Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
The Epistle of James
May 1: Study intro
May 8: James 1:1 Intro to the Epistle of James
May 15: James 1:2 – 18 Make Quality Decisions
In C.S. Lewis’s book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the characters encounter a dilemma in which they must decide whether, having sailed to the easternmost island in their world, they will turn the ship around and head for home or continue on to the unknown utter east in order to leave at least one of their company at that point, then return to the island to break an enchantment over four former lords of Narnia. They have been a long time at sea, and most of the crew initially grumbles at the thought of journeying still farther before turning for home. Reepicheep the Talking Mouse, who has often quoted a prophecy that he should see the utter east and whose penchant for honor and adventure knows no bounds, is uncharacteristically silent during the debate. Finally, Lucy asks Reepicheep if he will not speak.
“No. Why should your Majesty expect it?” answered Reepicheep in a voice that most people heard. “My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan’s country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mice in Narnia.”
Reepicheep understood the implications of making a quality decision.
Definition of a quality decision: a decision that changes some aspect of one’s life and is only made once. It is setting one’s face toward a goal and not giving up, even if the goal is not reached.
Now, this doesn’t mean there won’t be difficulties or that temptations to quit won’t present themselves. Actually, a decision that is not challenged in some way is really not a necessary decision at all. A quality decision is the thing that must be walked out when everything in you and around you appears to agree that you should quit. In the course of walking out a quality decision, you may:
-- slip and fall
-- get knocked backwards
-- get disgusted and sit down and throw a fit about how hard and how unfair the road is... nobody told you it would be like that!
-- even wander slightly off the path.
BUT, you NEVER give up, turn around and go back to where you came from. Eventually, you shake it off, get up, correct your course, and keep going...always heading toward the goal, even if you never quite make it.
James properly places early in his letter an exhortation to make a quality decision to trust God, no matter what happens. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. (James 1: 6-8)
James is describing the kind of people Jesus talked about in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13): those that hear the word and get excited about it but don’t let it change their lives, so they fall away from believing when trials come (the ‘rocky soil’ folks). There are three aspects of this decision to trust God no matter what that James looks at in particular.
1. Decide to rejoice when tested-- James 1:2-4
Everyone has troubles. James instructs us to be joyful in our troubles because we know that, by enduring them with the right attitude, we will grow and mature in the faith. He gives us a progression:
Testing -- Produces --> Endurance –-Produces-- > Maturity
From this progression, you can see that Maturity does not come until one has learned Endurance...and Endurance cannot be learned unless there is something to endure – a Test. We tend to think that if God really loved us, we would not have to suffer anything. But, the truth is God does not want to leave us as babies but for all of us to come into the maturity of Christ. That can’t happen without tests (otherwise known as trouble). So, James says, rejoice in your trouble: it’s your opportunity to grow.
2. Decide to believe God will give you what you need – James 1:5-8
The first thing we need to develop under trials is wisdom. But, it's not a thing we struggle to develop; God will give that when we ask Him. But, no matter what you ask God for, if you don’t really believe He will give it to you, He can’t give it to you. Hence the necessary quality decision to trust God no matter what. We must have Wisdom in order to make decisions in life, but if you don’t really believe God will give you wisdom you’ll be stuck in perpetual indecision.
My oldest daughter was in the local drama magnet program when she was in high school, and her sophomore year the students were asked to make a video for the Army Corps of Engineers regarding unexploded ordnance in former military installations that were being converted to civilian recreational use (BTW, this video is still being shown around the country, so far as I know, to those who are going to be spending time on former military facilities). The location where the video was filmed covered pastures and wooded hillsides and involved shots of people doing what folks do on recreational property...hunting, camping, hiking, picnicking, etc. In one scene, a number of the teens were playing Frisbee in a mowed meadow, running through above-ankle grass and stubble. After the scene was filmed, one of the kids discovered he’d lost his dad’s car keys somewhere in the field. He reported it to the producers/directors, and they picked about half a dozen people for the next scene, to be filmed in the woods, and instructed the rest of us to look for his car keys. Oh, and we were to be quiet while we were doing it since they were, of course, filming just over the hill. The kids spread out, helter-skelter across the field, resisting any efforts for a systematic search. The grass from the last mowing was still lying over the stubble and new growth; I didn’t think we had any chance at all of finding one set of keys in the field. Nonetheless, I began walking in a straight line, eyes on the ground, praying as I went that we would find them. Straight line...straight line.... When I’d gone about 40 yards, I suddenly, for no real reason, turned to my right, took about three steps and was looking at the keys lying right at my feet. Now, I basically had to trust that God would guide us (I didn’t expect to be the one to find them, but I knew no one would without His help). If my conscious mind had tried to logically find the keys, I would’ve constantly been trying to remember where he’d gone and where the keys were likely to be, changing directions and definitely not going straight to them. I felt like I’d just seen a miracle, but the rest were just happy the keys were found. Now, I didn’t feel any kind of goose bumps or hear any whispered instructions, I was just trusting that God would guide us to the keys and sort of let my feet go where they wanted. No common sense to it – but the keys were found. I really think that that’s how God works most of the time; it’s not an obvious voice speaking, but just that gut inclination to go a certain way. Once you ask God for wisdom, you’ve got to believe He’s given it to you, even if it doesn’t come with carpet time and visions.
We need Wisdom to know differences between Trials (difficulty or waiting that must be endured), Temptation (opportunity to sin – see below), and Consequences (natural results of actions taken/not taken)
3. Decide to trust God, not wealth – James 1:9-11
This is hard for Americans because we are so materially blessed; we put our security in what we can see and touch and hold and count; but the truth is that what we can see and touch and hold and count is all temporary stuff and is less real than God who upholds us when we don’t see him or touch him. When God humbles the rich, all he does is shake down the fragile riches to reveal what was solid all along – God’s love for the individual.
4. Decide to recognize the difference between temptation and God’s testing – James 1:12 – 18
God will bless you if you don’t give up! Quality decision! But – when temptation comes, don’t blame God. James shows us another progression:
Lust—conceives and births --> Sin – matures into --> Death
I heard this definition years ago in a message from a Promise Keepers stadium event, but I can't remember who the speaker was. But it's good.
Temptation: The opportunity to achieve a legitimate goal through illegitimate means (usually a ‘shortcut’). Original Greek (epithumias) implies conception of a living creature (Note: Here, ‘desire’ actually is lust – consuming, obsessive desire, not a honest desire for blessings of life. This is a reference to the ‘Desires of the flesh’ – see Gal. 5:16, not the ‘desires of the heart’ – see Ps. 37:4)
Consuming desire mated with opportunity to fulfill that desire in an illegitimate fashion results in sin; which always leads to death.
A quality decision will deal with desire and refuse to answer the door when the opportunity to take a shortcut to fulfill that desire knocks.
Things to think about: In what areas of my life am I feeding the desires of the flesh instead of the desires of the spirit? How am I trying to second-guess the wisdom that God is freely given me so that I can feed the flesh instead of the spirit? How would making a quality decision to pursue Him...regardless...impact my daily living?
Ouch. I said I needed to revisit this book...
No comments:
Post a Comment