A recent study in England shows a majority of children less concerned about competition, winning or losing, than just playing for fun, the cultural effect of the 21st century “we’re-all-winners” philosophy! As good as it sounds, how does a life without loss prepare children for the adult world of disappointment and rejection? And what happened to the notion of building character through defeat?
Likewise, our spiritual children must have a solid doctrinal understanding of adversity, or they will lose hope and abandon their faith when hard times come. Jesus said, “whoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it… Everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property for my sake will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, children, wife or property—along with persecution. And in the world to come, eternal life” (Mark 8:35; 10:29-30). In other words, in God’s economy, the biggest winners are the losers!
When Jesus picked up a wooden cross and died on it, He was
not dying for His principles. It was personal—He died “for” you and me.
And when Jesus said “pick up your
cross” (Luke 9:23), He made the “cross” even more personal—that we die “with” Him.
“Your cross” points to something individual, and personal: to give up ownership of your desires, ambitions, and plans. Not that they are sinful (some of them may be), but they now serve God's purpose. Jesus warned his cross-bearing
followers that devotion to Him would mean a detachment from things on earth, even the right to
one’s own life:
“You are not your own; you are bought with a price that you should
no longer live for yourself, but for Him who died and rose again on your
behalf” (1 Co. 6:20). Only by picking up your cross, by losing your life, will you find your life (Matt. 10:39). And you can't get any more personal than that. Have a blessed Easter!
Did you know many Muslims believe that the end times are
here? According to Mideast expert and theologian J. Richardson, many jihadists have joined the conflict in Syria because they see it as an apocalyptic
war. Just before the Muslim
messiah, Mahdi, comes to earth, there will arise a Sufyani, an enemy of Mahdi, who will battle for control of the earth. Such are the implications of the Syrian conflict. And because of this end-time perspective, jihadists are willing to fight to the death.
In addition to being just plain fascinating, the Islamic end-time
doctrine evokes thoughts of Christian themes: Armageddon, antichrist, martyrdom, and John's description of the tribulation saints who did not love their life even when faced with death (Rev. 12:11). When Jesus told his first followers to pick up their cross, they knew exactly what he meant: they had seen thousands of their countrymen crucified by the Romans. But unlike Islam, Christians don't die for a cause, but for Christ's glory! The start of Passion Week is a good time to consider the question: Have I given up everything to follow Christ (Matt. 10:28)?
I googled April Fools' Day, wondering if I could find some hidden insights. Wikipedia says its practices include, among other things, sending
someone on a ‘fool's errand,’ that is, trying to get people to believe ridiculous things.
You can imagine this description caught my attention. According to Paul, “the
preaching of the cross is foolishness [ridiculous to believe in] to those who are
perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18).
Paul was not afraid of appearing foolish. When he said, “We are fools for Christ,
but you are wise” (1 Cor. 4:10), he was scorning the Corinthians for priding themselves on their astute and eloquent preaching. (They were too smart to go on a ‘fool's errand!’)
I think April 1 should serve as a reminder to all cross-bearing believers that we are called to be “Fools for Christ.” And what better maxim for the day than Jim Elliot’s truly astute and eloquent declaration: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to
gain what he cannot lose.”
After telling a rich young man he would have to give up all his possessions to inherit eternal life, Jesus told his disciples, “It is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God.” (Camels are so stubborn even if you could manage to fit one through the eye of a needle, he wouldn't go!) Astonished at his statement, they asked, “Who then can be saved?”
And Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible” (Mat 19:23-27).
Jesus deliberately exaggerated to make the point that no one can save
themselves. The rich young man thought he could, but departed in disappointment, unwilling to do what Jesus asked. I wonder how many people in our churches today think they can be true believers without giving up their treasures, “gaining the whole world, but losing their souls” (Mat 16:26). But the good news is that He's able to change the heart of a rich man even if he's as stubborn as a camel! The next time you face something impossible, think of stubborn camels sand sewing needles; and remember: nothing is impossible for God.
If you've been trying to lose weight, maybe you should eat more cereal. A Kellogg’s commercial
promises you can lose weight eating it. The campaign slogan, “What will
you gain when you lose?,” also implies that cereal lovers will gain self-esteem, self-confidence, and the respect of others: standards of measurement in this world.
Before being killed by Auca Indians, missionary Jim Elliott wrote (rather prophetically), “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” A whole generation was inspired by
this man who “lost” family, home,
and life for Christ.
Even though we too believe our “kingdom is not of this world,” it’s hard not to self-measure
by an earthly yardstick. Thus Jesus warns, "Whoever gains his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will gain it" (Matt. 10:39). And Paul said,
“I count all things
loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ … For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 3:8; 1:21). For us, the answer to Kellogg's question is Christ. But a more relevant question for us is, What are we willing to lose to gain Him?
By now everyone knows that cyclist Lance Armstrong, 7-time winner of the Tour de France, has been stripped of his titles and banned from the sport for using steroids. He is the world’s most famous cheater. The adage “It’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game that matters” has been replaced by Vince Lombardi’s “Winning is the only thing that matters.”
Recent research shows that over 75% of college students admit cheating in high school, up from 20% in 1950. Why the increase? Is it possible we have taught them that “failure is not an option.” Several years ago, I had a surge of high school seniors coming in to my counseling office—the presenting problem was anxiety, and the common theme was fear of failure.
Do you know that failure is built into God’s plan of redemption? The Bible is replete with leaders who failed and recovered—Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Peter. Cheating may be as old as Adam, but in 2012, it seems epidemic. People don't cheat just to win; they cheat to avoid failure. And without knowing God's grace, failure is not an option. But for those of us who have failed and recovered (many times!), we know the secret of success is found in God's unconditional love and acceptance.
More churches these days are offering worshippers coffee and doughnuts as they enter the service. At the risk of sounding like a curmudgeon, I remember when no one would have thought of eating and drinking in a church service. The ‘sanctuary’ was considered a ‘set-apart’ place/time to focus on God. “There is an appointed time for everything” (Ecc. 3:1), and Sunday morning was a time for feeding the soul.
Before you accuse me of 20th century fundamental legalism, please hear my heart on this. I’m not talking about meaningless rules; nor would I want to restrict anyone’s freedom. No, I am speaking of the loss of something: the loss of un-distractedness, of undivided attention in our corporate gatherings.
While I understand our churches' objectives to be less culturally disparate, I fail to see how coffee and doughnuts add value to the worship experience. Paul was not discouraging Sunday morning coffee and doughnuts when he spoke these words, but listen to them as though he were. “I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:35). Of course the real issue is not coffee and doughnuts, but how each of us is undivided in devotion to the Lord—and not just on Sunday morning!
A few weeks ago on CNN, NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman was interviewed about his new book, “That Used to Be Us,” regarding the economy's ruinous effect on the American dream. One ‘sound bite’ quote in particular caught my attention: “We can either have a hard decade or a bad century.” Of course he is referring to the hard choices we must make now for the sake of our grandchildren’s future. The statement not only captures the difficult dilemma of our generation, but states a principle that is pregnant with deeper meaning to those who have ears to hear it!
Perhaps unknowingly, Friedman has revealed a spiritual principle: short-term losses are necessary for long-term gains. In God’s economy, “time” is the short and “eternity” is long. Jesus stated it clearly: if you try to keep your life now, you will lose it in the future (no treasures in heaven) (Matthew 16:25; 6:20). And not only that, but our gain is also a present reality. To the degree we suffer the loss of all things now, we will gain Christ both now and in eternity (Phil 3:8), in the end, receiving “a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11).
Why was Steve Jobs’ death such an international event?—Because Steve Jobs was one of the gods of Silicon Valley, worshipped for his ‘superhuman’ feats. But Steve Jobs knew he was no god; he was a Buddhist. And Steve Jobs made it clear he did not welcome death (Buddhism offers no guarantee of happiness in the hereafter). Upon his demise, Steve believed he would go on into a never-ending circle of reincarnation to receive whatever his karma had earned him. Steve Jobs departed this life with the fear of uncertainty.
The uncertainly of the afterlife is a reason people fear death. But by His death and resurrection, Jesus has delivered us from the fear of death. (Heb. 2:14-15), which is now replaced with the hope of heaven! (Shouldn’t we all have our bags packed—ready to go?) Jesus promised His soon-to-be grieving disciples to take comfort upon his departure that He was preparing a place for them! Every day we are one day closer to being with Him forever.
Knowing a better life awaited him, Paul said “the human eye has never seen nor the ear heard the heavenly wonders God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Unlike Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, or any other ‘ism,’ we live and die with certainty: “For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better” (Phil. 1:21).
I don’t know how many of you pay any attention to the celebrity gossip magazines at the grocery check-out stand (or worse, you happen to catch the latest news on TV’s “Entertainment Tonight”). But the latest bit of celeb absurdity is that “Two and a Half Men” star Charlie Sheen (notorious drug and sex addict and alcoholic) is advising Actress Lindsay Lohan (a fellow abuser) to work on her impulse control. (The pinnacle of the absurd: one addict chastising another.) You can tell Charlie has been in therapy by his use of the term impulse control.
Impulse control is the 21st century term for the more time-honored, universal word “self-control.” Mankind has been dealing with ‘impulse control/self-control’ issues from the time he stepped out of Eden. Confucianism taught that self-control would help produce the "superior" man. Hinduism taught that self-control would produce the "realized" man; Buddhism, the "detached" man; New Age, the "happy" man.
Therefore, it is most significant that one of the treasures of our salvation is the gift of self-control. The last of the nine fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5; love being the first: as though Paul were saying self-control is the end-result of love. When you begin with love, you end up with self-control. Someone has said "Love Christ and do what you like; for when you do, then you will like what He likes.” Paul says we should "try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord" (Eph. 5:10). Being in love with Him makes that a lot easier! One final thought: we do not gain Christ through self-control; we gain self-control through Christ.
Paul said it: “To die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). And he was speaking literally—not figuratively. Was he morbid? Our Christian Brother Zac Poonen asks: “Did he have an unhealthy fixation with death? Did Paul show a lack of respect for the life God had blessed him with?” And then Zac answers his own question: “Absolutely not! Paul lived life to the fullest. To him, life was a gift, and he had used it well to fight a good fight. He had overcome the fear of the “sting of death” and could now say, “It’s better to die and be with the Lord than to stay in the flesh.”
Why? Because Paul had already died to his attachments on earth. He possessed nothing here, and would receive his heavenly possessions there!
Do we love life on earth so much (all of our possession) that we are conflicted about leaving? Would losing these possessions make dying a great loss? One of the chapters in A.W. Tozer’s book “Pursuit of God” is titled: “The Blessedness of Possessing Nothing.” Just think about it. If you had no attachments on this earth, not only would you be ready to leave in a New York minute, you’d be eager. Having nothing here, you’d have everything to gain. Could that be what Paul meant when he said “to die is gain”?
Though we might wish to be upbeat about 2010, it’s hard to ignore the facts: it was a year of loss, beginning with a massive earthquake in Haiti—our hemisphere’s poorest country—killing 250 thousand and leaving millions homeless. Only a month later, another earthquake jolted Chile, causing the death of 775 and $30 billion in damage. In April the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion killed 11 men and caused unknown billions of $ in damage to local communities and businesses and unknown loss of marine life. Meanwhile the recession was unabated; more people lost their jobs as unemployment hovered at 10%. And finally, a loss to our nation’s financial health as the national debt doubled in size to $14 trillion.
But it wasn’t all loss. Probably, the most inspiring event of the year, if not the decade, was the dramatic October rescue of the Chilean miners from a collapsed coal mine. It was a ‘gain’ for humanity—a tribute to the abilities of men.
Gains and losses: that’s how man measures his years. So once again I am reminded by Watchman Nee: “In spiritual matters, we measure ourselves not in terms of gains, but in losses,” of course referring to Jesus' warning: “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will find it” (Mat. 10:39). So the question I ask myself today is “how much of ‘me’ did I lose this year?” Is there less of ‘Greg’ and more of Jesus? And that is how I will judge 2010.
This has been a week of contests: the San Francisco Giants defeat the Texas Rangers to win the coveted World Series; Jerry Brown triumphed over Meg Whitman to become governor of California; Barbara Boxer, Gavin Newsom, Harry Reid—all winners! And their opponents—are they all losers? Well, of course no one would say that losing a game or a political competition makes you a ‘loser’—meaning a failure in modern-day vernacular—any more than winning a competition makes you a winner—a person of good fortune and character. Perhaps this is an opportunity to remind ourselves of what really matters in God’s economy.
Perhaps we could paraphrase Jesus words in Matthew 19:30: "many that are winners shall be losers, and the losers shall be the winners." More to the point, Jesus said: “If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Mat. 16:25-26)
Power-hungry politicians or glory-seeking athletes may win the contests of this world but still be losers in the Kingdom of God. And it is all too easy for we who are Evangelical Christians to adapt to this view of winners and losers. Who has never thought to himself that the pastor who has a large congregation and a national radio program is more successful than the pastor with a flock of fifty? In the end “God will open wide the gates of heaven for them,” with the rewarding words: "Well done my good and faithful servant": winners all! (2 Pet. 1:11; Mat. 25:23)
Some are calling it the “Lost Decade”— net loss in job growth; a decline of middle-class incomes (adjusted for inflation); and a lower Dow Jones average in 2009 than ten years earlier. The only gain was an increase in household debt—117%. After the robust 90’s who could have imagined a decade without profit! You can be sure for the next ten years, our fiscal leaders will be working to make our nation profitable again.
Through the prophet Isaiah, the LORD says “I am the Lord Your God who teaches you to PROFIT and will lead you by the way you should go.” (Is. 48:17). Throughout the centuries men have prayed to their gods to make them profitable! But the profit Isaiah speaks of is not that which the world seeks. The word ‘profit’ comes from the word ‘ascend,’ i.e., to ‘go higher.’ God is saying ‘I will teach you a higher way.’
As aliens on this planet, our home is in a higher place—and we are more concerned about building treasure in heaven than earning profits on earth. Just imagine God as a prudent financial planner who teaches you how to invest your assets to get the best profit. As a wise planner He discerns the path to success—and “the way you should go” is heavenward. Jesus teaches us that denying your own interests and following Him is very profitable. But as any investor will tell you, when considering long-term investing, you’ll need to be patient; and especially Christ’s disciples: their investments won’t fully mature until they reach heaven.
…for what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mark 8:36)
Most of my adult life, I’ve had to work at maintaining my proper weight. Speaking genetically, I have ‘fat genes’ (not ‘jeans’) which cannot be indulged! But as long as I eat nutritionally I am OK.
The Word of God is rich, nourishing food for the spirit and soul—promoting a spiritual vitality. Even as a person who fails to eat right can be physically weak and ill, so those who neglect to consume the Word will be spiritually underdeveloped and anemic, consequently, failing to reflect the innate glory of the new creation.
In both Hebrew and Greek the word “glory” means to be ‘heavy’ or ‘weighty.’ If someone has a lot of authority or celebrity, we say idiomatically that person “carries a lot of weight.” They have a big reputation; they are held in high esteem, honor, and perhaps majesty (kings are more ‘glorious’, more weighty than paupers). Spiritually speaking, the more we feast on the Word, the greater we manifest this innate glory. (Don't worry about eating too much; it's impossible to gain too much of this 'weight'.)
Jesus prayed He would be glorified in His disciples. How do we glorify Jesus? We bear His image (which is in us). As others see Him, they see His glory: He is glorified. Paul says we grow in this as we “behold Jesus,” and are increasingly “transformed into [His] image from glory to glory.” (1 Cor. 3:18) The question before us is this: are you feeding your ‘fat spiritual genes?’ Are you gaining in this ‘weightiness’? Can you say: I count all things loss that I may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8)?
Since you are a sanctified person, I am sure you never even think about calling someone a “loser.” The Online Dictionary defines loser as “a failure, dud, flop, washout." But speaking as a psychologist, I believe it connotes someone caught up in self-defeating behaviors. Given that, who of us has not felt like a “loser” at times?
One time, a rich young man came to Jesus saying “I have kept the law; is there anything I lack in order to have eternal life?” He was anything but a loser; he was a ‘gainer’—in effect, saying, I have made a lot of gains in righteousness. Is it enough? Am I lacking anything? (Mark 10:20-21)
Jesus’ response must have surprised him. Jesus explains that in God’s economy, gains are losses and losses are gains, saying, ‘you must lose everything you own.’ The young man went away sad because he was rich—his identity was tied to his gains. He could not bring himself to be a “loser.” Jesus has called all His disciples to lose: dare we say to be “losers?”—But NOT defined as those with self-destructive behaviors, but those who willingly lose everything if it means gaining Him.
Paul said “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus…for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8 NIV).
He who loses his life for my sake will find it…[and] I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father of mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake…who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time…and in the age to come, eternal life. Matthew 10:39; Mark 10:29-30
How I long to hear Joel Osteen speak of the blessing of giving up all that you have in order to receive the abundance that Jesus offers. How I pray he will talk about how he loves Jesus so much he is dying to have more of Jesus’ life. His teaching on God’s temporal and material blessings is not wrong. But his emphasis is. Jesus was not opposed to Christians having material things. He was opposed to temporal and material things “having” (controlling) Christians! There is a built-in danger to gaining much in this life and thinking it is a measure of our spiritual success. If it is so, we would have to conclude that the millions of Chinese Christians who live under great persecution and have suffered great losses (home, family, possessions, even death) are people of little faith and thus, are unable to receive the blessings of God.
The emphasis of our teaching should never be to consider our gains, but on how much we are willing to give up of material and temporal things in order to eliminate all competition in our hearts for Jesus. Watchman Nee once said, “In spiritual matters, our success is not measured in terms of gains, but in losses.” How much have you lost for Jesus’ sake? Are you dying to gain abundant life?
