One thing that really jumped out at me as I have been studying the book of Genesis is the difference between how Sarah treated Hagar’s son and how Rachel treated the sons of Bilhah. Culturally speaking, Ishmael was Sarah’s son and Dan and Naphtali were Rachel’s sons (though the Bible clearly specifies who the mothers truly are), yet while Rachel seems to have accepted the boys as her sons, Sarah completely rejected Ishmael.
We find Sarah’s story in Genesis 16 and 21:8-21. Abraham and Sarah had been married for a long time, and they were both getting old, but they had no children. God had promised Abraham that He would make Abraham a great nation, but with each month that passed, Sarah wasn’t pregnant. She eventually hatched the plan to give her servant Hagar to Abraham so Sarah could have a child through Hagar. Even though her plan worked, Sarah was more miserable than before. Genesis 16:4 tells us that, “when [Hagar] saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [Sarah].” Sarah went so far as to treat pregnant Hagar so harshly that Hagar fled into the wilderness. The angel of the LORD found Hagar, told her she would have a son, and convinced her to go back to Sarah.
Rachel’s story is a little more complicated because she was Jacob’s second wife. We read all of the details in Genesis 29:9-30:24. Jacob was in love with Rachel, and he worked for her father, Laban, for seven years as a condition to marry her. But on their wedding night, Laban switched Rachel out for Leah, her older sister. A week later, Jacob married Rachel with the requirement that he work for Laban another seven years. Before we know it, Leah started having children, but Rachel was barren. After Leah had four sons, Rachel gave her servant Bilhah to Jacob in desperation, so she could have children through Bilhah. Bilhah had two sons, and this seemed to appease Rachel somewhat. There is no indication in the text that Rachel mistreated Bilhah or rejected her sons.
As I read and reread these passages, studying the book of Genesis, I realized that their situations, though similar, were also very different. From the beginning of her marriage, Rachel had watched her sister bear son after son. Jacob and Rachel had no children, but it clearly wasn’t a problem with Jacob. Rachel had to accept early on that she could not have children.
Sarah, on the other hand, was Abraham’s only wife. For their entire marriage, there was always the question: was Abraham sterile or was Sarah barren? Culturally, the blame always fell on the wife, but I imagine Abraham and Sarah had this conversation periodically throughout their marriage. All doubt was removed the second Hagar announced she was pregnant. The couple’s infertility issues lay squarely on Sarah. This could surely cause Sarah to lash out, as she did, not only at Hagar, but also at Abraham. It also explains her bitter laughter when the three visitors tell Abraham that Sarah will have a child after she has already gone through menopause (Genesis 18:9-15).
While this realization broke my heart for Sarah, it was also sobering to recognize this was pain of her own making. While the suffering she faced in infertility was something God would use for His glory, the suffering she experienced by watching Hagar bear Abraham a son was a natural consequence of her lack of faith. God had already promised to make Abraham and Sarah a great nation, but He wasn’t moving fast enough for Sarah. Perhaps she thought she needed to help the plan along. Perhaps she thought God gave her this scheme to use Hagar. Perhaps she thought the promise was only for Abraham, and not for her, too. As a result, she got ahead of God. It is clear that Abraham developed a relationship with Ishmael, Hagar’s son, which probably strained his marriage with Sarah. And we see that she allowed this pain to take root in her heart and turn in to bitterness. How much sweeter would it have been when she gave birth to Isaac if she had simply trusted that God would do what He promised in His time? How much heartache would she have spared herself, Abraham, Hagar, and the nation of Israel if she had believed God is faithful?
While Rachel’s story is not exactly a romantic fairy tale—after all, Leah and Rachel barter for sex with Jacob over some mandrake fruit (Genesis 30:14-16)—Rachel dealt with her insecurities very early on in her marriage, and she was always especially treasured by Jacob to the detriment of his children. I could write an entire post about Leah’s relationship with Jacob. Suffice it to say, though Jacob always chose Rachel, in the end God chose Leah by placing Judah, her son, in the lineage of Christ.
There are several lessons for us in the account of Sarah. Throughout the entire book of Genesis, God repeatedly says “I will.” The fulfillment of God’s promises is wholly and completely dependent on Him, not us. We don’t need to make our own plans, come up with schemes, or kick down doors. That never works in our favor and is often detrimental not only to us, but also to those around us.
You might be asking why the Bible is full of stories of barren women. After all, God promised to make Abraham a great nation, yet he was married to a woman who would give him one son in their old age. Not quite the same as the number of stars in the sky and grains of sand as he was told. When Sarah laughed at the prophecy of the visitors in Genesis 18, they asked a very important question in response: “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” God chose to use barren women, even one who had already gone through menopause and was ninety years old, to demonstrate that no, nothing is too hard for Him. There was no question in anyone’s mind about the birth of Isaac being a miracle. It was why Abraham could “rise early in the morning” eager to obey God when God commanded him to sacrifice Isaac, the promised child of the father of the Israelites.
While the story of Sarah tugs at our heartstrings, especially as women, God teaches these lessons again and again throughout the book of Genesis and beyond. We see it in Isaac’s life, Jacob’s story, and Joseph’s drama (and oh, what a drama it is!). God’s plans will not be thwarted by our interference. He will fulfill His promises because of Who He is. Nothing is too hard for the Lord!
Are you trusting Him in your life, or are you trying to take the lead, hoping He backs you up?
Last week as our nation was participating in the midterm elections, my writing class was reading and discussing Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin. You may think these two things have nothing in common, but stick with me for a bit and let me unpack it.
Many of the issues on our ballots were a direct result of the Dobbs decision by the U.S. Supreme Court which overturned Roe v. Wade and gave the authority on the issue of abortion back to the states. And many of those ballot issues did not go the way we had hoped. Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in response to the Fugitive Slave Act, which gave Southerners the right to pursue their escaped slaves and prohibited assistance to runaway slaves by those in the North. Her motivation for writing this novel was political. She understood that the law was not set in stone.
I don’t want to go into a full-blown literature lesson here, but I do want to give you some context on Stowe’s novel. Many scholars attribute the abolition of slavery at least in part to the influence of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (making it ironic that it is a book banned in most government schools for issues of racism). In fact, there is a commonly accepted anecdote, unproven as it may be, that when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe at the White House shortly after the Emancipation Proclamation had been announced, he greeted her with, “So you are the little woman who made the great war.” While Stowe’s book sold 300,000 copies in its first year, and its sales were rivaled only by those of the Bible at that time, it is estimated that ten times that many people actually read the novel in the U.S. alone. Stowe brought the issue of slavery into living rooms, parlors, and even coaches and train cars. Is there anything we can learn from her book in our fight against abortion and the states that want to make it a “right”?
If you want to know more details about how Uncle Tom’s Cabin was instrumental in abolishing slavery and all of the positive and negative repercussions Stowe faced, I encourage you to do a little research. It really is fascinating, but it is not the point of this post. What I want to focus on is what Stowe included in her book that made it so effective.
Faith Should Drive Politics
First, Stowe allowed her faith to inform her worldview and, by extension, her politics. She didn’t shy away from bringing faith into the discussion. So many Christians today think we must separate our politics from our faith, and since abortion is a political issue, it must be discussed without bringing up the Bible.
My first response to this argument is that abortion is not a political issue; it is a worldview issue. And furthermore, our politics should always flow from our faith because our faith shapes our worldview and our worldview dictates how we live our lives. This includes how we vote and what causes we support. We should not be afraid to bring faith into the conversation.
Scripture tells us in Romans 1 that we know the truth, yet in our arrogance, we suppress the truth. The more we expose people to the truth, the harder they have to work to suppress it. So keep speaking the truth!
As Allie Stuckey often points out, science can tell us when life begins, but it can’t tell us why life matters. If we depend solely on secular science, we will be missing that important piece. Our faith tells us why life matters: because every person, even the baby in the womb, is made in the image of God. Without this worldview underpinning our position, we can’t explain why that baby’s life is important.
Put Flesh on the Issue of Abortion
No matter how far north Stowe’s readers lived, she brought slavery into their living rooms. It was easier for people to talk about the slaves when they didn’t know their names and their stories, when they couldn’t picture their faces and feel their sorrows. Stowe drew her readers into the lives of the slaves so they could see first hand what slavery was really like.
We can do the same thing with abortion. We need to stop using euphemisms, and start calling it what it is: murder. We even need to stop using the word abortion because that word doesn’t truly communicate the atrocity of slaughtering a pre-born baby. We need to put flesh on the issue of abortion by speaking truth, yes, even graphic truth, instead of trying to make people comfortable with the conversation. It is not “reproductive healthcare,” “fetal tissue,” or a “clump of cells.” It is a developing human, who, in most cases, is being murdered for convenience.
There were those who knew they would personally never own a slave, but they didn’t think it was their place to interfere with the economy and workings of a plantation. Once they saw flesh on the issue of slavery, they could no longer distance themselves from the discussion. The same is true with abortion. The idea that you can be personally pro-life but politically pro-choice goes right out the window when you see flesh on the issue of abortion. You begin to realize that even in those extreme situations of rape or incest, it isn’t the baby’s price to pay. That isn’t justice.
There were also slave owners who read Stowe’s book, and through her description, recognized the wickedness of which they were taking part. At the end of the novel, spoiler alert, George Shelby frees his slaves, offers to educate them, and starts paying them wages if they want to stay on his plantation. He repents of the belief that one human can own another human. In much the same way, a woman who has had an abortion, when confronted with the severity of her sin, can repent and be made new thanks to Christ’s payment for her sins. If she never accepts the full weight of her sin, she can never truly repent and be forgiven. Yes, we can be gentle and loving, but we must remember that it is a gift to speak truth to those who are suffering and dying in their sin!
Paint a Picture
Stowe’s readers could no longer find any virtue in slavery. Even the kindest slave owners did not hit the mark. If you’ve read the novel, you know that Tom’s owner, Mr. Shelby, whom Tom had known since Shelby was a boy, planned to free him and had made this known to Tom. That was his plan, that is until he fell on hard financial times. Suddenly, the reader understood that there was no true loyalty, no matter how far back they went. Once his owner sold him, Tom was at the mercy of several different owners with varying degrees of treatment. Through her writing, Stowe forced her readers to pick a side, and they did so fully informed of the barbarity slaves experienced.
Perhaps a novel is not the ideal way to communicate the atrocities of abortion to our current society. Unfortunately, I fear most wouldn’t make it through a very long novel like Stowe’s novel. But there are ways we can paint the picture for them: social media posts or graphics, descriptions of abortions, or even a video of an abortion itself. Statistics prove that women who see their pre-born baby on an ultrasound are less likely to kill the baby, so even showing ultrasound videos where the baby is wiggling or kicking can be wildly effective in convincing someone of the humanity of the pre-born. And of course, we can use our words. We can have effective conversations capable of persuading because we have truth on our side.
Remember that Stowe wrote this book in reaction to a law that was passed. That law is no longer in place. Elections come and go, and laws can come and go, too. Don’t be discouraged by laws that passed or didn’t pass during the midterm elections. While we absolutely need to take part in the political process, be informed, and exercise our right to vote, our job is to use the Gospel to change hearts. Wouldn’t it be glorious if a law became obsolete because so many hearts were changed, it was no longer needed?
There is so much more that could be said on this topic and so many other lessons we can learn from Stowe’s novel, but this is a great place to start! Don’t be afraid to speak from a biblical worldview, put flesh on the issue of baby murder, and paint a picture so people know what’s really happening. How can you start to effect change in your circle of influence?
I recently heard a Christian influencer with a large following repeat a worn out encouragement. She said conviction comes from God, but shame comes from Satan. The first time I heard this, I remember thinking it sounded great. But just because something sounds good doesn’t mean it is biblical. What is implied in this statement is, if you feel ashamed, even if it is legitimate shame over sin, it did not come from God because God doesn’t shame us.
While it is true that, once God has forgiven us, we shouldn’t keep coming back to our shame as we are known to do, it is one of the tools God uses to call sinners to repentance. Believing that any shame you feel is not from God is a lie that only serves Satan. If he can keep you believing that all shame you feel is from him, it will never drive you to repentance. The truth is Scripture gives us examples of God shaming people to draw their attention to their sin.
Examples of Shame
Jesus shamed the Pharisees when He called them white-washed tombs and brood of vipers. He was shaming them when he overturned the tables in the temple and told them they were turning His house into a den of thieves. In Ezekiel, we are told that Israel needed to be ashamed of their iniquities (43:10). In Hosea, God promised to change Israel’s glory into shame because of their sin (4:7). First Corinthians reminds us that God uses the foolish things to shame the wise and the weak things to shame the strong (1:27). And Paul tells the believers in Thessalonica that if anyone doesn’t obey the words of Scripture, they should have nothing to do with that person, “that he may be ashamed” (2 Thessalonians 3:14).
Of course, shame is not the only tool God uses. When He met the woman at the well, she had experienced enough shame, so He used compassion instead. The same is true of the woman caught in adultery. She already felt her shame, so Christ did not pile it on. But when we come across people who think they know better than God, like the Pharisees who had added rules to God’s law that oppressed God’s people, shame is the appropriate instrument.
Where there is no shame, the private becomes a spectacle, what was wrong becomes right, and what was evil becomes praiseworthy. When we look around our world today and see women wearing barely a stitch of clothing while they twerk on a public stage, or men dressed up in caricature costumes of women dancing lewdly for children, or the number of women who are choosing abortion so they can be free to live their immoral lifestyles without consequences, I would say we could use some shame!
And that is the point: we ought to be ashamed of sin. When we think we know better than God and refuse to submit to His authority, we ought to be ashamed. Paul seems to be describing our current society when he says to the Philippians, “Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things” (3:19 ESV).
This same Christian influencer who repeated this belief about shame claims that while she doesn’t meet the standards of the church, she still meets God’s standards. As a result, she speaks out against the church, God’s given method for community among believers, as an oppressive institution. This sounds very close to believing she knows better than God as she seeks to destroy His church. And this is the very situation where some shame is warranted.
What Is Shame for?
Perhaps where we err when it comes to shame is not in that we don’t use this tool God gives, but that we use it wrongly. The goal of shame is not to lord it over someone in an “I am right, and you are wrong” way. It is not to pile on when that person has already recognized she ought to be ashamed. The goal of shame is to call sinners to repentance. Shame should drive us toward Jesus and His forgiveness. It should not be used as a club to hit someone over the head when she is already convinced of her guilt.
While we should be ashamed of our sin and lay it at the feet of Jesus never to pick it up again, we should not be ashamed of standing for the truth in a world that wants to bully us into complying with lies. Mark 8:38 reminds us that if we are ashamed of God, He will be ashamed of us. As long as we keep our eyes on Him, we will not be put to shame (Psalm 119:6). We should not be ashamed of suffering for the cause of Christ (1 Peter 4:16), and we should not shrink back in shame from God but abide in Him (1 John 2:28).
So, friend, how do you know if your shame is from God or Satan? Evaluate the cause of the shame. Are you ashamed because of sin? Let that shame drive you to the feet of Jesus where you can lay that sin down. Are you ashamed because you are standing alone on truth in a sea of lies? Stand boldly because that shame is not of God but of this world, and you will be rewarded. Stop letting the world tell you how God works and what He does. Turn to Scripture for truth.
Few things are as controversial in the Christian world as music—though I believe Halloween might give it a run for its money—and I will fully admit that I am a music snob. I grew up in a musical family, and both of my kids have inherited that same affinity. In college, I minored in church music. And, until recently, I have always been part of a praise team, choir, or singing specials at church. Music is in my blood.
As I have grown in discernment and increased my biblical worldview, I have had to reevaluate the types of music I will play in our home. I vividly recall listening to secular music when Mark and I were first married. I started paying attention to my mood and my expectations of people when I would listen to Christian music instead, and the results were very interesting. Music does affect us! It helps us memorize the good and the bad. It sets the tone for our environment. It can even attach itself to pleasant or hurtful memories. And often, we are unaware of the sway it has over us.
In the last few years, our family has visited many different churches, and one of the things we have noticed is the variety of song services during the churches’ worship services. We participated in services where the music was acapella. Others only sang Psalms. Others sang songs that came straight from Scripture and were unfamiliar to us. Most used the song service to “set a mood” for the upcoming sermon. One in particular seemed to just put on a show, singing songs with little to no substance and a ridiculous amount of phrase repetition. It was obvious which churches placed a high importance on the songs they sang and which ones only wanted to entertain, paying little heed to the words they were singing.
Gone are the days when we could simply trust a “Christian” label on a song. With so many false teachers infiltrating the ranks of Christianity and so much worldliness taking over the Christian music scene, it is important that we know how to evaluate music. It is easy to get caught up in the melody, the sticky lyrics, or the good “vibes” we get from the song and not recognize that we are not worshipping God at all.
Christian Music and Worship
First, it is imperative that we understand music is not evil. All throughout Scripture, we are told to worship God with Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The longest book in the Bible, Psalms, is a book of worship songs the Jews sang as they set themselves apart from the world. David, a man after God’s own heart, was a gifted musician, called upon to soothe Saul’s spirit when he was out of sorts. And instruments are also not evil; the Bible mentions all kinds of musical instruments by name that were common during that time, lending to the assertion that we can use instruments common in our time. The Israelites were encouraged to use their instruments and their musical talents, even dancing, when they worshipped. While music and instruments can absolutely be used to draw people away from God, they can absolutely be used to draw people towards God, too. And there is nothing inherently more spiritual about an organ over a guitar. Both can be used to worship evil, and both can be used to worship God.
Besides worshipping God, there is another purpose to the song service: spiritual instruction. Our worship of God becomes deeper and more meaningful when we learn more about Him. As I mentioned earlier, music helps us memorize. That is why a song we heard on Sunday can stay with us all throughout the week. Therefore, we should be using the time during the music service to help in the spiritual growth of the congregation. This is why it is more important for a song to have doctrinal substance than a catchy tune.
Music is not the only way to worship. For some reason in our society, the “song service” and the “worship service” have become synonymous, but the song service is only a part of the worship service. The prayer, the sermon, the invitation, even the offering are ways we can worship God during the church service. And our worship is not limited to our time in church. Everything we do throughout every day of the week can be an act of worship. We can change diapers, make meals, do laundry, go to our jobs, drive down the road, play games, and sleep to the glory of God.
The Object of Our Worship
As with everything man gets his hands on, worship can be perverted. We need to evaluate the object of our worship. The music portion of the worship service in our churches is meant as a time to worship God. Unfortunately, many modern songs twist this purpose and worship “me,” “I,” and “myself” instead of worshipping God. If the song is about who I am, how God makes me feel, how I define God, or what God can do for me, then it is not worshipping God, it is worshipping me.
Not only can a song be twisted to worship self, but also it can be manipulated to simply elicit an emotional response. There are many songs that make us feel something. Maybe the music builds in a certain way as to increase our feelings of worship, causing us to close our eyes, stand spontaneously, or raise our hands. Maybe the lyrics strike a chord with us based on a particular circumstance in our lives at that time. Maybe the song lends itself to dramatic outbursts or added musical trills and runs. But, friend, we must keep our eyes on the intended object of worship! Emotional responses are fickle. Our emotions should follow our knowledge of who God is, not a fabricated, momentary feeling.
Christian Music for the Congregation
We should also consider what makes a good congregational song. If the goal of the song service is to lead the congregation to worship in unity, then the songs we choose to sing as a congregation should lend themselves to congregational singing. When there is a solo or the music leader strays from the melody, this causes confusion rather than unity in the assembly. One of the reasons hymns have been so popular throughout the years is because most of them are predictable. Even if you have never heard a particular hymn before, the melody often follows common musical patterns, so it is easy to pick up. Unlike most modern worship songs, hymns are repetitive in melody but not in lyrics. This makes them easy to learn, too. Contemporary worship songs often have difficult transitions, bridges, or vocal ranges making them more of a distraction and less conducive to congregational worship. Please don’t misunderstand me, not all hymns are good and not all contemporary choruses are bad. Each song should be evaluated independently before we choose to sing it in our churches.
The Origin of the Music
Finally, we must consider the origin of the song. Who wrote it? What affiliation do the songwriters have? What other kinds of songs do they write? The importance of these questions is two-fold. There is a practical, financial side to consider, and there is a spiritual-health-of-the-congregation side to consider.
Let’s start with the practical side. We live in a time when we value private ownership not only of property, but also of ideas. Being accused of plagiarism is no small thing, and using someone’s intellectual property without their permission is stealing. As a result, there have been checks and balances set up to ensure an artist is financially compensated when his song is played—as he should be.
Christian Music and Stewardship
We are called to be good stewards of the money God provides us, both on a individual level and as a church body. I don’t want to get into the weeds on this, but churches purchase a license to use an artists songs, and as individuals, we either purchase the song or listen to it on a membership platform like Spotify or Apple Music, all of which we pay to use. This is a way to ensure the artists are compensated each time we play or use the song. So when we play a song on one of these platforms or we sing a song in church, we are financially supporting that artist and should consider if that is good stewardship of the money God has provided.
Each church should make this decision prayerfully, but I will share my position on this. An individual artist or band who is not affiliated with a larger organization can learn and grow during a musical career, so picking and choosing individual songs that are doctrinally sound from those artists whose lifestyle and teaching align with Scripture is acceptable. Of course, if you find that they have made a statement that goes against Scripture, supporting their ministry should end until such time as they repent.
A band that is affiliated with a larger organization or ministry should be regarded with more scrutiny. When we financially support a band that is part of a church or ministry, our money may not stay simply as a support of the music portion of that organization but may be used to finance other endeavors. For example, Bethel Music is part of Bethel Church, which includes a ministry training facility. When I support Bethel Music, my money may well be used to fund the training facility. What does that organization teach? Does it align with Scripture? Would we invite that pastor to preach behind the pulpit of our church? If not, we should not be supporting that ministry with our dollars.
When we consider adding a song to our church’s music service that comes from one of these bands, we also need to look at their entire repertoire of music, not just the one song in isolation. When we look at the entirety of their work, do they only sing about those attributes of God that make us feel good, like His love, mercy, and goodness? Or do they also sing about His justice, holiness, and righteousness? Do they ever mention His wrath or His power? Just like a lie of omission (telling only part of the story) is a sin, singing only about the parts of God we like paints only half of the picture.
Christian Music and the Assembly
Perhaps we think we can still pick and choose songs that don’t meet this sniff test because that one song is just so good and the lyrics are spot on. Let’s consider the effect that could have on the spiritual well-being of the members in the assembly. One of the church members absolutely loves the song and looks it up online to find the artist. As soon as she find it, she adds it to her Spotify playlist and begins listening to it on repeat. She loves the song so much that she downloads the entire album, she goes to YouTube and searches the artist, and then she begins listening to sermons preached by the pastors in that organization. Suddenly, you have a member of your congregation falling into false beliefs which cause her to deconstruct her faith.
The music we encourage our church members to listen to is no light issue, friend! The song service should be just as concerned about the spiritual growth of the assembly as the sermon portion of the service. The music pastor should be more pastor than musician, weighing everything he brings to the congregation against the teachings of Scripture.
Conclusion
I know this is a heavy and controversial topic, and if you have read this far, I commend you! I encourage you to do the research and come to your own conclusions about the music you choose to play in your home. You may have convictions about music that your pastor or music minister don’t share. Like I said at the beginning, I consider myself a music snob and have dealt with this situation repeatedly. Prayerfully consider which aspects can be covered in love, which aspects should be addressed, and which aspects are deal breakers for you.
Ultimately, God is sovereign, and He can redeem those things the enemy intends for evil. While this is not a salvation issue, we are told in James 4:17 that it is a sin to know the right thing to do and not do it. That applies in every area of our lives, including the music we listen to and sing.
Are we commanded to be “nice”? For too long we have allowed an unbelieving world to tell us what it looks like to be a Christian. So what does the Bible actually say about it?
One of my favorite preachers, Voddie Baucham, Jr., is known to point out that, in our society today, “There is an 11th commandment. The 11th commandment is ‘Thou shalt be nice,’ and we don’t believe the other ten.” Unfortunately, this belief has snuck into the church and given Christians an excuse not to call out sin. We are so afraid of offending that we don’t speak truth even though we know that the truth is what sets people free from their captivity to sin (John 8:31-32).
You might be thinking that the Bible tells us to be kind and to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15 & 32) so, of course, we should be nice! But loving truth does not equal watered-down truth. Biblical kindness does not mean affirming or enabling sinful behavior. When Scripture talks about unity, it doesn’t mean unity at the expense of righteousness, but unity through righteousness. While there is no excuse for rudeness, name-calling, or mocking, there is definitely a time to be blunt and direct. Tiptoeing around the truth and leaving room for misunderstanding does not meet the standards of kindness or love set forth in Scripture.
For too long, we have allowed the world to tell us what it means to be a Christian. We have allowed the world to set the rules for the church based on a worldly interpretation of Scripture. While worldly “wisdom” tells us that we shouldn’t hurt the sinner’s feelings, biblical kindness is concerned more with the sinner’s eternal destiny than temporary offense. It isn’t loving to neglect to tell someone the truth that will save his soul; in fact, it is selfish because we care more about our own temporary comfort than his eternity.
No matter where you land on the debate about election versus free will, Scripture is clear that we believe because we hear the Gospel (Romans 10:14). As Christians, it is our job to tell people the truth so they can hear it and believe. Not wanting to step on toes, not being liked, or not wanting to offend are not defensible excuses for not sharing God’s plan for His creation.
Imagine You’re on a Plane…
I want to tweak an illustration I first heard from Ray Comfort in his book, The Way of the Master. Imagine you are on a plane with several other people, and during the emergency instructions you’ve heard a million times, an announcement is added informing everyone that, at some point during the flight, the plane is going to crash. You don’t know when this is going to happen, but you know there will come a time when you will need to bail out of the plane. Because of this knowledge, you don a parachute. This is a unique parachute because you only have to put it on. When it’s time for you to jump, the parachute will do all of the work. You don’t have to pull the ripcord or even build up the courage to take the plunge. All you have to do is wear the parachute.
There are other people on the plane with you, and there is a parachute for each person, but no one else is wearing one. Maybe they didn’t hear the announcement because they tuned it out with all of the others. Maybe they think it isn’t true; it’s just the airline trying to manipulate them. Or maybe they are waiting until it’s necessary to put the parachute on.
You grow concerned for their safety and start asking them why they haven’t put their parachutes on. One woman tells you that the parachute will mess up her hair and ruin her outfit, so she doesn’t want to wear it. Her appearance and reputation are too important to her.
Another passenger points out the fabric of the parachute. It is too itchy and will be uncomfortable. It will rub him the wrong way and make him miserable. He might even end up with a rash that will make others laugh at him.
Still another passenger tells you he doesn’t need the parachute; he can save his own life if the plane goes down. After all, he spends so much time at the gym that he is strong enough to endure anything that might come his way.
The final passenger has plans for this flight. She brought some things to do, and if she puts on the parachute, it will hinder her mobility, and she won’t be able to follow through with her plans.
Everyone heard the announcement that the plane will crash, so you simply put your parachute on and hope that you can show them how much better it would be if they did the same. Perhaps they will simply learn from your example. Then you lean back, close your eyes, and pray the plane will crash soon.
Should You Be Nice?
Hopefully you can see the correlation. Can you see how, at the risk of offending one of these passengers, it is still better to share the truth with them? Your appearance and reputation aren’t worth your life. A little discomfort is a small price to pay to save your life. You can’t be strong enough to save yourself. Changing your lifestyle is worth saving your life even if it means you can’t do the things you have always done before. And simply living by example isn’t enough to show others that they need to make a change.
In the same way, we can’t keep silent about the Gospel because turning to Jesus might ruin someone’s reputation, require them to change their lifestyle, or force them to recognize they can’t save themselves. Relying on lifestyle evangelism in hopes that they will learn from our example isn’t enough, either. We don’t know when, but soon this world will come to an end, and after that, we all face an eternal destination. Hunkering down and simply waiting for it to end, repeating, “even so, come quickly, Lord,” isn’t fulfilling our responsibility.
Eternal Perspective
Everything we say and do must be done with eternity in mind. It doesn’t matter if you offend someone with the Gospel if your goal is to spend eternity right next to her in the presence of God. Affirming someone’s sinful lifestyle is actually unkind because that lifestyle will lead him to eternity apart from God. Because this life is all we know, we often forget this life is a vapor (James 4:14). The decisions I make in this life determine the course of my eternity, and that course can’t be altered at that point. We must take advantage of now!
One of the things that has become abundantly clear to me over the last few years is just how much our grip on eternity, or lack thereof, affects our daily choices and actions. It is easy to say we believe something until the rubber meets the road, and we are forced to live it out. But we will never get a grip on eternity unless we spend time with the creator of eternity. The more time you spend in the Word of God, the greater your knowledge and understanding of Who He is and how He operates. And that gives you confidence to live in light of eternity rather than fearing man.
Christian, stop allowing the world to tell you how you should behave, what you can and cannot say and do, and what the Bible means. When we take the time to read and study the Word for ourselves, we get to know God, and this gives us the courage to speak truth to this lost and dying world.
While it may be beneficial to take personality tests in the business world, what role should they play for the Christian?
The other day, the topic of conversation in my home was personality tests. If you’ve been here for a bit, you’ve probably heard me talk about the enneagram and my experience with it. If this is a new topic to you, you can read all about my journey with the enneagram here. Spoiler alert: Christians should steer clear.
I have always struggled with personality tests and spiritual gifts tests. It has taken me a long time to figure out why they rub me the wrong way. I don’t believe it is a sin to take these tests, but I don’t believe they are particularly productive, especially for a Christian. But before we talk about that, let’s think through the reasons these types of tests are taken.
Personality tests seem to be more common in business circles. Whether it is the Disc Profile, the Meyers-Briggs Indicator, or the enneagram, the goal is to figure out what your strengths and weaknesses are. This makes sense from a business standpoint because if you want your business to succeed, you want to take on those tasks that fall to your strengths and delegate the ones in which you don’t excel. The purpose is success.
Spiritual gifts tests are usually taken in churches or other ministries. We aren’t really given a comprehensive list of spiritual gifts in Scripture, and if you’re a cessationist (you believe some spiritual gifts have ceased to exist), some of those that are given have to be either ignored or redefined. But the goal is to put you in positions of service that best suit your gifts. If you are gifted in hospitality but score very low on administration, you might be better suited to be a greeter at the door than to track the finances of the church. If you want your church to run smoothly, you play to people’s strengths.
Maybe the reason I have struggled with this idea is because, as a missionary kid, I was a “hole plugger”: if there was a hole in any part of our ministry, someone in our family usually plugged it, even if that wasn’t one of our gifts. My dad learned to play the accordion so he could provide accompaniment for the song service when my grandmother was ill and couldn’t play the piano. When there was no one to clean the church, my sisters and I became the church janitors. If the nursery workers didn’t show up one Sunday, it became my job to fill in. And far from being a detriment to my growth, these experiences were the ones that taught me the most. So while I understand the reason churches administer these tests, I don’t see it as essential or even necessary.
The tests box you in
It doesn’t matter which personality test I take, I never like the results. And with most of the tests, there is no option of movement—once a melancholy, always a melancholy. The saying, “the grass is always greener on the other side” has certainly been true for me with each of these tests I’ve taken.
The tests encourage deceit
Maybe it is just my personality (pun intended), but anytime I’ve taken a personality or spiritual gifts test, I know what the “right” answer is to get my desired outcome. The tests lend themselves to deceit because you don’t want to answer truthfully. Instead, you want to give the answer that paints you in the best light for that question. Your answer is also highly influenced by your mood or health that day, which skews the results.
The tests give you an out
As I said before, growing up, my sisters and I were hole pluggers, and it has always been frustrating to me when the same few people in a church are doing all of the jobs. The most common excuse I hear when others won’t volunteer is that it isn’t their gifting, or they aren’t good at that job, or it isn’t their strong suit. Yet Scripture tells us that God is strong in our weakness. We shouldn’t only be doing those jobs that fall in our strengths because then we are doing them in our strength. When we take on jobs or ministries that land squarely in our weaknesses, God is glorified through our work.
The tests don’t solve the problem
We are under the delusion that understanding our personalities or our spiritual gifts will give us confidence to do what God has tasked us to do. It will embolden us because we are “playing to our strengths.” Or we will “be the best version of ourselves.” When the truth is self-knowledge will never lead to Christlikeness. And isn’t that the goal? To become more like Christ, not be the best version of myself? No amount of navel gazing will help me be more like Christ. In fact, introspection is a tool of the enemy because as long as I have my eyes on myself, I don’t have my eyes on Christ.
Confidence comes from knowing God. As we spend time in the Word, getting to know Him—His character, His plans, His desires for us—we start to see how we can be a light in this dark world. As we begin to understand His heart, we grow bolder in our witness and in our prayer life. As we get a glimpse of who we are in light of who He is, we understand how to best serve Him in spite of the results of any man-made test.
When it comes down to it, relying on personality and spiritual gifts tests shows that we do not actually believe in the sufficiency of Scripture. We believe that we need something outside of Scripture, outside of God’s Word, to tell us how to behave, what to do, and who to be.
Let me encourage you to invest your time in reading, studying, and understanding God’s Word rather than taking personality tests. God allows for growth and change; He wants to transform you from the inside out. He values truth and courage; He wants you to step out in faith and take on the tasks He places before you in spite of your weakness. He doesn’t give you an out; your spirit will be restless until you obey. And He does solve your problems because He knows you better than you could ever know yourself, and He knows what will give you peace in this tumultuous world.
