Defeating the Wisdom of the World

Imagine Marcy. She’s been a single mom for the last few years.  Her little family of three lives month to month barely scraping by. Yesterday her boss came up and suggested she could get a promotion and a small raise if she will just leave out some details on this month’s report.  Not lie.  Just not share this particular information.  Marcy is torn.  She calls you asking for prayer and good advice.

What would you tell Marcy?  Where can you turn in the Bible for this kind of absolutely practical advice?  We know there is no, "Thou shalt not leave out important details." It is in situations just like this one where living in and living out the story of scripture helps.  Let me suggest a story from Jeremiah.

Does it work?

My marriage is in trouble. If we started coming to church, do you think it would work?

I’ve got a kid who is breaking my heart. If I prayed for him, do you think it would work?

I’ve got cancer and I’m really scared to die. If I asked God to heal me, do you think it would work?

Does it work?  

That is a question I have heard before.  It’s a question that hurts me because it so often comes from a  place of immense pain and fear.  But I’m sorry to say it’s the wrong question. Why? Because it implies that we are willing to serve God if it will work (IE if we will get what we want.) 

The Accuser

Have you ever second guessed yourself?  Felt the anxiety of wondering if you were misunderstood?  Been gripped by panic that what seemed fine at the time was actually gossiping, boasting or being hurtful?  Waffled over whether you should say anything at all?

During our most recent Sunday night class we talked about boasting.  I love these classes where our whole congregation is invited to study and bring their thoughts.  At first it seemed that everyone confidently understood how to identify bragging.  It makes us want to roll our eyes; it's a heart problem.  It's exaggerated.  It's a kind of one-up-manship. I began to think I was the only one who dithered about sharing good news in case that was boasting. In the past I have been misunderstood or I've struggled with boasting or both (See how I anxiously dither?) and sometimes now I just don't share at all.

5 Ways to Combat Sinful Anxiety

There are two kinds of anxiety.  There’s the chemical imbalance kind; the kind that is medical, needs a doctor’s care and possibly some kind of medication.  I make no claims to know anything about that kind of anxiety, nor would I presume to tell someone who suffers from it what they should or should not do. The kind of anxiety I have is different.  It is the kind that worries about things I can’t change, fears failure, and dwells on “what ifs” that may never happen. This anxiety could be considered more or less serious, depending on how you look at it.  On the one hand, it is sin, and that makes it a grave problem. Jesus told us not to worry (Matthew 6:25-34), so when I do, I am disobeying him.  On the other hand, sin has a solution.  Not only has Jesus’s blood cleansed me, but the Bible has given me ways to deal with my irrational (and even rational) fears.  Here are some ways that we as women can handle our sinful anxieties before they become a snare to us.

The Cure for Greed

Hello, my name is Melissa, and I am idolater.  It's been one day since I've been greedy.  Sometimes it seems like I don't know how to stop worshiping money.  The sad thing is that sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing.  Then an extra expense comes up, and I feel that little knot of anxiety.  I see an opportunity to give, and I pass it by because we just don't have it this week.  But we have it.  Extra giving just isn't in the budget this week, and I'm sure God understands that I need a grand in my emergency fund.  When I begin to question if we can afford what we have budgeted to give, I finally see the greed for what it is.  I've put God behind money.  Again.  I look back and see all the signs, and I regret it.  Then it creeps up on me again. How can I break out of this cycle?