A Good and Perfect Gift

TITLE: A GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT
SCRIPTURE: James 1:12-18
Written by: Dr Conrade Yap
Date: March 29th, 2014.

12Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 13When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Patrick won the jackpot. Alice struck the lottery. Michael received the first prize in a lucky draw. With the winnings, all of them rejoiced. All of them claimed to have been blessed. All of them said that the good fortunes were all gifts from God. With glee, they promised to give a tenth of what they had gained to either a Church, a charity, or some kind of a Samaritan initiative. Of course, we can debate about whether Christians ought to gamble or buy lottery, but that is not the point today. the point is, what constitutes a "good and perfect gift?"

The Christmas Hope

TITLE: THE CHRISTMAS HOPE 
SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 63:15
Written by: Dr Conrade Yap
Date: November 29th, 2013

"Look down from heaven and see from Your holy and glorious habitation; Where are Your zeal and Your mighty deeds? The stirrings of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained toward me." (Isa 63:15)

I watched a weepie last night. It was a film made in 2009 called "The Christmas Hope" that tells three stories of how individual persons having lost something, gained something else back as Christmas Day approaches. It is a feel-good movie that begins with tragedy and closes with a teary end. The first scene is about a single mother and daughter (Emily) hugging and enjoying each other's company. Emily's mum works as a waitress and tries to make ends meet. Emily is an adorable 9-year-old who loves everything Christmas, and especially remembers her mum as one who always keeps her promises. Then tragedy strikes with the mother was fatally hit by a car. The second scene is about a couple , an airline pilot Mark, and his wife Patty, still grieving after the loss of their teenage son, Sean, also to a road accident. Two deaths, two remaining families, all longing to cling to some hope, any kind of hope.

The Essence of Small Group Health

TITLE: THE ESSENCE OF SMALL GROUP HEALTH
SCRIPTURE: John 13:33-35
Written by: Dr Conrade Yap
Date: 6 April 2013

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

We all like to say that we want to be more Christlike. It is an easy thing to say. Living it is not. Likewise, it is easy to say we like to honour Christ, but we find it hard to honour people, especially those who seem to be so selfish, self-centered, or downright self-infatuated. Even Mahatma Gandhi has famously said:

"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." (Mahatma Gandhi)

Not to add the fact that the new atheist movement, led by Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and others, are pouring the fuel of sarcasm into the fire of anti-Christian sentiments. In fact, their very existence is an antithetical statement against anything Christianity. Negative sentiments about Christianity are not only nothing new, it is growing. In the West, Christianity is going through a very rough patch right now. In many quarters, the moment a person calls himself a "Christian," the response can be really nasty. John Burke puts it really apt in this:

"If you ask people on the street for one word to describe Christianity today, what would they say?' I've asked this question while speaking to Christians and Church leaders all over North America, Europe, Scandinavia, and Australia, and I find it very troubling that we all know the answers: 'judgmental,' 'narrow-minded,' 'arrogant,' 'hypocritical,' 'bigoted.'" (John Burke, Mud and the Masterpiece, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2013, p11)

Troubling indeed. I wonder. If Christians are loving, will not the world be more accepting of them? If Christians are more loving to one another, surely, the Church will grow? If Christians share more of their love, should there not be a decrease in negative sentiments, but a growing positive acceptance?

Before we start to be defensive about it all, maybe, we need to take a pause and to look into the mirror first.  This is something that all people need to do, not just Christians. That said, as ambassadors of the gospel, it is vital that disciples of Christ regularly examine themselves in the light of God's Word, and not fall prey under the microscope of worldly expectations.

This week, I like to pose the question: What is the essence of small group health? What does it take to be more loving in our communities of Christ? I like to hone in on one word: Giving.

A) Giving of Our Time

Just before John records the famous commandment of love, we read in John 13 about Jesus who is aware about his hour having come for him to leave the world. Instead of going through a laundry list of touring round the world in 80 minutes, or to fulfill last dying wishes, he spends time eating and meeting with his disciples. John even records, "... he loved them to the end."

In the movie "The Bucket List," two terminally ill men make a road trip to try to fulfill their dying wishes, where they try to make their remaining days count. It is the list of things they want to accomplish before they kick the bucket and die. They go round the world, drive fast cars, skydive, visit exotic places, and soon, they begin to work on things of the heart, like relationships and love in the family. Key to their last days is how the two men spend time with each other and make time for their loved ones.

Time is a tough commodity to give up nowadays. People are too busy with their own stuff to even bother about giving it away. That is why the words "Wasting time" tends to be said when nothing seems to get done. In small groups, when we go for meetings, sometimes when we do not feel like we have gained anything, we get upset, and even use the words "wasting time" to describe the entire meeting. I prefer to see it otherwise. For in going to small group meetings, it is not about doing things, but doing things TOGETHER that matters. It is not about being there, but being there for one another that matters more. It is the giving of our time that is our way of saying: "Our time is more important than my own time."

POINT: Jesus gives of his time, even in his dying hours. Shall we not give time for one another in our living days?

B) Giving of Our Money

Money can be a touchy issue. Sometimes, a dispute over how much to give or how the money is spent can create tensions and even split groups.  Money is a key factor in Judas's betrayal of Jesus. Judas is the treasurer for the group, and so when Jesus asks him to do quickly what Judas had planned to do, the disciples thought that Jesus was asking him to buy things for the festival or to give something to the poor. Little do they know that Judas had something sinister in mind.

Against this backdrop of money and ill-gotten gains, we read about way money can tempt us. It tempts Judas to even want to betray Jesus. Remember that Judas was the same one who were among those who criticized the woman who broke the alabaster jar in order to anoint Jesus with fragrant oil.

I know that of many groups that exist simply because of generous people in the group. They offer their houses for meeting places. They prepare lavish dishes for people. They put out their best for the group. When it comes to giving, it is not the quantity that matters, but the quality of what they give. In fact, the quality and quantity comes out of this one fact: A Big Heart.

The woman with the alabaster jar and the expensive perfume has Jesus praising her saying: "Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."

In small groups, the bigger the hearts of people, the greater the willingness to give of one's money and resources, both in quantity as well as quality.

POINT: Healthy Christian Communities will have a healthy level of giving, both quantity and quality.

C) Giving of Our Service

Jesus washes his disciples' feet. On Easter, the new Pope Francis is pictured washing the feet of non-Christians, even kissing them. It has generated lots of applause and approval, that the new pope is going to be more acceptable than the previous one.

Washing the feet of people is a powerful demonstration of recognizing that we are called to be servants of God. A servant of God is not one who expects things to be done for him or her. A servant of God is one who puts upon himself or herself to do things for others.

We live in a culture where we expect to be served. Whether we are waiting at the bank tellers or queueing up to buy tickets from the manned counter, we expect service to be done quick and fair. For those of us with domestic servants, we expect to be served our meals on time and to our tastes. We expect our houses to be cleaned properly. We expect the to serve us according to our expectations.

In Christian communities, it is easy to bring such expectations and apply them to other members of the group. Why not apply that expectations on the self first?

POINT: Healthy Christian Communities expect more from the self to give through service, than to expect others to serve you. Jesus washes the disciples' feet. So should we through the giving of our service to them.

D) Giving of Our Lives

Jesus has said that greater love has no man, than one who is willing to lay down his life for his friends. If that is so, what about dying for our enemies? Jesus has demonstrated exactly that by dying for the sake of the whole world. When we give of our lives, we give of ourselves.

Bronnie Ware recently published a book about the five top regrets of the dying. Note that nearly all of them have to do with relationships. The first is about living a life true to self. If we are not living to bless others, we are certainly not being true to our calling. The second is about regretting working too hard. Why? It is because most of the time, working too hard means accumulating accomplishments for self. Third, courage to express one's feelings is about honesty. Relationships need that. In Christian communities, we are called to do something more: Speak the truth in love.

Four, staying in touch with friends is vital. Finally, true happiness lies not in taking stuff for self, but in giving of our lives to others.

POINT: If Christ has given us his all, why can't we begin our giving with what we have?

E) Summary

My readers. Are you a part of a small group or a Christian community? Do you feel like you want to begin a positive change for the group? Do you want to be the loving community that Christ has called us to build? Give of your time. Give of your money and resources. Give of your service. Give of your life. For in giving, we shall receive even more. The crux of the matter is this. The more we give, the more we realize that the Lord will be pleased.

The essence of healthy small groups is in this one word: Giving.

THOUGHT: "The most obvious lesson in Christ's teaching is that there is no happiness in having or getting anything, but only in giving." (Henry Drummond)


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Copyright by SabbathWalk. This devotional is sent to you free of charge. If you feel blessed or ministered to by SabbathWalk weekly devotionals, feel free to forward to friends, or to invite them to subscribe online at http://blog.sabbathwalk.org . You can also send me an email at cyap@sabbathwalk.org for comments or enquiries. Note that views expressed are personal opinions of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization.

Selfishness

TITLE: SELFISHNESS
SCRIPTURE: Daniel 9:4-5
Written by: Dr Conrade Yap
Date: 13 September 2012

I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands, we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws." (Daniel 9:4-5)

Admit it.

We are all selfish people, one way or another. Whether it is that mad dash for the last item on sale, or the rude behaviour on the roads, we all have tendencies to see our own points of view as more "right" than others, more "honourable" than others, and more "reasonable" than others. The trouble is, perspectives are often skewed toward our individual selves. In one word, it is "selfishness." My main point this week is this: If selfishness points one to seek answers away from God, I wonder what selflessness or unselfishness can do?

A) The Selfish Gene

Selfishness: The Whole World is about Me.

In a book that launched him to world fame, the famous new atheist, Richard Dawkins, popularizes the idea of "The Selfish Gene." It is a book that trumpets natural selection and evolution. He offers his work as an observation of the behaviour of the human species rather than to try to explain its origin or purpose. It is this very dominant "selfish gene" that will come up tops in the survival of the fittest. The key theme in Dawkins's work is that the whole of life is dependent on a "replicator," something that reproduces itself for survival. My question is, what comes BEFORE this replicator?

Dawkins tries to uphold the doctrine of evolution, that there is no such thing as God, or a Creator. By pinning the the reasons for human selfishness on the gene itself, Dawkins liberates human people from taking direct responsibility, and to blame something else for all their problems. Yet, Dawkins is quick to point out that his book is about "altruism" rather than "selfishness" per se. How he justifies it is beyond me. For that matter, he even advocates that his book is more about the "altruistic" gene. Fine. If that is so, then why the title? Dawkins tries to be playful about it all by saying: "Let us try to teach generosity and altruism because we are born selfish." Through "natural selection," people with selfish genes can actually come together for the common good. I read it as him saying, since we are naturally selfish, why not just be selfish together for the common good?

Great. Like a slippery eel, there is no way for anyone to catch a circular argument, which points back to Dawkins's sleuthic insistence of: "Firstly, I am right, and secondly, if you think I am wrong, refer to the first statement."  This is evident even in the many ways Dawkins attempts to deflect criticisms in his latest preface to his 30th Anniversary edition of "The Selfish Gene."

B) Selfishness

If there is anything good from Dawkins's book, it is his title. It points us to ask why is it "selfish" in the first place? Dawkins prefers to call his book a treatise based on "science." Yet he himself tries to talk about things outside of science, and when he approaches unfamiliar territory of human behaviour and motives, he makes excuses to say that his work does not cover that. In fact, Dawkins is so adamant about natural selection and the superiority of science that I feel it has become his own dogma, his own religion, his god. As one who has studied the sciences and the engineering of life, I can say that even science is based on a series of assumptions. If that is the case, why is Dawkins so cocksure that his central tenets of faith in science and the natural selection of evolution is so right? By setting out to be atheistic in the first place, has he unwittingly cut out the faith element? In fact, it takes a greater leap of faith to believe in Dawkins's treatise than to trust the God of the Bible.

Selfish behaviour is everywhere. I remember one ex-colleague of mine complaining about his boss. "He only cares for himself." The trouble is, I thought to myself, aren't we all caring merely for ourselves too? For every ten people, we will be challenged to find even one who is selfless in their actions. Even in churches, we have this pareto of 10% of the people doing 90% of the work. Is the lack of Christian service an indication of sin even among Christian people?

There is a strong link. I know of friends who have a hard time trying to get people to serve in their churches. They work their hearts out. They call for volunteers. The responses are few and pathetic. Even the few who responded have their own conditions set forth.

• I can serve only if ___________;
• If nobody else is doing it, then I will do it;
• I'm not free. Call someone else. 
• Who are you to ask me?
• Why me? 
• .....

Some senior pastors caught in the bind take up the slack by making their junior staff do the rest of the work. Whether it is driving members to and from church, or leading in singing sessions, or conduct Bible studies, when ordinary members do not want to volunteer, those who are paid have no choice but to pick up the duties no one else wants to do. After all, like what some church members are quick to say: "They are paid after all, right?"

Wrong. A Church is not about distinguishing paid vs unpaid volunteers. It is about coming together to serve one another joyfully and without counting one another's contributions.

C) Selfishness is a Spiritual Condition


I have been studying Jerry Bridges's book on "Respectable Sins" for the past few months with some people from Church. Last week, we touched on the topic of selfishness. Bridges highlights four areas in which people are typically selfish with.

1. Selfishness about our self-interests;
2. Selfishness over our time;
3. Selfishness over our money;
4. Selfishness over our inconsiderateness.

The first is about putting our own personal interests more important than others, a clear opposite of what Philippians 2:4 is teaching us. The second comes from a sense of inner insecurity that if we do not keep precious time for ourselves, we will lose out. The third is about the nature of human beings to hoard things for themselves. That is one reason why the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer. The fourth puts our own feelings and conveniences above other people. All of these selfish behaviour comes out of one single reason: Our selfish nature. Bridges makes this observation:

"Even after we become Christians, we still have the flesh that wars against the Spirit, and one of its expressions is selfishness. Selfishness is a difficult sin to expose because it is so easy to see in someone else but so difficult to recognize in ourselves." (Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins, Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress,2007, p102)

Voila! We are selfish in the first place because of sin. Each act of selfishness points us away from God. On the contrary, each act of selflessness and unselfishness provides us glimpses of the glory of God.

D) Unselfishness

This week, I have seen examples of unselfishness occurring in the community I am in. Individuals volunteer to help out in Church. People reach out to the needy, even giving out money to those who cannot pay rent. Encouragement flows unexpectedly. I see unselfishness creating a warm feeling inside the hearts of people, that sometimes leads to tears of joy.

When unselfishness happens, selfishness takes a back seat. Let me close.

Any attempt to blame our genetic makeup for any selfish behaviour is not only silly, but downright irresponsible. After all, we have a choice, and we always have the power to make that choice for good, instead of relying on some mechanism inside of us. It is this choice that Dawkins himself agrees that can be used against the "selfish gene" in us.

E) Unselfishness Gives Us Glimpses of Christlikeness

The Bible is very clear that there is something behind anything that is selfish by nature. Sin. Even the prophet Daniel is quick to pray for forgiveness. Imagine that. The man who lived righteously in a foreign land, who had resolved not to defile himself, who braved ferocious lions, and survived the fiery furnace. He too confessed sinful behaviour. While the key goal for Dawkins theory of the "selfish gene" is for physical survival, the confession of Daniel goes beyond surviving physically. He has a spiritual perspective that we are already sinful, and we need help. Physically, whether we like it or not, we are all going to die one day. If that is so, rather than to live this present day with a mysterious dependence on a mysterious natural selection, why not place it on a known Person who walked the earth 2000 years ago, and who has proclaimed that He is the Truth, the Way, and the Life?

Trust not in any genetic makeup. Trust in the One who knows us in and out, genes and all.

THOUGHT: "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness." (Martin Luther King Jr)

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Copyright by SabbathWalk. This devotional is sent to you free of charge. If you feel blessed or ministered to by SabbathWalk weekly devotionals, feel free to forward to friends, or to invite them to subscribe online at http://blog.sabbathwalk.org . You can also send me an email at cyap@sabbathwalk.org for comments or enquiries.