We need to make a
couple of assertions in this reading.
“Vexations” is a very seldom used word which means to provoke to
annoyance, anxiety or distress. I’ve
done that a few times more than I should have, and I have been vexed to
exasperation. Guess it works. But how do we avoid the loud and
aggressive? How would Jesus have handled
those loud and aggressive persons? Would
he have avoided them or did that option even exist for him? Then we will marry “goodness” with this
“avoidance” and call it our Christian witness.
By the way, can Christians be vexed?
Likewise, can Christians be vexations to others? If we find ourselves loud and aggressive then
we are a vexation to the spirit. I would
suggest that the “spirit” referred to is the Holy Spirit. Brought around and in the back door; if we
are vexations to the spirit than we are to God.
How we view “goodness” is just as important. Theoretically, when we practice “goodness” we
cannot be vexations to the Holy Spirit or to others. The fruits of the spirit are difficult to
maintain on our own in this world that we live, work and have breath.
In pretty much all my life I avoided
something. When I was a child I avoided
others as I was shy. I know that those
who know me are laughing now as I certainly do not avoid now nor am I shy. I avoided certain foods, chores, and school
work. Not all that avoidance worked out
well for me. Until I was an adult I
wasn’t a Christian. My avoidance and
engagement in my life and the lives of those around me was an entirely different
focus. Little thought was given of others
and their places in my life much less their spirits. Perhaps some of you reading this feel the
same way. Perhaps you have asked
yourself if you are so damaged that God can never love you and through
you. He is gracious and just and if you
call to him, he will answer. He is never
far away even if it feels like that to us.
The biggest avoidance mankind has is that of avoiding God. For some there is not belief in God. For others there is no faith in God. God’s “goodness” is readily available to you,
me and the rest of humans. Discover God
and believe in his will for your life.
That will is for you to exercise goodness to your fellowman and to not
be a vexation to their spirit.
As we go out into the world bringing our
faith in Jesus with us and a firm understanding that we are to make disciples
of all men; we are to avoid those who are loud and aggressive. While this looks like a contradiction, it is
not. When we engage the world as
Christians we are challenged with discerning people (understanding or coming to
know what they are about) and their intentions.
One of the first senses to be triggered is our sense of sight. We can discern whether someone wants to talk
or just wants to be left alone. There
are even those who are looking for any excuse to be loud and aggressive. If you are a Christian and fall into one of
these categories then you have issues with Jesus that require confession,
repenting and making right wrongs delivered by you. Another area of discernment deals with our
hearing. For some of us with hearing
loss there are some difficulties.
Likewise, there are those who are loud because they think that is how
they need to be heard. Within the realm
of hearing we also contend with those who don’t or won’t listen. They won’t listen to God and they certainly
will not listen to you. So, it is with
those who hear what they want to hear.
They can hear nothing else. Cults
fall into this category. The
brainwashing they go through is designed to hear only one voice…Satan’s. “That’s so harsh Steve.” you say. There are cult members that can quote the
Bible better than you and me. They can
use the Scripture in such a subtle and twisted fashion that we have our faith
shaken. Finally, some are so quiet that
they are loud. Their silence yells,
screams and resists just as much as if they had said the words.
Likewise, aggressiveness can be discerned
by the believer. Sometimes the
aggressive person is so up front with their behavior and words that it takes no
effort at all to identify the problem.
On the opposite extreme of the spectrum there are those who use their
silence as a means of aggressively obtaining their way. Aggression can be physical, psychological,
and emotional. Like a shotgun the blows come,
and the wise person backs away and steps behind a large rock. Aggression isn’t, in this case, so much of an
attack as it is a defense. “Keep away
from me!” seems to be shouted at us.
Aggression paired with loudness become a formidable opponent. Yet we are encouraged to avoid them. Avoiding them would seem to be the act of
avoiding being drawn into their actions.
It’s so much of the history of mankind that we see people begin
associating with others when they clearly had believed otherwise. Mob mentalities, radical groups, fear
mongers, and so many others want to draw you into their loud and aggressive
behavior. Once you step over the line,
your witness becomes ineffective and you lose credibility. They win.
You lose.
There are times when we will succeed and
times that we will fail just because we are fallible people. Being the smart people, we are we pursue why
we acted or didn’t act as God wanted us to act.
Like it or not, we all carry baggage that defines who we are today. For some that may be good and for others it may
be bad. Lots of variables in
between. “Baggage” is that which we
carry forward from our upbringing and every change in us over our
lifetime. Some have more baggage than
others. Others may have less baggage,
but that baggage is more dangerous than someone else’s. Becoming aware of our own behaviors and
solutions might involve outside sources and support. I would like to say that the Christian church
is like a 12-step meeting. Doesn’t
matter what the addictive issue is but in this case we focus on sin. In a 12-step meeting when you are introducing
yourself you say something like this: “Hi, my name is Steve and I am a/an
______________. We can fill in the
blanks for ourselves and often fill in the blanks for others. The missing word is “sinner”. We are nothing more than beggars telling one
another where we can find food. In this
manner we offer goodness to those who come into the body and say, “Hi, my name
is Steve and I am a sinner.” Listening
to the stories of the “old timers” takes on a new nature when we are open and
honest. Taking what we can from others
and applying the “good” to our lives is what it’s all about. Just as listening to the pastor speak we
should listen to those who are NOT loud and aggressive. Avoid those who are a vexation to the
spirit. Accountability is also an
important factor in our decision making and Christian walk. I became a Christian when I was 20. I surrounded myself with Godly men and women
and studied the Scripture with the understanding I would apply that truth to
myself. Once equipped with the Holy
Spirit, His insight should and did speak into my thoughts and deeds. It is how we learn to become new men and
women in Christ.
Have you ever been unsure about what you
knew? When have you been insecure that
you didn’t believe you could cross this or that hurdle? Is afraid of rejection ever weighed in with
your thoughts of sharing your faith? If
you are reading these words you have probably had at least one of those
experiences and more than likely all three.
There is very little humility in the world. There are even more who have abandoned
themselves and put on Christ in a daily and ongoing basis. How about you? In one of my bolder moments as a pastor I
went to a pastor’s conference. While
walking around I would introduce myself and discern whether they wanted to talk
or not. When we began sharing and I was
listening; there almost always was a window opened for me to ask them about
their salvation. I would ask: “Have you
accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?”
After the “Excuse me?” of thinking they hadn’t heard correctly I would
repeat the question. I was amazed at the
number of men and women who haughtily responded, “I am a pastor!” I would then move into the second phase of
the question. I would ask them the same
question again. Some, not most, got it
the second time and were able to answer the simple question. The rest I’m still waiting on. They can tell Jesus when they see him. They may not like the scrutiny.
I’d like to take a little editorial
privilege and suggest that “goodness” cannot spiritually be in a person if they
are not in Christ. Goodness is something
that comes from God. Goodness of the
world seems to almost always have an ulterior motive. Usually a selfish one. Don’t get me wrong there are some people and
organizations that do lots of good.
However, there is a difference in the goodness of the world and the
goodness of God. There are no contingencies
involved with the goodness of God. ALL can
receive and pass on the goodness of God.
The worlds view is that the “goodness” is copy written and protected not
to be copied, imagined, reproduced, transmitted, and/or sealed with a secret
handshake. This is the contingency of
the world’s definition of “goodness”. I
know that we can do attend to good tasks all around us. One of the questions we need to ask is whether
this is beyond what we would do in our daily life or is this a special
occasion? What is our intent and whom is
watching, listening, and putting it on You Tube or wherever? Some would argue that doing good whether you
know God is still doing well. Okay, from
the worlds eye; yes. From God’s eye it’s
just something mankind does to get. When
we are genuinely saved and filled with the Holy Spirit our spiritual eyes are
open and we see situations and people from God’s point of view and not
ours. How often do we take cookies over
to a neighbor or someone in need and say, “Jesus told me to give these to
you.”? More than likely, we want people
to know that we went out of the way, bought all those ingredients out of
coveted food money, heated up the oven even though it’s 100 degrees out and had
to use one of our good plates because we were out of paper ones and probably
will never see that plate again…. In Jesus Name! And called it goodness from
God?
God doesn’t negotiate with us. We are called to be his children. We are required to pass the only test that
counts and become a believer. The
changed person who has accepted Jesus’ offer of salvation will be able to
access all the knowledge, gifts, and grace of God. It is in that place that we can pass on that
which He has given to us. Doing this
with a thankful heart that he has given to us so that we can give to
others. Even the loud and aggressive
need the salvation of God. You knew we
would come back to “those” people didn’t you.
Perhaps we can take a bit of editorial liberty and alter the statement
to read: “Avoid the actions and words of others who are loud and aggressive
while remembering to leave the peace and goodness of God wherever you go.” They don’t have to accept the gift. Leave it on their doorstep. By passing on goodness you kill them with
love and kindness. That is to kill their
ambition to be loud and aggressive.
This is NOT our fight. The fight belongs to God. Let me repeat myself: “This is NOT our
fight. The fight belongs to God.” Fighting whether it is physical or in words
is a choice even for the Christian. Why
we fight is more about who we are than what we stand for. The Bible is full of examples of those who
followed Christ bringing goodness and the people repenting. More “fights” have resulted in losses for
those who attempt to defend God than to let God fight the fight. There are two rules for fighting. The first one is fight against the foe by
yourself, for yourself and with your plan.
The second one is to bring the fight to God and sit back in your
recliner and pray. God will do the rest. He always hears the prayers of his
people. When you call upon Jesus he
always answers our prayers. He tells us
“Yes.” “No.” and “Wait.” We are okay with the first one but not
usually not the last two. When we step
in to help God we do nothing but what our finite being can handle. Compared to the wisdom and power of the
infinite God, we produce foolish actions with little or no results. No one, not even the loud and aggressive, can
fight with someone who has chosen to not fight.
Taunting’s, threats, promises, and other adjectives have no power when
put before the Living God. Part of this
“Christian fighting” is for us to realize that when people attack and say all
kinds of things against us that they are really doing so to the Lord
Jesus.
The Christian has one job while on
earth. That one job is to bring glory to
God. That’s all. Nothing more and nothing less. Bring glory to God. Seems so simple. Seems like that is a goodness that God does
for us. Who else would tell us to only
do one thing? Telling us just the one
thing becomes inclusive of all the other things and puts them under a really
nice umbrella. Okay, maybe not an
umbrella. Certainly though, we can see
how being in such a posture and bringing glory to God is a very simple action
and thought. For when we become
Christians we put on Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives
within me. I don’t know about you but
many of my days, if not parts of all of them, are spent with me deciding that I
want to be god of my world in this or that area. We barter what God can have and cannot
have. We plan and look at the angles for
how we can glorify God and ourselves.
Does NOT work. We may believe
that it works. We may even see evidence
(praise) that our efforts are working.
However, when we stand before the throne will we hear, “Well done thou
good and faithful servant.” Two
comments: 1. we are called good and faithful. 2. We are called servants. Both are in the SAME sentence. Why?
Because that is what we are born in Him to do. We are called to goodness and being good and
faithful servants to God.
Paul in his writing to the Romans states:
“those things I know I should do, I do not and those which I know I should not
do, I do. Wretched man that I am.” This was the guy who wrote the majority of
the New Testament. This was the church
planting rioter who blazed the Cross of Christ across the Mediterranean and
other regions. Yet, here he is lamenting
his stubborn self and the damage it does.
Remember the 12-step story previously?
Paul preached that to those around him.
Paul spent his life pointing at Jesus and telling people to follow ONLY
Jesus. Paul knew goodness because
Goodness met him on the road when he was blinded. Prior to that Paul was a loud and aggressive
person who was a vexation to the spirit (Gods and man). Paul knew all too well that he had
experienced the living God delivering him from his past life. Paul was called from being dead to being
alive. His salvation no more or less
than yours or mine. What he did after he
was saved is quite another story. What
we have done after we were saved is also quite another story. Paul lamented his continual sinning. From what is written in the Bible of his
life, it’s clear that he was more surrendered to God than I have ever
been. He counted the cost, abandoned his
dead life and lived for God.
And so here we are at the crossroads of
our lives. Are they our own or are they
of God? How much have you
surrendered? Are you able to give out
the goodness of God (his Son)? What is
it that puts the passion in your life?
Is it more important that you entertain yourselves with meaningless
activities to fill your time, being a closet Christian, or not being able to
say you belong to God so that you can have peace with your unbelieving cubicle
mate, neighbor, wife or husband, road rage guy or whomever? Are you concerned about your lack of goodness
from God? Do you care whether others
spend eternity in Heaven or hell?
Go
placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in
silence. As far as possible, without
surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly and listen to others, even the dull
and ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
Choose God.
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