Ben Witherington on the Bible and Culture

Myth Nine:  Since we are saved by grace through faith, God will not hold us responsible for what we do with our money after our conversion.We will not be saved or lost by our deeds, or misdeeds.

 

This is false, and but a variant of the notion that since salvation is by grace, there is no accountability for deeds of any kind done after conversion.  Of course this is a direct contradiction to texts like 2 Cor. 5 which remind that we Christians must all appearance before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of the deeds we have done in the body.  This is even more clear in the parable of the sheep and the goats where Jesus accosts his own disciples for not visiting him in prison, feeding him and the like, and then says "inasmuch as you have not done it to the least of these, you haven't done it to me'.   Jesus identifies with the plight of the poor and needy, and expects us to do so as well. In other words, what we do with money and wealth and our prosperity can indeed imperil our final salvation, as well as our rewards in the kingdom.  There is such a thing as moral apostasy.  Go back and read Gal. 5.19-21 where Paul tells us that those Christians and non-Christians who follow a pattern of life such that envy and selfish ambition and theft characterize one's life will not enter the final Kingdom of God when it comes on earth.  Are you listening conspicuous consumers?   John Wesley once reminded us that when we spend money on egregious luxury items we are stealing food from the mouths of the poor and clothes from the needy.   

Think on these things.

Stewardship is about money, but it is also about how we think about and treat the world - and the people in it, including ourselves.  God created humanity and told them to "have dominion" over what had been made (Genesis 1:31).  How do we begin by exercising "dominion" over our own selves?  And since the word "dominion" is related to the way we've spoken over the centuries about Christ the Lord (as in A.D., anno domini?), could it be that stewardship of my self means I treat myself in the ways our Lord treats us?

   Jesus encouraged care for the body; Paul declared that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19).  So healthy habits and exercise help us grow in our faith.  God has crafted each one of us with certain abilities, passions, quirks, and fascinations:  so how do we let them be for God?  Years ago I wrote these words:  "The Holy Spirit must have terrific fun while working in that secret factory where people are created, smiling over yet one more unique individual, creasing each fingerprint at a never before seen curvature, devising a maddeningly new personality, even between so-called identical twins.  A passion for Mozart, mixed in with a head for numbers, sobered by a mental block with foreign languages, yet a flair for pastry crusts, a smile no one has ever anticipated, laughably surprising permutations, the Spirit strewing gifts and talents all over like that sower Jesus told us about (Mark 4).  If we want to be close to God, if we crave fulfillment in life, then we must first look to whatever little or big skill we have, lift our heads in gratitude to the Spirit, and then confess 'My life is not my own.  Use me as you will.'"

   Stewardship is about who you are and the way you are wired, and a generous availability to God.  Stewardship therefore is about time.  The racing clock seems to strangle our spirituality; but the only way to grow closer to God is to engage in a careful inventory of time, how it is consumed, what really matters - and to adamantly block out time for God, for the life of faith and service - and when we do we discover the bolstering presence of God in all our other hours and days, and we grow.

It's back for its sixth and last season, and thank goodness because otherwise much of this year's TV fare has been forgettable, dreadful, banal, hopeless, pitiful, and vulgar to throw out only a few applicable epithets. J.J. Abrams' LOST however is of a different ilk altogether.  In fact it has often looked lost, or at least marooned on TV as it is so much better than its pathetic competition for the most part.  And if you are wondering why we are commenting on this show on this blog, its because its the most theological show on TV, hands down.  Its about the eternal battle between good and evil, between science and faith, between determinism and free will, and that's only the surface themes.  Take a look at the picture above--- cast standing on LOST Pacific island. Then look in the water below--- not a reflection of palm trees but of skyscrapers!  Hmm, could there be two story lines here?  Inquiring minds want to know.

We have been promised answers in this the sixth and final season which ends May 23, and the answers have begun to come.  We now know that the smoke monster is simply one form that the evil spirit takes which has been constantly battling Jacob (the good spirit) since time immemorial. And while we are at it, 'Christian'  the deceased father of Jack is one form that Jacob has taken on whilst trying to guide those on the island in the paths of righteousness. Confused?   Well, let me just say, that if you have not been paying close attention for about five years now, you may expect to be thoroughly confused. And after last night, even if you have been keeping up, your mind may have melted like Velveeta in a microwave.  The following are some clues to help you sort things out.

1)  The narrative device being used in this climactic season is two time lines.  This show has been doing some speculation on time travel for a long time (remember Daniel Faraday?) and this season is no different.  The very beginning of the first episode last night sets things in motion--- Jacob and the evil spirit are sitting on the beach in antiquity watch an old frigate out on the water which will eventually crash on the island, and the evil spirit is whining about the fact that human beings constantly screw up--- its all blood and wars and hatred and killing, and it all ends the same  to  which  Jacob retorts   "It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is progress."    Herein lies the key to what one sees in the rest of the two hour premiere of the last season. 

2) One timeline will pursue the possibilities of what if the Oceanic plane never crashed on the island--- so we see Jack, and Locke and Rose and her husband and Hurley and Kate  and Claire  and Charlie landing safely in L.A.   Only all is not right---Jack's deceased father and coffin do not arrive, nor does Locke's suitcase full of knives. And whilst Desmond was on the plane, he disappears.  This story line will be pursued more next week.  

3) Most of this week's story line focuses for two hours on the other time line--- the one we were left hanging with at the end of the last season--- what happens if the crash of the plane really did transpire and all those gnarly things we've been told about for five years happened leading up to: 1) the detonation of a hydrogen bomb which 'works'  to fix the time slipping problem but in the process kills Juliet; and 2) the killing of Jacob by Ben, but under the influence of the evil spirit masked as Locke, and 3) the death and resurrection of Sayyid, except that it is probably Jacob coming back in the body of Sayyid just as the evil spirit did in Locke's body.   So many story lines, so little time.   

But the theology has gotten more complicated as well.  The place of safe haven, the place where the badly wounded Sayyid had to be taken to be placed in the healing waters is a Temple.  And yes, as one commentator has noted, it looks like a scene out of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, only a little less gory.  The Temple is the safe haven for those trying to escape the evil influence of the evil spirit.  Expect an all out war between good and evil to ensue as Lockemonster is not a happy camper and he seems to be heading for the Temple.

At the bottom of all of this however is a profoundly theological message-- the eternal question-- have all things been destined in advance (remember Jack talking about 'this is our destiny') or as Jacob says to Ben--- you have a choice, you have free will?   While Calvinists and Fatalists may not like the answer this show comes up with to that question, I will just say--- looks like human kind was destined to have free will (!), and so is responsible for its own moral choices.  It can't blame the smoke monster for them, nor can it simply attribute them to Jacob.  It is a debate St. Paul would have enjoyed being a part of.  

Whatever else one can say about this show, it raises interesting theological questions, even if some of the answer make you a little queasy.  And in a world full of bad TV, its a good thing to have one interesting show that makes a person think theologically.

     

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There are certain psychological dynamics which drive any culture, and two of the most obvious ones in our culture are the consumer and competitive drives.  There are an awful lot of Christians who are consumer junkies or competition junkies.  They have to go to the mall or play some game or watch some game, or they are just plain bored with life.   This word just in--- boredom is a state of mind of those who lack imagination, and especially lack Christian imagination.  So what do we do to change the way we envision things, change the pattern of our behavior?  Let's start with how you choose a church.

Do your best to stop evaluating your church from a consumer point of view.  Don't choose a church on the basis of where you can get the most out of it, but on where you can best serve.  What I am saying is that the consumer mentality is a form of the primal sin of self-focus, self-centeredness.  And the competitive mentality, especially if not properly channeled destroys friendships, marriages, leads to one driving your children to do things they are not really capable of or gifted for, and ultimately it goes back to Cain and Abel.  It is sibling rivalry writ large.

If you want a fight worth fighting, then let's fight the war on drugs, on sin, on pornography, on the sex trade, on sexual promiscuity and abortion.  If you want to compete, then compete to be the best parent, husband, Sunday school teacher you can be.  I am not saying all competition is bad.  There are of course athletic metaphors in the NT, but the question is what really constitutes winning?   Have you won anything worth having if you've cheated to get it?   Have you won anything worth having if it leads to the alienation of people who are your fellow Christians?  Christians have to be in the business of redefining 'success' or 'winning', or placing it so far down the depth chart after compassion, and love of neighbor, and nurturing of community and the like that it looks very differently.

Let me give an example. One of the persons I most admire in all of sports is Darrell Green.  He was an all pro defensive player for the Redskins for many many years, and he led by example.  His faith in Christ was the most important thing in his life, and winning football games was entirely secondary.  But as a Christian he committed himself to excellence, to going on to perfection, to doing and being all he could do and be to set a good example for his teammates.  He was an absolute team player.  When the Lord told him to stay in Washington even when he had multiple more lucrative efforts to go elsewhere he stayed.  He had a church and a family that meant everything to him and they were of a much higher priority than making more money in his life. 

He stayed in Washington through the ups and downs of Redskin history, and now he has been inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008. What was especially striking to me was that he was inducted not by his coach, but by his son.  And what his son kept saying about him was what a role model of a godly father he had been, and how much he wanted to be like his father.   Here is an example of how Christian values can trump cultural values, without compromising one's integrity and without failing to give one's best in one's profession.  This is indeed being in the world, and a good witness to it, without being of the world.   A Christian is a person who needs not only to have his priorities straight when it comes to what is really of value in life, but he also needs to know what are non-negotiables in life.  It's no use gaining the whole world and losing one's soul.

Another way to change the pattern of your life is to change the persons you hang out with.  Psychologists are perfectly clear that people emulate and often become like those that they admire.  One of the ways to simplify your life is stop trying to keep up with the Jones or hanging out with the Jones.  The simple but seductive influence of envy which leads to emulation and imitation is less powerful if one does not regularly hang out with people who are dripping in bling and up to their eyeballs in hock due to their over-sized house, car, boat and lifestyle.  By contrast, when you start hanging out with people who have simplified their lifestyle, if you are not that way, you begin to become helpfully self-critical.  You begin to realize you need to change some things.   This does not mean you need to go camp out with the Amish next week, but it does mean it wouldn't hurt to get more involved with Christians you know who are living a less consumer driven lifestyle.