The wisdom of age

This morning I read a section from the gospel of John 8:2-11 and noticed something interesting.

Jesus is defending a woman caught in adultery from possible stoning, by saying to the crowd "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (verse 7). It takes a few moments for these words to sink in, but when they do " .. those who heard began to go away one at time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there." (verse 9).

Notice it was the older ones who moved away first. They have more life experience and are more conscious of their own moral failings (sin). Younger people tend to be more idealistic and blind to their weaknesses and faults, while quick to condemn others and think that they are right.

How does this gel with your experience?

How one person can affect so many

Last weekend an over height truck carrying an excavator plunged into the entrance of the M5 motorway tunnel near Bexley. The driver ignored the flashing signs triggered by lasers. The M5 East was closed for most of the weekend creating havoc for thousands of people. I was one of them, being stuck in traffic three times over the weekend because of this accident. How the actions of just one person can affect thousands of others in a city like Sydney.

"No man is an island". We are interconnected. Some people justify their selfish behaviour by saying "I can do what I want as long as it doesn't affect others". That's fine but it's often not as simple as that. I can't always see what the affects of my actions will be, in the present and the future. Even our secret sins affect relationships with those around us.

There's a part of the Bible which speaks of our inter connectedness. It's in Romans 5:12-21. It basically says: there are two men whose actions have affected the futures of every other human being - Adam and Jesus Christ. Adam's action caused sin, death and God's judgement to enter the world. Jesus action bought justification (forgiveness) before God and eternal life.

We don't have a choice about suffering the consequences of Adam's actions .... in our humanity we are connected to him. We are born into it. But we do have a choice of whether to receive the benefits of what Christ did for us. Get connected to Christ today!

Why Cheat? Because everyone else does.

That was the reason former Melbourne Storm chief executive Brian Waldron gave the club's chairman Dr Rob Moodie when questioned about why he had orchestrated the blatant salary cap cheating that has cost the club two premierships. (SMH 23/04/10)

Raises the question of: Where do people get their ethics of decision making.

For Brian Waldron its "follow the herd."

Everyone else is doing it (ie. cheating) ... so why shouldn't I? This works well for issues which are seemingly innocuous eg. downloading music off the web. But doesn't sound as plausable when speaking to your teenage son or daughter about why they follow their peers in taking heavy drugs at a party. Or if you're a shopkeeper being looted during a power outage. ie. Just because "Everyone else is doing it" doesn't make it right.

So a good question to gently ask people when discussing the Storm scandal is: Where do you get your sense of right and wrong from?

For Christian's, we believe in a God who made the world and us ....and has lovingly given us guidance for life and human relationships ... in the Bible. Christians don't follow the herd they follow God's good word. Don't want to follow God's way? .... then who do you follow?

Getting some perspective on life

I've often thought it would be good if the Australian government sent every Australian child to work in the slums of Calcutta for six months when they turn 16. It would be a good way to humble them and make them appreciate the good life and abundance we enjoy in Australia.

Maybe a cheaper way of doing this is to get teenagers to read 'Mao's Last Dancer'. I'm a third of the way through this book: the true story of a young Chinese peasant boy growing up in rural China in the 1960's who becomes a famous balet dancer. Growing up, his family is struggling just to get enough food each day (they had to eat yams for breakfast, lunch and dinner in one three year period).

This book made me realise how ungrateful we often are for our good lives here in Australia. We just need some perspective about reality occasionally so that we appreciate the good things we've got rather than to wallow and to keep wanting more. We've got lots to thanks God for ... when you think about it.

God's Secret Wisdom

Do you know God's secret wisdom? The Bible says you can't know it unless the Spirit of God reveals it to you (1 Corinthians 2). It doesn't matter how intelligent you are or how religious you are, you just can't work it out unless God's Spirit gives you understanding. The Apostle Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 2:14: The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

What is this secret wisdom? Paul tells us a few verses earlier in v2: "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." Jesus crucifixion is the secret wisdom of God which is at the core of the Christian message.

OK you've heard of the crucifixion of Christ .... but do you really know what it means? What its significance is for you personally? The first thing you'll need to do if you really want to find out is to pray to God and to ask Him for Spiritual understanding. You won't 'crack the code' of meaning unless God's Spirit allows you to.

And for Christians who want to tell God's gospel to others you will need to make sure that the message of the Cross is at the core of what you tell people. You should also be praying that God's Spirit makes the message of the Cross clear to the hearer.

Keeping out the weeds

This weekend I must mow the Kikuyu grass on my nature strip. With all the rain over the past few weeks it's knee high and threatens to invade my property, through the fence and into my garden.

One of life's challenges is keeping out the weeds (or wild grass). I found a section in the Old Testament book of Proverbs which speaks about this.

I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man. (Proverbs 24:30-34)

Lesson: If you're too lazy to keep out the weeds you will be ruined. It might be physical weeds, like the wild grass on my nature strip. It might be metaphorical weeds; in your relationship with your spouse or children, or even with God Himself. It might be some sort of evil in your life which threatens to take over: gambling, pornography, drinking, drugs, greed, workaholism.

Message: Keep working hard on keeping those weeds out. Don't ignore them. Take action today. (It would have been much easier if I'd have mowed my nature strip last week!)

I am nothing without my mobile phone

People love their mobile phones. Looking down the carriage of my train I see people everywhere staring down at their tiny screens, texting, playing games, reading the news. Its a world within a world. Its my connection to the world. I am nothing without my mobile phone.