Bullet Points For Christian Living

By Scott Wetzel

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”  Joshua 1:8 (NIV)

I bought a small truck a few years ago so I can do manly things like haul wood and gravel.  After I had it for a few weeks I needed to do some upkeep on it, so I went to the glove compartment to grab the owner’s manual.  I was surprised to find that it wasn’t there.  I bought the truck without a manual.  The owner’s manual was so unimportant to me that I didn’t even think to look.  So I went into the house and looked up what I needed online.  Now anytime I need to fix something, I just head to the computer and look it up first.  There are how-to tutorials everywhere online.  I can make any minor repair without ever looking at the owner’s manual. 

My wife’s car has the owner’s manual.  I look in it every once in awhile.  But I’ve never sat and read it.  I’ve never pondered it.  I’ve never memorized parts of it.  In fact, the only time I open it up is if there is some sort of trouble with the car or I need to know how to fix something.  And then I have to kind of stare at pictures until I get it figured out. 

I’ve heard the Word of God being referred to as an “owner’s manual”.  I used to think that was clever.  Now I think it’s shallow.  I don’t mean to be rude, but calling the Bible an “owner’s manual” reduces it to list of fix-its and a way to diagnose trouble.  I don’t believe that’s what it is.  Yes, there is comfort.  Yes, there are commandments intended to keep our lives pure.  Yes, it teaches us the way to eternity.  But it’s so much more than that.  It’s an entire story.  It’s poetry.  It’s art.  It has morality and warnings and hope.  If our faith becomes a series of bullet points to righteousness we miss all the stuff in between.  I can read the rules and follow the rules, but I’m not going to study the rules that I don’t get until I understand it.  When was the last time you spent a week on a Bible verse you didn’t understand?  The Scriptures teach us to meditate on it.  Chew on it.  Digest it.  Don’t let it get away.  It’s in there, so it’s important.  Don’t use ellipses to get past the hard parts.  Stay on it so you don’t miss the point. 

I get really good about picking and choosing what I’m going to read; finding out what the Bible says about whatever I’m dealing with.  That’s okay to a point but if I don’t go beyond that, I begin to think the Earth revolves around me.   I miss the challenges and corrections and only use it to endorse my decisions.  It’s wrong to scan through verses just to get to the “good stuff” like heaven.  That’s why the path to eternity isn’t laid out in any particular order.  It’s because our faith is a journey and the Bible isn’t the map; it’s the path.

The Payoff

By Scott Wetzel

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Gal 6:9 (NIV)

I used to work in a used CD shop right after I graduated college.  It consisted mostly of buffing out surface scratches on newly acquired stock, alphabetizing, and testing (for extended periods of time) used video game systems.  There were two things in particular that I liked to do.  One thing was alphabetizing the store.  The reason I liked to do that wasn’t because I’m really organized.  It was because it gave me a chance to look through every CD we had in the store.  I could see if something was new that I somehow missed or I could search our “Bad Rock” sections (the sections of CD’s that were never going to sell) for hidden gems to bolster my music snob cred.  The other thing was a ritual that happened several times a day, and that was air guitaring.  We would not just “play air guitar” but we would air guitar with every ounce of passion in our bodies. 

There was one song in particular that seemed to have the best air guitar dynamics in the world.  It was a song with an unrepeatable title by The Impossibles. It starts out very quiet and the quiet lasts for the entire first verse.  There’s a lot of tension but no build up…then the chorus just hits you.  The amps are overdriven and the whole band breaks out in gang vocals.  The song goes from quiet tension instantly into a wall of sound, led by a really hooky guitar riff.  We would air guitar very nonchalantly, standing on the counters.  As the chorus neared, we knew what was about to happen…so we’d crouch.  We’d crouch lower and lower and lower.  And then, just before the first note of the chorus, we’d jump off the counters, tucking our legs under ourselves and landing RIGHT as the first note of the chorus was being played.  And then we’d rock hard.  The first few times we listened to the song, we’d land at separate times, one too early, one too late, but after a few times, we were experts at air guitaring that song.

I wish my life was like that.   I hate waiting.  I hate tension.  I hate knowing what my purpose in life is and not being able to run full bore with it.  I know that’s probably not very spiritual, and I’m probably admitting that I’m a lot farther from righteousness than you’d like.  But it’s truth.  I don’t like waiting for the chorus in real life.  I know the payoff is huge but I don’t want to listen to the verse.  I don’t want to continue preparing. 

So I jump too soon.

I land at the wrong time and everything gets all awkward.

In the mean time, I’ll continue to seek God.  I know in my heart that if I look to Him and strive for His ways, eventually I’ll land at the same time He has purposed.  Lord, give me the patience to wait for the chorus.  The payoff will be enormous.

Denied

By Scott Wetzel

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:  to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?  Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?  Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.”  Is. 58:6-9 (NIV)

I’m going to make a confession to you.  My heart is intact.  Way too intact.  In fact, I believe most of our hearts are way too intact.  You might think that’s a good thing.  Obviously, we’re healthy if our hearts are intact, right?  Nope.  We might be in a healthy place and in a healthy marriage relationship.  We might be in a healthy church community or a healthy lifestyle.  But if our hearts are intact, we are unhealthy spiritually.

Look around…REALLY look around.  Can we put on spiritual goggles for a minute?  We’ve got people on virtually every corner holding cardboard signs asking for help.  Some of these people might be scam artists; some might not be.  But it doesn’t really matter what WE think.  These people need Jesus.  Every couple of miles we have young women exploiting their own bodies to sell $4 lattes.  We can call them all sorts of names, question their lifestyle and wrinkle our brows at their loose morals.  But it doesn’t matter what WE think.  These people need Jesus.  There are Wall Street tycoons, bankers and politicians taking and spending our hard earned dollars on lavish things, mind altering substances and illicit relationships.  We can yell and protest and name call all we want.  But it doesn’t matter what WE think.  These people need Jesus.

An intact heart is a sign that our human nature is winning.  Galatians 5:17 tells us that the Holy Spirit is always in conflict with our natural desires.  This is because our natural desires are to do what serves us, as individuals, best.  We know that we’re allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us when we see and do things that are less about us and more about everyone else. That means we deny our self interests most of the time.  God is ultimately concerned about His body as an entire being.  To be Godly minded is to be community minded. To be community minded means that we help the people around us that are hurting. 

Here’s the kicker-we don’t always know who is hurting.  That means we need to be a light to EVERYONE we meet.  I know that’s a hard concept to grasp and that doesn’t mean we don’t have bad days.  It means that we see everyone, regardless of their past or present situation, as fearfully and wonderfully made by our Creator.  Then we treat them that way.   Jesus chose to reach out to prostitutes over Pharisees and lepers over the priesthood.  Are we, as the Church Universal, doing that?  We should be letting our hearts break for those in less than desirable situations and begin to make change.  When our hearts break for the broken hearted, I believe Jesus will heal our communities.

Selling In The Name Of...

By Scott Wetzel

"You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”  Exodus 20:7 (NIV)

 “What do you think it means to take the Lord’s name in vain?”   It was a strange question posed to me by my friend, Michael.  He’s not a believer, but he did go to a youth group as a teenager and it ended with a giant failure on the part of his pastor.  Though the belief I hold dear to my heart is generally a string of unending jokes to him, this was a serious question among the sarcastic “Hallelujahs” he’ll shout once in awhile. 

 “Do you believe it’s saying (expletive)?  What about someone that sells something in the name of God?”

 I’d never though of it this way before.  I’d always heard that we don’t say “God” or “Jesus” unless we are referring to our Creator and Savior and we shouldn’t.  That’s about reverence and honor.  But how honorable is it to sell something by putting a Christian fish on it?  As a case in point, look at the Christian Yellow Pages.  It’s a phone book of businesses that claim to be Christians, so you can support Christians.  I guess we can find some justification in this.  It’s putting money into businesses that will tithe it and more money will go into the body of Christ.  I guess we automatically assume that all Christians are wise with their money and generous with their giving.

First off, I don’t believe we’re doing Jesus a favor by only purchasing from a Christian.  We’re called to be a light in the darkness, but how will we ever be that light when we avoid the world?  We should be out in the world chatting with our barbers, grocers, and baristas no matter what faith they are.  We need to be generous with our tips because we are not called to horde our money, but give generously in every occasion (2 Cor. 9:10-11).  That includes when we assume someone will be unwise with it.  Building relationships with the people you purchase from is a great way to share the gospel.  The more you patronize a store, the more a clerk or store owner trusts YOU.

 Second, my friend was right.  Selling in the name of God is almost always done for profit.  I know I’m walking a really tight line here, but stay with me.  If we put a fish or a cross somewhere on our business card, we know that there is a segment of the population that will use our business because of that.  I made the mistake recently of mentioning that I was moonlighting as a youth pastor while I was making a sales call at a church.  I didn’t do it so I could be a witness, I did it to make a sale.  I got back to my car and the Holy Spirit hit me with a conviction.  I was using His name to increase my sales numbers.  His name is for glory.  His name is for power.  His name is for eternity.  But His name isn’t for monetary gain.  The poor in spirit, not the best salesman, will be given the Kingdom of Heaven. 

I believe there is something incredible about putting forth honest business practices in a world where the unethical seem to reign supreme.  Working with the unbeliever keeps us in line (why would we ruin our witness?), and it gives us a chance to SHOW what Jesus is like. As we build relationships with our clients, we begin to show them what it’s really like to follow the Way.  

 This is not a call to abandon our belief system where we work.  This is a call to be intentional about our motivations within our businesses.  It’s not wrong to make money, but it might be to use God’s name to do it