Marks of a Pharisee

We've been studying the Gospels in the weekly Bible study that I lead with my brother's kids. Their takeaway seems to have two major sticking points: 1.) Jesus's Parables (ie. "story problems") and 2.) What jerks the Pharisees were.

The Pharisees have left a particularly bad impression on my youngest nephew, who is seven. Every time I read a passage indicating another haughty act of the Pharisees, he gets personally offended and groans out various versions of, "Ugh. They think they're so cool!" and "Augh! Why do they think they know everything?!" while dramatically rolling his eyes.

Then, there's always that point later in the day when he tosses off a, "My brother didn't clean him room, but I did." or "So-and-so at school did this, I would never do something like that!" I always immediately ask him, "Are you a Pharisee?" 

"No! They're jerks!"

"Then why are you acting like one?"

[insert shameful head hang]

The Pharisees were a great enemy to many of us in our Sunday School days. Then many of us grew up to act just like one.

How can we avoid becoming a Pharisee?  Watch out for these indicators:

Appearance's Sake: The Pharisees were famously always looking outward. We've learned this repeatedly from stories like Luke 7:36-50, where the woman "embarrassingly" wept at Jesus's feet. (That hussy!) In Matthew 9 when they were aghast that Jesus wasn't sitting at the "cool table". (Tax collectors, harlots and sinners, oh my!) In Matthew 23, where we see them prancing about town with their money and swag, while Jesus points out that they were much too invested in making lavish and public offerings, meanwhile rejecting the importance of justice, mercy and faithfulness. Or, that horrendously conceited prayer of the Pharisee in Luke 18:10-14 where he bragged to the Lord about of his own good deeds while taking it upon himself to loudly condemn the tax collector who prayed humbly and weepily nearby. 

Remember Christ's lesson in verse 14 that "...everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted." 

This is still a modern day temptation. Some Christians may want to reach out to the lost; just not the dirty, the slutty, the addicted or the annoying.

Placing Rules Above Love: The Pharisees were very "black or white" in their practices. As far as they were concerned, there were no gray areas in the Law (to which they felt the need to add hundreds of their own on top of the Original Ten.) 

They wondered aloud why Jesus's followers didn't fast so much in Luke 5. They wondered why the disciples didn't wash their hands in accordance with their traditions in Mark 7. In Matthew 12 they gasped when the disciples were hungry on the Sabbath and dared to "work" by picking something to eat from a field. And, oh, the conspiracy that was propagated by the Pharisees in Matthew 12:10-14 when Jesus had the nerve to perform healing on the sacred day of rest! 

I remember, in my childhood Sunday School class, the conundrum of Rahab, the Cannanite, lying to spare the Hebrew spies lives came up. The teacher was stumped by our innocent questioning of "Well, isn't lying a sin?!" and she went to a church elder to seek out an answer to the complicated question we had posed. She came back with the deacon's reply that "Rahab shouldn't have lied. Lying is a sin. God probably would have protected the spies in some other way" and my stomach went sour.

I now realize, it was probably the Spirit cringing within me because Jesus clearly taught us in Matthew 22:36-40 that the greatest commandment is love. First, loving God with all of your heart, soul and mind; and secondly loving others as much as you love yourself. He tells us that "all of the Laws and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" of love (v. 40, NIV.) So wasn't Rahab showing love in her act? I think Jesus would say, yes. And, this is why she and her family were spared in the city's destruction and welcomed into God's people's tribe. (Not, to mention, blessed to be a part of Christ's lineage.) 

I still hear the lie of Rahab being debated today. It kind of makes me sad that her act of mercy is still being judged by sticklers of the Law thousands of years later, while she's been busy enjoying the glory of Heaven. 

Hindering the Cause: While the Pharisees were busy being judgy-McJudger-pants, they were simultaneously disrupting the progress of God's Kingdom. Jesus ripped into them big-time throughout Matthew 23, calling them blind guides, lazy, hypocrites and repeatedly threw at them the ultimate biblical burn of, "Woe to you!" (It's a great rant that fills up the entire chapter, filled with images of vipers, blood and plenty of exclamation points. Samuel L. Jackson couldn't perform righteous anger better!) What was it about the Pharisees that got Christ so worked up?

They were the leaders of the church at the time! Or, misleaders, as they should be called. Jesus warned the people that the Pharisees do not practice they preach. They want the honor, but not the dirt on their hands from the work. (I love Jesus's analogy that they, "...strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" vs. 24, NAS. My nephews would be overjoyed to learn that Jesus worked bathroom humor.) 

In John 9 the Pharisees started kicking people out of church who claimed Jesus as Messiah. Particularly the blind man to whom Jesus had restored his sight. Instead of allowing all believers into the synagogue to worship, they decided to splinter the church instead. 

Division in the church, is obviously still an issue today. We hear of gays and their family members being excluded or abandoned. Political divisiveness is often a problem. Choice of worship music, the inclusion of percussion and/or instruments that run on electricity, turn some away and divide a congregation. Stances on war or pacifism can get the opposition worked up in the pews. 

This all in the place where we come to seek salvation, learn about Christ's teachings and be reminded of His commandment of love. Remember the purpose of the church, no matter what your neighbor may check on a ballot. The pettiness and misguidance of the Pharisees (as well as those acting the same in modern times) confuses the lost, misdirects the flock and disrupts the calling of Heaven.

So let's go through a checklist and see how we rate:

• Do you care more about labels on clothing, the scent of a stranger, vocabulary, manners, or who has the cutest hat on Sunday, than you do about welcoming a new sheep into the fold? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• How do you feel about smokers, drinkers and swearers' spiritual statuses when they tell you that they're believers too? Do you have your doubts? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• Do you repeat things you read about your friends and acquaintances on social media to others, usually starting with the phrase, "Can you believe that so-and-so thinks/said/believes/voted for/lets their kids do..." You sound like a gossip. And, you might be a Pharisee.
• When your wife asks you if she looks fat in these pants, are you "convicted" to state in all honesty, "You look fat in every pant" instead of saying with love that, "You always look beautiful to me"? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• Do you pick apart grammatical errors in friend's Facebook posts that were otherwise intended to be uplifting? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• Do you avoid interacting with those who have different opinions, politics, morals, backgrounds or social standings than your own? Then, you might be a Pharisee.
• Are you overly-concerned with whether your friends immunize their children, breastfeed, eat gluten, watch ABC Family with their kids, allow secular music in their household or are otherwise getting too involved with their loving (but questionable, in your mind) parenting practices? You may be hipster. But, you might also be a Pharisee.
• Do you compare your tithe, community service and charitable givings with others? You may be missing their secret service in your tally. And, friend, you might be a Pharisee!

I don't pretend to speak all of this from a higher standing. I was a Pharisee at least once this week. My grandmother was telling me over the phone about how alot of people wear jeans and tshirts to her church on Sunday mornings, to which I replied, "Ugh. It's God's house. Show a little effort!"

I was later convicted by the fact that they did show some effort. They showed up! And that I, too, could be such a Pharisee sometimes.


(Feel free to share your Pharisee story in the comments field below. We've all been there and we can conquer this together!)

Favorite Passages: Proverbs 30:7-9

My favorite books of the Bible have always been Proverbs and James.  Mainly because my learning style never required story problems or parables, just cold hard facts and truths.  These two books rise to the top for me for their practicality alone.  I love how they're full of "do this" and "don't do that"s.  It makes figuring out right from wrong a no-brainer and so they are the two books I turn to the most often when biblical joy-reading.

One of my favorite passages is found near the end of Proverbs, right before the famous 31st chapter. 

"Two things I ask of You, do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, that I may not be full and deny You and say, 'Who is the Lord'; or that I not be in want and steal and profane the name of my God." Proverbs 30:7-9 (NASB)

The thirtieth chapter of Proverbs was written by a man named Agur, who describes himself this way in verses 2-3, "Surely I am more stupid than any man... neither have I learned wisdom."

I love how a man with this self-description was entrusted to pen a chapter in the ultimate book of wisdom.  A major running theme throughout God's Word is that you don't have to be a theological genius to understand or obey It.

The simple idea of rejecting lies and the struggles of money and asking God to protect you from outside forces in these areas is the epitome of "simple wisdom."  I bet Agur was a very contented man who led a very joyful life.

I jotted this passage down on a note card over a decade ago when I was in a horrible job situation and taped it to my mirror.  It became a daily prayer of mine for many years.  Quickly after discovering this prayer (with my eyes and heart) I found myself miraculously in a much better workplace, not to mention mindset.  I was feeling like Agur!

Well, I let this passage slide from my forethoughts over the following years.  I rotated different passages on my mirror... sometimes forgetting about them altogether so they became more like decorative touches than inspiration and instruction.  And have rediscovered it now at a time when I find myself, once again, looking for good work.  Only this time in a very bad job market.

In the good ol' days it took 2-3 weeks to find a job when just casually looking.  I'm going on five months now of joblessness and wish I would have had the attitude of Agur earlier on in the process. 

When you're desperate and grasping, you're not often thinking in proportion.  You're not looking for your "portion" of money, but all the money in the world.  You become obsessed with being set for life instead of being set for now because, what if the next job's bottom falls out? What if you only can find temporary work?  What if this all happens again, taking even longer to recover next time?  Desperation hinders wisdom and, more often than naught, common sense even.

Truth be told, I have been given my portion.  For every day of the five months I've been unemployed.  I have yet to ask for loans or charity and my portion mathematically should satisfy me for the coming few months, if need be.  I've been eating steadily, have a roof over my head, a car to get to job interviews in and have been blessed not to have gotten sick or injured while not medically insured.  I've had enough to make ends meet.  How long this will last shouldn't be of concern because, as Christ instructed, "Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)  And today, July 5, 2012 is cared for.

Well, I guess I found the answer to my Publisher's Clearinghouse prayers, since in my original prayers for portion I forgot to mention a heaping one!

Praying Hard

Years ago---in the year 2000, to be exact---I started a website on Yahoo's now defunct Geocities called Pray Hard.  Prayer has always been my main ministry in The Body (I'm shy, I'm feeble and I'm certainly no speaker!)  I had been studying intercession around that time and had one of those godly callings in the middle of the night.  You know?  Those times when you're fast asleep and are suddenly awaken by a fully formed idea that pops into your head uninvited.  One that is too wise to have been formulated on its own and that, other than in the case of divine intervention, has no business being there.

Well, the revelation that caused me to get out of bed and write it down in the middle of the night, lest I forget it by morning, was that we simply don't pray enough for others.  Maybe we pray for a selected band of others; our families, our loved ones, those people with specific requests on those pamphlets they hand out at church... and, of course, ourselves.  But, what if everyone in the world had someone praying for them.  Regularly.  Not just people you know.  Not just people you like. 

Well, being the sometimes overly-organized person I can be, I immediately devised a system.  With I Timothy 2:1-2 as my mission statement: "I exhort therefore, that...intercessions, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." the Pray Hard system was set into motion.

It's a simple system.  But, to really work, it's a system that takes commitment.  I implemented it in my own life and set time aside for it every morning, still, these twelve years later.  Are you ready?

Here's how it works [lifted and abridged from the old website]:

THE IDEA: If every believer would pray for a different 20 people every day, within 28-day cycles, we would each cover 560 people a month in prayer.  If 100 people would commit to doing this, 56,000 lives would be touched.  1,000 people would reach over half-a-million lives!  But, don't worry about the math, I've got that covered.  You say you don't even know 560 people?  Keep reading...

THE BENEFACTORS: This system covers so much more than just your inner circle.  Each day you're to include: Five family members: Don't forget extended family and the in-laws; Five friends: People you converse with on a pretty regular basis; Five aquaintances: People you may not be as close to as your regular confidants. These can be co-workers, neighbors, people you grew up with but have lost contact with, people whose names "ring a bell"... any name that can be placed with a face; One church leader: Your pastors, teachers, mentors, Christian organizations you may be involved with (ie. Church camps, your alma-mater, charities, missionaries) and their administrators; Three public figures: Movie stars, tv personalities, musicians, political figures... go for the gold here. They may just  seem like faces on billboards to you, but they're people too.  And, they're included in the "all  men" that I Timothy mentions. Be sure to use people whose work you admire as well as people you can't stand hearing about.  Add some Christian entertainers to the mix too.  They could certainly use our spiritual support, being all out there, exposed, targeted by the enemy;  One stranger: You may not know their names and that's fine. God knows them personally.  It can be a homeless person you tossed a dime to, a woman you saw crying in the restroom, a friendly store clerk, a person you saw on a talk show that you just took pity on... doesn't matter.  Be creative, be compassionate, be sincere.

THE PROCESS: Realistically, you're going to have to write this stuff down.  Reserve a notebook strictly for your intercessions.  Have a page for each day of the cycle.  (Remember, a cycle consists of 28 days. Four Mondays, four Tuesdays, four Wednesdays... you get it. A month!)  Label the top of each page from "Monday 1", "Tuesday 1"... all the way through "Sunday 4" (ie. Monday of the first week through Sunday of the 4th week.) and fill in the names of the people you're going to be praying for each day.  It is hard to think of 560 people at first, so feel free to recycle names.  You may have a small family and not have five new names for all 28 days of the month, so go ahead and repeat if you need to.  Praying for somebody more than once a month doesn't hurt!  New names will come to you as you get into the groove.

Prayer Book sample page

I use a small spiral notebook for my prayer book that I keep in my nightstand for easy, early morning, access.  You may prefer a Word doc, a spreadsheet, a computerized task list or... is there an app for that?  As long as you jot it down somehow.  You will not remember 560 names on recall.  I don't care if you're Rain Man.  Just, make your life easier and write it down! 

Praying for twenty people a day, you'll find is quite bite-sized.  It can take a mere few minutes, using a simple sentenced prayer for each person, or you can spend as long as you like in time and detail.

I've seen amazing things happen over the course of my twelve years of praying hard.  It doesn't take up much of my day, but it has a great effect on it!  Seeing prayers answered is such a sweet feeling.  It's a particularly new feeling when you begin to see people on your Public Figures lives changed.  Some celebrities on my list have shocked me by going to rehab (when I didn't realize they had a problem), made public confessions (when I didn't know they were hurting) and made professions of faith (when I didn't know they were searching).  Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking the credit.  After all, it wasn't even my idea!  But, when you begin to pray for anyone on a regular basis, you form an unspoken bond with them where you can't help but cheer them on.  Even the ones I made you put on your list that you don't even like!

In the past, people have contacted me through the old webpage to see if they could borrow this system for their Sunday School classes or church prayer groups.  Yes!  This is not intellectual property.  Remember, it wasn't even my idea!  The whole purpose is to get as many people committing to their 560 people as possible.  Use the system if you feel called to.  Share it, tweak it, improve upon it... Then, go forth and pray hard!

(And, if you have a fun or inspiring "answered prayer" story, share it in the comments field below.  Because, everybody loves that kind of stuff!)

The Pride of Worrying

I've never labeled myself as being a prideful person. To me "pride" was always depicted in the egomaniacal braggy braggart types. Pride is sinful. Pride is to be abhorred. Pride leads to ruin (Proverbs 16:18). Pride will get you nowhere (Proverbs 26:12). Pride is a sign of very high self-esteem. So this couldn't be me, since my self-esteem resides somewhere between your shoes and the door mat.

But, it turns out I am prideful. Maybe not in the Webster's Dictionary sense of the word, but in a deceitfully hidden offshoot definition of the term. You see, I'm a worrier.

Worry might seem like the antonym of pridefulness to the naked eye but, if you look a little closer (like all of us worriers tend to do), you'll see exactly what I mean. 

When doing my Bible study yesterday morning, I realized that worry produces the very "Me! Me! Me!" mentality that we often use when describing egomaniacs. "How is this going to effect me?", "I can't do this.", "This is just too much for me to handle." Worry, worry, worry. It may not be boastful in the very least, but it's certainly a preoccupation with self.

I'm a champion worrier from a world-class bloodline of them. People who say they strive on stress are an enigma to me. Stress just gives me the scoots! I've always strove to pursue the simple life depicted in I Thessalonians 4:11, "...make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands..." That's the loveliest of prospects to me. Favor calmness, mind your business and keep busy. But, being the champion worrier that I am, I can even screw up the simple life.

Someone once told me that I handled a certain life-or-death situation that our family once faced so well and that I was so strong during this time. I was flattered, but this comment also left me stunned. Mainly because my memory of the same event had me running to the bathroom to throw up the entire contents of my stomach and then praying as fervently as a new convert on death row, because I didn't know what else to do. What this person witnessed was actually just God's answer to my sloppy prayers. My being numb by fear, producing the image of calm and His granting of that Peace That Passes All Understanding that held me upright and helped my legs to move forward and my spirit not to faint.

The Peace That Passes All Understanding has been God's greatest gift to me during the hardest points in my life. But, I seem to let it slip away during the typical day to day needs. My habit of worrying is the ultimate peace-blocker. I don't know why I choose to overanalyze and worry over the simplest things. And, yes, it's a choice! Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise.

My current worry, of course, is my job search. When the office I worked for closed down in February, it was a very stressful time but also a release into freedom. I had become frustrated in working the same position for eleven years straight and all upward mobility had begun to slide backward. I was granted seventeen weeks of severance and I saw it as a time to unwind, relax, pursue creative endeavors and then eventually pursue a new career path.

Now that I'm down to my last six weeks of mini-retirement, the pressure is on to figure all of this out and quick. I cringe at listings resembling anything to do with my last position, but find those are the only positions that I'm qualified for with the job market in my area being very sparse. The spirit of common sense would remind me that I liked my job and that it wasn't until the wheels of the office closure were set into motion that my job duties started being taken away and reassigned to other offices, leaving me frustrated. And, all of those other industries that seemed so appealing at the time, merely on the fact of being different, now turn out to be much less intriguing upon further research. It's time for big life decisions. And, those are the kind I have no idea how to make.

Instead, I worry that I'll finally get into a new job and end up hating it. I worry that I'll spend a decade at the next place and wind up frustrated again. I worry that my new boss will be mean, that my new coworkers will be gossipy, that I will be sexually harassed, that I won't like the hours, that I won't get good medical coverage, that my breaks won't be at convenient times to accommodate my Hypoglycemia... The list goes on and on and gets more ridiculous as it goes. But, the biggest worry of all is that I can't see the future and that's scary.

The curse of having a colorful imagination is that you will find incredible ways to misuse it. I haven't once overthought the possibility of being overpaid, meeting nice people, having flexibility in new roles, learning something not only new, but interesting. Why is it that those thoughts don't come as easily? I'd like to blame the hardwiring, but knowing that The One who wired me does not want any of us to think that way, I have to take the credit. Or blame. Me. Me. Me. Me!

So moving forward I'd like to welcome Peace into my life, all day, every day. Not just during the hard times or when I realize that I need it. I'd like to start to using my imagination for good and not evil. I'd like to pray more sloppy and emotionally, like I do in hard times, because it's at least sincere. And, I'm going to try to learn to choose not to worry. It will be a hard habit to break... but, my tummy will thank me.