Monthly Archives: May 2023

“Humility Keepers”

On May 29, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

 Stewart Rhodes, the founder of Oath Keepers, was sentenced to eighteen years in prison for his role in planning the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. capitol. When he was allowed to speak at his sentencing, he compared himself to Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a political prisoner for many years because of his opposition to Joseph Stalin. Rhodes claimed that he would be “an American Solzhenitsyn.”

I haven’t read a lot of Solzhenitsyn and have to look up his name every time to get the spelling correct. His books are as vast and sprawling as the Soviet Union itself was back in the day. However, I do remember one thing that he said:

“The line between good and evil runs not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart.”

If the line between good and evil runs through every human heart, then we all need to stop thinking that all our problems are “out there” and that they are caused by someone else. It isn’t the Republicans or the Democrats, Biden or Trump, who are causing my problems or ours. It is me, and it is the “us” that includes “me”.

One of the most profound human and political truths ever written was penned by the creator of a cartoon strip, “Pogo” for Earth Day in 1970: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

This is of course a play on a famous saying from The War of 1812. The United States Navy defeated the British Navy in the Battle of Lake Erie. Master Commandant Oliver Perry wrote to Major General William Henry Harrison, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.” However, in the form of a funny play on words is a truth as deadly as an assault rifle and as life-giving as the air we breathe: We are often our own worst enemies. Sometimes, we are our only enemies.

So, what is humility? It is recognizing the truth, as my brother used to say, “Ahh, I ain’t such a much.” None of us is such a much.

And yet, humility is very short supply these days in our county. I’m not sure that we even regard it as a virtue these days. Humility is so rare that it would be difficult to even recognize it. Humility is the persistent awareness that the line between good and evil is within each of us.

Here is the problem as I see it: It is so much easier to dwell on the evil in _________________. (Fill in the blank with your favorite, least-favorite person/group/ institution.) However, it is so much easier to call out the evils in others or in society than it is to face the evil within me. It’s more fun, too!

In the interest of full disclosure, I have my own least-favorites list, and it is a long one. I’m working on crossing off people, institutions, and events on that list, but it’s hard work. Nevertheless, I truly believe that there are only two kinds of people in the world—those who divide the world into two kinds of people and those who don’t.

See? I told you this is hard.

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“Don’t Aim for the Stars!”

On May 27, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“We all stumble in many ways.” (James 3:2a, New International Version)

A friend of mine was confessing to me that he tends to beat himself up for the smallest of infractions. These infractions may require a powerful microscope to even see. They may in fact be imaginary. Still, the beatings continue. My reply to him was, to a great extent, me talking to myself.

“I have many of the same tendencies that you do. When I screw up—even a little and even when it may all be just in my head—I tend to go off on myself and off the good path. My perfectionism tends to make me much less perfect. An acquaintance told me decades ago that I ought to get off my own back. He was right back then. He still is.

I’ve heard it said, “Aim for the stars and you might hit the moon.” I think that a more realistic and helpful (though rather negative) saying might be, “Aim for the stars and you might hit rock bottom.” Perhaps it would be even more accurate to say, “Aim for the stars and you will hit rock bottom.” We were not made to aim for the stars in our lives. We were made to aim at and to walk on the earth in a humble and loving way. That is where our focus needs to be. That is where we need to be.”

Aspirations are all very well and good, except when they are not. Sometimes we just need to get off our own backs. Getting on our own backs takes way too much energy and flexibility anyway. And staying on our own backs just makes us swaybacked.

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“Earned, Not Given”

On May 26, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Earned, Not Given” (Seen on a lady’s t-shirt while I was out for a run.)

“For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” 1 Corinthians 4:7, English Standard Version)

Are good things earned or given? I can answer that question with absolute certainty. The answer is YES! And also, the answer is NO! My basic approach is, when you have an either/or question the answer is probably Sic et Non, yes and no. (Sincere apologies to the memory of Peter Abelard. Who is Peter Abelard, you ask? Well, that is a secret that you’ll need to figure out on your own time.)

Paul wrote at least three letters to a church that was a little too sure that they had it all together. Spoiler alert: They didn’t. He reminds these Jesus people in Corinth who had been given a lot of wonderful gifts that being wonderfully gifted means that you didn’t earn what you’ve got. A gift is a gift is a gift.

Now, it is true enough that earning and giftedness are not implacable enemies. One way to look at it is to say that we are given life, but we also need to live our life in a lively and healthy manner. If we don’t, it isn’t much of a gift or much of a life. I have a friend who is an excellent tennis player. He is gifted. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t need to keep himself in shape and practice.

If we don’t remember that all of life is a gift, we will become full of ourselves. And anyone who is full of him/herself is very empty indeed. On the other hand, anyone who doesn’t remember that gifts require hard, sustained work in order to develop and use his/her gifts is equally empty.

So, perhaps the shirt should have read: “Given and earned”.

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“Out of Focus”

On May 25, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“John 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,

John 5:40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” (English Standard Version)

In this story from the Gospel according to John, Jesus is immersed in a controversy with some religious leaders who thought (and said) that Jesus was in the wrong because he had healed a lame man and then had told the formerly lame man to get up, pick up his sleeping mat, and walk. The healing wasn’t the problem, although at other times, Jesus was indeed accused of working on the Sabbath because Jesus healed people on the Sabbath. However, the problem in this story was that the man was carrying his mat on the Sabbath. That was work, and the Jewish leaders knew that the Torah forbade any and all work on the Sabbath.

The man who had been healed had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. For thirty-eight years his mat had been holding him. Now, he was holding it and walking. Was that work for this man? I have my doubts. I have a hunch that the former cripple was holding his mat close to his chest and dancing around with it. This reminder of what he used to be was now a beloved dance partner.

Now, allow me to come in with a word of commendation for Jesus’ opponents.

“Don’t you mean condemnation?”

No, I mean commendation. The Old Testament Law did indeed forbid any and all work on the Sabbath. This was absolutely clear to the Jewish teachers of the Law. They were trying to love God by keeping God’s Law quite strictly, and that can be a very good thing.

Here was the problem: The Old Testament does not spell out precisely what work is. So, the religious leaders helped God out by defining what work is. They wanted to be obedient to God and to love God in every corner of their lives, but they got out of focus. They began to put their interpretations of God’s Word above God’s Word itself.

But it may be even worse than that. If, as some of us believe, Jesus was God in the flesh, then the religious authorities were seriously out of focus. The One who had authored the Old Testament through humans and human words was standing in front of them as a human, but all they could see was a Sabbath-breaker.

However, before we get all high and mighty about these Jewish religious rule-makers, we had better take a long, hard look at ourselves. We all have interpretations of everything. We all sometimes elevate our interpretations to the level of Absolute Truth. Democrats do it, and so do Republicans. (Independents, too.) Men do it and also women. Atheists do it. Christians do it a lot. Getting out of focus is an incredibly human thing to do.

Getting out of focus is also an incredibly dangerous thing to do. When we can’t see things clearly, we are likely to stumble and fall. When we get out of focus, we can’t see God, other people, the world, or ourselves clearly. When we are certain that our interpretations and our rules should rule the world, we come unraveled and so does our world. Before too long, we can’t even walk. We become the invalid. Even worse, we become dead folks in need of life. Our rules are killing us and we don’t even know it.

So, just for today, I am challenging myself not to live by rules, but to live graciously and lovingly. Today, I will choose to refrain from judging and critiquing. Instead, I will choose to dance around with my mat. Who knows? I may discover that my real dance partner is God.

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“Of Irritability and Pearl Production”

On May 24, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

A friend of mine today wrote that he felt “. . . restless, irritable, and discontent, which is just as bad because I know where it leads . . . .”

I responded to him that it is wise to be concerned about feelings that can (and often do) lead us down a destructive path. However, no, I do not think that these feelings are “just as bad” as what those feelings might lead to. Thinking that feelings of restlessness, irritability, and discontent are just as bad as the actions that they can lead to has several problems.

1. When I take this approach, I frequently say to myself, “Oh, what the heck! Since these feelings are just as bad as actually doing things, I might as well just give into those feelings and act on them!” And actions that are based on such feelings rarely make things (or me or other people) better.

2. Everybody that I have ever known very well admits to these kinds of uncomfortable feelings. However, many of them did not act on their crazy or uncomfortable feelings. It seemed to me that, despite those feelings, they were about as well-adjusted as any members of our species ever are. Why? Because they did not act on these feelings. Feelings and actions are not the same thing.

3. I think that approaching such feelings as restlessness, irritability, and discontent with a “they-are-just-as-bad-as-acting-on-those-feelings” attitude can sometimes prevent us from considering and changing some things about ourselves that deserve consideration and need changing. Feelings of all kinds are friends who deserve our attention. If I ask myself why I am feeling irritable and what healthy things I can do to deal with it, that feeling of irritability can lead to positive change and growth, rather than to acting out and misery.

I also reminded my friend that pearls come from irritation. Apparently, oysters only secrete the substance that becomes a pearl when they ingest a stone or peace of sand that is irritating them. They create beauty to shield them from the irritant. Oysters know how to make good use of irritations. Perhaps you and I might learn something from the oysters.

And then, I concluded my email reply by saying, “I hope that my words have not irritated you. . . . Oh, on second thought . . . !”

I have had several irritations today. I hope I’m slowly making a pearl. I’ve also helped several people (especially my wife) with their pearl production. I don’t try to be a pearl-maker, but sometimes I may inadvertently help a little.

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“Living as Light Exposes the Darkness”

On May 1, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Whatever is shameful to do you must not consider it honorable even to mention.” (Isocrates §15b)

“Eph. 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” (English Standard Version)

One of the greatest wrongs we can commit is take anything or anyone out of context. Since I believe that the Bible is God’s written Word, I think that taking the Scriptures out of context is an especially serious matter.

I sometimes hear Ephesians 5:11 quoted in order to justify Christians speaking out concerning the evils we perceive in our own society or in the societies of other nations and people groups. If we only had this verse all by itself, that might be a good understanding of it. But this verse is not alone, and the other verses that surround it suggest that using this verse to justify speaking harshly to or about other groups is nearly the opposite of what this verse means. (Of course, we are never speaking harshly, are we? No, we are “just speaking the truth in love.” But then again, it might be wise to ask ourselves if that is what we are really doing.)


We exercise our “righteous” responsibility to call out evil in others toward all kinds of people: those who believe abortion is/is not a choice, those who believe that ownership of guns is an absolute right/those who don’t, and Republicans/Democrats, to name a few.

While it may indeed be important to speak up concerning evil, that is not the thrust of Ephesians 5:11. How do I know this? Context! I had a professor at Hebrew Union College many years, Dr. Isaac Jerusalmi, who used to say quite often “Context is everything!” Sometimes, he would just say or write on the board, “C.I.E.”

What is context? It can be looked at in many ways, but in this post, I am just looking at the literary context. In other words, I am examining the words surrounding Ephesians 5:11. Here are the verses that surround verse 11. I have italicized the words that I believe call into question the aforementioned interpretation of verse 11.

“Eph. 5:1 ¶ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

Eph. 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Eph. 5:3 ¶ But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Eph. 5:4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Eph. 5:5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Eph. 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Eph. 5:7 Therefore do not become partners with them;

Eph. 5:8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

Eph. 5:9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true),

Eph. 5:10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

Eph. 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Eph. 5:12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

Eph. 5:13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,

Eph. 5:14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

             “Awake, O sleeper,

                        and arise from the dead,

             and Christ will shine on you.”

Eph. 5:15 ¶ Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

Eph. 5:16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

Did you notice that verse 11 is followed by verse 12? I don’t mean to insult your intelligence. It is an important question. Why? It is important because verse 12 says that it is a shame for us even to speak of the evil things that others do. So, to use verse 11 to justify us “calling out” evil in others is almost the opposite of what verse 11 actually means.

“Well,” you may ask, “if we aren’t supposed to speak about the evils in our society, how on earth can we expose them?” That is a good question, and the answer is given in the context. We are to be the light and walk in the light because light is what exposes what is dark and evil. Living a light-filled life in our thoughts, words, deeds, and our very being is the best way to expose darkness.

Now, there are indeed biblical verses and stories that suggest that there is a time to speak up and speak out about the evil around us. “Proverbs 31:8-9 comes to mind:

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (NIV)

And speaking up for ourselves is also important at times. However, simply fulminating about things in our society—as many Christians of all stripes are prone to do these days—is itself simply another form of evil. If we want to counter the darkness of evil, we need to be the light, as Jesus himself is The light.

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