This week I've been reading Matthew 5-7, known as the "Sermon on the Mount." Much thanks goes out to Dallas Willard for bringing its importance and vitality to my attention, though I never did get all the way through "The Divine Conspiracy." One of these days I will... and maybe I'll just drag you along with me, unsuspecting reader! Don't worry, it'll be good for you.
Anyway, Matthew 5-7 is truly amazing. Every hour I spend with it is like drinking an elixir of life: nourishing, instructive and challenging. Beware, casual reader!
Today's thought comes from chapter 5, verses 29-30."If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."
You may be thinking, "That is a very grisly passage. Why would you spend your time thinking about about gouging out eyes and cutting off hands? That's sick. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth. Why am I even reading this? I'd rather go check out my friends on MySpace." (Darn you MySpace!)
Hold on! Don't leave me yet! I'll get to the point as fast as possible. (Darn you, short attention spans!)
Lately I have been rather unhappy, for a number of reasons. One is that my beloved houseguests keep leaving dishes and shoes and unusual personal items in my living room. Another is that our new dog Archie is not fully potty-trained, and every few days leaves little presents in the hallway for me to clean up. Yum.
Okay, okay, those aren't the real reasons; I just wanted to complain a little. Honestly, I'm often not happy because I don't do things that end of the day make me feel useful and accomplished. I for one am happy when I feel that I've accomplished something. Instead I do things that pacify me - like playing games on Yahoo, or watching a lot of TV - and later I kick myself and sulk for being a useless dolt. Why can't I just turn the TV off and pick up that book I've been itching to finish? Or why can't I turn off the computer and practice playing my so cool new mandolin?
Are Yahoo games evil and television evil? I'd say no. But what I'm coming to believe is that some things, while not inherently evil, are nonetheless not good. With video games and television I can spend hours in front of a screen, and when I stand up nothing has changed but I've lost precious time. And for what?
In the above passage, Jesus is teaching, in a nutshell, that nothing is sacred if it causes us to sin. I'm coming to believe that wasting time is sin. I won't take the time to hash out what constitutes "wasting" (since if you enjoy these things, as I do, you may be growing defensive, as I might if I were you), or why I might place value on things like books and a mandolin, but the bottom line is if we are supposed to represent Jesus to the world, then there is no time to waste, is there? Not that everything we do must necessarily be of the ABSOLUTE UTMOST importance, but I do want to live my life intentionally, "making the most of every opportunity."
I'm not going to cut off my hand, but I may cut off our cable. If the television is keeping me from obeying Jesus' teaching, then it needs to go. Same for anything in life: relationships, jobs, obligations, hobbies... anything. There's a lot more that could be said about this, more than I can say now without exhausting your patience. I hope I haven't already done so.
All of us, when making an ethical decision, miss the point by asking, "What can't I do?" I think Jesus would rather have us ask, "What can I do?" It is not the Christian's obligation to avoid sin as much as it is to perpetuate righteousness. That's a key tenet of Jesus' teaching in Sermon on the Mount...
But that is a discussion for another time.
5 comments:
I like it.
I don't have cable and I still spent the entire afternoon watching college basketball on cbs.
I could have been doing a million other things.
Preston,
This is an incredible blog. It is so exciting to see that God is speaking the same thing to a lot of different people! I am so proud of the decision you've made to "cut off" the things that are hindering your relationship with God. I can't wait to see what comes of this!
Preston,
I hope you don't mind if I barge in on your blog. I have asked myself many times if some things which are not bad, are still less than the best. My inclination is to say what you said, some things which are not evil are nonetheless not good.
That makes sense to me but the problem is that I highly respect author Francis Schaeffer and he says "in the absence of sin all things are equally spiritual." Of course I am not going believe something just because a respected person takes that position but, because he is a spiritual giant, it is worth thinking about.
Stan,
No sense of "barging!" Please comment anytime.
That's a good quote from Schaeffer, and my inclination is also to respect his perspective. Before making a judgment, though, I'd need to know the context of his statement. And also to determine the exact meaning of, "the absence of sin." I think it can be argued that in our world, nothing is absent of sin: it is always a concern, an enemy to be guarded against. e really, I'd want to know more of his context before accepting or dismissing the phrase. Where is it found?
I have read a lot of Schaeffer's books so I cannot recall where i read that. So I did the next best thing: I googled the quote as I remembered it and found something of Schaeffer's on the internet that is very close.
http://www.peopleforlife.org/francis.html
Once there, type control-F (for find) and search for "equally spiritual" and it will take you to the quote.
My guess is that I first came across the quote in either "True Spirituality" or "Christian Manifesto."
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