Spiritual Discipline - Friendships

We may not think of friendships as related to pop-culture, but it is the environment in which we experience much of the world around us. There seem to be two extremes: staying as far away from the world as possible, having all our friends in the same church or group, and not even meeting people who believe differently, or being so friendly with and so much a part of the world around us that no one even knows we are a Christian, let alone whether that means anything or not. We can be sure neither of these extremes is God’s will. Where should we be? It must vary from person to person, environment to environment, and even from stage to stage of our lives, because we already saw that God called some people in the Bible further out of the world, and some higher into it. So, like everything else, it requires passionate, personal, intense, listening prayer.

What did Jesus do? Honestly, it’s scary to contemplate. Jesus left the holy places where He’d lived, along with all His holy friends and Family, and went to a place He knew was filthy and polluted in the extreme. He knew much of the language was not suited to discussing the things of God, and that He’d have to live in a body degraded by thousands of years of sin. He knew He’d have to eat some of His own creatures. But He didn’t shrink from it.

When He got here, He first spent many years training Himself to live close to God on a second by second basis and to know the Bible from cover to cover, then threw Himself into the deep end. He made friends with dishonest tax collectors, prostitutes, and greedy men. He hung out with gluttons and drunkards and street people. He chose as His inner circle some illiterate fishers and a political terrorist called a zealot, a tax collector and a guy with sticky fingers. He didn’t even seem to mind when the spiritual people accused Him of being just like the broken people He singled out for His affection. Whenever He had any idea that His own faith might falter, or even before that, He withdrew alone and prayed some more until He got His perspective straight and His faith strengthened. He also depended (sometimes with disappointing results) on the spiritual support of a few of His closest friends who He knew loved God as He did.

Then, and this is the scariest part, He went open-eyed to His death, leaving His pure, heavenly message and mission in the hands of these same faulty folks and whoever they might be able to convince to join them. Yikes! That would be you and me, by the way. And His friends changed the face of the earth forever.

Questions to ask: How much time and energy do I invest making sure my faith is on solid ground? Who are my friends? Why? What do my friends think about my faith? Are they influenced by it, or just irritated by it? If they see it as a negative thing, how have I encouraged that? Is there something I can do to change it? Whom do I depend on for spiritual support? Is my prayer life strong enough to support me when they fail?

Spiritual Discipline - Politics

We have already dug into some aspects of this subject, in the stories of Joseph, Esther, and Daniel. The Bible makes it clear that God can and does use people in the highest levels of government and administration. We have the only known chapter of the Bible that was written by a pagan king in Daniel 4. We could not have had that story without Daniel, and his three friends, and no doubt other, nameless witnesses for God in Babylon’s courts. As the world nears its end, it is past time for us to stop keeping Christians away from politics on the assumption that it is all pollution and corruption.

That said, it is a tricky arena, one in which we must walk carefully. It is difficult to be involved with politics and not allow it to harm our faith. It is hard to tell which compromises are useful, acceptable ways of getting along together with all God’s children, and which are compromises of principle. It is not an area to enter lightly.

As for being involved from the outside as most of us are, that, too, requires prayer and careful study. We certainly must not advocate any particular party or candidate from our churches, pulpits, papers, or use any spiritual authority we may have to influence others around us. But we must watch for the issues that are issues of God, and work for what is right, what will lead to mercy and justice, which Micah 6:8 lists as some of our first duties to God. We just have to remember the third thing, at the same time; “Walk humbly with your God.” No matter how much we’ve read about a certain issue, or how strong our opinions are, self-righteousness is still wrong.

What did Jesus do? Jesus was Jesus wherever He was. He didn’t take His case to the politicians, whether religious ones like Caiaphas and Annas or secular ones like Herod and Pilate. But He didn’t shrink from them when they came to Him. He didn’t cower before them, even when they killed Him. And His entire life and ministry was one whole, seamless teaching about peace, mercy, and justice in the world He was buying back at such infinite cost.

Questions to ask: How can I know how deeply I am called to be involved in or stay away from politics? How can I use my influence for God and my fellow beings? How can I keep my eyes clear and not allow emotions or selfish opinions to color my attitudes toward civic life and responsibilities? Do my politics build bridges or burn them?

Spiritual Discipline-Sports and Exercise

In Jesus’ day, there were athletes. The Olympics started in Greece before Christ was born. Usually, their training was for the purpose of becoming better soldiers, but such events as chariot racing also occurred. In Rome spectator sports were offered to the general populace, including things more evil than what is permitted today. There is no record that Jesus gave any attention to these things, although Paul refers to them, using the athlete as a positive image for faithful Christian discipleship. (1 Corinthians 9:24, Galatians 5:7, Hebrews 12:2)

God created our bodies and designed them, in fact, to be much stronger and more efficient than they are now. But does the pursuit of strength or muscle-building purely for its own sake, or the use of many, many hours of time either practicing the sport or watching someone else do so make us better servants of God and humanity? There have been some sports heroes who did use their strength and fame to better the world. There have been some who dedicated their sport and their bodies to God. The film Chariots of Fire tells the story of a famous example of using sports as a witness to the world. So it doesn’t behoove us to make hard and fast rules in this as in any other cultural arena.

What did Jesus do? Jesus or any of His disciples, male or female, would have laughed if you’d invited them to join your sports club. Jesus walked the length and breadth of the Holy Land day after day. And so did his enemies, those priests and lawyers we think of as overfed and self-satisfied. His disciples fished by hand, kept house, hauled toddlers, walked miles, rowed boats, made everything they used from clothing to dishes to furniture, ground grain between stones, and thought nothing of following Jesus from Galilee to Judea and beyond the Jordan (Matt. 19:1) or hurrying on foot to a secluded place He’d gone by boat (Matt. 14:13). He walked back and forth from Bethany to Jerusalem daily during the last week of His life, and so did those with Him. If they heard our doctors advocate “at least a half hour of physical activity a day,” they would assume we were sick.

Questions to ask: Why am I devoted to this sport? What is my motivation? What am I accomplishing? Can I use my sport or exercise to build bridges between people and people, or people and God? Am I spending time I ought to spend on other things? Conversely, am I spending time in inactivity or sedentary pursuits that I could use strengthening my body and my health? What does it mean to love God will all my strength or might, as Deut. 6:5 enjoins?

Spiritual Discipline - Work and Career

A closely related issue is that of our lifework. Today the emphasis we see in the media, in educational advertising, and all around us is to find the job that will support us “in the way to which we’d like to become accustomed.” How much money will it make? Yet, if we pay attention, there is a growing amount of media, from movies to books to editorials in major magazines and newspapers dedicated to debunking that attitude, trying to teach people that they will be far happier and more motivated if they choose careers that actually fulfill their heart’s knowledge of who they were meant to be. There is not much point to making lots of money if you are so busy making it that you have no time to enjoy it.

Further, there are highly visible organizations and even well-known celebrities leading the way by dedicating time and resources to reducing hunger, poverty, disease, abuse, and violence in the world. Are we content to let them lead the way, satisfied that they can afford it? Or, are we as followers of Jesus also dedicating time, resources and careers to righting the world’s wrongs?

God sometimes calls someone in an unmistakable way, usually to do something the person feels completely powerless to do. Most of the time, though, He seems to leave our career choice up to us. This doesn’t mean He doesn’t have a deep interest in the issue, and some advice, if we’d listen for it.

What did Jesus do? Well, Jesus was one of those who is definitely and directly called, put on earth for a particular task, and aware of it from childhood. He allowed nothing to get between Him and His mission, not even the preaching of the rabbis or what they saw as the rules. He was here to love people. Dare we say that each of us, no matter if we’re telephone operators or garbage collectors or lawyers or waitresses, is here for the same reason?

Questions to ask: How did/will I choose my career? In what ways can I use my work to serve God? In what ways can I use my work to love others? How would I know if God were asking me to change jobs, and what would I do? How can I remain aware of Jesus walking with me day to day where I work?

Spiritual Disciplines - Money and Materialism

This is another hot topic, maybe more in the culture around us than in the church. And perhaps we ought to take more notice of it. We tend to like to talk more about what we’re using or wearing than about how much we spend on it. The Western cultures today are richer than any societies in the history of the planet. Never before have more people had so much. And still the “poor are with us.” And still they starve in our streets.

Shopping is all too often seen, not as a way of obtaining necessities, but as a hobby in itself; something fun to do on a free afternoon or even in time that ought to be spent otherwise. The average person spends more time shopping than volunteering for community service or participating in religious activities. Consumerism is rampant in our developed societies, and the developing ones are following in our footsteps as fast as they can. As Christians, we ought to ask ourselves whether consuming or conserving is actually what God has called us to do. Does a steward consume His master’s goods, or use them as the Master would specify?

What did Jesus do? First, He appears to have had no money of His own at all. Jesus did not even have a house of His own, or a business, though He may have been expected to take over Joseph’s carpenter shop. He did not collect clothes or things, but gave His life to ministry, serving God’s purpose and the needs of humanity. He said that it is difficult for the rich to enter God’s kingdom (Matt. 19:24, Mark 10:25) and that one cannot serve both money and God (Matt. 6:34, Luke 16:13). From these things it is clear that money should make us at least cautious. But does this mean He wants everyone to live in nomadic poverty, subsisting on the offerings of friends, such as the women and men who supported Him? No, because He also clearly showed

His support for marriage and the creation of new families, talked about building, but being wise about it (Luke 12:18; 14:28), and even recommended making friends with “unrighteous mammon,” possibly with some tongue-in-cheek attitude (Luke 16:9). Jesus gratefully accepted the gifts of those who supported His ministry, as well as enjoying the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus at Bethany, for example. So we can safely assume that not everyone is called to be a wandering minister for God, but that we are all called to be ministers to others with the goods God has entrusted to us. The practice of tithing is designed to remind us of God’s ownership of all that we have. When we practice tithing, we learn to live on less than 100 percent of what we earn. This is a principle that Jesus was familiar with. He specifically mentions offerings and generosity, publicly commending the widow who did not hold back anything for herself, but gave the little bit she had. (Mark 12:41-44, Luke 21:1-4)

Questions to ask: Is my money dedicated first to God, or first to myself? Do I serve my money, or does my money serve me? If I had two dollars left, what would I do with them? In what ways can my money build bridges to the ones around me for whom Jesus died? Do I really need all I have? Do I ever buy just for the fun of having new things? How much of my resources do I dedicate to the poor Jesus commended us to serve as if they were Himself?

The Spiritual Discipline of Dress

Of all cultural issues, this is one of the most “hot potato” topics, at least among conservative Christians. Because of issues of modesty and purity, what we wear goes far beyond tastes or fashions. But we are often guilty of making modesty or purity the excuse for pushing a particular style we like and are used to, when another fashion might be just as modest, and more becoming to the person we are trying to persuade of our view, which might be our own child.

What did Jesus do? This is an interesting subject to pursue. Jesus, in fact, never mentioned dress at all except to rebuke the religious leaders who made their clothing too “holier-than-thou” and a subject of pride! See Mark 12:38 and Luke 20:46. He wore the dress of those around Him, and it’s clear by context even if not mentioned that what He wore was a simple, humble version. The only thing we know about for sure is His seamless tunic for which the soldiers gambled at his death, probably spun and woven for Jesus by His mother.

Questions to ask: What are the moral issues of dress? What are the dress customs of my personal culture, and how are they different from or similar to those of the culture around me? Are there ways I may use my dress to build bridges rather than walls? Whom do I seek to please when I choose what to buy, and what to wear on a given day? What might those in the cultures around me think when they first see me? Is this what I want them to think?

The Spiritual Discipline of Food and Diet

One of the first things that comes to mind when thinking of differing cultures is eating; various types of food and cookery. Every people group has its own local diet, its own cuisine, even its own idea of what constitutes healthy nutrition. When we travel with the intent to learn about other people, food is one of the first things we want to experience and experiment with.

Seventh-day Adventists have had their own subculture when it comes to this subject, although our ideas about plant-based, low-fat, low-sugar, low-additive foods have now been widely accepted in the world around us. It’s easier than ever in Western societies to be vegetarian or vegan without facing so much as a lifted eyebrow.

What did Jesus do? Again, He chose an observant Jewish home, and He centered His ministry where the diet laws given in the Torah were accepted as conventional wisdom, “what we do.” But beyond that, He seems to have eaten what was put in front of Him. He certainly ate lamb at the Passover, and is shown to have killed, cleaned, cooked, and eaten fish even after His resurrection, in His glorified body! That seems so strange to some of us. And He did not follow the detailed washing rituals the various sects prescribed for before meals, though no doubt He was clean. His culture ate what we today would call a “Mediterranean diet,” that is, lean meats and fish, legumes, lots of fresh, in-season produce, a variety of fresh, whole grain breads, and olive oil. He is never shown as being present at a gathering where anything particularly decadent would have been served.

Questions to ask: What are the customs where I live? What are the moral issues, if any, of eating? Do they include sustainable agriculture practices and ways of supporting local growers? How can I use my eating habits as a way of building bridges to those around me, rather than as a wall? How can I use food as a way of being teachable and allowing others to teach me, too, rather than always being in the teaching position?