What do ye more than others?

A couple of months or so ago, I taught a lesson based upon the above question asked by Christ in His sermon on the mount. For our lesson today I'd like to sort of amplify that lesson a little and discuss some thoughts that we didn't have time to cover in class. If there was a "Great Questions Of The Bible" list published somewhere, I believe this one asked by Jesus would occupy a spot near the top. With your indulgence, I'd like to opine some thoughts relative to this question for you to consider today.

First off, we're told in Titus 2:14 and 1 Pet. 2:9 that Christians are to be a "peculiar people." When you look up the definition of the Greek word "peculiar" used in those verses you find that it means "special" or, what I consider to be the best definition, "beyond the usual."

I like that definition. It's saying that we, Christians, are not supposed to be like everyone else. Oh yeah, I know that we have the same innate desires, needs and aspirations as all human beings. That we're subject to the same passions as everyone else but, we're supposed to control those natural motivations .

We're supposed to be of a different character than the rest of society when it comes to things where character is involved. Things like love, patience, compassion and service, to name a few. In character, Christians are supposed to be "beyond the usual."

We can easily see this by looking at the context of what Christ was saying when He asked the question "What do ye more than others." By looking at what He said prior to the question, you'll find that, practically, the whole 5^th chapter of Matthew is devoted to pointing out the difference between Christianity and the rest of society in general. Perhaps we can say it this way; pointing out a Christian's character as opposed to society's character.

And the reason it's different is simple - a Christian's character is based upon the character of their namesake and Lord - Jesus Christ. I'm hard-pressed to say what society's character is based on, other than whatever the prevailing, man-made mores of the people are at any given time.

Going back to Matthew 5 we see that, after showing several examples of the characteristic differences between His followers (Christians) and society in general, we come to verses 46 and 47. Notice in those two verses Christ asks His listeners (and us) a couple of other questions pertinent to the question serving as the basis for our lesson here today.

First He asks them, "if you only love those who love you...." and then secondly asks, "if you salute your brethren only....." - "What do ye more than others?"

In other words, He's asking, how are you any different? How is your character any better? To borrow a word He used earlier in this chapter (vs 20) He's asking, how does your character "exceed" society's character? AND THE ANSWER IS.....if our character is no different, it doesn't "exceed" society's character - IT DOESN'T!

Today we hear the phrase "economic downturn" a lot on the news, don't we? I'm sure that is "political speak" for "we're losing money!" Rapidly! And that phrase is sort of like another one I mentioned a while back - "very low food security" - which was used in place of "hunger." You see, we don't want to overly alarm anyone by using harsh sounding words. It's just my opinion BUT, somebody had better sound the alarm and do it pretty soon. Keep that thought in mind as it'll apply later.

Yes, our "economic downturn" is a bad situation and in need of being addressed. But, I'm sorely afraid that we're in danger of a "spiritual downturn" at the present time. As serious as society's "economic downturn" is, society's "spiritual downturn" is far worse.

Why? You may ask. Because the end results are far worse. Let's look at it in principle by recalling what the writer of the book of Hebrews said in regards to the comparison of the New Covenant (The Gospel) with the Old Covenant in chapters 8 through 10. I'll paraphrase this comparison here for brevity sake, but please read those passages and make sure that I speak it truthfully.

He said that the New was better than the Old because it was based upon better promises and thus, better rewards, IE: eternal rather than limited. It is also pointed out that the same principle applies to the punishment being greater for those not following the New Covenant.

Parabolically speaking, the "spiritual downturn" is worse than an "economic downturn" for the same reason we see in the difference between the New Covenant and the Old. Society's "economy" will suffer only for a temporal, or limited, time but, society's "spiritual" problem can bring eternal suffering.

You know, neither of these "downturns" came into being overnight. They've been developing over the years as society moved more and more away from God's precepts. From the precepts of our nations founding fathers. To borrow another phrase, this one from Deuteronomy, our national "feet" have been "sliding" for some time now. (Deut. 32:35) Allow me to illustrate what I'm saying by telling you a little story about a couple of frogs.

Once upon a time there was a frog who was dropped into a pot of hot water. Feeling the intense heat, he immediately jumped out and saved his life. But, there was another frog who was put into a pot of cold water - set on a burner over low heat. One degree at a time the temperature increased, but the frog became accustomed to it, stayed in the pot and was boiled.

Our "spiritual downturn" has been coming on us for a long time, just like the temperature increased slowly under the pot. I think society is like frog number 2, it needs to be made aware of it's dire circumstances. It needs the alarm to be sounded. I'm sounding mine right now and I hope all of you do the same wherever you are and whenever you have the opportunity.

Ron Covey