Mon, 22 October 2007 Let’s
do a little remembering – as best you can today. What was the first phone
number you had when you moved out on your own?
Now, something more recent: do you know what your car’s license plate
number is? What about your family: what year were your parents born, and what
were the years that your children were born, if you have them? Now,
let’s get “churchy:� What are the first four books of the New Testament of our
Bible? Who was the person who betrayed
Jesus? Who was the Apostle Paul’s most famous student? How
did you do? How’s your memory today, for
the things you know? If you’re having some trouble, maybe you could use a smart
pill. Don’t laugh – there are some very dedicated scientists who are hard at
work on creating new drugs that will help us not just remember, but think
better. Improving
memory is something of great interest to many people. In some cases, the quest
for a cure for diseases like Alzheimer’s has unearthed some new possibilities.
But, there are also many efforts going on to create “smart pills� that you
would start taking in middle age so that you could stop the normal
forgetfulness that comes with advancing years. This
has become a part of the eternal search for what I like to call a “silver
bullet,� that will give us everything we want in one easy dose. The weight-loss
gurus will always have some way to keep people hooked. Twenty years ago, you
were supposed to cut all fat out of your diet. Now, with the popularity of the
Atkins diet, the silver bullet is removing carbs from the equation. Or, take a
pill like Corti-Slim that allegedly will magically melt away the fat from every
area of your body that you don’t like. No
one wants to talk about side effects, though. What price are you paying for
short-term success? I guess “smart
pills� aren’t necessarily “wise pills.� We might take them, but that doesn’t mean
we’ll be given more wisdom just because our memory became better. If
there were more wisdom in the world, a lot of companies would be out of
business, because there wouldn’t be so many suckers who would snap up their
products without thinking things through first. This
is a trend in religion in our world, too. Millions of people, including
Christians, will latch on to anything that seems as though it might have something of substance below
the surface without ever really sitting down and asking, “Is this for real, or is it bogus?� This
is what has sucked so many people into all that goofy New Age stuff; this is
why so many people accept books like the Left
Behind series or The DaVinci Code
as pure truth when actually, they’re entertaining fiction that expertly weaves
fact and fantasy together into a good story. There is nothing wrong with
reading a good novel and enjoying it. There’s nothing wrong with well-crafted
fiction. But you should not be led
astray by it! The
Apostle Paul warned his student Timothy that he would face times such as these
in his ministry: when people would reject solid doctrine and the foundation of
the faith for anything that tickles their curiosity. Instead of sticking to the proven and tested
articles of Scripture and tradition – the reliable guides to knowing God the
Father and our Lord Jesus Christ – they’ll be seduced away by teachers who will
tell them what they want to hear… to satisfy their itching ears (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This
sounds like a problem for lots of Christendom today: skimming over the more
prominent parts of the Bible that challenge us to reconsider what we do with
our wealth and position in life; to question things we’d rather not question
like the social order and the church’s responsibility to influence society and
culture; to concentrate on the lighter stuff and avoid talking about the wrath
of God for fear of driving people away. It’s easy to get pulled away by someone
who concentrates on making you feel good. The
people who are led astray are the ones who haven’t taken the time to acquire
serious knowledge of Scripture and the historic teachings of the Church. Case in point: Practically every American
home (93%) has a copy of the Bible, and one in five adults report that they
read it regularly. Yet, it’s said that only 4 of 10 churchgoers can identify
the man who betrayed Christ (Judas Iscariot), or name the first four books of
the New Testament. This
is why we need to cultivate the ability to recognize the teachings that sound
Christian, but really aren’t – to know what will improve our imagination, but
not teach us wisdom about the ways of God. That’s
the entire point of what the Apostle Paul is writing to Timothy: stay grounded
in Scripture so that we know what is required for righteous living and
God-given wisdom. As Paul said, “All
Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped
for every good work.� (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV) Being
grounded in Scripture means doing more than just memorizing verses – it means
learning Scripture, and having a living relationship with God to shape your
mind and your thinking so you can gain spiritual smarts and true wisdom. What’s
the benefit in that? For one thing, you can teach others about what truth is
and what fiction is – and how they can tell the difference. Further, it would
help you in your own service to understand the relationship between God’s grace
and good works – and be prepared for action. Paul
gave Timothy five smart pills that are of use to us all. See 4:2, where he names them: -
Be persistent -
Convince -
Rebuke -
Encourage
“Smart Pills and Wise Living,� Homiletics, October 2004 length: Comments[0] |
