Monkey See, Monkey Do

 

Have you ever spoken with someone or maybe read something they wrote and felt like you were getting more of a shotgun blast of subject matter? That might be how you feel reading through James. In the first section alone (2-18) James covers so many items. His backdrop for the entire letter and specially that first section should be the persecutions and trials that believers in the world are experiencing. In the course of that first paragraph, we hear words on perseverance, on finishing the road of faith in front of us. He writes about staying humble under the circumstances surrounding them all. James speaks for a moment about temptation and how we should stand against it. And, he finishes up by calling us some kind of first fruit of what will come. Maybe, its a list. The little brother of Jesus will cover much of these topics ahead. Maybe there is some understand and direction for his letter. Maybe this is why God used so many different people to put together our New Testament. Paul is very concise. maybe you read the Apostle's works and understand exactly what it is he is saying. You go through Peter or John and they become your favorite bits of this canon of truth. You come to James and wonder why the rest of the Testament isn't written exactly like this. God knows what he is doing and who he is using. So, lets take a look at what James says as we finish out the first chapter. 

 

Again, keeping in mind the background and context wherein James is speaking; they are suffering persecution. The believers have good reason to be angry. Persecution happens with what seems like meaningless, trivial situations. Why should it matter who we worship? Why can't we talk about this Savior who wants to come into our hearts and lives? Other people are offended at the notion that we would refer to them as sinners. It takes some reverse of our pride and a shot to our egos to see a person come down off their throne and give their life to Jesus. In the process, harsh words might be exchanged. Riots might ensue. At the time James is writing this, the Apostle Paul is going through places like Macedonia and parts of Greece. Some villages will hear him out. Some downright want to fight and throw these evangelists out of town. Some antagonists follow Paul and their group to the next town, continuing the fight and the struggle. So, listen to this little brother's words again as this section opens up. 

19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

People like to put some enmity between what Paul writes and what James explains as if they are saying different things. Scholars have noted how people like Martin Luther did not like James words in the next section about Faith and Works. Luther seemed to dive into Paul because the Apostle spent so much time on the subject of Faith with which the Catholic father finds himself wrestling with and enveloped. It was not a simple tossing to the side of James that we are speaking about. Luther spoke his mind about James and truly did not like appreciate the work written here.  Luther, in fact, separated James out along with Hebrews and Revelation, sectioning them off to the back of his bible as "straw material." Paul would use that illustration what it takes to build a good sturdy house on a strong foundation. Gold, Silver, Stone were the choice items. Straw, Hay, Wood, those are items that can be burnt up easily in the fires of judgment. Luther refers to James as "straw material." In his eyes it's just not worth very much in the stack up of wisdom and truth when it comes to comparing to Paul's writings. In his eyes, there seems to be a lack of real material referring to Christ and his saving, resurrection power. Luther doesn't throw the letter out. (Some scholars suggest that he wanted to do so.) What we see here is a good illustration in this 19-27 section of chap 1 that sets up his thought that is coming next about faith and works. Listening and doing. It follows the same theme with the stroke coming closer to home in the next chapter. 

Why would any of these Christians in that first century have any reason to be mad or angry about anything? Well, we've noted that persecution is on the rise. Around the time it is said that James writes this letter, Paul is on a stretch in his journeys (Acts 15-18) where he will met up with some fellow Messianic Christians  who have come from Rome. Emperor Claudius has ordered all Jews to leave Rome in the midst of an uprising against Jewish people. Imagine being uprooted from your home in the town you live in and told to leave. Imagine leaving your work, your friends, maybe your family and you are told to leave all that you know. You might be angry. Here's where our writer's words about temptation fit in from the first section. 

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Your people might be looked down upon and treated unfairly, even beaten or forced away from their homes. You might be out of work because of how you are being treated, unable to provide for your family. You might be angry at certain governmental authorities for bringing these circumstances down upon you or you might simply be mad at your neighbor for how they have treated you in the midst of all this. What might you feel tempted to do? Retaliation in the midst of hardship and trials is exactly the snare that our enemy would love to snag us into and have us act like a bunch of angry idiots. Ok, we made mention last week when we opened up with James that many of us have no idea what persecution truly is. In our 1st world setting, we don't see situations like that very much or have to deal with anything that harsh. What we get to deal with or handle is the imposition of ones demands or inconsiderate persons who have to have everything their way. We deal with the guy at the fast food counter who wasn't very nice when he took our order. We deal with the credit card employee who wasn't very friendly on the phone when we were trying to iron out that charge we know wasn't ours. No matter whether the circumstances are pushing into our lives with near fatal outcomes or if the matter in front of us is trivial and could be easily resolved; the answer is never to get angry and lash out in return. James is clear here that resorting to that kind of response does not being the righteousness that God wants in our lives. What it brings is a "self" righteous attitude. We are lashing out towards that person because we think we know what is right for them and for us. We want things to be a certain way for ourselves. And, we have some loose idea in our heads that if we get angry and make it clear to them that what we are seeing and hearing out of them is clearly wrong, then they will get it. Ask any married person who has had enough out of their spouse and loose their minds screaming and yelling in retort. Ask any employee who has had enough with a boss or fellow worker and has lost their marbles in a rant about those working conditions. Ask any pastor who has worked feverishly with a congregation trying to bring life and vitality to a community only to feel burned out and worthless by the end of it. That self-righteous attitude brings us to a parable Jesus shared. With the way this all flows together, you can see God working in the connectedness of it all. You also have to wonder if this might have been a moment when James was present as a young boy and heard this parable being told. Have a read...

Of the two people featured in this parable told to us by our Lord and Savior; with whom do you identify? I'm willing to bet most of us take the angry, nasty route of looking down over our nose at other people and pronouncing judgement on them. It takes a brokenness, a truthful acknowledgement, a movement in our soul and spirit to be willing to admit that we are sinners. Not a bobble head nodding in agreement. The grief brings with it a sorrow. Jesus suggests that the sinner in this case cannot even look up at heaven. I've had days like that. Afraid to look up. Afraid of what we might see. A Messiah breaking through the clouds and a whole mess of unfinished business here that needs resolution. Kind of too late to take care of it when he Lord is back. Exactly why we need to take care of all this now. 

Interesting how what James has to say ties itself in with so much other scripture. Lets take a moment to really contemplate what he has to say about hearing and doing. Its a point blank illustration with the Man in the Mirror. (Can't hear that reference without hearing Michael Jackson singing.) How many of us really enjoy standing there looking at ourselves? In this tragic day and age, it pretty un-common to NOT see some young girl with her camera phone in hand taking their own picture in the bathroom mirror. When the prophet Samuel comes to Jesse, the father of a young shepherd boy named David, that God must have a screw loose. He thinks that one of Jesse's older sons would fit the bill better. David is just a young boy. The Lord has words with Samuel that stick to the ribs like so much potatoes and meat. From 1 Samuel 16, verse 7...

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

It is one of David's older brothers Samuel is considering. Why? He is more mature. His age might be taken more seriously. But, God has already rejected him. He simply is not the person God wants in this role of King. Later, David will come in. He will have handsome features. He is simply on the young side. Why is it human looks at the outer appearance of the situation instead of seeing what going on inside of the matter? Too often that is what we do. We do it most often with other people. We do it very often with our own selves. We look in the mirror and we see the person there and we walk away and forget what we actually saw. We should look in the mirror and walk away beating our chest. "I'm a sinner!: We are poor, blind and naked, according to scripture. We need God. We need help. We need support. 5 minutes latter we suddenly think "We got this!" We think we can carry own own load. We don't need anyone. I'm strong, I can handle this. And, we find exactly the opposite. Why do we humans have such a time seeing what God sees? My dad used to have a way with getting us to see things in the proper perspective. When he would ask if we have finished a certain task or done what he asked us to do, way too often, one would try to answer for the other. "Well, he didn't!" No, my dad would say. "You only need to answer for you." It's a lesson we all could stand to learn. "You're so quick to try and make it look like the other one didn't do right that you yourself didn't do the right thing either. So, really, neither of you actually finished the job I asked you to do/" We wind up like the Pharisee in the Temple looking down over our nose at the world around us. "Oh thank you God that I'm not like other people." Well, what's wrong with those people other than that they are sinners, just like you? "Well, yes, technically I am a sinner, but I don't do those kinds of things." 

The temptation for many is too look at people with the wrong kind of lenses. Why do we humans have such a time viewing ourselves and others in the correct format? On a computer if you're trying to view a picture, but the program you're using doesn't support that, it will not work and you will see an error message that says "File Type Not Supported"

What we are dealing with here are opposites. 
Here is what we usually get backward. The way we look at ourselves is how we should hold others up and instead have a lower viewpoint of ourselves. Instead, that self-righteous attitude pushes us into a high outlook of ourselves while we look down over our nose at the world around us. 

Do we truly grasp what James is after in those last few sentences in the section we are looking into this morning?

22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Ok. What did Jesus tell us to do? "Don't just listen to the word. Do what it says." Go back and read what Jesus said throughout the Sermon on the Mount. 3 chapters worth of material. We could probably come up with lots that he instructed the disciples to do and in turn comes to our doorstep to follow. Read James' statement again in those last few verses. I think its pretty clear with how James wants there to be self control on how we handle ourselves (most certainly our tongues) and instead focus on the needs of others, like "orphans and widows". It is a theme that is repeated again and again starting with Jesus. It really is the heart of the whole Sermon on the Mount.

We've noted - many of us aren't experiencing persecution as people half way around the world very well are right now. So, who is the enemy? Is it your spouse? Is it a family member? Your boss? A neighbor? (Quite literally) The scriptures push us, they quite certainly force us if we continue to read them, into a deeper relationship with God. The Almighty needs to be in control, not us. If the Lord leads and guides our steps, our tongues, our hearts we will find it much easier to be the people we are supposed to be. We will see ourselves doing what James has eluded to and what Jesus commands. Forgetting about what lies behind, pushing on to what is ahead. Leaving behind ourselves, our demands, our opinions and letting Jesus guide us into the fields of the harvest, this is where we need to be. Monkeys tend to copy behavior more than any other species of animal. When one monkey starts doing something they have seen a trainer or a visitor at the zoo doing, more seem to follow along. Maybe if one of us humans can catch on and start doing what we need to do, the next Monkey will follow. This what Jesus calls the church to be. Overcomers. Standard setters. The best of examples. And, what we have covered today is exactly what we have to overcome in order to be what God wants us to be. Lets get to it. 

Blessings folks

Jeremy