Pondering Proverbs – Leadership (5)

 

 

“The hand of the diligent will rule, but the slack hand will be put to forced labor.” Proverbs 12:24.

 

What does this mean? Do we see this consistently working out in life? Here is, perhaps, a verse that we would like to skip over when thinking about leadership and authority, but alas it does have the word “rule” in it; it tells us that the diligent will rule – so we ought to engage with this verse in our series on leadership in Proverbs.

 

Do we always see the diligent ruling? Do we always see the faithful and hard-working being recognized? Do we ever see slackers getting promoted and receiving positive recognition that they don’t deserve? Do we see people in positions of authority who are lazy and don’t work?

 

Well, of course we see these things, we live in an unjust world, in a world that isn’t truthful and fair – but we also live in a world that is ultimately under the authority of God and which is being judged by God, and which will in ultimate fulness be judged by God.

 

An element of our growth in Jesus Christ is learning to live in ultimate realities, or as Paul wrote, living by not looking at the things that are seen, which are temporal, but rather at the things which are unseen, which are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). We see this orientation toward the unseen and its ultimate outworking in Hebrews Chapter 11, as indeed throughout Scripture. This is not to deny the suffering, injustice, and pain of the present world, but it is also to place these things in their ultimate perspective (see Romans 8:18 in its context) and to place them most especially and assuredly in the hands of our kind and loving heavenly Father and dear Lord Jesus.

 

When we know the Bible holistically, in an integrated fashion in Christ, proclaiming Jesus Christ, then our understanding of life develops in Christ and we gain some measure of clarity when we see injustices around us. More importantly, our vision of God increases and our trust in Him grows deeper – for seeing Him and knowing Him and trusting in His essence and character (if we may use that word) is the core of life.

 

“Theodicy” is a word that refers to how God works out His judgement and justice both in this world and beyond. When we have a Biblical framework for our theodicy we will still have unanswered questions and many things, I think, will still be mysteries to us – but we will have a framework in Christ through which to view justice and equity – and their counterparts – and we won’t have to reinvent the wheel every time we have questions about why the wicked seem to have their way and why the innocent and righteous suffer or are otherwise in difficulties.

 

So many professing Christians reinvent wheels of understanding over and over again because we are not grounded in the Bible holistically, we are not grounded in the Person of God – in His essence and attributes as He reveals Himself in and through the Bible. Our lives lack firm foundations in Jesus Christ. We want quick and easy answers to difficult questions – we will not sit still and learn at the feet of the Master and allow Him to develop His image within us, we will not submit ourselves to Him. We would rather complain than trust and worship Him.

 

Not every diligent hand will rule in this life, and not every slack hand will be seemingly held accountable in this life.

 

Many Psalms struggle with questions of theodicy. Where is God in the midst of wickedness and injustice? Why do the wicked seem to have everything? Why do the innocent suffer? Will no one help the oppressed? Is our faithfulness to God a waste?

 

I have long loved Psalm 73, with its raw honesty – a hallmark of the Psalms – and its sudden realization that, “I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You” (Ps. 73:22), and of course its conclusion, “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.”

 

Of course, Psalm 37 is the “go to” Psalm on theodicy, beginning with, “Do not fret because of evildoers, be not envious toward the wrongdoers,” and concluding with, “But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh; He is their strength in time of trouble. Yahweh helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.”

 

Note that both Psalm 37 and Psalm 73 focus on God as our refuge – what can we learn from this?

 

Joseph and Daniel provide examples of those with diligent hands ruling, but their lives were not without sorrow and conflict and they both patiently endured, making God their refuge.

 

In our Lord Jesus we see exaltation after crucifixion, (Phil. 2:5 – 11), and we are called to have the same attitude in ourselves that Jesus displayed (Phil. 2:5).

 

It is not unusual to see injustice and inequity in the workplace, and when we work in such environments it is important to keep Colossians 3:22 – 25 in mind. We are to be sincere in all we do, not simply putting on an outward show. We are to fear God, and we are to do our work heartily as unto the Lord rather than as unto men. And here we have theodicy, for in Col. 3:24 Paul writes, “…knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” Our God can lift us up above the injustices around us, putting us in a place, in Christ, where we can be a blessing to others – even in the midst of inequity and unfairness and moral and ethical poison.

 

And so when we read a verse such as Proverbs 12:24, though we may not see the fulness of its outworking right now, we can be assured that ultimately we will witness its fulfillment – for as Paul writes, “…the saints will judge the world…Do you not know that we will judge angels?” (1 Cor. 6:2 – 3).

 

Ultimately, the hand of the diligent in Christ will indeed rule.

 

 

Pondering Proverbs – Leadership (4)

 

“A false balance is an abomination to Yahweh, but a just weight is His delight.” Proverbs 11:1.

 

I have a friend who owns and operates an auto repair business to whom I recently mentioned Proverbs 11:1. He said to me, “I think of that verse every time I bill a customer. I want to make sure that I am fair with everyone.”

 

In my business career I thought of that verse in my dealings with customers, vendors, clients, and employees. And yes, as a pastor I also knew that I was called to serve without favoritism or with regard to my personal benefit.

 

I have a friend who is a pastor who was once offered substantial money for his struggling congregation if he would change elements of his teaching and ministry. He replied, “I have been bought once by the blood of Jesus, and I’m not going to be bought again.” When we live under the ownership of Jesus Christ, He becomes our justice and equity, for He is Righteousness and Justice and Equity, and just scales are grounded in Him. Christ does not change, but is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8), and in Him we learn not to change – including not changing the scales by which we live.

 

On the other hand, I have sadly known pastors who evaluate others by their financial giving. These pastors have forgotten James’s admonition, “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.” (see James 2:1 – 7).

 

Not long ago I was in a self-service checkout line at a mega retailer when a man carrying a case, with a badge identifying himself with the state Bureau of Weights and Measures asked me if he could step in front of me for just a minute. Of course I agreed and then I watched him open his case and place various weights on the checkout scale to verify the scale’s accuracy. When I later mentioned this to Vickie she told me that the retailer in question had recently been caught overcharging their customers by using inaccurate scales.

 

O dear friends, if the Bureau of Weights and Measures goes about checking to see if we are using just scales in our businesses, are we so foolish to think that God does not know when we use unjust scales in our lives? Consider the man with the writing case in Ezekiel 9:1 – 11, to whom Yahweh says, “Go through the midst of the city, even through the midst of Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations which are being committed in its midst.”

 

The sons and daughters of the Living God are called to live righteously and justly, proving themselves to be “blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world…” (Phil. 2:15). Lying and cheating and playing favorites and using unjust scales may be the way of the world, but it is not the Way of Jesus Christ and it is not to be our way.

 

And this means that we apply just scales to ourselves, that we make no exceptions when it comes to ourselves. Psalm 15 begins with the question, “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill?” Part of the answer is, “He who swears to his own hurt and does not change…” (verse 4c). This means that we tell the truth to our own detriment! We tell the truth even when it hurts us!

 

Now let me be quick to say that in the long run telling the truth never hurts us, for telling the truth is living within our union with Jesus Christ, telling the truth is confessing Him with our words and actions – whereas lying is repudiating the life of Jesus Christ within us. Do we want to live as children of the Light, or do we want to align ourselves with the devil – who is a liar and thief and murderer?

 

As far as I can tell, we all have opportunities to tell the truth to our own hurt – for none of us, as far as I can tell, are perfect. Telling the truth is using just scales, for I certainly want others to tell me the truth, and I certainly will take issue with others if they lie to me – so how can I expect others to tell me the truth if I will not tell others the truth? Would this not be using a double standard, an unjust scale?

 

When is the last time you heard a political leader, a church leader, an institutional leader, a business leader, say - “I was wrong”? Whether in government, politics, business, education, church, sports…in every sphere of life, we have “spin” and excuses and reasons to justify our ungodly and immoral and unethical actions – and it seems to always be someone else’s fault. We are masters at using unjust scales…which are an abomination to God.

 

Where do we see leaders, when confronted with their sin, say with King David, “I have sinned against the LORD”? (2 Sam. 12:13). Where do we see repentance, as we see in King David in Psalm 51?

 

In the political realm we are more interested in destroying the opposition and justifying our own thinking and behavior than in being truthful and honest with ourselves and others – for again, when do we see self – criticism and telling the truth and humility? When do we see just scales in politics, economics, in business? In education? In life? In the professing church?

 

Well, to live as citizens of heaven (Phil. 3:20) means, in part, that we use just scales throughout life, in every facet of life – for again, just scales have their foundation in Jesus Christ.

 

Am I using just scales in every facet of my life?

 

What about you?

 

Pondering Proverbs - Leadership (3)

 

“A false balance is an abomination to Yahweh, but a just weight is His delight.” Proverbs 11:1.

 

Have you ever been in an environment, perhaps at work or in school or in a civic organization, or even in a family, in which people were not treated fairly, in which there were favorites to whom normal standards were not applied by those in authority?

 

What did you think in these situations? How did you feel? Had you been in charge, what would you have done differently? Have you ever played favorites, not treating everyone fairly?

 

Have you ever been cheated in a business transaction? Have you ever cheated anyone?

 

Have you known people who are examples of integrity in leadership, who are honest in their dealings and relationships with others and who treat others with fairness and equity?

 

When I used to interview prospective managers in the business world I would ask, “Without giving me any names, please describe two or three examples of good leaders you have worked for.” Then I would ask, “Now, without using any names, please describe two or three examples of poor leaders you have worked for.” One difference that often separated good from poor leaders was equity and fairness – some men and women had a deep sense that they ought to use their positions of authority to treat others fairly, others used their authority to display favoritism and create their own circles of power, privilege, and prestige.

 

When we first read Proverbs 11:1 the image of scales and fairness in business transactions may be in our minds, but as we ponder what the image represents we will see that it applies to every area of life, it has to do with the way we live and who we are. We may also have an image of the “scales of justice” with a blindfold covering the eyes, an image that few pay even lip service to anymore – such are the inequities surrounding us.

 

Consider these words of God to the People of Israel before they entered the Promised Land:

 

“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. For everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to Yahweh your God.” (Dt. 25:13 – 16).

 

How critical is it to treat others fairly? Not to do so is an abomination to God. It is bad enough when individuals cheat and practice inequity, but when organizations and businesses and nations adopt cheating and lying and deceit as a way of life (actually a way of death!) then we have Satan working his will in the collective mind and heart – then his evil toxin flows through the veins of a people.

 

Within the past couple of weeks two of the largest banks in the United States, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, have been caught cheating their customers. This is at least the second time in the past few years that Wells Fargo has been caught cheating; after the first time the bank assured regulators and customers that it would never happen again – this was a lie. Once a culture of cheating and lying and deception has taken root in a corporate culture, can it really be irradicated?

 

The banks will pay a fine and perhaps make restitution and nothing will likely change, customers will continue to do business with them because we have become accustomed to crookedness in society and business and politics – we have become a bent people, our souls are twisted and we bear the yoke of iniquity with our eyes to the ground…no longer aspiring to righteousness…preferring slavery…and this includes professing Christians who no longer will stand in front of the mirror of God’s Word but who rather insist that the ends justify the ungodly means they use to achieve their goals.

 

Yahweh’s words in Deuteronomy 25:13 – 16 were a warning to ancient Israel and they should be a warning to us; a nation of cheats and liars which has rejected equity and justice is an abomination to God…and all the glitz and glitter and wealth and material prosperity cannot, and will not, hide such a people from God and His judgment. The Law and the Prophets bear witness to this, but we don’t read them, and when we do we gloss over them.

 

But of course it begins with me, what does my life look like with respect to a just scale and righteousness and justice and equity? Do I treat others fairly and righteously?

 

What about you?

 

How is Proverbs 11:1 speaking to you?

 

Pondering Proverbs - Leadership (2)

 

“By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all who judge rightly.” Proverbs 8:15 – 16.

 

In our previous reflection on this passage we asked, “Who is speaking here?”

 

Is there a similarity between Proverbs Chapter 8 and John 1:1 – 5? Indeed, we might ask whether there is a similarity between Proverbs Chapter 8 and John 1:1 – 18? After touching on the similarities, what are the distinctions?

 

And then, what affinity does Proverbs Chapter 8 have with John 17?

 

These passages display a Trinitarian Affinity, that is, they draw us into the koinonia of the Trinity and into the eternals, into the transcendent. In Christ, these passages allow us to say with John, “…what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have koinonia with us; and indeed our koinonia is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.” (1 Jn. 1:3).

 

Perhaps this excerpt from the Nicene Creed will help us (pay attention to Proverbs 8:24 – 25):

 

“I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made.”

 

What do you see in this excerpt when you compare it to Proverbs 8 and John 1?

 

Here is what follows in the Creed: “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man.”

 

How does this compare with John 1:14 – 18?

 

In John 1:1 we see the Word, in Proverbs 8 we see Wisdom. In Proverbs 8 Wisdom calls to mankind and offers light and wisdom, in John 1, “In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.” Throughout Proverbs, especially in chapters 1 – 9, we see the conflict between wisdom and foolish darkness, between righteousness and wickedness – we also see that conflict in the Gospel of John, and John gives us a taste of what is to come with the statement, “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend [or overpower] it.” (John 1:5). In both Proverbs 8 and John 1 we see God creating.

 

In Proverbs 8 we see “I was brought forth” which the Nicene Creed speaks of in “begotten not made.” In John 1:14 we see Him who was “begotten not made” called “the only begotten from the Father” and becoming flesh. We might say that we see two births – both beyond our comprehension, one in Proverbs 8:24 – 25, another in the Word becoming flesh in John 1:14.

 

We simply do not have language to talk about these mysteries, not in a comprehensive fashion – for they are beyond us; yet they can touch us and we can touch them, and as Peter writes, we can become partakers of the Divine Nature (2 Peter 1:4) and we can learn to live in the koinonia of the Trinity.  We encounter the same challenge when we ponder the Incarnation, and by extension the Lord’s Table. As I understand it, Luther once said when pressed about his understanding of Real Presence in the Eucharist, “You explain the Incarnation to me and I’ll explain Real Presence in Holy Communion to you.” (Or words to that effect).

 

Now, you may wonder, what does this have to do with leadership and authority?

 

It has everything to do with it, for all true power and authority and position and leadership is grounded in God, and the Second Person of the Trinity expresses this ground to us. Therefore the Son says, “By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all who judge rightly.”

 

And we must not forget that the centurion saw this! “For I also am a man under authority, with solders under me…” (Matthew 8:9). And Jesus replies, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.” (Matthew 8:10).

 

In other words, the centurion saw beyond the visible into the invisible, he saw into and through John 1 and Proverbs 8, and in doing so he touched the eternals, he approached the Throne Room – and this, Jesus says, was remarkable faith, far surpassing anything Jesus had seen in Israel.

 

The legitimate exercise of authority and leadership ought to have its ground in being under authority and leadership; to rule we must be ruled, to lead we must serve, to use authority we must be subject to authority; what this ultimately leads us to is the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ. In Proverbs 8 we see Him before the foundation of the world (see also John 17:5, 24), in John 1 we see Him coming into the world, and in Revelation 19:16 we see Him returning in all of His glory. Of course, He continues in His Incarnation within us, His Body (1 Cor. 12:12), which is all the more reason for our lives to be grounded in Him.

 

 

 

Ponderng Proverbs - Leadership

 

Just as we took a hiatus from pondering what Proverbs has to say about discipline, we are now going to take a break from meditating on what Proverbs teaches us about witnessing and turn our thoughts toward pondering the subject of leadership in the book of Proverbs. We will, the Lord willing, return to the subject of being faithful witnesses in the future – for Proverbs has much more to say to us regarding a life of witness.

 

“By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all who judge rightly.” Proverbs 8:15 – 16.

 

I’m using the term “leadership” in the context of those to whom authority has been granted, which is one reason we are looking at passages speaking of kings, rulers, princes, nobles, and judges. What does Proverbs teach us about being in authority? What should authority look like?

 

Of course authority should look like our Lord Jesus Christ, who said, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:28 – see the entire passage please; also Philippians 2:1 – 11).

 

Whether we are leading a PTA, or a pickup basketball game, or a classroom, or government entity, or congregation, or Sunday school, or homeowners’ association, or small business…well, you get the idea; whether we have been given an ounce or a pound or a ton of authority we are to look like Jesus, serving those around us and being subject to Authority (see Matthew 8:1 – 13 with an emphasis on 8:9!).

 

Position and authority can either go to our heads or humble us; I’m not sure that it can humble us until it has gone to our head at least once and hopefully scared us to death – that is, I’m not sure than we can be humbled until our pride and ego have made their ugly appearance at least once and frightened us with the temptation of intoxication. Once we have been bitten by that “third rail” we will have hopefully learned our lesson and will live at the foot of the Cross.

 

But here we are in Proverbs 8:15 - 16, “By me kings reign, and rulers decree justice. By me princes rule, and nobles, all who judge rightly.”

 

Who is speaking in these verses?

 

The only way we can answer this question is to live in Proverbs Chapter 8; to read it, to meditate in it and on it, to ponder it – and then to read it again, and again, and again. I can no more explain Proverbs Chapter 8 to you than I can fly you to Jupiter for lunch and back on the same day. Maybe I can help us touch Proverbs 8, I don’t know; what I can do, by God’s grace, is to point you to Christ…that is all that I can do. Maybe Dante could do it, maybe Tolkien could do it…maybe…and if they could do it, it would be because they have sustainability within them…the wherewithal to take us on a sustained journey to a heavenly goal, a quest fulfilled…they have Hebrews Chapter 11 living within their breasts…a rare thing indeed in our days of the ephemeral. They have the numinous in our age of the vulgar…in our age of the “Christian” vulgar.

 

Athanasius and the Cappadocians and others can help, those who speak the Creed of Nicaea can help…O but we will have to search for them. Wide is the gate of the promiscuous, narrow that of the faithful.

 

What might we say of Psalm 78:1 – 3?

 

“Listen, O my people, to my instruction; incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.” (See Matthew 13:35).

 

What we tend to say is that we don’t have time for such nonsense. We don’t have the time, nor the inclination, nor the attention span. If it can’t be dispensed through a drive-thru devotional, or thought for the day, or pithy and entertaining sermon – if it can’t be distilled into a bumper sticker…then forget it.

 

And I’m saying that the only way to know Proverbs Chapter 8 is to live in Proverbs Chapter 8, just as I would say that the only way to know John chapters 13 – 17 is to live in John chapters 13 – 17. I can no more explain John Chapter 17 than I can explain Proverbs 8…but I’ll tell you this…if we will live in them then we will touch the Trinity and we will be able to say with the Apostle John:

 

“…what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have koinonia with us; and indeed our koinonia is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.”

 

We’ll continue with Proverbs 8 in our next reflection.

 

The inside is larger than the outside.

 

 

Pondering Proverbs – Witness (12)

 

“Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but counselors of peace have joy.” (Proverbs 12:20).

 

“Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad. The righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Proverbs 12:25 – 26).

 

What can we learn about our witness of Christ to the world from these verses? What images do we see? Perhaps we see common sense, after all, when a person is weighted down by anxiety it just makes sense that an encouraging word will lift that person up – but as true as that is, is there more?

 

Can we see our Lord Jesus Christ in these verses? Consider Isaiah 9:6, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

 

Jesus, the Messiah, is so much a wonderful counselor that one of His names is Wonderful Counselor, peace is such a characteristic of who He is and His work of salvation that one of His names is Prince of Peace.

 

Consider that Paul says that our feet ought to shod “with the preparation of the Gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15).

 

Notice in Proverbs 12:20 that “deceit” is contrasted with “peace.” We might logically think that deceit would be contrasted with “truth,” but it isn’t in this verse. We do see such a contrast in Proverbs 12:22, “Lying lips are an abomination to Yahweh, but those who deal faithfully are His delight,” and this ought to remind us that when we witness to the truth that God is delighted with us, while if our words are otherwise we ought to beware. 

And let’s remember that lying lips are not confined to what we might think are egregious false teachings, lying lips can be simple statements that allow us to go along to get along, to avoid the challenge of the Gospel and the truth – lying lips need not be what we think are deep dark nefarious statements. The fact is that lying lips probably seem innocuous more times than not, harmless we might think – but is it ever harmless to go along to get along? Is it ever harmless not to tell people the truth, but rather to act as if we agree with them when the Bread of Life lives within us?

 

Paul writes that we have been given the “ministry of reconciliation” and that our appeal to others is to “be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:18 – 21). The glory of this peace with God is described by Paul in Romans 5:1 – 2:

 

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.” (See the entire passage of Romans 5:1 – 11).

 

We are to be God’s ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:20), giving others the Gospel of Peace coming from the Prince of Peace – with Christ Jesus we are counsellors of peace – and as we share the Prince of Peace we will have joy in Him.

 

The “good word” of Proverbs 12:25 is, of course, the Gospel of Jesus Christ – there is no other Good Word. It is in Jesus Christ that we find “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3), and it is Jesus Christ who is our “wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, ‘Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.’” (1 Cor. 1:30 – 31).

 

We are not talking about a worldview, nor are we talking about positive thinking, nor are we talking about some esoteric and hidden knowledge available only to an elite; we are talking about God of God, the One who became flesh and lived among us, dying for us, rising for us, and coming to live within us as we confess Him as Lord, believing in our hearts that God raised Him, Jesus Christ, from the dead, repenting of our sins and old way of life, taking up our cross and following Him – surrendering our lives to Him in obedient discipleship. (John 1:1 – 18; Romans 10:5 – 13; Mark 8:34 – 38; Ephesians 2:1 – 11; Titus 3:3 – 7).

 

O dear friends, people need Jesus – they don’t need anything else – He alone is the Good News, He alone is the encouraging Word, He alone is the “Good Word” who can eternally make a heart glad. Who will confess Him to the world? Who will share Him with others?

 

Proverbs 12:26 reminds us of 11:9, will we be righteous guides to our neighbors or will we lead them astray? Does not silence constitute acquiescence? If our neighbors are dying and we have the antidote do we not have a responsibility to offer them life in Christ? Is it not, at the end of the day, at the end of life, wicked to substitute something else for Jesus and the Gospel?

 

Is a worldview, including a purported Christian worldview, a substitute for Jesus?

 

Is positive thinking a substitute for Jesus?

 

Is a political agenda, as moral and ethical as we might consider it, a substitute for Jesus?

 

Is a religious tradition with its, no doubt, many fine distinctives a substitute for Jesus?

 

How many tabernacles are we trying to build on the Mount, when the Father is saying again and again, “This is My Beloved Son, hear Him!”? (Matthew 17:1 – 8).

 

May we be as the disciples on the Mount, who “Lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.”