Esau 3: The wrath of Edom

Read Genesis 27 first.

Our next vignette in the life of Esau takes place in his father’s old age.  He has sold off his birthright for a bowl of suit.  As we shall see, apparently this has begun to irk him.  But he knows he has an ace up his sleeve.  He’s Daddy’s favorite.

One thing that we can do as parents to bring harm and destruction in our family is to play favorites.  I am not talking about favoring or rewarding because one works hard and the other does not, or one is thoughtful while the other is selfish.  I am talking about actively picking out one child and favoring in relationship and reward, come good or bad.  

We don’t know if there was any rebuke from Isaac for the transaction, though it was considered binding enough that Isaac does not break it.  Now, because Jacob has “grabbed” the family wealth and priesthood from Esau, one might think that if there was a favorite to be played, he ought to have been spending more time with Jacob.  After all, Esau spent time in the field hunting anyway.  

Nevertheless, Isaac gave special favor to Esau.  Its a word that can be used for Divine Love, and is used in Mal 1:2, being the passage Paul uses in Romans 9 when he writes, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”  Its an interesting switch.  God is described as favoring Jacob, but apparently Isaac does not listen.  He picks and plays favorites with his sons, even the one who despised his birthright, and then went and married two of the local Canaanite girls (Genesis 26:34-35), and they were described as a “grief to Isaac.”  His son needs correction, instruction and guidance, and not indulgence. Yet, because of his favor, he can’t bring himself to do so. Is he, perhaps, living through his son a freedom that he was denied as the son of a wealthy sheik?

I guess we can see more reasons why Esau turns out the way he does.  Indulging a child is never a pathway to a solid lasting relationship with a child.  I have seen it for myself when people spoil their children and protect them from the consequences of their actions.  They grow up with few virtues and many vices; lazy children who are endlessly dependent, yet thankless.  

In any case, Esau knows he’s the favorite.  He bides his time, knowing that his father will eventually sicken.  Then he expects to secure the special blessing that his father, as family priest will bestow.  

This blessing was believed to have special powers to bring good things into the lives of those it was bestowed upon.  As oldest and favorite, he expects it.  And then who cares about any old birthright…after all he is father’s favorite, and a special blessing of success will follow him wherever he goes.

But not so fast.  

We have forgotten Rebekah, who has also been playing favorites.  Her favorite is Jacob, and so she seeks to “grab” the special blessing for the one she delights in.  

As you can read in Genesis 27, this is one trick even Jacob fears to play.  Only when his mother is willing to take the blame on herself is he willing to go forward with the plan.

The disguise is made, and Isaac is fooled.He gives a special blessing to Jacob.  Shortly thereafter the ruse is discovered, and Esau burns with anger.

We must ask ourselves, as Isaac and Esau ought to have: why be angry when you were not promised the birthright and the blessing to begin with?  They already had the oracle spoken of the two boys before they were born. Why be surprised.  Many times, anger comes from us when our goals are blocked.  We develop plans, pursue goals with purpose and then find ourselves, at times, denied what we wanted.  The result is often anger and rage!  Ever been there?  Something as simple as being denied a slot in heavy traffic, to seeing a retirement fund disintegrate in a bad market can cause anger that even can be murderous at times.  

That’s exactly how Esau felt.  He was enraged that he had been denied everything.  And of course, he assigned the object of his rage as his brother.  Never mind that he had willingly traded his birthright (which had begun to gall him, 27:36; maybe because of the regular reminder by the nickname of Edom); never mind that taking the blessing was Mother’s idea.  Never mind that God had said these things would belong to Jacob.  

When we get angry, we need to take a look at the situation that created that anger.  Were we blocked from achieving a goal?  Where we denied the fulfillment of a purpose?  What about God’s view of these things?

Just today, I heard a pastor confess that he got mad at someone whom he loaned money to, only to have the friend renege on his repayment. The pastor got angry.  But then, he heard from God, who let him know that he ought not to be mad: God had told him to GIVE the money to the friend in the first place.  “So why be mad for something which you did not follow my will anyway.”

When we are angry, indeed even in a rage, we need to take stock: why am I so mad?  Is this really God’s plan?  If its’ God’s will, isn’t he big enough to handle this present blocking situation?  Or is this something that God really did not want me to have or do in the first place?  In all of these cases, if we are answering the questions the way God wants, then we ought not to be angry.  

This anger ended up costing Esau his brother.  He seldom saw him again. And the evidence suggests that after she sent Jacob away, Rebekah never her favorite son again either. All of the are guilty and complicit in grabbing after things which God had already determined would be disposed of in ways he intended.  It was when these men and women sought to gain these things by their own power (even when, in Jacob’s case, it was promised him) that a horrible dynamic of anger and murderous rage was sown into that family.

Even when Jacob returned to Canaan, its apparent that he did not have much of a relationship with Esau.  There was no basis for trust.  It seems Esau wanted to be reconciled, but Jacob was not buying it.  He stayed away from Edom ever after that.

What about us?  Are we going for things that we have not been promised?  Are we trying to seize things in ways which are deceptive?  Are we angry about things we have been denied?  

Steep Climbs

Hello!

I have not forgotten about you, or this blog AGAIN!  It has been a busy week, and I hope to post the next edition by tomorrow, with the next events of Esau's life.

It has been a very busy week with the start of my classes at Calvin Seminary, in Grand Rapids.  I am enjoying what I am doing there, but I did have a "Deer in the Headlights" moment on Monday.  It has been my intent to go on to a Ph.D. program all along.  I desire to teach and influence the next generations by teaching on a college campus, after the manner of a C.S. Lewis or a Francis Schaffer.

Monday, Dr Young Kim, from Calvin College, graciously sat down with me and spelled out for me what I face as a prospective Ph.D. student.  In short, here it is in list form:

The likelihood that I may not find a job on college campus unless I go to a "Tier 1" school
Tremendous amounts of debt, unless I can be fully funded.
The need to learn German, French, Latin, refresh my Koine Greek, and possibly Italian and Coptic.  The first three on that list need to be learned probably in the next couple of years.

Daunting is a term I can certainly a term I can use for this.

Shortly thereafter, still feeling some "shock and awe,"  I bumped into Pastor Keith Doornbos, who is a very wise man.  As we talked, I realized that the timing of my conversation with Dr. Kim was no mistake.  If I had had that conversation a few months ago, I would never have signed up for class.  I was MEANT to come to school at Calvin.

Keith pointed out to me that I have three options: Give up the dream; Modify the Dream; Chase the dream and embrace the work.

So far I have chosen the third.  I am researching modification.  The goal is always to teach on a secular campus and represent Christ there.  But I do love to study history.  The way may be hard, but it is not impossible.  And God seems to have a way of moving people through hard experiences, and getting them through to the other side.

So here I am.  Tomorrow I plan to being studying Latin and possibly German for an hour per day.  I also have studies to complete, as well as a continued study on Esau, a character whom I can very much identify with, to continue.

God bless you, and pray for me that I can achieve what I believe God has called me to do and to be.

"Red Stuff"

Read Genesis 25:21-34 here.

In Genesis 25, we see, in close order the account of the birth of the twins, Esau and Jacob, followed immediately by an account of the twins as adults.  That’s a lot of material to pass over.  But the writer of scripture only sought to preserve for us these two things as the first accounts of their life: The account of the birth, which includes the pre-birth drama of the two children at war in the womb, and then of this unsavory account of the Bible Hero and Villain as young adults.

I write unsavory, because that is what it is.  Its about two young men, one of whom is hardly a Bible Hero, though he is often held up as such, and the other a person who is guilty of a terrible crime of short sightedness.  There is, in fact, no heroes in this account.   The man who would become a hero of faith, Jacob who becomes Israel, is still very early in his formative stages, and is not a man of faith in Yahweh.  Esau seems to care little beyond what he can shoot and what he can put into his stomach. He does care about what his father thinks of him, as Genesis 27:41-42 and 28:6-9 indicate.  But at the point of the soup story, we know very little about this man, save that he was disfavored by God for his brother, and that he was a hairy hunter.

Esau arrives at the scene of the camp.  He has been hard at work in the hunt, and has worked up quite a hunger.  Apparently they shot nothing, or if they had, it will be some time in preparation.  He’s hungry, and here, his brother, “Grabby,” or Jacob in Hebrew, already had a hot fire and hot stew cooking!

It must be hard to be stuck with an unflattering name. I have a great name: Michael. Its such a great name it seems there are people everywhere with that name. On my dorm floor at MSU, it seemed like there was about 25% of the people were named Michael.  Shout “Hey MIke,” down the dorm floor, and maybe 10 heads pop out the doors.  Its a good name that is actually a praise: Who is like El/God?  A question that exalts the divine one.  What a name. 

That is not Jacob’s legacy at this point.  He was grabbing his brother’s foot when he came out of the womb.  So “Grabby” they called him.  I remember my Grandmother calling me “Grabby” once.  It was not a term of endearment.  She called me that because I tried to grab something out of her hand without saying me “pleases” and “May I’s.”  It hurt, but I also knew better. And it stopped me from being grabby with her after that.  

But in our label conscious day today, we recognize from numerous studies that such names can have detrimental effects on people.  They tend to live up or down to the label they have been given.  Jacob here, in this account demonstrates that he is grabby for lots of things, including things he has been promised already.  God has already stated that Jacob has been favored by him when he was in the womb.  But, rather than wait for what God has promised, instead he decides to grab at it himself.

Enter our character Esau.  “Hey,” he says, “Let me gulp down some of that Red Stuff.”

My paraphrase uses “gulp down.”  The form of the word La’at is a particular form that suggests that Esau was not interested in tasting the stew.  He just wanted to fill his gut, NOW, to end his inner emptiness.  He had a legit need.  He had a legit hunger.  It was going to be filled at some point.  His father is a wealthy sheik, so there is no need to fear starvation.  But he wants to be filled NOW, and to end the discomfort of hunger NOW.

I have heard stories of people who were truly hungry…starving.  And sometimes when they come across an abundance of food, they will bolt it so fast that they will actually die because of the flood of food that fills their small, shrunken stomachs.  We can’t blame those who are actually in a case of true starvation for wanting to eat quickly. 

Esau, however, is no poor malnourished child.  He is a healthy adult in a wealthy family.  He’s been away from food for a while, and he really is hungry.  Legitimately hungry.  So asking for some “Red Stuff,” the stew is reasonable.  But “Grabby” knows his brother.  Here is an opportunity to have some fun, and maybe profit by it. “Sure, but only if you give me your birth right.”

I almost wonder how serious Jacob really is about this.  Is he like the cat who is quite full but sets a trap for his mouse anyway, without any real intent to kill?  Or does he really want to withhold the food from Esau until he gives in.  After all, food is just a fatted calf and a call to a servant away for Esau.

Esau however does not put up any fight whatsoever.  “I am about to die, so what good is a birth right to me.”

Again, I point out, Esau is NOT about to die.  He is simply really hungry.  We laugh and say how ridiculous, but how often, in some fit of pique, do we say “I am about to die, if…”  We tend to find ourselves faint over sometimes the silliest things, then we look back and say “What was the big deal?”  A legitimate desire, whether for food, money, friendship, sex, influence, or whatever, suddenly becomes all consuming: What will happen if I can’t get my need filled?  Surely I’ll die, be in the poor house, faint, fail, or whatever dire ending we can imagine.  Yeah…Esau is just like us.

Now we need to understand what this thing called “the birthright” really is.  Esau has it because he’s the oldest child.  For one thing, it means he gets “the double portion.”  In a family of four, the inheritance is divided five ways, and the oldest child gets two of those.  In a family of two, like Esau’s family, it is divided in three, and Esau get’s two pieces: two thirds of the family fortune.  So if Esau waits and gets his inheritance as the heir, that means two thirds of all the money of a very wealthy eastern sheik becomes his. 

Now, if any body came to you and said “I will give you 4 dollars today, and you have to sign over to me two thirds of everything your parents own when you die in exhange,” you would say “Dude, you are out of your mind.”  Rightfully so.  Today, I can get a bowl of soup in a restaurant for about 4 dollars.  That’s what “Grabby” offers.  He gets, in exchange, 2/3 of the family fortune in the future.

The scripture says, “So Esau despised/showed contemp/scorned his family birthright.”  It really meant nothing to him.  But wait…money is not all he gave up.

In that family, Isaac was the priest of the most High God.  He had a relationship with Yahweh as His priest.  He had a relationship with God that involved direct communion with Him.  He offered sacrifices directly.  He knew God personally, and could pray for others as a priest.  We don’t understand how important that was in the church today, because we are all believer/priests (1 Peter 2:9). Back in those days, the only people who had relationships with God were prophets and priests.  Abraham was a prophet, and was the friend of God. Isaac was a priest.  If you wanted to communicate with God you had to go to a priest or a prophet.  Otherwise, you could not come to him.  

Esau gave that up too, when he sold his birthright.  So not only did he despise the wealth and honor of being the firstborn heir of a powerful sheik, but he had no use for God and no desire to serve Him as His priest. 

Wow.

Esau despised his birthright.  He sold out a relationship with God for soup.

We would never do that, right?  After all, who gives up conversing and relating to the God of the universe for a short sighted moment of satiation?

Wait a minute.  We do.

Think about this for a bit.  We all have legitimate desires.  But we are often offered opportunities to satisfy those desires in sinful ways.  When we give in to those solicitations from the Devil or from the flesh, to satiate ourselves for the moment, we are doing what Esau did.  There are lots of legit desires.  But the world and the flesh and the devil like to find ways to entice us to fill them in illegitimate ways.  In the moments we give in to them, we say “yes” to sin and “No” to our relationship with God.

To make matters worse, “Grabby” decides to memorialize the moment by calling him “Edom,” or “Red Stuff” after that.  Perhaps a way to remind Esau who is now the heir, but also to remind Esau of how stupid he was.  Sometimes when we give in to do something foolish, we find that we are reminded frequently of our fall.  When our choices become public, the press or social media will ruthlessly remind you of your mistake. Sometimes your own worst enemy is yourself.  And you relentlessly and tirelessly beat yourself up, and label yourself for your error.

I’ve been there. I know what that’s like to lay awake at night and beat yourself to mental putty.

The wonderful thing in that is this: If you are a Christian, then God knew about your error before he opened your eyes and applied the blood of Christ to your life.  And yet he still chose you.  Even now, he has seen your error, and knows that, in your moment of foolishness, you chose sin over him.  Even now He waits for you, his prodigal child, to come back to him.  He awaits your return.  Stop beating yourself up.  Go back to your loving heavenly Father.  Tell Him you are sorry, and that you repent.  You’ll find that before the words are even out of your mouth, he is already there with His arms around you, telling the servants to get the party ready: His child has come home.

If however, you are wavering on whether or not to give in to the temptation you are being offered, don’t do it.  Its never worth it. Wait for God to legitimately meet that need.  It will be much more satisfying if you do.  And God is always worth more than some temporary moment of satiation by means of sin.  Spare yourself the heartache and the grief.  Say Yes to God.  

For Esau, though, there would be no homecoming.  His foolishness and Jacob’s duplicity sowed the seeds for family division that will bear fruit as we shall see in the next vignette from their lives.

Esau

After a long hiatus, I am restarting my blog!  Enjoy!

Uncommon characters in the old testament can be a fertile field for study for the Bible student.  All of us want to work on developing good Christ like character.  All of us want to root out sin and fight against it.  Some of these uncommon characters can help us toward that goal. 

One person that it is profitable to study is Esau.  He is often an after thought in studies about Jacob.  Jacob is depicted as the good guy and a “bible hero,” while Esau is depicted as the dirty, self-centered hedonist, with little concern for the future.  We must recognize through this study that there is some truth to this characterization of Esau.  But the picture is much more complicated.  In fact, Jacob is less saint than you realized, and Esau is probably a lot more like you and me than we may want to admit!  So, lets take a close look at Esau that we may become less like sinners and more like the Christ we want to emulate.

The first lesson we learn about Esau is rather shattering.  Its a great deal about the mercy of God, as well as His justice.  Romans 9:13 quotes the Old Testament so: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”  For Paul, Esau is an object lesson in the mercy of God.

Esau was a sinner by choice and by birth.  He was a born sinner, as the whole human race, save Christ, has been since Eve gave birth to her own children.  He was also a sinner by choice.  He sinned during his life, despising the good, and choosing earthly things rather than godly things.  He participated in Canaanite paganism through his marriages to Canaanite brides.  He cared little for the things of God.  This is what we know from scripture alone.  But we can also infer that he sinned in many ways simply because he was a sinner!  Just like us, if you think about it!  How many of us has, as our first thought, honoring and loving God?  How many of us want to please Him and seek His face all the time?  If you say that you do, then you just lied!  

The reality is that all of humanity seeks its own willful way.  Only when Christ comes into a life is the even the rudimentary beginning of truly God centered life.  And then its a long road to building a life that is more an more Christ centered, thinking God’s thoughts after him.

But this is where things get really strange to our minds.  Read the context in Romans 9:

1 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad — in order that God’s purpose in election might stand:  12 not by works but by him who calls — she was told, “The older will serve the younger.”  13 Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

“…before they had done anything good or bad….”  Think about that for a few moments.  Before they had made any choices.  Before they had “rejected God.”  Before they broke a commandment.  Before they looked upon a woman or a mountain or property or fatted calf with selfishness, before their first toy broken in a fit of self centered rage…  God had already made the most important decision.  God had elected to bless Jacob, before he had done any good thing.  And he chose not to bless Esau with a relationship with himself.  As we shall see, Esau certainly did reject God in his own turn.  But before that decision was ever made…indeed in eternity past, God had a elected to bless Jacob and not Esau.

Why was there a need for an election by God?  Why is it required that God had to choose to bless Jacob with His mercy?  As we have already pointed out, Jacob and Esau were both born sinners.  They were descended of sinners and members of a sinful race.  And they were both also sinners by choices.  Either of those conditions are sufficient to bring the condemnation of separation from God in the afterlife.  We are a race of rebels, who never have done anything worthy to earn or force God, or compel him to grant us a seat in his heaven.  So unless God intervene, and choose to grant mercy to some of our race, we are lost and without hope.

God chose to have mercy on Jacob.  Esau was not elected to receive mercy.

For some of us, that is hard truth to swallow.  We want to think that we did something  to gain God’s notice.  We want to think he was attracted to us, or he saw us do something good.  We want to think that somehow, we had salvation coming to us.  Maybe we credit ourselves with some inner movement of the soul, or some graciousness of spirit that we evidenced.  

Not at all.  It was, from eternity past, seeing us in our depravity, that God chooses.  And as part of that choice, he moves and works and prepares you for that day, when perhaps you thought it was you who had been seeking and found Him!  In actuality God has been pursuing you.  And even knowing that you would stray and be wayward affer you were awakened to new life, He still chose you. 

The amazing thing is, since you had nothing to do with your choice, and since God knows all ends, that means you have nothing to do with keeping your salvation.  He is the one who made the purchase and supplies the guarantee (Eph 1:14).  

Jacob, himself, was not a “saint” in the sense that he had earned his place at God’s table.  He was a cheat, a thief, and a terrible parent.  He himself struggled with belief when hard times came.  He needed the election of God.  He was no better than Esau, who was not so blessed.

So Esau, then, is for us a reminder of the kindness that God shows those who belong to Him.  “There but for the grace of God go I.”  That’s an old saying that certainly is true.  God saves us, changes our destiny, and makes us more and more His own as life goes on after salvation.  

Have you understood your need for salvation?  Do you recognize that, you too, are a sinner?  The amazing thing is God asks you, right now, if you believe in Jesus Christ and His payment on the cross.  And if say “yes” to Him, or have already done so, perhaps you did thinking that it was you that figured this thing out.  But then we look back, having “received Christ,” and realize that it was God himself who set the appointment time for your salvation, that he opened your eyes and made you aware of your need, and gave you the faith required to bring your salvation (Eph 2:8-9).  

There is more to be learned from Esau’s life.  For now, let’s just remember with gratitude that it is God who saves us from a just end in Hell.

New Sermon

A new sermon is uploaded on my youtube site!  Enjoy!

Reason to Raise a Question

Every once in a while I come across people who are prepared to excuse their bad choices on the simple fact that they cannot help themselves.  The argumentation runs like this:

I have an urge or a desire for _____

I am a good person

A Good person cannot have bad urges

Therefore, whatever I want is a good thing and I should go for it.

Let us consider each of these statements that lead to the conclusion, as well as some of their variations.

I have an urge or desire for ___

There is no question that we have urges and desires.  These are driven from a variety of sources, but typically from perceived or real lacks/hungers that often times may be quite legitimate.  A person who is hungry may have a sudden urge to see a cake as he walks past a bakery.  A person who is short on cash may have a desire to take a twenty dollar bill he sees on the floor.  Some of these urges may be able to be fulfilled in a socially honorable way, and some may not.  For those of us who accept that there is a God and that He is a judge, we must consider, whether or not an urge may be proper in society, is it proper under the oversight of a God of judgment. 

If we are truly honest with ourselves, often times the perception of a hunger or desire may be misinterpreted as we look at a potential object for its fulfillment.  We may look at the cake feeling hungry, and feel that might be a good way to fill it.  But what is that we are really hungering for?  How does this cake fulfill it?  Can we not agree that sometimes a person feeling anxious sometimes will use cake as an excuse, claiming to be hungry, when actually what they are hunger for is comfort?  We should at least question whether the urge we are feeling is a true urge or whether it is a cover for a deeper hunger/urge that might be very different.

We can certainly agree that part of our current experience as humans is to hunger: for friendship, love, food, warmth, peace, happiness, or for any number of other things.  It is likely that we can all agree that we can have legitimate hunger but find illegitimate ways to fill it.  The aforementioned cake will not serve a diabetic as a good or safe choice to fill his hunger.  But this leads to the discussion of the next assertion.

I am a good person.

Most of us as human beings like to give ourselves the benefit of the doubt.  We have a tendency to pick and choose systems of ethics which make ourselves look good, ignore the things in the system that are unflattering, and then favorably compare ourselves to others who seem despicable in order to convince ourselves that we really are in the upper 50% on the great bell curve of goodness in life. 

“After all, I have not murdered anybody.”

“I let people do what they want, and don’t judge others.”

“I give to charity regularly.”

“I used to go to church as a kid.”

The list goes on.  We pick and choose according to what we think is important, and “wonder of wonders” we find that we are good!

This is a notion to which that Christians are certainly not immune.  We conveniently forget that we have a God who saves us from our depravity which had doomed us to Hell.  We conveniently forget that we tend to live with 1 John 1:9 as our most frequently used verse.  

The question of human goodness, however, abundantly disproven by both scripture and experience.  It has been said “The most scientifically proven doctrine of the Bible is the doctrine of human depravity.”  Our own experience shows that people fully versed in the  scriptures are capable of great wrong.  The Bible itself tells us that our hearts are desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).  Paul writes that if we were capable of being good enough to attain heaven on our own, there would have been no need for Christ to die (Galatians 2:21).   This premise is therefore, quite false.

A Good person cannot have bad urges

It follows then, in the mind of such folks that if you believe that are good, and that your goodness is proven, then when you have an urge or a desire, it must be okay.  Most people in our culture float in a medium of ethical and moral neutrality, so such issues as goodness or badness of the urges are not really in question.  

For such, the only real question is “Is it convenient?”  Most will go into a cost/benefits analysis on the question of fulfilling the urge rather than considering “Is this right or wrong.”  Their own personal answer to the question of whether or not they are good or bad has rendered moot the question of good or bad urges or choices.  It is beyond questioning.  

The question for them is, “How much will cost me in economically, or socially, or legally if I fulfill this urge?”

Christians are not immune to thinking which leads to the same kinds of choices.  Some will claim the verse 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” as a statement of carte blanche that what we now think and feel surely cannot be influenced by depravity.

We further these ideas when we teach people that “God made you and he makes no mistakes.”  This is poor doctrine.  It is not livable and excuses many into making horrible decisions.  “It feels right, so it must be right.”

 I have heard Christians argue that they no longer have illegitimate hungers, and that any desire is okay with God.  Therefore, its okay to go out and get it.  I have also personally known Christians who imitate the culture we live in and simply go straight to “costs/benefits” analysis.  They may not question “Is this the right thing to do.”

We must also return to the item discussed under premise one: Is this urge I am feeling the real urge or is there something driving it down below?  Consider the stereotypical middle aged male, who suddenly feels the urge to make a major purchase of a sports car.  He makes the purchase without even consulting his wife.  He wanted it, he feels he’s earned it, so he gets it.  After all, he has always wanted to have a hobby car.  He’s a good guy.  He’s got the money (i.e. its a somewhat affordable payment). 

Was the urge really about fulfilling a lifelong dream?  Or was it about his struggles with aging and respect?  Was it about finding a new hobby, or was it about control?  

We certainly have great reason to question this premise.  We can agree that sometimes the presenting urge is much more complicated than we may realize on the surface.

Therefore, whatever I want is a good thing and I should go for it.

A person who, for whatever reason, is convinced that he is morally good (not bankrupt) and that there is no wrong, or he can do no wrong is capable of the worst sorts of evils.  A person who believes that what he wants is beyond question will tend to act on those which are in his power and are not inconvenient.  He will seek to fulfill those hungers and desires by the means that are at his disposal.  If the cost can be minimized, deferred or ignored and their is a benefit to be reaped, he will act on that urge.

People who do great evils often do so knowing that there is a potential cost to be paid, or an ethical system they are violating.  They may know its wrong to kidnap and murder, but they do so in the belief that they can get away with it, or hope they won’t.  Even people with a defective internal moral guide know that society will punish them for the wrong they commit, so they conceal the act.  A child who torments animals will hide the actions from his parents.  A man who misuses small children hides the actions from his neighbors.  A religious fanatic who believes a god will excuse his murders will still hide his plans from his neighbors.  All the while, they are convinced of an unassailable rightness of their actions or motivations.  They may not perceive it that way, or state it that way.  But fundamentally, at the least they will understand their own superiority justifies the choices which are made in those situations.  

I would suggest that, by contrast, we should offer an argument like this: 

Old Argument

I have an urge or a desire for _____

I am a good person

A Good person cannot have bad urges

Therefore, whatever I want is a good thing and I should go for it.

New Argument

I experience an urge or a hunger that may be real or a presenting hunger that masks a different need

I have reason, by experience and Scripture, to show that I am not a good person, but rather am moral and ethically bankrupt

My urges and desires may be founded on things that come from my moral and ethical bankruptcy, and are not beyond question.

Therefore, when I have a desire/hunger I should exercise caution on how I go about or whether I ought to fulfill it.

My next Blog entry will address why refuting the “Old Argument” is so important in light of an important cultural change taking place in the Western World.

Mr. Williams and the Only Answer to Suicide

What do we do with suicide?

The recent suicide of Robin Williams has brought this question again to our cultural conscience.  He came to a place in his life, struggling with substance abuse, financial and interpersonal problems, where he suddenly believed that there was no hope.  He apparently used a belt to end his life by hanging.

We have thrown lots of money and research at this problem.  There are no shortage of help lines and psychiatrists.  There are therapeutic drugs and retreats.  Yet we still have people committing suicide.  Worse yet, given the lauding the Mr. Williams has received, many have raised concerns that this may spawn a wave of copy cats, all of whom may end their lives saying, “Maybe now they will appreciate me” or some such.

Does it mean that a person has automatically gone to Hell?

Some people have dealt with the problem by decreeing that the suicide always goes straight to Hell.  Certainly, if a person really does believe that there is a Hell, and can be convinced that there is an automatic “Go straight to Hell, do not pass go” after suicide, such an idea could be a powerful deterrent.  At the very least, when someone is considering suicide, its fair game to raise the question: “Are you sure that this act will end your suffering?”  After all many cultures do believe, not to mention the tradition of our own, that there is a place of suffering in the after life.  We can and should ask, “Yes, its bad for you right now, but what makes you believe that what comes after isn’t worse?”  

But is it true that Suicide is an automatic ticket to Hell?

Isn’t it a form of murder?

While we can argue that it is a form of murder, the Bible never seems to use the act this way.  Murder is an act of hate (1 John 3:15) in the Bible, whereas the primary motivation for Suicide seems to be despair, though as we shall see, perhaps not always (see below)..  Its root cause is different.

The scriptures are less clear than we might like.  We moderns want a “spelled out” systematic theology for everything.  In scripture, there are no itineraries for suicide.  There are no classifications, or splitting of hairs.  No formal denunciations, despite the fact that there were several high profile examples of them.

Many cultures in the ancient middle east did consider suicide, at times, to be a noble option. Curiously, the Bible makes no statements for or against it, but does show examples of people who did it, most notably Saul and his armor bearer, and Judas.  There was a traitor general named Zimri, who got caught in a seige, and there was also Ahithophel, who hung himself.  For Saul, Zimri and Ahithophel, these suicides were primarily motivated by the fact that they could see a horrible end coming for themselves soon that might very well involve torment.  For Judas, it was a crushing psychological remorse.  Yet there is no statement associated with these acts that shows what came next for them, nor is there even a denunciation.  For Ahithophel, one almost gets the feel that it was as natural an act as setting his affairs in order!  Its really hard to say.  

For Saul, the scripture shows that Saul compared suicide as preferable to capture and torture.  I certainly hope I am never faced with a difficult choice of suicide or torture! We also have Samuel’s statement in 1 Samuel 18:29:  “The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The LORD will also hand over the army of Israel to the Philistines (NIV).” 

Some assumptions must be made then, as to what Samuel meant here.  Did he mean “With me in the grave?” Unlikely, but possible, especially given that Saul would not be buried right away.  Did he mean “Hades in general,” as a holding place for the dead?  Many Bible commentators think that there were two compartments in Hades, one for the righteous and one for the unrighteous dead.  So if they were in different compartments, presumably with Samuel in the righteous side, both could still have been “together in the realm of the dead,” yet experiencing very different levels of (dis)comfort!!

I am inclined, though I would not want anyone to base their destiny on my inclination, that Samuel meant that they would be in the abode of the righteous dead.  Saul did many wrong things, yet he had been a bearer of the Spirit of God and a man of faith for a period of time.  The question of what happened to Saul argue against the notion that we can have clarity on the eternal destiny of suicides, but should make us cautious about any declarations regarding the final resting place of a suicide.

We also have the early church history.  There are a number of accounts of Christians who chose suicide for themselves rather than be slowly tortured to death by the Romans.  Even in the immediate post apostolic period, we have records of Christians cornered on roof tops of buildings and choosing to jump to their deaths rather than be slowly tormented to death by demon enraged Roman persecutors.  

Thirdly, its my belief that a person who is truly saved can never lose his salvation.  This despite the fact that he continues to sin even until the day he/she dies.  Since there is no sin that can cause a person to lose that, it follows that suicide cannot cause a person to lose their salvation.  One can, quite fairly respond that suicide is evidence that they never really believed in God anyway.  But that is a rabbit trail for a different day.  The root cause of and dealing with suicide needs a different, clearer way, and these facts make claiming that suicide an automatic ticket to Hell a dubious proposition. 

People often commit suicide because they have no hope

Where is the hope?  Our world is not a hope producing world.  It promises much but it renders little in return.  It keeps us chained to itself by tantalizing our hungers but only gives enough to keep you wanting more and more.  We have a void in our lives, and we cannot find anything here in this world-system that can fill that void.  Since the vast majority of times a person commits suicide have to do with despair, then this is where we should look for an answer to the problem.  Let’s leave behind the question of suicide as an alternative to torture.

Robin Williams is a by-product of the secularist world view that he espoused.  As far as the evidence shows, he seemed to be fairly hostile to Christianity.  He sought refuge through pleasurable experiences with drugs, and by the accolades he received from his audiences and peers.  Certainly he also enjoyed his family, and loved his children.  Loving your children and enjoying their love is good and right. Enjoying the applause of others for a job well done is not wrong.  But they do not make a firm foundation for life.  Mr. Williams’ own life shows that even the love of others can be taken from you, and replaced with despair producing rejection.  He also apparently felt guilt over experiencing the pleasures of drugs, which ended up by contrast killing his close friend John Belushi.  Mr. Williams was facing the loss of many things he had worked hard for, decreasing demand for his talents, and continuous running battle with addiction (along with the spiritual element that drugs introduce into the life).  He came to a place where, as Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings, would say,  “He could see the end beyond all doubt,” and it was a bad end indeed.  

Did he HAVE to have a bad end?  No.  But depression, despondency and despair warp our view of reality. Having had suicidal thoughts in my past, I am aware of the emotion of despair and the warped view of reality that comes with it.  For Mr. Williams, he "saw" a bad end.  And so, he gave up.

But...There is always reason for hope.  

Jesus Christ is the Reason for Hope

Jesus Christ was sent as an act of the Holy Trinity to be the living statement that God has not discarded mankind.  Jesus Christ, as an act of love, took despair producing Sin and crucified it on the cross.  Jesus’s cross shows us that even things that look like they are an end really are not.  If he can overcome the cross, than through Him we can overcome the difficult, despair producing things we face.  

Jesus’ resurrection shows us that there is an afterlife, with the reward of friendship with God forever and ever.  It shows us that there really is a “happily ever after.”  The resurrection shows us that our hard work, done for God, in life, will always have its reward. Jesus freely offers us meaningfulness that goes beyond the grave.  There is always a reason to go on, and to persevere in the now.  Paul observed: “To me, to live, Christ; to die, gain.”  By that, he meant that continuing to live allows him to experience the power of Christ, and growing Christlikeness this side of glory.  Becoming like Jesus is a great reason to live.

Psalm 139 tells us that God has written our days in his book, before one of them came to be.  He always has a plan, and is using our circumstances for our good…we just have trust him that he knows best; hard as that can be some days.  Is He good? Yes.  All the time? Yes.  That means I need to trust him in my circumstances even when my view of reality, distorted by despair, says something different.

Persevere.  It produces Godliness (2 peter 1:6).

Persevere.  It brings a reward: “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him (James 1:12, NIV).”