Sermon Transcript — June 23, 2007
In my neighborhood when I was growing up, we had a number of men who served as Veterans and had come through World War II – had been through those experiences. And as we were growing, many of us young fellows loved to be able to kind of sit in the background and listen to our fathers tell some of those stories of what they had been through, experiences they had. I remember a gentleman who lived a couple of houses down the street from us. He had this Japanese battle flag. It was really impressive, you know, this almost white silk with this red circle in the middle and it had all of these Japanese characters all over it. And, according to what his son said, he had captured that himself or taken it with him as a souvenir when they had overrun the Japanese machine gun emplacement. It was always interesting to hear that story actually because the man was in the Navy. So you wondered how many machine gun emplacements you actually encounter in the Navy. But, nonetheless, that was his story and he was sticking with it.
Across the street there was a gentleman whose name you wouldn't know, although you might have if things had been just a little bit different. He got two letters the same day. The first letter was an invitation to come to New York and try out for the New York Yankees. The other letter was a draft notice and, of course, you know which one won when it came to the priorities. It was fascinating to listen to those people tell their stories, the things that they had encountered, what it was like. Of course, there are interesting stories of those who hadn't necessarily gone overseas, but had served here in different ways as well.
Tom Brokaw wrote a widely respected book about those people which he titled, The Greatest Generation and, in many ways, those of us who are from the succeeding generation or generations have had to acknowledge that in a lot of ways we are not the men and women our parents were. In fact, there was a level of character and commitment that we see in that generation that should well be respected.
That generation had a recognition for the value of a person's character. A man's word was considered his sacred commitment. In some of the dark days of WWII during the time when he was headquartered in Australia, Gen. Douglas MacArthur thought often about that need for character especially as he looked at his young son, Arthur, and wondered what kind of a man he would become. As sometimes people did at that time, he wrote a prayer - it still survives today – called Build Me A Son. It goes:
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.
Build me a son whose wishbone will not be where his backbone should be; a son who will know You and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those who fail.
Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high; a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men; one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength.
Then, I, his father, will dare to whisper, I have not lived in vain.
I remember reading those words a number of years ago, it was at the Feast in Norfolk because there, close to the auditorium, was the MacArthur Memorial. I was very impressed with what he had to say, impressed with the concept that is there, that character counts, that it matters, that it is important. Sadly, today, we live in a world where there is a crisis of character. Whether we look at business, government, or even religion, we find example after example of a lack of personal integrity - character – creating enormous problems. All we need to do is mention words like Enron or Watergate. We all conjure up images of influential leaders who lacked a sense of personal integrity.
The sermon that I am giving today I have decided to title When No One Sees. I'm borrowing that title – borrowing is a nice way to say plagiarizing – I'm borrowing that title from a book written by a gentleman named Os Guinness. The full title of the book is “When No One Sees: The Importance of Character in an Age of Image”. We are truly in a 'age of image', an age when people seem to be much more concerned about their outward appearance instead of inward character. Our most popular entertainment programs focus on people who want to be America's next idol. Talk about an empty purpose! Or how about those programs where twenty beautiful women compete to become the bride of one guy? Is that really a good way to select mates? I really can't comment much about those programs because I've never been able to stomach even the teasers, much less the programs. But it just seems like such an empty-headed approach to anything to do with life.
For many of us, one of the most challenging and exciting bits of knowledge we were ever exposed to was at the core of a little booklet we read years ago called “Why Were You Born”. Philosophers and religionists have tried in vain to come up with some kind of transcendent meaning for us as human beings, why we exist and so on, but they have had very little success with that. More pragmatic people in our society generally look at us and say there really is no reason for human existence, we just are. As one man used to put it, he would say something like, well, it takes all kinds and his comment was, “No, it doesn't take all kinds, there just are all kinds.”
That little black and white booklet dared to proclaim that man had a purpose, that we are who and what we are for a reason. In that booklet we were told that the most important task in our lives was the building of Godly character. We even use that this year as the motto for the Ambassador Bible Center class. Scripture shows us that the gift of God's Holy Spirit was intended to help build within us the very mind and character of God, Himself. In 2 Peter 1, we see this. We probably read it on the day of Pentecost or around that time. 2 Pet. 1 and beginning in verse 2.
2 Pet. 1:2 - Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
Verse 3 - as His divine power... referring to God's Spirit ...has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness... given us the things that we need that pertain to how to live this life in a Godly way, that God's Spirit imparts to us Godliness, not simply some nice answers here and there. And he goes on to further explain it ...through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue...
That's an interesting phrase when you read through that. We are called by glory and virtue. When you and I began to hear the truth of God, it was really exciting to hear what lay ahead for us. Now, I grew up in a little fundamentalist church where I was told each Sunday morning that you go, when you die, one of two places – heaven or hell. They described hell frequently and it really didn't sound like a very nice place to be. And then they described heaven and it didn't sound like a very nice place to be. Your choice is eternal pain or eternal boredom. But boredom beats pain so you figure you'd better try for boredom. But then we began to hear the truth of God, this incredible plan that is so amazing that every human being is a part of, that touches the lives of every human being who has ever lived to give them this opportunity. And it made so much more sense. And it was so exciting to hear that. We looked at that and said, look, here's what's really ahead. This doesn't sound boring at all. This is exciting. We looked at the glory ahead and we were excited by that. And we were called to that truth, in a sense by that glory. But he also says ...glory and virtue... We weren't just called to look ahead, we were called to realize there's a way to live now. There's a way to live a virtuous life right now and it makes a difference in you and those that you come in contact with. And he goes on in verse 4:
Verse 4 - by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature...
It's an awesome statement to realize that you and I are given through God's Spirit the opportunity to partake of the very nature of God, to not simply be human beings who are nice people, but to be human beings who are Godly. It is an amazing concept. How are we doing? For humans, the building of Godly character is a process, not a destination. Are we still concerned with building Godly character? Is it a part of our daily lives? I must say that I believe that for far too many of us – we've gradually slipped into maintenance mode. The active building of God's character has often been shifted to a back burner.
Those of the 'greatest generation' which were respected and honored and well they should be, but we also have to remember that they are being judged by human standards of character. There were heroic soldiers on both sides who exercised great human character to kill soldiers of character on the opposing side. Human character is flawed. We haven't been called to build human character. We have been called to build Godly character.
What is Godly character and how is it built? Godly character has been defined as doing the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason. That's not a bad definition at all. I'd like to add one other word near the beginning of that. The word consistently. Godly character is consistently doing the right thing at the right time in the right way for the right reason. So therefore for you and for me, Godly character is founded on a strong belief in an absolute standard of right and wrong, an absolute moral authority. Your opinion and my opinion are totally irrelevant. God's opinion determines Godly character.
Scripture shows us the importance of Godly character both in principle and in practical application. Notice here in Psalm 15. Psalm 15 is one of the shorter psalms. We are going to look at the entire psalm today. Psalm 15 as David asks and answers the question. He says,
Ps. 15:1 - LORD, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
Now David, obviously, is not asking the question, who's going to live within a literal tabernacle, who's going to live on this hill that's located in some particular location. He's talking about who's going to be a part of God's family, God's government as we look on into the future. Who will be there? And, through David, God answers.
Verse 2 - He who walks uprightly... It doesn't say, he who talks uprightly – although that is a part of the walk, but it's only a part of it. ...He who walks uprightly, And works righteousness... who labors at producing righteousness ...And speaks the truth in his heart... not just outwardly, but inwardly. Who speaks the truth, therefore, in his heart to himself; who looks at himself or herself and speaks the truth; who sees himself in a spiritual mirror and looks honestly at it.
A couple of weeks ago I saw a cartoon - I don't know how many of you may have seen it – it was a Cathy cartoon. She is a young woman and she went into a dress shop, was back in the changing area and all of a sudden she screamed and the sales lady came running in saying, “What's wrong, what's wrong.” And she said, “I just stood in front of the mirror and I saw my mother there.” The sales lady said, “Embrace her. Beg her to stay.” She said, “What do you mean?” She said, “When she leaves, your grandmother shows up.”
Looking in the mirror physically can sometimes not be real pleasant, but looking in that mirror spiritually can be a little bit painful at times, too. But it says a person will be in God's family, who will dwell in God's holy hill, speaks the truth in his heart.
Verse 3 - who does not backbite with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend; It is so easy to pick up things and say things that shouldn't be said.
Verse 4 - In whose eyes a vile person is despised... There is not equivocation here. There is nothing that says, oh, well, this person has just a different lifestyle. No, what's wrong is wrong and the Godly person sees that. ...But he honors those who fear the LORD; He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
I think that's a crucial part of this character statement. The individual who, when he or she gives their word, be faithful to that word even when it hurts, even when it's difficult, even when it requires sacrifice. When they give their word, their word is true and you can always know it will be true.
Verse 5 - He who does not put out his money at usury... trying to take advantage of people ...Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be moved.
In Proverbs 28:1.
Pro. 28:1 - The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.
A person who is living a righteous life has a sense of confidence and character. You don't have to be fearful, whereas the person who doesn't live that way is constantly looking over his shoulder wondering who is going to find out; wondering what's going to happen; fearful constantly. The person who is living a righteous life is bold. That doesn't mean obnoxious. It doesn't mean pushy. It simply means they are not hampered by fear: fear of action, fear of doing what they need to do.
In the next chapter, Proverbs 29:2,
Pro. 29:2 - When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
Now we used it in our government paper to point out that, quite honestly, God has used a variety of governmental forms down through the ages and that if the heart is right, God can use virtually any form to accomplish His purpose. And if the heart is wrong, it really doesn't matter what form you use, you still are not going to accomplish the right thing. But there's another point in this that I think is tied in as well. It very clearly shows in this verse that an individual's personal character has a profound impact on the society in which they live, on the relationships they have, on the interaction they have with everyone else around them. When a righteous person is carrying out his or her responsibilities, those who come in contact with them are blessed. And when a person is wicked, those who come in contact with them, though they may be innocent, you see the curse. So, in principle, God shows us that this Godly character is absolutely essential for us.
We could look at many other examples. I won't turn to them, but just in reference you will know very well what I'm talking about. In Genesis 39 we find Joseph being tempted by the wife of Potiphar and in verse 8, Joseph looks at this woman and he says, “My master has entrusted everything he has to me. How would I dare be unfaithful to that trust and do what you ask?” The character, the integrity protected Joseph from doing what was probably quite tempting.
In the book of Ruth we have the story of a young Moabitess who has come to the land of Israel as a widow and she has lived as she strives to, according to a proper relationship with the God of Israel. And in chapter 3, she goes to Boaz and she asks him to fulfill the biblical mandate of marrying her, redeeming the property and raising up children for her dead husband. Now, Boaz could have very easily said, “You're not an Israelite. You're a Moabitess. You have no right here. This law that we have here that we use, I mean, it was given to protect Israel - the land of Israel – from the land departing from the families to whom it was given. We're going to give that land now to somebody from Moab?” He could very easily have refused that. But in 3:11, Boaz' response is, “I will do this because everyone knows you are a virtuous woman.” Because of her character, Boaz said, “This is right. This is proper to do and everyone will understand that.”
We could even use God, Himself, or Jesus Christ as examples of the importance of that integrity of character. We read in Malachi 3:6 that God says, I am the Eternal, I change not... and he goes on to say “that's really the only reason you of Israel are not destroyed. It's because I gave My word that I wouldn't and therefore, I won't.” It has nothing to do with your character. It has to do with God's character. Then in Heb. 13:8 we are told Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. We are assured of the character of the Father and of the Son and our lives, our hope, every dream that we have is based upon our understanding and belief in the unshakable integrity of God and Jesus Christ.
In a similar way, scripture reveals that the lack of Godly character both in principle and in specific situations can be tragic. In Proverbs 6:16 he says:
Pro. 6:16 - These six things the LORD hates, yea, seven are an abomination to Him: Now this is a particular style of writing in Hebrew. This 'six, yea, seven' and we find it used in other examples as well, in other similar things, it means that of all of these things that are listed, God hates all of them, but there is nothing He hates any more than the seventh. That's the way the structure points out, that's what it tells us. Now, there may be things – it doesn't say aren't things God hates as much as the seventh one, but there's nothing He hates more. As you read through this list he says God hates
Verse 17 - A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
Verse 18 - a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil,
Verse 19 - a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren.
Twice in those seven points listed we find something about the integrity of our words: a lying tongue and a false witness who speaks lies. The scripture tells us, in other words, that when someone is willing to speak a lie, you can never trust them because you never know when what they are saying is true or not. The only one you can trust is the person who refuses to speak a lie. Period.
I read through that list and sometimes I wonder, if you and I were asked to write a list of seven things that we think God hates, would our list look very much like this? I mean, if we didn't know that this was here and we could go back and quote it, what would our list look like? Would it say the same things? We'd probably put some other things on there. Child molesters. Yeah, that's something God's bound to hate. I think He does. I don't think there's any question that God hates that. He probably hates it as much as He hates #7 on this list. That's a terrible thing. But sometimes some of the things on this list, we don't take them the same way that God does. Sometimes we don't see them as seriously as God does. I suppose that's all right because, after all, this list is just God's opinion so maybe we can afford to ignore it – and then maybe, again, we can't.
In Proverbs 14:25, it says,
Pro. 14:25 - A true witness delivers souls, but a deceitful witness speaks lies.
Again, the point is you simply never know what the deceitful witness will say.
In the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 15:33 – and let me read this from a slightly different translation. In this case, the New International because I think it captures the sense of it a little bit better. 1 Cor. 15:33 – a short verse.
1 Cor. 15:33 - Do not be mislead. Bad company corrupts good character.
Now, in a sense, that's kind of a follow up to what we read there in Proverbs 6. These are things that God hates and you associate with this and it's going to corrupt your character. So often it seems that when rumors are spread around we don't see that as something bad. We think of it as, well, this is my buddy. This person is telling things that nobody else will tell me. No, God says that He hates that. But it's just His opinion. It does say here that if you associate with bad company, it will corrupt your character. And the examples in scripture are certainly myriad. We have the example of Solomon in 1 Kings 11 where it tells us about his building temples for his various wives and doing various things while he is still trying to serve the true God and the statement is made, he did not fully follow the Lord (verse 6). His condemnation is that he did not fully follow God..
There's the example of Ephraim which, in the book of Hosea it is a type of all of Israel, and it's – I'm not turning back there, but in Hosea 6:4 God says to Ephraim, ...your faithfulness is like a morning cloud... You can look and it's there, and oh, yes, they are faithful. And you turn around and look back and it's just gone. You can't see where it went. It just disappeared. You can never count on it being there.
We may properly remind ourselves that Godly character is important for salvation. That's right. It is. But it's also vital right now as we live the lives that we have before us. Godly character affects every human relationship we have. Godly character is absolutely essential for us to carry out the two-fold commission which we have seen the Church has been given: preach the gospel, prepare a people. That can only be accomplished with Godly character. If what I just said is true, and I'm going to spend some time showing you why I believe it is, then the building of Godly character must be at the forefront of your mind and mine every day. Every day.
In explaining this I'm going to adapt a few comments from a book that I borrowed from Jason Lovelady recently. He probably thinks I'm never going to give it back, but I'm a slow reader. This particular book I found especially fascinating. It's called The Speed of Trust. It's written by Stephen M.R. Covey who is the son of the more well known Stephen Covey, the one who wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and so on. In this book Mr. Covey has very much a business perspective on what he writes about, but I think anyone whose walked the same path that we have walked over the last fifteen years cannot help but read especially the first portion of this book without seeing the Church. In fact, sometimes it's almost spooky as it describes some of the situations that we have and still face. One of the tools that Satan used to wound God's Church, to damage the faith of God's people is the tool of doubt. If he can plant doubt, he can destroy trust.
We've all walked a similar path over the past decade and a half, but we've all had our own perspective on that journey as well. And if I may, I'd like to take just a few moments to share with you a pastoral perspective on the wanderings of the last fifteen years. Trust and doubt – the absence of trust – have been significant factors in bringing us to the point where we are today. In some ways I feel I - and a couple of other people who are here – have a unique opportunity to share this perspective with you. You see, my wife and I had over 35 years of experience of pastoral service before coming here to the Home Office. In the pastoral ministry today, there are quite a few people who have that much and more. Mr. Welty has closer to 40 even though he looks amazingly young. But now my wife and I are no longer in that same kind of pastoral ministry unless you consider the ABC students our congregation. So I hope, in a sense, that I can express some positive things in sharing with you that pastoral ministry perspective without sounding like I'm praising myself. I will ask that you please put personalities aside. Allow me to speak not as me, but as a pastoral every man – the generic minister of Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul used a special metaphor derived from the Old Testament to describe service of those who devote their lives to shepherding God's people. He described that service like a drink offering. Go back to Philippians 2:17. Paul is in prison. This is one of the prison epistles that Paul wrote and he doesn't really know for sure whether he is going to be released or not. He thinks, at this point, that he probably will be and I think history shows that he probably was. But, nonetheless, he looks at the situation and he says this beginning in verse 17.
Phil. 2:17 - Yes, and if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.
Verse 18 - For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.
He uses this analogy of a drink offering poured out. When you look at the offerings of the Old Testament, there were some which were completely consumed by the sacrifice itself and there were reasons for that. But there were other offerings that were given that were a celebration. There were peace offerings. There were thank offerings that were given and it was a matter of, in a sense, a celebration before God. The person brought the offering, a portion of it is burned in the fire, a portion of it goes to the Levites and a portion of it returns to the giver who then calls people to gather and, in essence, has a festive occasion in sharing this. But with a drink offering, when it's given it's gone. It's poured out and there's no way to recover anything. It is given with the clear understanding that there's not going to be any payback on this one. It's just simply given because you want to give it.
There's a comment from the Jewish Soncino Commentary that may shed a little more light on this. To see this, let's go back to Proverbs 20. Mr. Welty mentioned this a few weeks ago. Prov. 20:29. It says:
Pro. 20:29 - The glory of young men is their strength, and the splendor of old men is their gray head.
Now, you can read that and not get a great deal from it, but what's it telling us? The Soncino Commentary puts it this way. “It is a glorious thing to see a young man embarking on the challenges of life in the full vigor of his youth, but it's a more glorious thing to see an old man who has spent his youthful strength on the faithful accomplishing of his duties.” There is an honor in pouring out one's youthful strength on the faithful accomplishing of one's duties.
I look out across this congregation and there are people of all ages, but there are quite a few gray heads out there. And, for that matter, there are probably a few who would be gray if it weren't for the miracle of modern chemistry. But, nonetheless, there is an honor in those who have poured out their strength in the service of God's people. Throughout their decades of service, those in the ministry have gladly, willingly – even eagerly – poured out their lives in service to those in their care and their youthful strength has been used up in that service.
Now, again, if you think about what Paul said there, he said – and I'll just repeat it for you there in Philippians 2:17 and 18: Yes, and if I am poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. I don't begrudge a minute of that. I don't begrudge any of that service, I don't feel like I was put upon or like there was some terrible sacrifice on my part, I'm grateful. Grateful for every moment of it.
Verse 18 - And his next verse says, For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me. He's saying this, “I'm poured out like a drink offering, but,” he says, “I don't want you to feel badly about it. I'm not saying it because I feel badly about it and I'm grateful that God has given me that opportunity. And I want you to be grateful, too. It's a wonderful blessing.” Likewise, there are many others who have poured out that strength in the service of God's people. It's certainly true that through the years there have been a few who have abused their position, but those examples are, frankly, relatively rare and the vast majority of pastoral ministers try very diligently to make sure that they have treated God's people with the respect and love that they deserve.
We all have our stories about some of the situations that we've faced. Some of them are funny, some of them are not so funny. Situations that we faced down through the years with different opportunities that we have to serve God's people. I remember one winter night. A snow storm was coming through the area, a pretty heavy one. It had probably dropped about six inches of snow and it was still coming down pretty heavily. About 4 o'clock in the morning the phone rang. It was a young woman. She had awakened and found that her husband wasn't breathing and she couldn't wake him up and could we please come. She was 20 miles away in the mountains and the snowplows hadn't been anywhere near those roads yet. But, you know, there really wasn't any thought about not going. You just simply got up, got dressed, jumped in the car and prayed your way up the mountain and my wife and I still firmly believe that angels are much better at getting up the mountain than we are. So, you know, God does those things. He gets you through.
Now, please don't misunderstand the point of that story. I'm not saying, look how dedicated we were. I'm not saying that at all because, frankly, I think any minister of the Church of God who was in the same spot would have done the same thing we did. It's not praising us, it's just simply saying this is a part of what it means to serve God's people. Each pastor has his own version of that story and the way it played out and many others, as well.
For many years, God's people were deeply appreciative, respectful, loving and trusting toward the ministry. We were a team working together to accomplish God's purpose. But in the late 1980's – early '90's, we began to hear about ministers who were, as it was put, sheriffs instead of shepherds. Stories began to circulate alleging ministerial abuse. And generally, as it is the case in most rumor campaigns, there were no names attached because, after all, if you attached a name, you'd have to face that person face to face and it is, after all, the righteous who are bold as lions, not the others. So very often in those rumor campaigns you don't find any names. It was just the accusation put out there. People were left to wonder just which of the ministers were involved who had been so unloving, so mercenary. As we moved through the divisive days of doctrinal turmoil and we saw those people who we thought were stable and strong moving off in other directions, people began to have many doubts about the brethren including the ministers who served them. As a former pastor, I can tell you, it was a very painful thing to find that the very people we tried to faithfully serve were now suspicious of motives, accusing you of having secret agendas and being hirelings who served only for the paycheck. After two and three decades of faithful service, people were now being viewed with suspicion and distrust and, as a pastor, you knew you hadn't changed. You were the same person that had been serving them all of these years. And yet, you were being viewed in a very different way. Now remember the source of that is spiritual. The battle is not against people – flesh and blood. There was another source.
In many ways, that's where we found ourselves when the United Church of God began. In an effort to show that we were not going to try to gain power and authority, the ministry set up a form of government in which a man with thirty to forty years of faithful pastoral experience had no more say than the man who had never pastored anything. For the past twelve years, we've tried to reestablish the trust that was stolen from us by Satan and his servants. In some ways, we have made progress, but I think it is also obvious that we still have a long way to go.
In business and in the Church, there is a demonstrable equation where trust is concerned. When trust increases, costs – the time it takes to accomplish things – goes down. When trust decreases, costs – the time it takes to accomplish things – goes up. You can illustrate that very simply in the world around us. Just stop and think, if you traveled by air, prior to September 11 th of 2001, you could go to the airport maybe a half hour early, check your bags in and easily move through the security and on to your plane and your destination. Now, you're told you better show up at least an hour, maybe two hours early. If it's an international flight, maybe as much as four hours early because you're going to have to pass through security again and again. Your luggage will pass through security. And, what's more, the costs have gone up significantly because you have to pay for all of that. It takes you much longer and it costs you much more simply because trust changed. Before that, you trusted that the people who were on the plane wanted to get there as much as you did. Now, you're not sure.
It can be shown in other ways. One of the examples that Mr. Covey used in his book was an individual who had a food stand in New York City – donuts, coffee, things like that early in the morning. And he was frustrated because he could see that as it got closer to starting time that there would be a line of people waiting to buy from him and some of them would just finally give up and walk away because he couldn't get to them quickly enough. He thought, what can I do? As he analyzed the situation he said, “You know, the problem is, I have to spend so much time making change that I can't serve people that quickly.” This man took a very bold step. He put out a basket of change and a sign on it. It said, “Make your own change.” And he found, in a very short period of time, his profits went up dramatically not only because he, then, was free to serve more people, but he also found that a lot of people said, “Aw, don't worry about it. Just keep the change.” Because there was trust between him and those people, everybody benefited, costs went down, profits went up. It worked.
We could apply it in a lot of different ways. When people doubt, it's really difficult to accomplish anything. People begin to question one another's motives. They see hidden agendas where there are no hidden agendas. Communication becomes difficult. When trust is high, you can say pretty much what you're trying to explain and whether you get it right or not, everybody takes the time and figures out what you meant and they're fine with it. But when there isn't trust, you spend hours crafting every word and even then, every word is picked apart as if we had become, instead of trusting brothers, we've become prosecuting attorneys.
Character is intrinsic to trust and Godly character is intrinsic to trust within the Church. Why do you trust someone? Why do you have a trust for someone? There are really two basic factors that are involved. Character, or the integrity of that individual, and competence, the ability to accomplish what needs to be done. Both are necessary for trust. Now, I'll give you kind of a negative example. It's a sad thing that I had to deal with a couple of weeks ago when my wife trusted another man more than me. I was so disappointed. And it was a simple matter. She had this cavity that needed to be filled and I told her I had my Black & Decker out in the garage and a small bit and, you know, I can do these things. And she trusted my character, but somehow she doubted my capabilities - trusted the dentist instead. I've had to live with that burden. But we all understand the point that both of these factors are a part of it, see, that you have to have character and integrity and you also have to have the ability to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. Godly character is the same. Godly character is built by making Godly choices. Man is unique. We've emphasized this a number of times as we look through Genesis 1 and we see the creation of man being made in the image of God. And we pointed out that man has the unique ability to make moral choices - not to choose what is right and wrong, but to choose right or wrong. We have the power, the ability to choose how we will react in the various situations that come into our lives. There has long been a debate about whether people become the people they are primarily because of inborn traits or the effects of the things they go through. That's commonly referred to as Nature versus Nurture – which one is it that we are?
In the middle years of the 20 th century, Dr. B. F. Skinner became the most prominent voice in the field of psychology. Dr. Skinner was called by some the most important psychologist since Sigmund Freud. Skinner was the father of what is called Behavioral Psychology. It's a branch of psychological therapy that seeks to change behaviors by a process called Operant Conditioning. The premise of operant conditioning is that a certain stimulus will produce a certain response. We are all at lease somewhat familiar with the story of Pavlov and his dogs which illustrates the point. Skinner did a number of studies with animals showing that certain stimuli produced predictable responses in the animals. Then, under the influence of evolutionary thought which tells us that we are, in fact, simply the highest form of animals, Skinner directly transferred his animal studies and applied them to humans. He created a small chamber which is called a Skinner Box and he would put the animals into it and condition them – give them a certain stimulus to produce a certain response and so on. He became so convinced he was right that he even put his daughter in the Skinner Box to train her at times. Skinner claimed that if he could be given a child at an early enough age, that he could cause, simply by the things he exposed that child to, by the various stimuli, that he could cause that child to turn out to be whatever he wanted him to be – doctor, lawyer, farmer, musician. No problem. It was all the result of response to stimulus. At least one of his children ended up spending time in a mental institution That didn't deter the good doctor. He still proclaimed his beliefs.
There are some values to behavioral psychology, but there's also a fundamental flaw in Skinner's assumption. Humans are not animals. We don't function the same way animals function. Animals have no ability to do anything but react to a stimulus. Stimulus produces an immediate response. But for humans, there is a space between stimulus and response and it is in that space that character is exercised. For us as Christians, the Godly character is exercised. We have the power to choose what our response will be. Ever hear anybody say, Oh, that person makes me so mad. You realize, it's not true. No one can make you mad. Mad is your choice of a response. You can choose to respond with anger. But you also have the power to choose other responses. You can respond with compassion, mercy, humor – any number of ways. You have the power to make that choice. Between the stimulus and the response is a space where character must be exercised. Now, if you don't exercise it, then you lose that opportunity and you do become much like an animal just simply reacting to whatever situation comes up. We've all see that there are a lot of people in our society who live that way. They simply react; whose lives are reactive to what takes place. And when that happens, when you fail to exercise character in that space, then you give to that circumstance or you give to that person the power to determine what kind of person you will be. If you fail to act with character at that point, then you have given to someone else the power to determine what kind of person you will be. But as humans we don't have to do that. We have the power because God has given that to us, we have the power to determine how we will respond. If we exercise Godly character in that space between stimulus and response, then we can use the power of God's Spirit to become the people that we choose to be.
God is preparing sons and daughters for His eternal family and those sons and daughters must be trustworthy. Since trust is based upon character and competence, God has to give us the opportunity to build character and competence in this life today and He does that through trials and through service. Through those two things He gives us the opportunity to build character and competence. God wants to see in us a level of integrity. Notice Romans 5. Paul puts it this way beginning in verse 3 breaking into Paul's thought, but that's kind of – you know, if you've ever studied Paul you know that wherever you start, you're breaking into Paul's thought - so verse 3:
Rom. 5:3 - Not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance;
Verse 4 - and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Verse 5 - Hope does not disappoint... or embarrass ...because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
We are told that through trials we learn perseverance which produces character, the character to consistently choose what is right. That kind of integrity that God wants to see in us is sometimes referred to in scripture by the term, steadfastness. Notice the very last portion, the last couple of verses of 1 Corinthians 15 starting in verse 57.
1 Cor. 15:57 - Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse 58 - Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
The service that we render as members of the body of Jesus Christ, is a service which God sees. Sometimes we don't. Sometimes other people don't see it, don't recognize it, don't realize what we do. And yet, it's important to realize that we are, in fact, serving God.
One of the jobs that I remember, I think back on that I had when I was in college, was the irrigation crew which was normally referred to as the 'irritation' crew because of what we did. People were irritated because we were always sprinkling water where they wanted to walk. It was easy. We were out there long days and they were hot in Texas and so on and we did all of these things. And that's fine. You could do all of that, but whenever anybody came on campus basically they didn't see us. They didn't see any of that. But if you ever drove past that place, to me, one of the things I always was amazed at, it wasn't irrigation in this case, but you could be driving down Hwy. 80 and you would see off on the sides barbed wire fences and Heinz '57 cattle. You know, they had interbred and they looked like – you know what an Appaloosa horse looks like? These looked like Appaloosa cows. I don't know how they did that. But nonetheless, there were just all kinds of things. And all of a sudden you came to this property edge and here was this beautiful white fence and here were Herefords, Angus and Scottish Highlanders and they were in their own areas and it was green and it was beautiful and it made a very powerful statement, 'There is something special here'. When we look at our irrigation job and realize that nobody sees it, nobody knows who does it, but when they see the effect, it makes a statement.
Many times our service to God is done in a quiet way that nobody else sees. If, as you leave today, you happen to see some paper spread around somewhere and you pick it up and carry it to the trash can, probably Mr. Welty is not going to announce that next week. Maybe nobody even will know you did it, but there's an impact and God knows. God is faithful to know that your labor isn't in vain in the work.
In Col. 1:21 - You, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled
Verse 22 -in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, blameless, above reproach in His sight.
It's an interesting statement. You and I are presented to God as above reproach in His sight. It doesn't really matter what anybody else thinks. In God's sight, we are presented above reproach if you continue in the faith, grounded, steadfast.
In 1 Peter 5:8, Peter says,
1 Pet. 5:8 - Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Verse 9 - Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
God tells us that he wants His people to be steadfast, to exercise the character that is unshakable. To build that kind of character in us, God entrusts us with things that are precious to Him. You remember the parable that Jesus Christ gave in Luke 16 where He talked about entrusting people with the small amounts? And as He came to the conclusion of that in verses 10-12, He said, “You know, the person who is faithful in little things can be trusted with big, but the person who won't be faithful in little things can't be trusted.” He said, “What I want to see in you is that kind of character where you are trustworthy in even the little things.” So, as we go through life and we face those different situations, we are expected to make the Godly choice, to step into that space between stimulus and response and exercise the Godly character, to choose the Godly response.
In 2 Timothy 2:1, Paul speaks to Timothy about this entrusting and he says,
2 Tim. 2:1 - You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
Verse 2 - And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
At the very core of service to God's people is a requirement of absolute fidelity to God's truth. Nothing less is acceptable. God has committed His truth to us to preserve it, to protect it and to live it. And in the process of doing so, we are given the opportunity to develop the character and the ability to use that truth in the proper ways.
Some people, sometimes, have been hurt when someone violated the trust that they had placed in them. That's only normal - normal for us as human beings to go through that kind of a difficulty. What do we do after we've been hurt in that way? How do we react? How do we trust? How do we learn to do things differently? Some people's response is to say, “I will never put myself in a spot where I could be hurt like that again. I will never trust in the same way that I did before because I got hurt by doing that before.” Okay. They have the power to make that choice. But there's a consequence to that choice.
One of the examples that I think of, a number of years ago I remember hearing one of the ministers talk about a large group of young adults, single young adults who had gathered around the Pasadena area as it was at that time – we're gathering in a clump around here, too, right now – but there was a large clump there. And many of them were very fine people and yet, as he said, they will remain singles for the rest of their lives because at one point down the road they had developed an emotional attachment to someone that was perfectly proper and they were disappointed and hurt. And now, they want to make sure that they will never get hurt again. Okay. You can do that. As long as you don't want any deep relationships with anybody, as long as you don't want to ever have a closeness with anybody then you can live that way, but it doesn't work very well.
Now, stop and think. This is a rhetorical question, please don't ask each other this one. Are you actually today married to the very first person you had a crush on? Please don't answer. But, you know, as I look back on some of those things, you know, when you are a young person and the hormones begin to flow and you become attracted to somebody – well, I started to bring – I forgot to bring it today, but there's a wonderful description that John Steinbeck has of the first young lady that he was smitten with and he said as far as he could see that she cast a glow on the world everywhere she went. But as time went by, he realized that she had the loving kindness of a Gila monster. There's that first crush: “Oh, this is wonderful! Wow, I've found my mate for life, my partner. Oh...” And it doesn't work out and it hurts. And what happens then? Well, for most of us, you learn a lesson. You realize, you know, I gave my heart a little too quickly then. I need to be a little more careful, but it's not like I'm never going to do this again. And you experience that and you probably experienced it several times as you moved toward the relationship that will last for a lifetime. But if you decide I'm never going to trust again, then you're going to decide as well to be alone mentally, emotionally for the rest of your life.
No organization, no family, no church – no relationship can survive the lack of trust. Godly character - developed by consistently choosing the right way because it is the right way - is absolutely essential for the Church of God's work to be accomplished today and for the family of God to accomplish God's purpose for eternity.
What will you contribute to Godly trust? What will you contribute to building trust within God's family? Because, you see, it's not the other guy's responsibility. It's mine and it's yours. We each have to do our part by consistently choosing to live God's way in every day in every situation. If we truly believe that Jesus Christ is the living head of His Church as scripture proclaims Him to be, then we must reach a point when we trust His leadership even when we may not see why He's leading the way He does. It's easy to trust a leader who always agrees with us, it's just hard to find a leader like that. Jesus Christ sometimes leads where we didn't want to go and we have to trust that leadership. His character, His integrity is flawless and it must be the model that we follow as we strive to fulfill His purpose in our lives. In an age dominated by image, by form over substance, Godly character is what we are called to build and to exercise not only when others are watching, but also at those times when nobody sees.