do you look them in the eye and see their faces?  If you will, you will see many emotions betrayed.  While their hearts are concealed, their faces, in so many instances, show sorrow, fear, stress, fatigue, anxiety, and despair.  A good number of them look to be carrying figurative, elephant-sized burdens that weigh down on them.

For much of life, a person can put off thinking about mortality.  For one thing, we have so much to do in our daily lives--work, care for family, a bevy of sundry activities.  For another, we do not have to waste mental energy on such an enormous topic when we and our loved ones are healthy.  Besides, at other times, we can afford to pursue our interests and desires.  But when we face the prospect of death it seems that all else in life fades with muted colors into the background of life.  Front and center in vivid color, life and the fragility of it stares us in the face.  It is then that we may ponder, perhaps more intently than at any other time, about "what's next."  Those confronting illness and death may be more prone to consider that beyond mortality lays immortality.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, "He has also set eternity in their heart."  Does that mean God, who created us, put within us a knowledge and conviction about eternity at our most innate level.  As we face crises and dark moments, we attempt to gaze through the dark mystery of death and see such imposing figures as Accountability, Judgment, and Eternity standing before us.  This must be a disturbing moment for those unprepared to cross that dim divide.  Yet, God intended and desires for us to come to such moments with blessed assurance.  It is not unqualified assurance, open to those who live any old way they please.  But, it is an assurance that alters one's gaze into that mysterious abyss of death.  Death is stinging and victorious over many, but not the Christian. God through Christ allows us to stare into that treacherous chasm with unbroken calm.  "Thanks be to God" (cf. 1 Cor. 15:54-57)!