essays 265-270

1. #270 Go Ahead, Take it Personally
2. # 269 Use me, Lord
3. #268 Across the County Line
4. #267 In Favor of Tomorrow
5. #266 No Turning Back
6. #265 There was a Crooked Man

"He that hath an ear, let him hear." (See how many times you can count this phrase in the first three chapters of Revelation.)

Lori Fiechter
November 9, 2000

#267 In Favor of Tomorrow

I wonder what percentage of Americans are procrastinators? I would guess more than 50%. But even the most dedicated procrastinators among us tend not to put off the pleasant or the easy. We don’t put off eating when we are hungry or spending money when we see something we simply must have. Procrastinating is reserved for things like scheduling an appointment for a mammogram/prostate exam or writing thank-you notes for the thirteen singing bird clocks you received as wedding gifts. Some of us are adept at putting off apologies, or rewording them in a way in which they don’t seem like apologies at all. And why is it so much easier to criticize our spouse or children today and to leave the praise for another time—when they actually deserve it? And as far as considering our eternal destination, that is much too morbid to think about today. Tomorrow would be much better. Never say "never" when "later" will do just as well.

I looked up the word "procrastinate" in the dictionary. It comes from the Latin prefix "pro", meaning "for; in favor of" and the root "cras", which means "tomorrow". So if you are a procrastinator, you are pro-tomorrow; that is, you are in favor of waiting until tomorrow. (Let’s not hear any cheering at this point from those of you in the "eat, drink, and be merry" crowd. I’m not finished yet.) Perhaps there are a few things that will go away on their own, given a little time (warning—this never seems to work with unwelcome houseguests) I’m referring to the sort of thing that can be cured with aspirin, chicken broth, and several hours of sleep.

Weeds are in a different category. If you’ve ever been tricked by those gorgeous seed catalogs that come in the mail right when you are feeling vulnerable (late January for those of us in the Midwest), you know something about weeds. You know that weeds—unlike normal plants which need $75 worth of fertilizer just to appear to be alive—will grow overnight from tiny sprouts to Jack-in-the-beanstalk-sized megaplants. That is why weeding must not be put off until tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain and only make the problem worse. Don’t be fooled if the weed looks fragile—and even pretty with a delicate blossom or two (remember—flowers lead to seeds and seeds to more weeds) Yank it out now. Now! Don’t be timid. If you want to know what kinds of weeds I’m talking about, here are some examples from the short list: nasty thoughts about your spouse or boss, "get-even" feelings, "nobody appreciates me" whinings, pride, greed, lust, and so on. Just look at the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 and turn them inside out and backwards. You get the idea. You might think your neighbor’s garden is a good deal weedier than your own; forget about your neighbor’s garden. It is your own garden that will be judged.

If you are looking for something worthwhile to procrastinate, put off speaking that angry word or cutting insult. Put off speaking before your brain is properly warmed up. I have that tendency to keep revving up cold engines. I spout off too quickly and too often. Sometimes I even spout acid instead of plain water. I forget James’ admonition to be "swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath". If you have the urge to say something incredibly witty, but caustic, by all means, procrastinate. On the other hand, Proverbs 15:23 states: "a word spoken in due season, how good it is". Don’t wait until tomorrow to encourage someone, or perhaps to warn someone of imminent danger. There is indeed a time to speak, as well as a time to keep silent.

I know people who put things off until the last minute because they "work better under pressure". There is nothing quite like living on adrenaline, is there? I wouldn’t want to make a habit of it, though. There may come a day when that last minute arrives sooner than you expected, especially that very last minute of all. If you are waiting for a better day to seek God, there is no day better than today, no moment better than right now to dedicate—or rededicate yourself to His service. If you are waiting to clean up your act on your own before you ask God’s help, you could be waiting eternally. Don’t wait or procrastinate. Just do it. Now.

Lori Fiechter
November 7, 2000

#266 No Turning Back

I was reading last night in chapter 10 of the book of Hebrews. The last two verses caught my eye:
"…but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul."

I remembered a little song—it sounds like it could be an old spiritual—titled "I have decided to follow Jesus". The lyrics are simple, but powerful:

There is a conscious commitment and choice in those words "I have decided". What we sometimes forget is that we all need to make that choice—that decision to follow Jesus—a daily one. When we wake up, we need to tell ourselves "I have decided to follow Jesus—no turning back!" When we face a temptation to stray from the narrow road, we need to recite "the world behind me, the cross before me—no turning back!" When we feel all alone, abandoned by those whom we considered to be our friends, we need to repeat with conviction, "Though none go with me, I still will follow—no turning back."

What makes the difference between the quitter and the over-comer? Between those who stay the course and those who turn back? Do some of us forget to count the cost? At first, it seemed advantageous to follow Christ, but now the cost seems too high? Are some of us discouraged that our spiritual progress is too slow, imagining that overcoming sin and temptation would be easier than it is? Have some of us taken our eyes off Jesus and looked back at Sodom as did Lot’s wife?

Maybe we are trying to run with our weights and burdens, because we just can’t bring ourselves to lay them at the foot of the cross. (See Hebrews 12) We dwell on the past just as the children of Israel did when they longed for the delicacies of Egypt (see Numbers 11:5 and 20:5)or else we fear the future as did the Israelites when they heard the evil report of the promised land (see Numbers 14) I Corinthians 10:6 talks about the things in the Old Testament—in particular, the Exodus and subsequent wanderings of the children of Israel in the wilderness—as being our examples. Will we learn from their mistakes? Or is it too easy for us to go from praising God for deliverance to murmuring about our lot in life. (See this transition in Exodus 15; notice the abrupt change in verse 23. )

No turning back. The only way you cannot turn back is if you burn the bridges behind you; that has been a military strategy, and of course, we are soldiers, too, in a way. (See II Timothy 2:3,4) Burning bridges is not always a positive thing—some of us burn bridges in relationships by saying things to others that wound them so deeply that there is no going back. But burning bridges can also be a positive thing. In the American civil war, bridges were a weak point and were sometimes burned or sabotaged to prevent the enemy from moving supplies, especially by train. Are you allowing some bridges to stand that you ought to burn down so the enemy can’t keep reminding you of your past? Maybe there are activities you need to avoid, music you need to get rid of, books and magazines that entice you back to spiritual Egypt. You may be overestimating your ability to resist temptation. Your armor may not be as strong as you think. Get rid of those mementos of your old, sinful life. Burn those bridges.

Or maybe your problem is more one of attitude. It is so easy, even after you are converted, to fall back into old thought patterns of self-pity, self-sufficiency, self-interest, and just plain selfishness. Maybe you have always liked to argue and now you find yourself arguing with God. You are used to making decisions for yourself and resent having to couch your requests now in terms of God’s will. If you start beginning mental thoughts with any of these phrases: "It’s too hard. It’s not fair. I want, I deserve, I know what I’m doing…" that is a danger signal.

Don’t feel too smug when you read about those murmuring, complaining Israelites. In your fleshly nature, you are just like them. So am I. We are just like the clean hogs that return to the mud and the dogs that return to their own vomit. (II Peter 2:22). Paul knew that in his flesh dwelt no good thing (Romans 7:18) but also that we are no longer supposed to walk in the flesh. (Romans 8:1). Remember, we have decided to follow Jesus. If you turn back, you are not just returning back to the cucumbers and melons of Egypt; you are also returning to the chains and whips of bondage. So, put your hand to the plow, and don’t look back.(Luke 9:62) Don’t look back, don’t turn back. You know where your eyes are supposed to be: looking at Jesus. (Hebrews 12:2)

Lori Fiechter
October 2, 2000

#265 There was a Crooked Man

As I looked at myself in the mirror today a nursery rhyme came to mind. No, it wasn’t "London Bridge is Falling Down", although that is appropriate. It was the one about a crooked man. (I wonder if he had a crooked hairdo as well?) It begins, "There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile" Then there was something about a crooked stile (not style—a stile was a step for getting over a fence or wall. We have turnstiles now at amusement parks; not quite the same thing, though derived from the same word.) Here is the entire rhyme:

There was a crooked man
Who walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence
Against a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat
Which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together
In a crooked little house.

I really should avoid mirrors—especially first thing in the morning. My nose has always been crooked, but I was looking at my hair part. Crooked hair parts are in vogue now; thirty years too late for me. I still have my picture from sixth grade—crooked part, stringy hair, and crooked eyeglasses with small narrow dark brown frames. Now that crooked parts are popular, my hair will only part straight down the middle. I think I’ll just comb it straight back with no part at all. Amish bonnets and Eastern European headscarves are starting to sound good to me. Or perhaps a brown grocery bag with holes for my eyes. I suppose that headdress would severely limit one’s peripheral vision, though.

The Bible talks about the crooked serpent (a constellation in one passage, symbolizing Satan himself in another), crooked ways and paths, a crooked generation and nation, and just crooked things in general. Which came first, the crooked or the straight? Which will come last? If you read the first few chapters of Genesis and the last few of Revelation, you can answer those questions for yourself.

I have sewn a crooked seam, driven a crooked nail, hung a crooked picture, and pasted many a stamp crookedly on an envelope (true perfectionists are supposedly unable to paste a crooked stamp without causing themselves distress of mind.) I have, at times, given crooked (evasive or convoluted) answers to direct questions. Before I was converted, I had walked several crooked miles.

Crooked has a negative connotation. Describing someone as a "straight arrow" is a compliment. Who wants to deal with a crooked businessman, car dealer, or lawyer? Christians should never be crooked in their dealings. As it says in Philippians 2:15, we are to be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world." We shouldn’t be the least bit crooked—not with the government, not with our employers or employees, and not with our children or friends.

Ever since the fall of Adam, the nature of things is to tend toward the crooked. It takes little effort to make something crooked; it takes a good deal of effort to keep something perfectly straight. In Isaiah 45:2, God has promised that He will "go before thee, and make the crooked places straight". That is a relief; God will make a way for us—a straight path—if we are going in His direction. The problem is finding that path. Sometimes we end up going down a few blind alleys; perhaps out of stubbornness, ignorance, or just because we are supposed to learn a lesson in trust. We may only see a few inches ahead of us at a time--the path is not lit for us all the way to the final end—but perhaps that is so we learn to lean on Christ, and not to run on ahead.

One day, all the crooked paths will be made straight and the rough spots made smooth. Isaiah prophesied of that time (in chapter 40) and John the Baptist reiterated the message in Luke 3. The result of this straightening and smoothing out will be that "all flesh shall see the salvation of God." I like the way Habakkuk puts it in chapter 2, verse 14: "For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."

The earth is certainly not filled with the knowledge of God now—not of His glory or of His word. Often, when I read the words of worldly wise skeptics and scoffers, I long for God to reveal Himself to them. I wonder why He is waiting. I say along with Isaiah, "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence…to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!"(Isaiah 64:2) The nations do not tremble at His presence now; there often seems to be very little reverent fear of God. Yet, God still tarries (though He won’t tarry forever—see Hebrews 10:37) and so we still wait, knowing that the wait will ultimately be worth it. For just a couple of verses down in that same chapter in Isaiah is written this promise:

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him." Isaiah 64:4

Jesus walked the crooked mile to the cross for us so that we can enjoy His straight paths and the promise of an unblemished kingdom to come where we will all live together (not in a crooked little house). Until that day, keep your dealings with others straight, and keep to the middle of the road.