Tag Archives: Bible

Political Lessons From 1 Samuel

Posted by Tim on

religion-politicsThey say that you should never discuss politics or religion in polite company. I’m not sure who said this, or exactly what they meant by it. (I know there’s an old Peanuts special that said something along those lines, though. The Great Pumpkin, I believe it was.) Why even have religion or politics if not to discuss? I love learning about politics and religion, but spreading the message is the true joy in these areas. I know when to hold my tongue and when to let loose, and it can occur in polite or less-than-polite company.

I’ll go ahead and break that rule, and also break another – don’t mix religion and politics. That would make sense if the two weren’t already amazingly intertwined. Although I’m no expert on theology, I do try to read the Bible regularly, and I do truly believe that the answers to all of life’s most difficult questions can be found in the Good Book. Not just what is right and wrong, but advice on the best ways to deal with people, and how to address different situations. Perhaps the biggest thing I’ve taken away from the Bible is that there is always more to learn, and some things will forever remain a mystery. There is a plan, but much of this plan is given to us on a “need-to-know” basis.

One pillar of conservatism that separates it from liberalism is how it views government. While liberals tend to welcome government, anticipating relief from problems of the world of scarcity in which we live, conservatives believe otherwise. Our view of the world is the tragic view – there are no solutions; only trade offs. Because no solutions exist, giving anyone power is a bad idea. As Lord Acton said over 100 years ago, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

But warnings against government power have been around for ages, long before Acton spoke his famous line. Around 1100 BC, Samuel was judge over Israel, but when Samuel retires the people do not want another judge. Instead, they want a King – a ruler.

So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not follow your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.” (1 Samuel 8:4)

Samuel came to God with the request of Israel – to have a king. God, although unhappy with the request, granted it. But it came with a warning.

Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights. (1 Samuel 8:9)

Samuel told all the words of the Lord to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your male and female servants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.” (1 Samuel 8:10-17)

These verses are a direct parallel to what happens in tyrannical countries around the world. Kings take children and use them for war. Notice that these children are put on chariots in front of the king’s chariots. The king doesn’t fight the battle – the soldiers do. Presidents and Congress don’t fight wars; instead they send young Americans around the world.

The king will take the fruits of your labor, the best of your fields, vineyards, and groves, and give them to his attendants. Sound like crony-capitalism at all? Sound like a president taxing some, and then giving it others – perhaps his own friends?

This post wouldn’t be complete without the most important line regarding kings.

But when they said, “Give us a king to lead us,” this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. (1 Samuel 8:6-7)

The reason people always want a king, a dictator, a leader, a ruler, is because they are lacking a king in another part of their lives. People need something to have faith in, something to tell them that everything will be okay, something to save them. When there is a lack of God, people turn to something else – government. As Americans reject God, they will cry out for a King.

Thoughts on 1 Timothy

Posted by Tim on

I just finished the book of 1 Timothy again. I really like both 1 and 2 Timothy, but I kind of wish it wasn’t so. I feel lame telling people that my favorite book of the Bible is 1 Timothy when my name is Timothy. I guess I was just named correctly. It could be worse; I could be named Amos. I’m sure I’d have to undergo horrible ridicule as a child – “Amos anus” and so forth. Always look on the bright side, right?

Putting aside what could have been, I found it rather comforting to learn what 1 Timothy was all about – Paul giving instructions to a young man who was looking to be a leader of the church. Timothy looked up to Paul, and Paul gave him excellent advice in the two letters he wrote – 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.

While I’m no Bible thumper, and I’m hardly an expert in theology, I do enjoy reading this stuff and sharing what I learn. Although many people are much smarter than I am when it comes to religion, please bare with me as I share a few great verses I read recently. Maybe this is a repeat for you, maybe you’ve forgot it, or maybe you’ve never read it yourself. Take it or leave it.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance; Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.“
1 Timothy 1:15

Paul says upfront – this is important. What he’s about to say needs to be taken seriously and literally. Jesus came to the world to save sinners. There are a number of ways to look at this. First, Paul doesn’t specify which sinners Jesus came to save; he just says “sinners”. Isn’t that ALL of us? We’re all sinners, and Jesus came to save everyone, not just people of a certain background or certain heritage.

Secondly, Paul wants Timothy to learn from Jesus. If we look back into Jesus’ time, he wasn’t hanging out with the kings of the land. He wasn’t hanging out with celebrities and rockstars. He was having dinner with the poor, the elderly, the sick. Too often today we think that to be a follower we need to push away people from our lives. Thats not what Jesus did. What we ought to do is reach out to the people who need Jesus most, even if they are seen as horrible people. Jesus had a number of personal conversations with prostitutes, did he not?

“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.“
1 Timothy 4:8

Did Paul seriously just smash the meaning of my life to pieces? I’ve spent so many hours on exercise and diet and all of that stuff – just to have Paul say it isn’t important? Well, no. Paul admits that there is value in training your body; keeping it healthy and so forth. What he’s saying is that we shouldn’t be short sighted and overlook the most important thing – training our hearts. We all die – our bodies will turn to dirt. Our souls, on the other hand, last forever.

“Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”
1 Timothy 5:1

Isn’t this the key to having great relationships? Paul is telling Timothy that if he wants to be a leader he needs to be worthy of respect, and they only way you get respect is by giving it. Treat your elders well, and treat those younger than you as though they were your siblings; look after people. If we are to be leaders we need to look after those in our life the way a shepherd looks after his flock of sheep.

Meh. Just a few things I took away from that book. Its some really great reading, and I encourage everyone to pick up their Bibles soon and read it. Only a few chapters long – a half hour of reading should be enough to get through it, but I recommend more. Its good to sit and think about what is being said, and realize the deeper meaning.

The Bible is Alive

Posted by Tim on

Ever since I started reading, or more so studying, the Bible I’ve had a few profound moments. It’s like whenever you pick it up, no matter what page you turn to you’ll find something that pertains to whatever is happening in your life. It’s kind of a mysterious book that way. It’s more than a book – it’s spiritual.

The most recent odd Bible reading experience happened a few nights ago. I usually go to church on Saturdays, but this Saturday I’m working until 5:00 – exactly when the service starts. I usually get there 10-15 minutes early too, so this kind of put a fold in my plans. I also have a gig this Saturday about 45 minutes away. I have to get off work, shower, and head up north. So, I thought I had a legitimate excuse to skip church this week.

It just so happens that I was reading Hebrews later that night. A lot of the book has to do with Christianity breaking many of the old Jewish traditions, rituals, and rules. However, Hebrews makes a point of saying that church is still very important, whether you’re a Jew or a Christian. In the notes section below, the book explained that we should try harder to go to church when it’s inconvenient. How weird is that? I think about skipping church, and then I read that verse. So, that settles it. I’ll leave work a little early, make it to church, and just hustle to get to the gig.

I was talking about this with a coworker and he shared a weird Bible experience with me. One day he was talking to his wife on the phone and she was having some troubles. He told her to pick up her Bible, and he picked up his. When he asked what chapter she turned to she told him and he said…. seriously? That’s the exact same chapter I just turned to! How does stuff like that happen? Two people open their Bibles to the exact same book and chapter while on the phone. Kinda creepy, almost.

It’s just a little way of knowing that there is really something special about the Bible. It’s like it has a mind of it’s own. God works in mysterious ways…

 

Reading the Bible

Posted by Tim on

I like to think of myself as a fairly well read individual. I’ve picked up quite a few books over the past couple years and I’ve just about managed to completely fill up my bookshelf. I got really into exercise and diet and all that mumbo jumbo, and I also went through a Larry Winget phase – reading his own stuff, as well as Zig Ziglar and Dale Carnegie. I’ve picked through Jim Collins’ business books, Michael Gerber’s entrepreneurial “E-Myth” books, and a couple Malcolm Gladwell books that you’d probably classify under some arm(pit) of sociology.

I then decided to look into some deeper stuff – political theory, economics, and ohh…. the boring one – philosophy. Maybe I just picked the wrong guys to read, or maybe I should have picked up a book titled “basic philosophy” for “philosophy for dummies”. I didn’t. I just dove head first in Ayn Rand’s “Objectivist” stuff and Friedrich Nietzsche’s (God is dead, anyone?) “Will to Power”. Needless to say, I didn’t get far.

Then I thought – what the heck am I doing bothering with these guys, when most of what they’re saying, and everything I’m searching for, was in another book. A book that we so often seem to pass over, despite it being the most famous and influential book in the world. No, I’m not talking about Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations”, (which I might put in a personal second place). I’m talking about the Bible.

All of the self help and motivational books are going to be rehashing old ideas that were said 2000-3500 years ago. We keep looking for advice in new places, when all the answers have already been spelled out for us. Whether you have problems with work, with money, with your love life – advice is in the Bible. And yet, so many of us continue to neglect to read it. I did myself for a long time (even though I still called myself a Christian, I might add. More on that later.) I’ve met a lot of really smart people – I mean really smart people – who completely overlook the Bible. Why is that?

I think there are a couple reasons why people don’t read the Bible. For one, the Bible is a religious book, and a lot of people look at religion as a downer. Some “god” is just going to tell you what to do and make you feel guilty about supposed “sins”. Because people have a distaste for religion, they see the Bible in the same light, and write it off without reading it. This is a true shame, because even people of other religions would have something to gain by reading the Bible. You don’t need to be a Christian fundamentalist to read the Bible, enjoy it, and use it in your life.

The other reason I think people don’t read the Bible is because they don’t understand it. Much of what is written is kind of confusing. The old testament (which seems to be where people start if they try reading the Bible) comes off as pretty dry. A lot of names, history, prophesies; all sorts of stuff that gets people confused. It wasn’t written in modern times. Hey – even books that were written a hundred years ago can be troublesome. Imagine a book written 3500 years ago! For people who find it painful to try to comprehend what the Bible is talking about, “Study Bibles” are a great option. Along with the original text are notes explaining what the text it saying. Don’t understand a verse – here’s a guide that’s written in plain english to help you along.

So, the ultimate book to read? The one book I’d take if I could only keep one? The Bible. Plain and simple – it’s the best book ever written, and it’s the only book you need.

Saul vs David

Posted by Tim on

This past Saturday I went to my home church for the first time since Christmas. It was a refreshing feeling. Some people think that since the church is categorized as a “mega-church” that it doesn’t have a strong sense of community. It really does, and to me it feels like home. This visit was also important because instead of going with my family as I normally would, I went with a friend. This friend is caught somewhat between Christianity and Islam, but wanted to go to church. I mentioned that I was going on Saturday, and he said, “hey, let’s go together.” It really worked out pretty well.

The sermon this week was a comparison between two main characters in the old testament, Saul and David. Both ended up being kings of Israel, but their differences are important. While Saul was physically strong, and an experienced leader, he lacked the most important thing – reliance on God. He thought he knew it all, and never let God into his heart. Over time Saul became cold and hardened.

David, however, was chosen by God, and had a strong relationship with God before he was even named to be the next king. David was small, weak, inexperienced, but he had something Saul didn’t have – God. David’s humility was shown when he refused to kill Saul, even as Saul was hunting him down. David would have certainly had an excuse to kill Saul in self defense, but he let him go.

This story is important, because it shows that God knows best. Our own plans in life can change in an instant, and it’s important to trust God. David had no idea what he was in for as king of Israel, but he had confidence in God. It’s also good to know that God doesn’t judge people the same way we do. While we look at someone’s physique, someone’s money, someone’s intelligence; God looks at their heart.

VIDEO: Chip Ingram

Posted by Tim on

Once again I’m going to puss out and post a video instead of typing anything. I’ve had a busy week – full of working and spending too many hours in a recording studio. So, instead of thinking of something interesting to write, I’m going to eat, lift some heavy ass weights, and hang with a friend. I do want to make a point to thank the handful of people who have started commenting and following my blog. Even a couple followers and “likes” makes this a lot more enjoyable. Have a rockin’ Friday everyone!