A Spiritual Crisis

More and more each day it seems the news gets worse and worse. Our economy continues to struggle, our country continues to be at war overseas, families are wondering if they will make it through. As we struggle putting together our "own house" and restoring order to our lives, the lives of many in our world have gone from bad to horrible. We are currently experiencing a new level of hardship that many in our world have always known. Many, now for the first time, live with uncertainty about the basic needs in life: food, shelter, safety, employment. The "American Dream" has taken a severe hit and for many it has become an American nightmare.

For those of us who look for positive developments and opportunities in the midst of difficulty and crisis, these days have been particularly difficult. As Christians however, we do have resources to help us understand and deal with any situation that arises. When we learn to place and re-place our trust in the Lord, when we learn to keep our priorities in order and focus on God, the struggles of life may not all go away but we do learn how to endure.

Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall! Matthew 7:24-27

Perhaps our current economic situation is like the man who built his house on sand, when the crisis hit the whole system fell apart. Our economy was built upon credit we didn’t have, expenses we couldn’t afford, and the illusion that we could have it all. The system broke down and exposed its true self and its priorities. A house of sand cannot withstand the storms of life. Unfortunately for a great many, those who perpetuated this situation suffered little compared with countless people who unknowingly became victims of an immoral and unsustainable situation. While families and individuals worry about losing a job, a home, or a retirement, the corporate executives receive bailouts and bonuses. What is wrong with this picture?

I believe that our current financial crisis is a spiritual crisis. As a culture we must make critical decisions about how we want to live and what our world will look like going forward. Will we continue to make decisions based on greed and consumption? Will we be driven to acquire more and more material stuff under the illusion of happiness? We will move past our insatiable hunger for more power, wealth, and position? Will we reflect upon our current situation and make genuine life-style changes? Will we be driven by fear or faith? These are questions for us all as individuals to take seriously, but even more, these are questions for our society and culture to address. Who is God calling us to be? What does it mean to be faithful in today’s world?

For me, the spiritual antidote to our current predicament is contentment. To be content with what you have is a spiritual gift and a true key to happiness. The opposite of being content is constantly striving for more, and never being satisfied with what you have. This is a deeply embedded cultural value in America—discontent. Advertising, marketing, and our economy are all driven by consumers who buy products they are convinced they “need.” When we can learn to be thankful for what we have, when we live within our means, when we learn to say “no” to things we don’t need, when we learn to trust that God will provide, then we will know contentment. I pray we all might share Paul’s perspective on life.

Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:11-13

Moral Evil: Sins of Strength

Do you have problems with authority? Are you defiant? Do you have problems submitting to God and being obedient? If you are at all like me, authority and power issues are a real struggle. When our lives lose balance and were are unable to maintain a healthy self-esteem we can open ourselves up for following our own agenda, rather than seeking God's guidance and will.

“Sins of Strength” can be understood as the things we do which are in defiance of God. Acts of defiance are the actions or inactions that are conscious, intentional, and deliberately done against God by individuals or groups. While sins of weakness derive from a loss of “centeredness” leading to self-annihilation, sins of strength derive from over-centeredness or the elevation of the self. Paul Tillich uses the Greek word hubris to describe the phenomenon of self-elevation. Hubris is more than simply pride, but the “temptation to make one’s self existentially the center of himself and the world.” Hubris is an over emphasis on humanity’s potential infinity (imago dei; cf. Gen. 1:26) without acknowledging actual finitude. Another sin of strength, related to hubris, is concupiscence, which is generally associated with unhindered physical and sexual appetites. What makes this a sin of strength is not the actions themselves, but the “unlimited striving for knowledge, sex, physical hunger, will to power, material wealth, or spiritual values.” In short, hubris can be understood as self-elevation, while concupiscence is extreme self-indulgence. They are sins of strength because they involve the inflation or indulgence of the self, rather than the loss of self (sins of weakness), or ideally a person centered on God.

Our scriptures, focused on the lives of God’s people, illustrate both hubris and concupiscence. In Exodus 32, as Moses receives the 10 Commandments and is on the mountain for 40 days, the Israelites become restless. Their impatience leads them to construct a golden calf by which they might worship and offer sacrifices. In their hubris they decide that they are unwilling to wait for God. They do not need Moses to tell them about God, they have it all figured out. Their idolatry is not exhibited in their worship of the golden calf, but in their worship of themselves. They elevated themselves above their covenant with God, forgetting their deliverance from slavery. They grew impatient with the Lord and sought to fulfill their desires, and to know God on their own terms. In doing so they committed the great sin of idolatry.

Although many of the idolaters of Exodus 32 are unrepentant, some repent and turn from their evil ways. Those who refuse to acknowledge the limits of humanity or do not humble themselves to the Lord, are subject to the same kind of judgment Jeremiah predicts: “I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says the Lord; I will kindle a fire in its forest and it shall devour all that is around it.” (Jeremiah 21:14) Jeremiah further details the failings of Israel. These sins of strength all revolve a lack of love/fear of God and lack of care and concern for the neighbor. Without repentance, these sins of strength will be punishable for both the individual and the community. “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbors work for nothing, and does not give them their wages.” (Jeremiah 22:13)

These stories are a sober reminder to those of us who have had many blessings in our lives, to acknowledge God as the source of all we have. In all that we do, God is with us; in times of prosperity and despair, God is present. Ironically the same tendency to feel abandoned by God in times of suffering, is present when we fail to acknowledge God in the midst of prosperity. To live lives of spiritual balance we must acknowledge God’s presence in all that we do. Exodus and Jeremiah point us to a jealous God who does not tolerate idolatry.

Reflecting upon these texts and your personal experience with hubris and concupiscence, consider the following questions:

-Have you ever become so self-involved as to fail to acknowledge God’s presence in your life?

-Have you taken credit for the blessings God has given? What happened as a result? How did you become aware of this?

-Have you ever made idols of the things of this world? money? food? material things? work? What was the result?

-How can we balance being “created in God’s image” without creating ourselves into “little gods?”

Moral Evil: Temptation

"And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" -The Lord's Prayer

Temptation is part of human existence that none of us is immune to; we all must deal with our temptations. In the gospel accounts, the temptation of Jesus plays a key role in the narrative of Jesus’ life and ministry. The temptation of Jesus raises important questions for us: what does it mean that Jesus was tempted by Satan? How close was Jesus to giving in to temptation? Because Jesus successfully resisted temptation, are we expected to be able to follow his example? How are the temptations we experience connected to Jesus temptation? These types of questions go to the heart of the Christian faith, and call each of us to provide an answer. Who was Jesus and what does it mean for my life?

As Christians, we confess that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. Jesus was God incarnate, with all the divine attributes and powers, but also experienced the fullness of human existence. The temptation of Jesus tells us that Jesus indeed experienced real temptation, by being tested under the most extreme circumstances. For forty days in a wilderness desert, Jesus endured constant testing by Satan to utilize his divine power in order to alleviate his suffering, demonstrate his divinity, and achieve worldly power. (cf. Matthew 4:3-11) It was not part of God’s plan for Jesus to employ his divine power, rather Jesus was to willingly die on the cross for the sake of all humanity. People would come to believe in Jesus, not through a miraculous display of divine power, but through faith.

Jesus’ temptation resonates with me because it demonstrates that he understands what human life is all about. Because Jesus experienced real temptation, he understands how difficult it is to endure. When we struggle with temptation in our life, we have a God who has been there and understands; a God who has endured suffering and temptation. We can cry out to God in the midst of our pain, suffering, and temptation and God hears our cries and prayers as one who has been there. We share this direct and intimate connection to God through the incarnation of Jesus. Prayer does not always ensure that we will resist temptation, but it does help us re-center ourselves and point us in God’s direction.

Temptation can be understood as an example of moral evil or a sin of weakness. Moral evil are the actions or inactions of an individual or group that can be seen as evil. When the action of an individual leads to an evil result or when that action is done with evil intent, this is moral evil. Moral evil can either be done from a position of strength or weakness. Temptation is moral evil from a position of weakness. When I give in to my temptations and evil results, it is because I lack a foundational moral center. We may know what the right thing to do is in a particular situation, we may want to do the right thing, but for whatever reason we are unable. (cf. Romans 7:15 "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.") Sins of weakness take place when we lose our center or our “moral compass.” We can become distracted, stressed out, or inattentive to the things which keep our lives in balance. When we lose our center, we open ourselves up to things we would not normally do. We become susceptible to the temptations of Satan, and act out even when we know it is wrong. When our faith is strong and healthy temptation is less of an issue, but when we are low or disconnected from God and one another, Satan pounces.

As we examine the temptation accounts and consider temptation in our own lives, it is important to remember that none of us, no matter how faithful and devout, are exempt from Satan. Satan is subtle and will lure us into a false sense of security. Satan preys upon not only our deep fears and anxieties, but our strengths as well. I have learned through my experience in ministry, that the closer you get to doing God’s work the more aggressive and desperate the assaults of Satan become. Whatever are preconceived notions we may have about Satan, we cannot deny the strong tempting presence Satan plays in our lives. For many, any discussion of the reality of Satan seems nonsensical and irrational. In the extreme, people either visualize a physical entity with horns and a pitchfork, or assume that Satan is an excuse that people use to escape culpability for their own actions. Either of these positions is potentially dangerous because they trivialize the serious threat that temptation and sin play in our lives. I recall a quote from a favorite movie, The Usual Suspects: “the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.” However we choose to discuss or understand Satan, we cannot deny that there is either something within us or outside of us that compels us to defy God. The real issue is how we deal with temptation or the tempter.

-What temptations do you struggle with and how do you deal with them?

-What do you think about the reality of Satan? Is Satan found outside of us or within?

-What tools or resources do we have to deal with temptation? What works for you?

-What does it mean for you that Jesus was tempted?

The Problem of Evil

Note from Ben: Throughout Lent I am teaching a course on evil. I will provide weekly posts connected to the class in addition to the regular blogging. Enjoy!

The first two chapters of the book of Job have always been difficult for me. The pain, suffering, and loss that the righteous character Job endures are troubling. Job is said to have been “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.” (Job 1:1) Yet Job endures a great deal of suffering and pain as he sees his family die, his livestock killed, his house burned down, and extensive physical ailments inflicted upon him. Perhaps most disturbing is the role God plays in the story of Job’s suffering. The theological implications of Job suffering at the hand of Satan are quite problematic. The title “Satan” in Job is not the Satan we hear about in the New Testament, or in popular culture.

The title Satan (ha-satan in Hebrew) literally means “the adversary” or the “accuser” and can perhaps be best understood as the prosecuting attorney of God. The Satan is not the adversary of God, but of humanity. The Satan is one of the “heavenly beings” (literally “sons of God”) and a member of the royal court of God. He has the unique responsibility to bring forth God’s justice in the world, often in creative ways. The Satan must however first receive permission for “testing” Job. The interaction that takes place between God and Satan is not the cosmic duel for the souls of humanity and control of the world. Rather, Satan is the agent of God and the adversary of humanity. God allows Satan to act in his own best judgment, only placing certain restrictions on how Job could be tested. The question the story of Job poses is this: who is God in this story? Is this the same God that we know? Who is Satan? How does this story affect our understanding of a loving and merciful God?

The story of Job brings forth the classical theological issue of evil, or more precisely The Problem of Evil. The problem of evil leads us to struggle with questions that challenge our fundamental beliefs about who God is and how God acts in the world. Most, if not all, definitions of God include the following: God is all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, and wholly benevolent. If this is the case, how do we explain the evil and suffering in our world? If God is the source of all things and evil exists, doesn’t it follow that God is the source of evil and therefore no longer good? If God somehow isn’t “the author” of evil does this mean God is not all-powerful? If God and the Devil are engaged in a war for our souls, does this mean God could lose?

There are many creative ways that theologians and scholars have attempted to diminish or solve the problem of evil, although none have done so with any success. The problem of evil is real and one each of us must confront and be honest about, for if we deny evil and sin in our world we deny reality. On the other hand, if we conclude that God is responsible for suffering and evil, we are left with a God who cannot be described as loving and merciful. Instead the image of God as sadistic “tester” we see in Job who feels the need to punish those who are faithful as well as the unfaithful. If God were truly benevolent why didn’t God give us the ability to live righteously? If God is all-powerful and all-knowing, then God knew we would turn out this way and allowed it to happen anyway. What kind of God is this?

I ask you to consider this issue in light of your experience with suffering, death, and evil.

-Have you seen God at work in these situations?
-Have you ever felt abandoned by God?
-How do deal with the “problem of evil”?