Cultural Condemnation

A few months ago, a friend of mine was reminiscing about his childhood. We remembered all the foolishness we spent our time on, and how we had enjoyed those things. As the conversation continued we eventually got to the teen years. He stopped. His face became grave. Even though many of the things he had been up to at the time had been fun then, they carried weight into his life even now. We continued our talk on a much more somber note. "With all the evil out there," he stated emphatically, "parents are foolish if they think they can control what their kids are up to."

That thought has stayed with me since then. I don't have any kids, but I can only image what all they will have access to when I buy some iPod 87 S or whatever for my offspring. How do we lessen that evil impact?

Hmm... maybe we are asking the wrong question. Even though we can clearly see that we have more access to information than we did even a generation ago, does that mean we are then also more inclined to evil? No, access to evil does not make the person more sinful. It just makes it easier for his or her fallen nature to show itself. 

We fall for the classic human problem. We look on the outside and forget that it only is an indicator of what was already going on inside. God won't judge us by what we did, but by our motives and our heart. 

I Sam. 16:7b For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

Jesus makes a similar comment in the Gospels as well. (Matt. 5:28) He tells us that murder is not a worse sin than unjust anger. Lust is adultery. Just because we don't dare to carry out our desires does not mean God cannot see them. He can and will judge us upon these criteria when we stand before Him. 

But back to the modern problem. We have such easy access to such vile fleshly content one is concerned about the influence that it has on our children and also on us. Just because we were born with an unGodly nature does not mean that we give in to it once we come to Christ. We are told to crucify our flesh daily. Part of this is indeed in denying our modern culture too much access into our lives.

For us, that means self-control. For our children (here I speak hypothetically) it means that we must try to first show them the righteous path that honors God, and also control what they are influenced by. The amount of time and concern we give to them will not only be noticed by them, but by all who come into contact with you.

Secondly, we must accept that they are also fallen humans. As much as it pains parents to admit, their child is indeed a fallen, sinful person. We will fall, so will our children. What we must do is show our children that falling is not unforgivable. We need to lead them to God and show them what faith can do. In trying to raise children, we humans often try to make them perfect. We cannot. Instead, we should lead them to the Perfect One. He alone can help them. But children will not readily follow what their parent's do not apply themselves. So to raise God fearing children, we need God fearing parents.

Conclusion

So what am I trying to say? Well, mainly this. The culture we live in may make visible sins more easily available to us than in the past. But that does not change the fact that we would have had the same motives and desires had we lived in Victorian England or Colonial America. God will not judge us more harshly for the culture around us. He will judges us for our own sins. We have all fallen. He will judge our Salvation by Christ's Sacrifice and our acceptance (or denial) of it. However, the Bible also talks about judgement for reward. (I Cor. 3:11-15, Mark 9:4, Luke 6:35, 2 John 1:8, Rev. 11:18) This will indeed be based on how we lived our lives and our hearts. Desired action is just as relevant before God as actions we have carried out. Let us not just clean the outside of our lives, but clean the inside. (Matt. 23:27) This can only be done with the constant help of the Holy Spirit. May God lead, and may we follow.

iDolatry

The iPhone 5 was revealed yesterday. My high school students were talking about it for a while already, and were looking forward to seeing what new goodies would be released with this new iPhone. Apple products are something I enjoy as well, and I also was quite pleased with the latest little iToy.

I watched the video release that afternoon with some of the students that were interested. The short clip started with a VP of Apple saying that our iPhones are something we have with us all the time; they are the single item we use the most in our lives. Honestly, that sounds about right for our modern world.

He went on to describe the unique relationship (his words) we have with our iPhones. I will say that Apple knows exactly what they are doing with commercials and product timing. With only a few new features they can still make it look like any other tech than the latest toy is a complete waste of time.

Don't get me wrong. I like Apple's quality and setup. They are the most competent electronics company that has emerged in recent times. (in my opinion) But I have noticed that many people relate Apple products with excess and self-indulgence. And I can see that if you did have to upgrade each and every time some new Apple came out that it would be incredibly expensive.

So whats my point? Well, like so many things in the modern world, we can take our tools that we use and start holding them far to highly. If we obsess about Apple, the Cowboys, the Yankees, or even great authors we are coming dangerously close to breaking God's command against idolatry. His first commandment states we are not to have other gods before Him. Command number two says we are not to make or create something that takes a priority over Him. These commands overlap, but the second is the one that we should concern ourselves with today.

As Christians we don't intentionally have other gods. But we do ever so often have a problem with making something into a godlike priority in our lives. For some people this can even be things that are Church related, be they the songs we sing or the translation we use. For others it can be jobs, sports, movies, friends, knowledge, respect, or technology. We should not make these things into something they are not.

So what do we do when we realize we have indeed created something into an idol (given it too high a priority)? Well, first repent. Admit it to God and stop. For some things we need to quite completely. If this item comes between you and God, you might need to give it up. Sacrifice without the right motive will not help, but sacrifice with the proper motive is what may be needed. After we get our priorities straight, the thing that was an idol may well be useful to us again. Remember, most things in themselves (sports, tech, ect.) are not evil. The way we use them or obsess about them is. So if you can use the item, watch the sport, or whatever your issue before God may be; if it can be managed in a God honoring way, it is fine. What we find often after giving something up for a while is that we don't really need or want to go back to it at all. And if that is the case, that's also fine. Just remember that those who do still use that iPhone, or watch sports, or whatever it may be, may be doing so without the problems you had. Don't assume that God will convict them of the same thing; because they may not be struggling with it. God is constant, it is we humans that are fickle.

Theater Theology

Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of the 19th century, was known for his dislike of theatre. It is worthy to note that many of his era thought that London theatre was rather bawdy. In his time, he openly condemned the actions of fellow preacher Joseph Parker for attending so often and publicly. In our era we see that movies have not become any more decent than in the time of Spurgeon and Parker; however, we do have a unique (but often inconsistent) rating system for what is released today. So should we join Spurgeon in the open condemnation of both theater and its attendees? Or should we attend regardless, in the manner of J. Parker?

As it often does, the answer lies somewhere in the middle, I believe. There are many movies, plays, books, and songs that an obedient Christian aught to avoid. (May the Holy Spirit convict you personally in this and follow whatever conviction He may give you.) I believe this follows similar lines of thought to what Paul wrote about to the Church in Corinth about meat offered to idols. (see post Yoga: Evil Exercise? for more details) But some movies, plays, books, and songs that are most likely not written by Christians can contain a surprising amount of Biblical truth in them.

Its all well and good to say that we can learn from movies, but what examples can we give? Well, on a personal note, I very much enjoy the animated movies that have become more common in today's world. Some of them are a bit crass at times, (with Dreamworks having more likelihood of this than Pixar) but many are quite good and serve a purpose. For example, my favorite one of recent release is "The Lorax". In this flick that was made to promote environmentalism we find many truths that can cut  rather deeply. I wonder at times if some of the writing staff may indeed have a Christian worldview. Even if they did not, the truth in the movie is wonderful.

How Bad Can I Be, the song that the Once-ler sings in the middle of the movie, is one of the most simple examples of how looking out for number one, the theme of today, is actually a terrible idea. Greed is portrayed as wrong (shocking, I know) and we see that it can hurt others. The permanence of wrongdoing is shown as well. In the revival of the trees we see the revival of truth. I could not help but compare the Truffula tree seed to the seed Jesus talks about in the Gospels.

Yet another important detail the movie brings out rather well is when the Once-ler states, "That seed is no more just a seed than you are just a boy. Its about what it can become." This applies not only to seeds and boys, but to both righteousness and unrighteousness.

The final bit of Loraxian wisdom I want to touch base on is this. Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothings going to get better. Its not. Not only does this mean we need to be good stewards of God's creation, (Gen 2:15) but it also applies to you and me. Unless we care about our own state before God, we will not change. God does not change our actions forcefully, He always waits for us to take initiative. We need to pick up the armor and start caring.

Cookie Compromise

^{Ephesians 6:10-17  10} Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ in addition to all, taking up theshield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

This passage was one of my favorites as a child. Little boys are fascinated with warfare. They love swords and shields, guns and arrows, bulging muscles and exotic karate moves. Here we find Paul telling us that our Christian life is like a battle. How do the two relate? Aren't Christians supposed to be passive? What's war got to do with it?

The first thing that we will touch on is the fact that it is indeed armor. It is designed to protect us from attack. From whom? It tells us there in verses 11-12 that we fight against the Devil and evil forces. Many Christians today live life so comfortable with the enemy's forces that they need no armor, they already live in that camp.

My wife and I were visiting my parents' house over Labor Day weekend. As usual, my mother had many delicious sweet treats available. After 3 cookies I decided I was done. But the next day the remaining 2 of those particular cookies were tempting me. Seeing as I used to weight 245 pounds and do not wish to weigh that again, I resisted the temptation. They continued to tempt me all morning, and I mentioned this to my wife and my mother who were sitting there at the table chatting. They both seemed to think the best way to get over the temptation of eating the cookies was to simply do so and move on. That way I wouldn't be tempted anymore.

As common a philosophy as this is in our world when we relate to food; many people try to apply the same 'wisdom' to their spiritual lives. They simply give in and think the sooner they give in the sooner they will cease to be tempted. So they throw off any armor they had put on and surrender to the other side. That is foolish for weight loss, but far worse in our spiritual fight.

I will not go into great detail about the various pieces of armor, as many people of greater qualifications have done so in the past already. However, there is one more point I would like to make. In this entire passage we need to note one thing. God supplies the armor; we make use of it. In the battles in our lives we cannot just pray for God's help and sit on our back pockets. No, we need to follow through. We put on the armor, tighten the belt, grasp the shield, and pull the sword from its sheath. Paul often refers to our spiritual war as a race, a prize, and a war. What do these have in common? Effort.

^{Philippians 2:12} So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling

Does this sound like action? Note that Paul does not say earn your salvation, but rather work it out. We can be saved and be weak Christians, tossed to and fro like the Corinthian Church. We can also be like the Galatian Church, trying to add works to our salvation. Neither of those methods are what we are talking about here. What we need to do is not add to salvation but show it.

Conclusion

So what am I saying? That we are to earn God's favor or maybe our salvation? NEVER. We cannot earn our salvation or God's merit. What we do does not affect His love; it affects our lives. We cannot sit idly by and think God will fight all our battles. He promises to be with us, not to let us sit and watch Him. He conquered Death and Satan; and He expects us to follow Him into the victorious battle, not sit and eat popcorn while cheering others on.

Holy Hatred

What is one subject everyone loves to talk about? Themselves. People love to talk about themselves in every area of the world. Self promotion happens everywhere around us in our modern world. In ads, TV shows, film, books, radio, magazines, and in conversation. How many songs do you know that are all about how great and powerful the artist is?

A popular term these days is "haters". This usually refers to someone who doesn't do what you do and disagrees with you. "Haters gunna hate," they say. What does this mean? Usually it means that whoever is speaking doesn't care what other people say.

As Christians, we are called to be the opposite of the people around us. We are called to be humble, putting others first. This is easy to quote from Sunday School, but what does it mean?

Proverbs 6:16-17
There are six things that the Lord hates,
    seven that are an abomination to him:
¹⁷ haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

Here we have the start of a list of things that God hates. What tops the list? Something referred to as 'haughty eyes'. What does that mean? Well, haughty means proud; so haughty eyes means those who look pridefully at everyone. In more modern English we would say someone with their nose up in the air. Self conceited. Proud. Vain. God hates this pride. It is an insult to Him and goes against the name of Christ that we as Christians carry.

"But Christianity didn't start until the New Testament," you hear people say. "This doesn't really apply to us." Two responses come to mind. First off, yes, the Old Testament is inspired by God and when it tells us about God its as accurate as the New Testament. So when it says here that God hates a proud look you can be sure He still feels that way.

The second response would be to quote the New Testament on this matter.

I John 2:15-17
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Here we hear a slightly different part of pride; greed. Greed and pride go hand in hand. As you grow comfortable with pride; greed will be sure to follow. As soon as you think you are better than people you will assume you deserve more. This is the mindset we deal with all around us. I wish I could say it was only the unGodly who acted this way. Tragically, many modern Christians have the same attitude about the world around them. They love this world, it's toys and pleasures. They think they deserve them after all their hard work.

The truth is that if we become prideful we fall in the true original sin. Lucifer, now the devil, was once a prince among the angels. Not one other angel was greater then he. Only God Himself was Lucifer's superior. Then he became prideful. Greed soon followed and Lucifer tried the first mutiny ever. He tried to overthrow God. Lucifer convinced a third of all the angels to follow him in his coup. Thus the father of lies became who he is. Pride started it, greed continued it.

That may be why it tops the list of things God hates. Almost every sin starts with pride. A humble person does not feel he has to hurt people to get on top. Pride is where we almost always begin. When greed follows we carry out our sinful plan. What can we do about this as Christians?

Conclusion

Well, the first thing to do when we find pride in our lives is to repent. Turn to God and admit your sin. Then, ask Him to fill you with His Spirit. Ask for His help in being Christ to the world around you.

A few things to practice in order to help overcome pride and self would be as follows. The next time you have a conversation with someone, instead of trying to make the conversation about you, your stuff, or important people you know, ask the other person about them. Talk to them, show them that you care about them. This is simple advice, but you will find that we love to always turn the conversation to ourselves. As you go throughout the next week, try to avoid turning the conversation in your direction. Show love and humility by caring about the other person and only talking about you, and your stuff and connections when asked. You will find that not only do you feel more peaceful (due to obedience) but you will also be someone people enjoy talking to. Jesus Himself was a popular person with most people, however, He was (and is) our perfect example of true humility. Let us follow Him.

Music Ministry

Music is a wonderful creation by God. It's a wonderful form of worship and praise. The beauty in the simplicity and truth in some songs can be more meaningful than a dozen sermons. The strength and beauty of this form of worship is highly used in the Bible, and throughout history.

Some people like to take this a step further. The beauty and meaning of the songs is combined with the Great Commission by many musicians in the modern world. As well and good as this sounds, I fear we have no Biblical support for this reasoning. Below are a few passages about music and worship.

Exodus 15:19-21
For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea. And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
Judges 5:3
"Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the LORD, I will sing; I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel."
2 Samuel 6:13-17,20-23
Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart. .....When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!" David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel — I will celebrate before the LORD. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor." And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
1 Chronicles 15:16
David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.
1 Chronicles 16:9
Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
1 Chronicles 16:23
Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.
2 Chronicles 5:13
The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud,
2 Chronicles 20:19-23
Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the LORD your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful." After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the LORD and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the LORD, for his love endures forever." As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.
2 Chronicles 29:28
The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed.
Psalm 30:4
Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name.
Psalm 30:11
You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
Psalm 59:16
But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
Psalm 100
Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 138:1
I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee.
Psalm 149:3
Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.
Isaiah 44:23
Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this; shout aloud, O earth beneath. Burst into song, you mountains, you forests and all your trees, for the LORD has redeemed Jacob, he displays his glory in Israel.
Isaiah 51:11
The ransomed of the LORD will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Jeremiah 3:31-3-5
"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful."
Revelation 5:13
Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

In all these passages, (and more that were not listed) we do not find a single reference to ministering the Gospel with music. Throughout both the Old Testament and the New we find that music was used exclusively for worship, never for ministry to the unsaved. Why?

Well, lets take a look at a few details. Why does music speak to our souls? Is it because the truth is in the song and finds our heart? Or is it perhaps that we have the truth in our hearts and it is realized in song? Did Jesus ever speak about music as worship or ministry?

No, not specifically. But if we turn to Luke 8:9-10 we find Jesus explaining why He used parables.

⁹ And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, ¹⁰ he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’

Jesus tells us here that some people do not wish to hear, and therefore they will not and can not. If a person conscientiously choses to reject the Gospel for too long God will harden their hearts and close their ears. As grave as this is to say we find a source for this in John 12:38-40.

When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” and hardened their heart,

lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

“He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, lest they see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them.”

Does God really harden peoples hearts? Yes, the same way Pharaoh's heart was hardened. However, we need the context of the hardening of the heart. It says here that even after Jesus had shown them many wonders they still did not believe, and therefore their hearts were hardened.

So what of Music Ministry then? How is it to be compared with parables? Well, music (God worshiping music) is only understood by those whose ears are opened in a spiritual sense. It is nonsense to an unbeliever. Much in the same way only those who were seeking the truth understood parables, only some will understand the music we so much appreciate.

But why would I state that Music Ministry is un-Biblical? Well, that's a complex question. Of all the references we find in the Bible to music (and there are many), we find no reference to ministry by music. We always find music to be to be used for worship, praise, and rejoicing. It is a dangerous thing to take what is made to be used as praise and turn it into something it is not.

Another danger of music ministry is the fact that many people who wish to make a living entertaining people with music (which I am not condemning here) find that it is more profitable to slap the "Christian" label in front of their musical group. This makes them "acceptable" in Christian circles; even if their Theology is as deep as a Saharan River and only referenced in the CD insert. (do those still exist?) I find it a grave danger to try to profit off of adding God's name to whatever product we sell. A plumber may be a Christian and a plumber, but that does not make his plumbing more holy. Nor does the fact that a musician is a Christian make random lyrics more holy either. The plumber is not a "Christian plumber"; he is a Christian who does plumbing. If we use Christian as an adjective instead of a noun, we soon end up with Christian thieves. We are to first be Christians, then do our job, not add our Christianity where it suits us or is profitable. Christ should show in every part of our lives, and that should affect everything we do and say. If we do this we will show Christ, not just in verse 3 of track 5, but in everything. A Christian who is a musician I have respect for; a Christian artist not so much.

Again, I have no issue with entertaining music; nor with Christian music (as worship). What I do have an issue with is when people want to use the term Christian to launch their own career. If you wish to entertain people, thats fine. But don't use God as a way of guilt tripping people into buying your CD. If you want to make a profit, then do so. Tread softly when adding God's name only to bring in the cash flow, however.

I know this is a post that may hit close to home for some people. I do not wish to antagonize anyone, however, I do feel strongly on this matter.

Conclusion

I do not believe we should use music as ministry. I believe it should be used as worship. People can be convicted by such a means, just as you can eventually hit a fish with a shotgun. However, neither is the being used the way they were designed.

Nice Neighbors

Love your neighbor as yourself. Bet you haven't heard that one before. It's one of the most basic concepts of being a Christian. That being said, it can also be one of the most difficult. People try to avoid loving others in different ways. We have Jesus' timeless parable in the Gospel of Luke about the Good Samaritan, and how he acted towards the injured man. We love that story and always imagine ourselves as the Samaritan. But are we?

^{Luke 10:29-37  29} But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” ³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ ³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbour to the man who fell among the robbers?” ³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

What of the two men who avoided the injured man? Why were they so cold and calloused? Let's take a look at the requirements of  cleanliness that the Levite and priest were required to follow in order to serve God in the Temple.


^{Lev. 19:11-13      11}“Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean for seven days. ¹² He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. ¹³ Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.

The man at the side of the road appeared dead, or close to it. The Levite and priest were both, in all likelihood, going to fulfill their duties at the Temple. They could not do so if they touched the man and he happened to die. So in concern for their duties in the Temple they left the man there. In attempting to be who the people would see as "holy", (a visible performance) they neglected what was actually holy (the dangerous and unclean work that would disqualify them from the Temple for a week).

Their reason behind inaction was so they could serve God in the "normal" or visible way. In not acting to help the man they were disobeying God's command to love their neighbor. (Lev. 19:18) So does this mean I believe that works save us? By no means. However, the decision here shows us what was of importance to these two men. Praise rather than lowly service. How often do we err in similar fashion?

Love your neighbor as yourself. Now you've heard it again. But what I find the most odd about modern teachings on this command is the stressing of the "love your neighbor" and lack of detail of the "as yourself." I guess we just assume it means super-love.

But does it? Think about how you love yourself. When you mess up, (which we all do) how do you react? Do you console yourself and say, "Its ok, I love you (me)". Most of us will tolerate more flaws from others than we do from ourselves, we are bothered when we make errors we shouldn't and we go to pains to fix them, or (foolishly) try to cover them up. Loving yourself doesn't mean you let yourself get away with everything. In fact, it often means the opposite. We would work hard to make ourselves better, and we care about the result.

Conclusion

That is how we are to love our neighbor. Not give them a free pass to do whatever they please to us or themselves. We are to care, to love, to help, and to show God's love even when that means not going easy on that person (only if it is for their benefit and not merely ours). To love; truly as we do ourselves, means to care and to invest, not to smile and condone whatever they are doing. That isn't love, its carelessness. Jesus didn't wink at sin, nor should we, in our lives or others.