essays 258-264

1. #264 Go for the Gold
2. #263 What Evidence would you Accept?
3. #262 Vanity Sizing
4. #261 Non-Conformists
5. #260 Beauty For Holiness?
6. #259 The Last Laugh
7. #258 Are You Wearing Sunglasses?

#264 Go for the Gold

We hear a lot about gold and silver medals, now that the Sydney Olympics are in full swing. We watch athletes who have trained for years, hoping for a chance to "go for the gold". Of course, it is not the gold itself that is highly valued (the medals are not solid gold; they once were; at another time, they had no gold in them at all; now they do contain a small percentage) rather, it is the prestige of the medal.

I read in my Bible Dictionary about gold. Pliny the Elder (killed by an eruption of Vesuvius in AD 77) mentioned gold as the only element unharmed by fire. He said that each time gold went through a fire it came out better or more refined than before. (Job could relate to that—see Job 23:10) Gold is enduring; it never rusts or dissolves away. It never loses its beauty. It can be melted without harm, hammered into very thin sheets. It is not very hard, but it is easily alloyed with other metals to improve its hardness, while still retaining its beauty. (Gold never faileth?)

You have heard the expression "he has a heart of gold." That saying is on the right track. God doesn’t want us to merely have a chain of gold around our neck (Like Belshazzar gave to Daniel; see Daniel 5:29) He wants us to be like gold. Refined like silver and tested as gold, as it says in Zechariah 13:9. Do we really want to be tested and refined, even if the end result is gold? David prayed this in Psalm 26:2. I admit that I have never prayed to be tested and refined. I am afraid that I can’t take the heat. With an attitude like that, I’ll never be gold or even silver. I’ll never be able to see past the trial, past the worry, past the hurt. God sees the gold in us and wants to bring it out. But too often, our eyes are not on the prize, but on the present discomfort. We want the medal without the training. I like the way Quinton J. Everest put trials and affliction into perspective:

Ah, and what a miserable weakling I often am. There is an interesting verse in Proverbs—chapter 27:21 about a trial of praise. The Amplified version renders it this way:

Do I want to be judged by what I highly praise? What do I highly praise and prize? Men’s praises? Earthly comforts? Money? Scarab beetles? (Just checking if you are still awake.) Are my priorities lined up with God’s? Are the treasures I am storing up in heaven real spiritual gold or just fool’s gold? Gold medals on earth cannot compare with heavenly crowns. But we can’t see those heavenly crowns, not yet. It is so much easier to prize the things which are seen, and disdain the things which are not seen. (II Corinthians 4:18) But it is those unseen things that have eternal glory and honor. So keep your body under subjection, run the race, and go--for the eternal gold.

(If you don’t have any gold, Jesus says that we can buy it from him—good, fire-tested gold. If we think we are rich and self-sufficient, we are not. But if we have His gold, we are wealthy indeed. See Revelation 3:18)

Lori Fiechter
September 26, 2000

#263 What Evidence would you Accept?

I got a letter in the mail this past week from someone who took umbrage at a letter I wrote to the editor, in which I poked fun of the term "Bible Thumper." I dislike this term-- often used as a synonym for a person who takes the Bible and Christianity seriously. The letter writer was cordial and sincere; I think perhaps his sense of humor was somewhat lacking, but that is my own prejudice.

I responded by apologizing for my feeble attempt at humor and by suggesting some alternate terms for "Bible Thumper". I heard from him again. He apologized for the tone in his first letter and reiterated that we are each entitled to our own opinions—but that children do not have that choice, as they so indoctrinated by their parents that most end up not being able to think for themselves. He quoted the "Bible" passage, "as the twig is bent, so grows the tree." He doesn’t know his Bible well. I am familiar with "in the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be" in Ecclesiates 11, but that bent twig quote is from Alexander Pope:

"Tis Education forms the common mind, Just as the twig is bent, the tree’s inclined." But he made his point; I will be sure to indoctrinate my sons in the common faith (not out of superstition and fear, as he accused) more than ever now. And I will hope and pray that "Children’s Rights" will never become law in this country. But I digress.

The letter I received also disparaged the Bible as having questionable relevance for today’s society. The Bible’s wisdom was considered no better than the wisdom contained in Aesop’s Fables, Poor Richard’s Almanac, or the writings of ancient Greek philosophers. He used the tired, old "Christians believe so they don’t have to think" argument. He talked about all the "contradictions" in the Bible, especially regarding "thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal."

I sensed a hopelessness in his letter, "God doesn’t really give any clear cut answers to any of our questions, so in that respect, yes, he is changeless." He gave the "if there is a God, why doesn’t he step in and do something?" argument. In his opinion, deities live solely in the imaginations of their followers. He closed with a pathetic call for humanistic ideals, the honorable-sounding "every person should be honest and just and considerate of others"—if we could live by that, we don’t need religion. Perhaps we don’t need religion. But we certainly need God. Without God, we are without hope in this world—or the next (see Ephesians 2:12 and I Thess. 4:13)

I was encouraged and reassured this morning when I read a daily devotion entitled "Let God be true."(Romans 3:3,4) Henry Morris wrote: " Many Christians are so intimidated by the arrogant unbelief of the supposed intellectuals of the world that they either reject or compromise or ignore the difficult teachings of Scripture. God’s truth is not determined, however, by taking a vote, or by the opinions of skeptics, or by metaphysical speculation. It is determined by God Himself, and none other. Therefore, as our text commands, let God be true, but every man a liar." It is good to explain God’s word to those open to its truth, but never to explain it away…"

I wonder what evidence such skeptics would accept for the existence of a Creator God? If I said, "OK, you don’t believe in a transcendent Creator; what evidence would it take to change your mind?" Would they dare admit than any such evidence could be considered? That made me ponder what evidence I would accept that no God exists. I know what evidence it would take for me to believe in the theory of Evolution. If I saw transitional animals—scales turning gradually into feathers, fins into legs; if puppies gave birth to cats and chickens hatched eagles; if gravity sometimes made things fall up and winter followed spring. In other words, if the laws of nature and science were random and unpredictable. That part was easy.

But at first, I couldn’t think of anything that could ever make me doubt the existence of God. I wondered if my belief was indeed blind. But then I came up with "If evil eventually wins, I would not believe in God." If the devil ends up controlling heaven itself, then I would know that God was not all-powerful. But I’ve read the book of Revelation, and I know how this age will end. God is in control. The gentleman who wrote to me complained of a God who would not step in and make things right on this earth. Oh, but He will. Oh, but He will. Are you ready?

Lori Fiechter
August 29, 2000

#262 Vanity Sizing

I ran across this term "vanity sizing" in my newest issue of Threads magazine. The term was new to me, although I am familiar with the practice. I realized several years ago that a size 8 is not what it used to be. I’ve been a size 8 all my adult life, even though I’ve gained 10 pounds or so. However, the reason this came up in a sewing magazine is that the major sewing pattern manufacturers have not yielded to vanity sizing. They are still using the same basic measurements of a young war bride from the 1940’s as their sloper. That is why someone who is not used to pattern sizes is in for a bit of a shock. A size 8 dress size may be a 12 or even a 14 in patterns. Not so with retail stores. As the magazine article commented, "With the prevalence of vanity sizing, the day may come when our daughters tell us that they wear size ‘minus 6’"

Women’s sizes just tend to keep growing along with us. I wonder if this is a baby boomer phenomenon? We associate size 14’s with frumpiness, so we are happy and not even surprised that we can still fit into a size 8 (although that size 8 wedding dress seems to have shrunk.) Men don’t have this problem. Men’s sizes are so simple and straightforward. There is no deception in trouser sizes. You know when you’ve moved from a 32 waist to a 38; there is no denying it. And that inseam is the same as always. If your neck goes from a 16 to an 18, it is no big deal. I suppose that direct concept wouldn’t work for women (it is embarrassing enough in undergarments). We don’t want to look in the size 48 hip rack. Can you imagine tape measurements in every dressing room so we could find our true size? Women would stop buying clothes. That is something the clothing companies cannot risk. Ah, vanity, thy name is woman. If only we could get those bathroom scales to lie to us as well.

My point? Sometimes we enlightened modern citizens of this world use the same philosophy with morality standards as women’s clothiers use for sizing. We just keep changing the yardstick. We want to measure ourselves against something comfortable, so that we can say, "I’m not so bad." But God’s standards are more like men’s clothing. They are definable, not nebulous; static, not changing. The Ten Commandments were not typed out on some floppy disk that could be revised with each passing generation; they were engraved in stone. And, as the Bible states in Hebrews 8:10, we now have God’s laws written in our hearts (see also II Corinthians 3:3)

We who believe in God’s immutable standards are fast becoming a minority. I can’t open the letters to the editor in our newspaper anymore without reading someone denouncing "Bible Thumpers" who try to foist their beliefs on others. As one writer stated in today’s paper, "How can you condemn anyone for thinking differently from you?" We are forbidden to call a spade a spade because apparently the rules have changed. Somewhere along the line, sin stopped being sin.

But God does not change, neither do His standards. (See Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8)It is always the safest course of action to measure yourself against His word, instead of comparing yourself with your neighbor (see II Corinthians 10:12). I may be a size 8 in my own eyes, but deep down, I am really a 12. At least a 12. Ouch, that hurts. Truth has a way of stinging.

Lori Fiechter
July 17, 2000

The Dodge automobile company had a catchy ad a while back. There were several rows of dull brown Idaho potatoes, but in one row, the potato was replaced by a bright red jalapeno pepper. An alternate ad had rows of crows with one scarlet Macaw. The caption read:
"Dodge. Different." This ad works in America; I wonder how popular it would be in a more homogeneous society, such as Japan?

I’ve been home-schooling our sons for seven years now, so I know a bit about nonconformity. I never ask people who send their children to public schools, "So, how long do you plan to keep sending your kids to public school?" But I get asked that same question about home schooling all the time. I guess I’ve always been a bit different, not quite fitting in. I also think that many people feel threatened by non-conformists. I’m not sure why. I suppose it is because we are just innately suspicious of people who don’t fit into our preconceived molds.

Peer pressure is not limited to children. Even as adults, we can spend a lot of time doing things just to fit in. My clothes have to be in style; my car has to be the latest model and color; my kids have to be popular and kept busy with the most fashionable activities. Even my yard has to look as nice as (or better than) my neighbors. If they use premium organic mulch around their house, I can’t use the cheap stuff; and I certainly can’t let any real dirt show through.

But the majority of our great thinkers, inventors and explorers have been non-conformists to some degree. The same is true of many people whom God has used greatly. Some of the most effective missionaries did not fit the typical missionary mold. I could name dozens, but here are a few names you might recognize: Gladys Alyward, Mary Slessor, Hudson Taylor, Menno Simons. And some of the great preachers—including Charles Spurgeon himself—were considered such non-conformists when they first started out that harsh criticism was heaped on them. We don’t like our religious leaders to be too different, either.

What does the Bible have to say about conformity? It is pretty clear that we are not to be conformed to the ideas of this world. We are supposed to be different, set apart--holy, even "peculiar" in the Biblical sense. (We eccentrics like I Peter 2:9) We are the "ecclesia", the called-out ones. We are to be non-conformists when it comes to the ideas of this world. Just because the world places a high value on money and looks, athletic ability and power, we have to remember that we are not of this world!

But we are not to be total non-conformists. Just as Romans 12:2 talks about not being conformed to this world, Romans 8:28 talks about being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. And Philippians 3:10 goes one step farther and says we are to be made conformable to His death. More like Jesus. Less like the world. Different is good, if different is like Jesus.

Lori Fiechter
July 17, 2000

There was an interesting poll in last week’s "Ask Marilyn" column. Marilyn vos Savant is listed in the Guinness book of world records for highest IQ, in case you aren’t familiar with her. Maybe the poll results were skewed because her readers tend to be biased toward things intellectual. Or maybe brains are just popular now.

There were two questions. The first asked if you would be willing to sacrifice some of your intelligence to look better. The second asked if you would want your mate to make that sacrifice. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of intelligence over looks. Only 6% of men and 5% of women answered "yes" on the first question. Only 5% of men and 2% of women answered "yes" on the second.

I particularly liked one letter written by a lady from California. Not only would she not sacrifice intelligence for better looks, she said she’d "gladly become uglier to increase my intelligence—maybe just to the point of scaring small children". Now there is someone who is not hung up on her looks. It makes you wonder how much time she spends in front of the bathroom mirror each morning. She sounds like my kind of woman!

I couldn’t get that poll out of my mind. A little thought kept nagging me: "Is intelligence the most precious commodity on earth?" It is nice that many people seem to realize how shallow the emphasis on outward beauty is but how about inward beauty? Is the brainy smart aleck more esteemed than the kind, gentle woman who never excelled in school (or sports, either)? Would we be willing to sacrifice looks, not for intelligence, but for holiness? What would we be willing to give up to become more Christ-like? When I think of that woman’s reply about gladly becoming uglier, I thought of Paul’s words in Philippians 3: 3-10.

Here are some of the highlights: "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ…I have suffered the loss of all things and do count them but dung that I may win Christ…that I may know Him."

Paul was willing to give up everything to know Christ, to be found righteous in Him, to be conformed to His death. That is sacrifice. What kind of sacrifice are we willing to make to know and serve God? Our whole bodies, not only our looks, but our own will? (See Romans 12). That is the toughest thing to give up; not our looks, not our intelligence, but our own self-will. And that is what we must give up to follow Christ. That is perhaps what it means to take up our cross daily; to put down our own self-will and pick up God’s will. Am I really willing to do that? Are you?

Lori Fiechter
July 14, 2000