Winning Last Place

We live in a society that is sports crazy. We love football and fishing, racing and wrestling, soccer and softball -- not to mention baseball, basketball and golf.  Nearly all of us have had the experience of cheering for our team or favorite player to win, whether the contest was professional, college, high school or just the youth league team that our child or grandchild played on. And many of us have participated in sports ourselves. We've personally experienced "the thrill ofvictory and the agony of defeat."

From a spiritual perspective, sports are not necessarily a bad thing. According to the Bible, sports teach us important lessons about disciplining ourselves when striving for a goal (1 Corinthians 9:24-27), playing by the rules (2 Timothy 2:5), and running with endurance (Hebrews 12:1). Obviously, we can allow sports to become a bad thing if we place too much importance on them or allow them to crowd out spiritual concerns. But sports can also impact us negatively in other ways. They can train us to be too competitive, self-seeking, and ambitious – too concerned with winning at all costs.

In most sports competitions, everyone wants first place. But there are times in the life of every Christian when he should seek last place. In Mark 9:35, Jesus told the twelve apostles, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees because "They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues" (Matthew 23:6). He told His disciples, "But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place . . ." (Luke 14:10).

The Bible reveals that we should be striving to win last place in our relationships with others!  "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." (Philippians 2:3).  ". . . Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."" (1 Peter 5:5).  ". . . Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion." (Romans 12:16).

Here are some practical suggestions for winning last place. The next time that you disagree with a brother in an area of judgment or opinion, insist that your brother get his way. The next time that your wife or husband neglects to do a chore that merely benefits you, do it yourself. The next time they are looking for a volunteer at work to do some menial task, volunteer! Win last place!

- by Steve Klein

 

Bible Class Comments

We always seek and encourage class participation in our Bible studies.  Only on very rare occasions is a lecture type class preferable to a situation where students contribute their input to the discussion.  Typically, we desire comments, questions, and observations from those in the class. 

However, there are some reasonable guidelines that we think all students should keep in mind:

1)  The teacher is in charge.  He has been assigned the authority to direct the class; to keep everything moving in the right direction; and to insure a positive outcome for the study period.  That being the case, students should respect his control and management of the class.  If you have comments to make or questions to ask, wait to be acknowledged by the teacher.  And, never begin a ‘give and take’ (maybe a better word would be ‘argument’) with another student in the class.  All input should be directed through the teacher so he can maintain order and progress.  Respect his judgment when he ends a particular line of discussion and indicates that it is time to move on.

2) Prepare in advance for the class.  Too often this does not happen and students are tempted to make ‘off the cuff’ remarks.  Such comments carry a high potential to be off target and are sometimes simply erroneous.  The teacher is then obligated to say, “no, that’s not correct”.  This is embarrassing for the student and teacher alike.  To avoid this, study the subject matter in advance.  Our class topics are carefully planned and typically there are study aids available to assist in your preparation.  Use them.

3)  With the advent of electronic devices and smart-phones, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in people doing ‘research’ during the actual class – ignoring the discussion that is on-going while they stare intently at their miniature screen.  When they find something their hand flies into the air to share their discovery with the class.  This usually means they have quickly searched the Internet and found some link to an author of unknown background who is mistakenly viewed as an expert simply because he posted something online.  As a general rule these references are not helpful to the class discussion.  Again, preparing for the class in advance is far more productive than ‘on the fly’ smart-phone exploration. 

4) Don’t ask for the class to ‘go back’.  We have in mind a situation like this:  the class has discussed a matter thoroughly and the teacher has led the class on to the next point.  Now, heavily into the development of that point, someone will raise his hand and say, “I want to go back to what we were talking about a few minutes ago”.  NO, please, NO!  There is no better way to side track the class than to do this.  If you didn’t get it said when the class was on that point, then your comment will simply have to be saved for a future time. 

5)  Tying Bible references and other scriptural accounts into the subject the class is currently discussing can be helpful, but it can also slow the class down and impede the positive progress.  Here you need to use good judgment.  Even though you might see some parallel to another event in the Bible or to another similar text, ask yourself if adding the comment will really help the discussion.  Lots of things are related to one another in the Bible, but they don’t all have to be included in every examination of a given subject.

6) Remember that there are usually visitors, new converts, weak Christians, etc., in any class.  With this in mind, be careful about interjecting topics that may be controversial or might negatively impact those who are not well grounded in the Bible.  You may think that a lively ‘debate’ of a vague concept is interesting, but the Bible class hour is not the best place for that.  And, we are not in need of someone to ‘play the Devil’s advocate’ in our Bible classes.

7) Be humble.  Never imagine that your level of scholarship exceeds that of the teacher or other students.  Unfortunately, comments are sometimes made that directly impugn the knowledge of others in the class – leaving the impression that the one making the comment has achieved a level of understanding that others have never attained.  Not likely!  Our classes are typically populated by very excellent Bible students.  Keep that in mind, and adjust your comments accordingly.  

We love our Bible classes!  And we cherish the good discussions, the serious questions, and the thoughtful input from all students.  But, use caution in making your comments in such a way that they are helpful and not hurtful.  Think!

- by Greg Gwin

 

Man's Duty to "Prove All Things"

Men are prone to go to extremes.  This has always been true. Paul seems to have been guarding against this tendency when he wrote, "Despise not prophesyings; prove all things; hold fast that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:20-21).  In his day, there were those who claimed to "prophesy" by the Spirit, and did; and there were those who claimed to "prophesy" by the Spirit and did not.  The result was that, at least, some "despised" all "prophesyings" by reason of the false claims of the pretenders.  Such a wholesale rejection of all "prophesyings" was unreasonable and unsafe.  It was wrong.  It is not right either to reject the true because some is false or to accept the false because some is true.  Paul indicated the safe course: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."  If there had been no evil mixed with the good, the admonition to "prove all things" and to "hold fast that which is good" would not have been necessary.

What is the meaning of the word "prove?"  It signifies to try, to put to the test.  The word is employed elsewhere in the New Testament in this sense (Luke 14:19).  It means that we should examine everything we hear before we receive it or reject it, as the case may be. At this point, Adam Clarke said, "Whatever ye hear in these 'prophesyings' or preachings, examine by the words of Christ, and by the doctrines which, from time to time, we have delivered unto you in our preaching and writings.  Try the spirits — the different teachers — by the word of God."

In the words of the prophet, "To the law and to the testimony!  if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).  The conduct of the Bereans was in keeping with the spirit of the command under consideration, for we read, "Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the scriptures daily, whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11 ASV).  The people of Berea put what they heard to the test, using the scriptures as their standard of examination.  They acted rightly and wisely.

Why will people not do the same today?  It is common for the message of a modern preacher to be accepted without thought, testing or investigation by those who are his friends religiously, and just as common for the same message to be rejected, without consideration, by his prejudiced religious enemies.  These two unreasonable extremes are two of the most unmitigated curses of Christendom.

Let it be observed that this passage which allows the right also enjoins the duty of proving, testing, and investigating what is heard.  It does not permit one to be an indifferent and passive listener.  This some seem to prefer.  They attend the services, not to be taught, not to bring into use any faculty of discernment or testing, but to be impressed, and that without effort on their part.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world" (I John 4:1 ASV).  All professed Christians should endeavor to become "fullgrown men, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).

- by B. C. Goodpasture

 

If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins

A Swarm of Gospel "Be's"

Have you observed how powerful little words in the Bible are? Take the word "if" for example. Jesus said, "If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). If our mother Eve had been wise regarding what the little three-letter word "not" meant, the old devil would not have deceived her (Gen. 3:4).

The little word "be" is used frequently in the Bible, and the thoughts connected to it contribute to our salvation. Here is a swarm of gospel "be's."

Be Wise. "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves" (Matt. 10:16). Thus the Lord warned the twelve as He sent them on their mission.

Be Faithful. "...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (Rev. 2:10). The circumstances in which the beloved apostle John was at the time were not very favorable. He was exiled on the lonely isle of Patmos. The incentive held out was "be faithful -- the crown of life." That was all John needed to deepen his faith.

Be Ready. The Lord says, "Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not, the Son of man cometh" (Matt. 24:44). The Lord could come again at any time. We could pass away and all opportunities to get ready for judgment (John 5:28-29) would be gone.

Be Unmovable. In our present day this admonition is just as pertinent to every member of the body of Christ as when Paul wrote it by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58).

Be Ye Doers. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22). It is not enough to hear the word of God, but those who are blessed put it into practice every day.

Be Baptized. "And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). To be baptized into Christ (Gal. 3:27) is to be obedient from the heart to that form of teaching (Rom. 6:3-4, 17-18). One is then delivered from the power of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son (Col. 1:13).

If you have not obeyed the Lord and Master in the primary principles of the gospel, I pray that you will attend to that immediately. If you have obeyed him, Be Faithful, Be Doers, Be Wise, Be Unmovable and you will Be Ready.

- by Austin Mobley