Jump Start # 4127

1 Sam 18:7 “The women sang as they played, and said, ‘Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”

Saul was angry with David. Multiple times after this Saul tries to kill David. The direction of the nation is put on hold as Saul tries to deal with his rival. Contrasting the two side by side is very interesting. David, young. Saul, not so young. David brave. Saul intimidated of giants. David, humble. Saul arrogant. David, kind and decent. Saul breaks all the rules to execute David.

In this we learn something about jealousy. Saul was jealous of David. The nation loved David. Younger, braver, better, David’s presence irritates and bothers Saul. And, that rivalry is alive and well today. A kid fresh out of college is hired. He comes in with bright ideas. He knows the language of technology. Everyone loves the young super star. You’ve been there for decades. You feel that you are being overlooked, tossed aside or even pushed out. Hard not to be jealous.

Jealously hides in the corners of our homes. The young daughter-in-law cooks better than mamma. That creates tension, bitterness and burnt attidues as well as scorched biscuits.

But jealously in the church can be the worst of all. A new family moves in and he is the better song leader. Others get so jealous that they no longer want to lead singing. A younger preacher is hired and the older preacher feels like all the long and steady work he has established is overlooked and forgotten.

For Saul, jealousy led to hatred, violence and trying to eliminate David. Jealousy in the congregation leads to families leaving. It can lead to unhealthy rivary between preachers. It can tear up an eldership.

So, what can we do?

First, be careful what you say. Some things just do not need to be said out loud. You have one preacher that you like better than another. Be thankful. Don’t do what I’ve seen others do. They openly say, “I like brother A better than brother B.” Some go so far as not attending when brother B is preaching because he’s not my favorite. Folks, this isn’t American Idol! Aren’t we all on the same team after the same goal, glorifying the Lord? The inner tensions hovering within congregations are often caused not by the preachers or the elders but the members who play favorites. Be thankful you have two preachers. Be thankful that there is just more than one song leader. We can throw logs on to the fire of jealousy that will soon burn out of control if we are not careful.

Second, we do not all have the same talent nor the same level of that talent. That’s fine. Learn from each other. We older folks can learn from the younger ones. Don’t be suspicious of everything they bring up. And, the younger ones can learn from the older ones. With a healthy environment, much good can be done. In the parable of the talents, each servant was given different amounts based upon their abilities. Use what you have for the glory of the Lord.

Third, some how in all of this jealousy and which one is the best, God gets left out of the picture. The Lord wasn’t happy when the apostles questioned which one was the greatest. None of them were. They all needed to hush and learn from Jesus. Pride likes to come running in right after jealousy has been introduced.

Be thankful the kingdom has so much talent that is being used for the Lord. Saul should have been thankful that David was a loyal and trusted soldier of the Lord and Israel. The story would had been different had David been a Philistine. But he wasn’t. He was on Saul’s same side, yet the way Saul treated him, David was viewed as his enemy. Don’t turn our own brethren into your enemy because they can do things better than you can.

Jealousy—we have to deal with it, fight it and overcome it. Saul never did. Will you?

Roger

Jump Start # 4126

Psalm 57:7 “My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!”

The subscription title to this Psalm gives us so much insight. It states that this was written by David when he fled from Saul in a cave. Singing in a cave. Not giving up on God because of a cave. Much too often it is easy to become a “fair weather Christians,” only praising God in the sunshine of life and only remaining close when things are going well in life. This wasn’t the case for this Psalm. David was running for his life. King Saul was after him and he had the entire army of Israel to accomplish the defeat and destruction of David.

Life can often put us in a corner. It can do that with stess at work, money woes at home, troubles in the congregation and the isolation that comes when our prayers are not answered in the time that we feel they ought to be. As a result, it is easy to become discouraged. Someone says, “You need to pray about that.” Our response is: “I’ve been praying. I’ve prayed so much that I am prayed out over this. And, still nothing.”

Here are some thoughts from a recent class I thought on this:

First, troubles can last a long time. They did for David. Hundreds of miles and nearly a decade, and the pressure from Saul, remained constant. That’s hard on our faith. We wonder why God isn’t doing anything? We wonder if it’s something we did. Maybe I’m not as faithful as I ought to be. Maybe I could do more. The troubles remain, but the relief from the Lord hasn’t shown its face.

Second, often the troubles we experience will put us in a corner without anyone to help out. Many don’t understand. Many don’t get it. David had to strengthen himself. There are times when the ones we count on won’t be there. We must strengthen ourselves. Maturity of faith will get us to a place where we can strengthen ourselves. The help comes from the Lord. The encouragement is found in His word. But we aren’t being spoon fed by someone else. We’ve learned how to encourage our selves, pick ourselves up off the mat and get back into the game of life.

Third, troubles need to be taken to the Lord and not take us away from the Lord. After the funeral, after the divorce, after the job downsizing, where are we? Will others find us at the church worshipping? Will others see us drawing closer to the Lord, or will the caves that we hide in become our prison? David was singing from the cave.

We like to find quick, painless and easy shortcuts through life’s troubles. Many times no such thing exists. Biblical joy can never come from disobedience. One never gets their life together in the far country. Hiding in a cave, God is still at work. Running from danger, God remains upon the throne. God helps. He may help in ways that we do not expect nor anticipate.

David singing from a cave.

Sure is something to think about.

Roger

Jump Start # 4123

2 Corinthians 11:28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.

There were major “external things” that got Paul. Among that list included beatings, dangers, shipwrecks. But, now, he turns to the “internal things.” There at the top of the list is the concern from all the churches. The CEB words this, “there’s my daily stress because I am concerned about all the churches.”

What type of things do you imagine Paul was concerned about? Getting a good insight into his heart from what he wrote, we could come up with a pretty good list. And, what’s interesting about that is what we are often concerned about wouldn’t make the list. We see a similar concept when we read through the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3. What we don’t find is concern about attendance. Oh, we are. We take attendance and post the numbers on the board for all to see. Finances is another thing that doesn’t seem to be a concern in the Revelation picture. We are. Some congregations operate like a bank and they love to have mountains of money sitting on reserve “just in case.” The “just in case” never seems to happen, so the pile of money continues to grow.

What the Revelation picture gives us is a concern about faithfulness to God’s word. And, I expect, especially from reading the letters to Timothy, that was high on Paul’s list. A great crowd with loads of money can dance with the devil all day long. Faithful in preaching. Faithful in teaching. Staying true to the book and staying close to the book is always a concern. Some are fascinated with introducing the new and the controversial. Others want to return to the old ways. Staying on course is the key.

Here are some thoughts for us:

First, while we may be concerned about other congregations, what takes place in them, however they are, is really not our responsibility. It is within the makeup of each congregation to be faithful to God. The Lord has established a network of internal accountability and checks and balances and if followed, will ensure the path a congregation takes. It seems that some are more interested in what is going on in other places than what is happening at home. Outside looking in doesn’t always give us the total story. Let God’s way work .

Second, being concerned brings responsibility. That’s the step that many miss. They just want to know. They are curious. Once they know, they don’t plan on doing anything. They just want to know. Paul was concerned. What do you think he did? He prayed. He wrote letters. He sent preachers. He did all that he could to make things better. He faced the challenges with the tools of God.

We know that “worry” is wrong. So, instead of saying, “I’m worried,” we substitute it with, “I’m concerned.” But, wanting to know, without any response or responsibility on our part, only fuels gossip. We want to know what others do not know. If you are truly concerned, you’ll take it to the Lord in prayer. You’ll find ways to encourage and make better.

Third, Paul wore several hats. He was an apostle. He was a preacher. He was a disciple. And, when I read about Paul doing things, I must decide which hat he was wearing. As an apostle, which I am not, I am limited in those things. As a preacher, and I’m a preacher, I can apply those lessons. As a disciple, which I am, then I can fully follow his example. Paul was given the task to be concerned about all the churches. That is not our task. Not knowng which hat Paul is wearing can put me out of bounds with the Lord.

Now, narrow this thought down to the congregation that you are a part of. Are you concerned? Do you care? Do you know what is going on? Do your part to bring excellence in worship. Do your part to make the place friendly and loving. Do your part to keep true to God’s word. There is so much going on at the home congregation, that ought to keep me busy. Cards to send. People to pray about. People to encourage. Busy, busy, busy.

In many ways, I think these internal things were harder on Paul than the external ones. Bones heal, but it takes a long, long time for hearts to get better.

Concern for others…

Roger