or, Helpless but not Hopeless

There are times when we feel abject helplessness. As much as we may fight against that thought, it’s part of the human terrain.  The causes are myriad: experiencing an unexpected loss, being confronted by tragedy, unrelenting illness, betrayal by a loved one, that hurtful surprise that can manifest itself in so many ways, and so on.  Circumstances such as these can produce a sorrow that attaches itself to our deepest inner parts, unseen but vey tangible nonetheless.

This pain of this helplessness exposes any façade that tries to communicate that we`re in control. It unmasks ways we misunderstand and therefore misapply Paul`s pronouncement that he is able to “do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), reducing it to “I can do all things.”

Our truth is that, in cosmic terms, we are weak, despite any pride-based protestations to the contrary. The “strength” we exert is often an expression of our ego’s desire to assert itself.  We may do well for awhile, but sooner or later, the event that reveals our helplessness reminds us that control is an illusion.  We would do well to remember that it is only “in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

The balloon of the Apostle Paul’s own tendency for hubris was burst repeatedly by the difficulties and hard circumstances GOD allowed in his life, which ironically made his ministry so powerful for it was due to God’s grace and not Paul’s pedigree or self-defined aspirations (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-10). This was a gift, strangely wrapped, but a gift nonetheless.  Perhaps the abundant life Jesus came to give (John 10:10) is paradoxically rooted in our willingness to surrender to the reality of our weakness so that grace is given space to do what only grace can do.  This seems to be the pattern in the lives of Jesus and Paul and all those we consider people of deep faith and spiritual reserve, whether ancient or contemporary.

The sons of Korah (liturgical Temple choir of ancient Israel) sang: “GOD is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” (Psalm 46:1-2).  Perhaps trusting that God’s “riches in glory” are sufficient for whatever helplessness we experience, that is, not running from or denying our weakness but offering it to Him as an acknowledgment of dependence and faith may be the pathway to the strength we need in order to overcome. Perhaps that is a gift from Him that only requires that we receive it.

One of my favorite psalms of David is 131:

My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty.                                                        I do not concern myself with great matters                                                                           or things too wonderful for me.                                                                                            But I have calmed and quieted myself.                                                                                     I am like a weaned child with it’s mother,                                                                            like A weaned child, I am content.                                                                                   Israel, put your hope in the Lord,                                                                                        Both now and forevermore.

Peace and Blessings.

© Byron L. Hannon, 2018. All rights reserved for text content.

 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” – 1 Timothy 6:10

 Recently over the course of three weeks, I watched a movie, Margin Call, three times.  I’m fairly sure I’ll watch it again if I have the opportunity. Margin Call, released in 2011, is a movie that fictionalizes a series of events within a Wall Street investment bank associated with the start of the severe economic recession that hit the U.S. and the rest of the world in 2008.

Margin Call didn’t get a lot of press when it was first released nor did it make a lot of money for its backers despite being a well-made film. It stars a number of well-known actors who most people would recognize by face, if not by name.

The movie details the discovery of a serious, fundamental error in the investment firm’s operating business model and how the leaders of this worldwide company choose to deal with the discovery. Seeking to avoid a full-blown internal financial meltdown, these leaders initiate a sequence of decisions and actions intended to minimize the negative financial impact on their company, despite the fact that these same decisions and actions will have a severe and hurtful ripple effect on many of their own employees, their competitors, other organizations, and ultimately the national and international economy.  Billions, even trillions, of dollars are in play; and the first priority of this group of people becomes evident: protect the company and protect themselves, all the while knowing that the ruinous impact of this stance would extend far beyond the sphere of their investment banking firm.

Questions of ethical conduct are cast aside so that the definition of “doing the right thing” becomes the same as their priority: self-protection. Even those who are initially resistant or hesitant because of their personal ethics, and those who are about to lose their jobs are co-opted by the lure of being “taken care” of financially if they play along, as well as the threat that their failure to play along would result in retribution.

And so the people in this movie conspire to do and then do some very disreputable things, even when they know those things to be wrong.  And they do them because of money.

Being attracted to this movie is partly based on my experience working in a large corporate company, and some of the values and behaviors I witnessed that seemed money-driven. Of course, I never witnessed anything remotely close to the actions of what Margin Call portrayed, but I easily recognized how “golden handcuffs” (using compensation provisions to make it more difficult for people to leave voluntarily) helped to keep key talent tied to the organization.

Paul, in his instruction to Timothy, talked specifically about the attitude and conduct of those who minister. He was promoting simplicity of life and contentment within that lifestyle, saying that seeking after riches was a snare that led to other difficulties and evils.  I do think there is an application here for everyone, not just those in ministerial vocations.  The same principle applies (the dangers of seeking or hungering after money).  Neither Jesus nor Paul passed judgment against having money, their judgment was against being covetous for money.

“The problem with the rich young ruler wasn’t that he had riches but rather the riches had him.” – Gary Nietzhe

When the “rich young ruler” approached Jesus and asked Him about what good thing he could do to earn eternal life (Matthew 19:16-17), Jesus redirected his understanding by telling the young man that all goodness is centered in GOD.  Internalizing and remembering this remains a challenge for us, today, because we tend to seek goodness in so many things other than GOD, including money and what money can acquire.

So many are figuratively up to their eyeballs in financial debt as a result of trying to finance “a better life with nicer things,” and now have to constantly figure out ways to manage the financial complexity they’ve created. And many can’t work it out.

1. For many years, illegal lotteries (“the numbers”) operated in poorer communities offering a touch of hope that if “I can just hit that number,” I can ____________ (you fill in the blank).
2. Legalized gambling through state-run lotteries, sometimes offering multi-million jackpots, has replaced the illegal numbers operations, but they sell the same gambit of getting rich.
3. How many people have developed gambling addictions fed by legal and illegal casinos and other betting operations?
4. How many stories have we read about children being left in cars for hours while their parent was in a casino?
5. How many stories have we heard about corrupt medical practitioners overbilling Medicare or overcharging patients?
6. What about people who claim an injury in order to collect workers’ compensation and then are found working another job, collecting money from both?
7. Identity theft and robberies of all kinds are driven by one thing: a hunger for money, despite the immorality of taking, sometimes forcibly, from others.
8. And how many politicians are dependent upon big-money lobbyists to get elected and stay elected?
9. I’m sure I’m not the first person who questions whether Abraham Lincoln’s concept of “government of the people, by the people and for the people” has become government of, by and for those with the deepest pockets.
10. How many “evils” can be counted just from reading what’s above…and there are so many others.

Jesus said that it is impossible to serve both GOD and mammon, meaning the desire for possessions and material gain (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13).  He went on to say that only one of them will get our sincere devotion, and the other will be set aside.  This is why Paul was cautioning Timothy; there is no middle-ground position.  If GOD is the center of what is truly good, why do some people make money their good and their god?  This leads me to what I think is a logical question: “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” (Matt. 16:26; Mark 8:36).

The actors in Margin Call were following a script that required them to be stereotypical worldly, self-centered, self-seeking, money-driven types who were willing to sell their souls because “the business always comes first.”  But we don’t have to look far to see a reality just as real and pernicious, one that purports to offer forms of “good” that are not centered in GOD.  We need to be watchful about the scripts we select for our lives.

Father, help us to see with clear eyes and hear with open ears. Help us to grasp after only that which profits our souls.  Amen.

© Byron L. Hannon. All rights reserved for text content.

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. – Lao Tzu

Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving.  It is loyalty through good and bad times.  It settles for less than perfection and makes allowance for human weaknesses. – Ann Landers

They do not love who do not show their love. – William Shakespeare

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. – Martin Luther King, Jr.

Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive. – Dalia Lama

“The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:29-31

Several years ago, I facilitated a group discussion on Living Biblically in Contemporary Society.  My intent was to create opportunities for dialog among a diverse group of Christians in our church on issues common in society then, and just as much today: immigration, gun control, sexual identity, climate change, race, and other topics on the societal radar.  Our discussions were lively, and by no means did everyone agree on everything, which I expected.  The underlying consideration was wrestling with how we could demonstrate a Christ-like ethos at every turn, not on reaching agreement about the rightness or wrongness of any given position.

 The core of that ethos, as I see it, is found in John 3:16, one of the most referenced passages in the Bible: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  This one statement leads me to this conclusion: Those who place their faith in GOD through Jesus Christ are to love what He loved and still loves, irrespective of whether we agree with the moral appropriateness of a social position, political stance, or behavior that is an outgrowth of an issue.  Love does not equate to condoning everything that happens around us.  If it did, any and all moral stances rooted in a desire to obey the GOD of the Bible would be meaningless.                                

I suspect that it would take the Library of Congress (or perhaps more) to house all of the quotes from notable people about our need for giving and receiving giving love. The kind of love the Apostle Paul speaks of in 1 Corinthians 13 comes immediately to my mind because of John 3:16, but not to the exclusion of romantic love or love of family members and friends.  Paul’s description is special because it is all-encompassing and without condition, which makes it also rare.  I view it as a key mile marker in “the race to win the prize for which GOD has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” that Paul speaks of Philippians 3:14.

 To recap, here’s what Paul says this kind of love does and doesn’t do:

• It has a lot of patience and puts up with an awful lot
• It is kind
• It is not driven by ego
• It doesn’t act out
• It is not self-seeking
• It is hard to provoke
• It thinks the best of others, not the worst
• It takes no joy in wrongdoing
• It finds the truth to be a source of joy
• In the face of problems caused by others, it is never cynical
• It is always hopeful even when confronted with difficulty

 Whenever I read the passage, I’m reminded that this is the love that GOD has for me, revealed in the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. I’m also reminded that I’m called to have the same goal as the Apostle Paul, including loving GOD and my neighbor in this way, which is only possible through the ministry of GOD’s Holy Spirit working in me.  If you’re unclear as to whom your neighbor is, review Luke 10:25-37 (Hint: GOD’s definition is pretty broad).

Because I live in the 21^st century rather than the 1^st, my natural tendency is to think that the possibility of loving like this is a distinctly and ridiculously naïve notion, i.e. it is impossible to give or to receive love this way because of the climate of competition between tribes, boundary protection (personal and group), the hoarding of resources for the sake of having a sense of security, and the gaining of power and influence (or, at least, aligning ourselves to the powerful and influential).

A friend once said our social climate today is really no different than what we see in street gang behavior, with each gang having its membership requirements, territories, identifiers, code words and signs. Although it seems to be increasingly amplified today, I think human history, since Adam’s sin in Eden, reveals that it has been this way since Cain’s jealousy of and subsequent destruction of Abel.  If humanity has always been this way and continues to be this way, then the Lord’s admonition to love is the only counter force that can demonstrate another way…you might say The Way.  Ironically, this is what Christianity was called before it was called Christianity.

This issue has been percolating in me for several months, prompted by a fresh hearing of Stevie Wonder’s, “Love’s In Need of Love Today.”  Recorded in 1974 as one entry on his masterful Songs in the Key of Life double album, it speaks in a soul touching way, of the very serious, negative impacts on all of life occurring because of serious deficits of love.  Stevie asks us to consider that love itself feels unloved, the very thing that some of the greatest thinkers in history, including the Greatest, say is essential to our being.  Love feels unloved! How messed-up is that?

To choose not to love is downward devolution from what humanity is supposed to be. To choose not to love is to deny the need for godliness. To reject love by not loving is to reject GOD Himself, for He is love (1 John 4:8).  This is not Hallmark sentimentality; this is the Word of GOD in all of its weight and glory.

If, as Stevie Wonder sings, love is need of love today, perhaps we who carry the name “Christian” need to submit ourselves to the examination light of GOD’s Word and Spirit, and the example of His only begotten Son.  We need to make sure that we are not in the way of what He wants to accomplish in us and through us, but in The Way.

© Byron L. Hannon, 2018. All rights reserved for textual content.

If you’ve never heard Stevie’s song before, here’s a clip:

https://www.google.com/search?q=love%27s+in+need+of+love+today&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiY1ZaB5qTcAhWmiOAKHYWlDYMQ_AUICSgA&biw=1051&bih=461&dpr=1.3

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

For my inaugural post for Just 1 Voice, I chose a passage that’s been the focus of my meditation for at least two years: the inescapable reality that Jesus Christ is the source of all life and all that should result from living.  Boiled down, this is the same message proclaimed by John the Baptist over two millennia ago, whom the prophet Isaiah called, “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness” (40:3).

What is striking is that so many in the West still experience a wilderness in their souls despite the advancement of human reason, the progress of science and technology, political freedom, easy access to education and various sources of knowledge, material affluence, and the wide availability of all sorts of pleasures unknown or unavailable in John’s time. I’ve met and talked with too many people, inside and outside the church, over the years to know that these things are not enough to create the oasis they seek.  I’ve seen their struggles, heard their hurts, disappointments, anger, and lingering questions.  On occasion, I’ve even been on the receiving end of their anger that masked a resentment not necessarily aimed at me or a fear they couldn’t otherwise express.  Much of the objective data widely available tells us a similar story.  Many, many people are searching for something seemingly beyond their grasp.

I’m speaking to this because I feel compelled to speak to it, albeit, I’m just one voice, one among many. I suppose that’s the preacher in me.  Some voices are saying similar things; others are vehement in saying much the opposite.  When has it ever been different?  It hasn’t.  And so, in the days ahead, I will be adding my one voice to an already crowded landscape because I not only believe in Jesus, that is, Jesus as a living reality, I also believe what He said.  I want to bear good fruit; and if I can encourage just one person to see Jesus in a light that helps them bear good fruit, then I’m going to let the ink flow.

Here’s a final thought. This is a quote from Charles Spurgeon, the great 19^th century preacher and evangelist: “Unbelief is an evil thing in itself…Think how you would feel if others disbelieved you.”

“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

(John the Baptist in John 1:29)

© Byron L. Hannon, 2018. All rights reserved for textual content.