The Myth of Good People, Dead and Suffering - Purity 1259

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of a flock of geese or duck on an unknown lake on what appears to be a frigid sunrise morning comes to us from an unknown Facebook friend who shared this white, pink, and purple delight on social media back on or around January 4th, 2021. If this beauty is yours, give us a heads up and we'll give you— give photo credit where photo credit is due by updating the blog after the fact. Well, it's Saturday, even— and even though I rather enjoy the upturn in temperatures in the soggy rain January, uh, we have received in upstate New York over the last few days, I can still appreciate the beauty that comes from chillier temperatures. And the stillness of the near-freezing conditions that seem to be part of the beauty of today's photo. Those trees seem to be frozen, and even the waterfowl— and even though the waterfowl in this photo are swimming, the snow on the shoreline of this lake reveals that it's still cold outside. Today's photo is a paradox of sorts where the elements seem to contradict one another. Cold, but not that cold. Freezing, but not frozen. And that contrast has me thinking of the paradoxes— paradox of appearances and reality, when man tries to take control over or craft a narrative around life that is more shadows and fog rather than actual facts, causing us to question our experience of reality as we are tempted to believe the lie of accepting someone's secondhand report. Sometimes the truth of the details is left out of the story people tell themselves and others. Causing us to accept an interpretation of reality that is more myth than truth, causing us to live in denial, or unwittingly to believe a narrative that is more speculation or spin-doctoring than real. This phenomenon of dealing with the cognitive dissonance that comes from knowing the dirty secrets or actual facts of a situation and seeing people deceived by a sentimentalized or factually modified version of the event that portray people in a certain light, or that gives the impression of things being a certain way when they really weren't, that, um, when they really weren't that way, has really come to bear this week as I have been reading about the dangers of being deceived in Dr. Neil Anderson's Discipleship Counseling and have seen people telling tales about certain people or certain events that aren't necessarily true. The recrafting of reality is more common than you might think. An example of this can surround when someone dies. In our grief, the difficult or less-than-flattering details that surround the deceased person's life are sometimes forgiven or forgotten, as the fact of their departure causes us to not want to, quote-unquote, speak ill of the dead. This can also happen when someone who is less than kind suffers a loss or tragedy that they are partially responsible for. Poor Joe or poor Jane who have died or who are walking through trials and tribulations may not have been so poor. They may have been quite nasty, in fact, and they may have unwittingly or unwittingly sowed the seeds of the bad fruit that has sprouted in their lives. While I don't wish to kick anyone when they are down or to soil the reputation of those who have gone into eternity, quote-unquote, too soon. It's always too soon, right? Oh, poor Sam was 91 years young. Seriously? Anyway, I think that we do a huge disservice to ourselves for, um, for accepting false images or ignoring the facts of the case when suffering comes. Instead of believing the myth of only the good die young, or that people suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, I feel that we, we would actually be honoring the dead and suffering among us by keeping it real. Joe was somewhat of a jerk. He rejected God, did things his way, ignored common sense about life, and died in part by his own poor decisions. Jane may be suffering now, but she too failed to follow the Lord, failed to do what was right, failed to forgive, ignore facts and common sense, failed to foster relationships with love, and made selfish or foolish decisions. That have led to her current trials and tribulations. Poor Joe and poor Jane are truly poor, not because they are dead or are suffering, but because they were lied to. They believed that they could live according to their own rules and live independently of God, and now the testimony of their lives causes the discerning to realize just how untrue the story of there being quote-unquote good people really is. If all I can say about someone after they have died revolves around their personal preferences, hobbies, and how they were, were quote-unquote nice or the quote-unquote life of the party, I shudder to think how they will fare at the judgment seat of Christ. If people's obituaries fail to mention faith or Jesus as a part of their earthly lives, I fear they will be denied in heaven. Where do I get that? From the words of Jesus himself. He said in Matthew 10:32-33, "Therefore, whoever confesses me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies me before men, him I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven." Yikes! Makes you wonder about people whose obituaries talk about their sports teams, hobbies, and general disposition. Or who just give a list of relatives but make no mention of our Heavenly Father or Jesus. Perhaps more scary is the fact that people will miss that fact and think it was a "good obituary" when in fact it could be all the evidence we need to tell us that this departed person is most likely in hell. Similarly, those who are suffering now may be more worthy of our critical discernment than our sympathy. Their story of woe perhaps should be considered a cautionary tale more than a tragedy. The adage of choosing to sin, choosing to suffer, can be true in subtle ways that may not seem apparent to quote-unquote good people. I'm listing a link to Open Bible Info's 100 Verses About the Consequences of Sin on the blog today. To remind us that we should attempt to be right with God. But beyond the verses that tell us that sin leads to death and separation from God, I want to share James 4:17, which says, "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." And I'm going to share Galatians 6:6-9, which says, "Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. While this second passage points to eternal life through sowing to the Spirit, let's not miss what it says about reaping what we sow in connection with the fact that it is sin to know what is good and choose not to do it. The corruption we reap from a life in the flesh, a life lived according to our own rules independently of God, not only has eternal consequences but can also point to the corruption of bad consequences and suffering loss in the world of the living. While some of us may not be desperately wicked by relative standards, we, uh, when we fail to obey the Lord's ways for our lives, those loving, selfless, forgiving, righteous, and holy ways, we may very well reap a harvest of bitterness from our selfish choices. Death doesn't erase the fact that people were sinful, selfish, or separated from God, and neither does suffering, loss, or tribulations excuse the failure to heed God's word or to walk by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. Poor Joe or Poor Jane should not necessarily be remembered fondly or sympathized with because of their few positive qualities in light of the reality of their lives of abject rebellion to and rejection of God's plan for redemption and righteous recommendations for living. I don't mean to play the blame game, But the misfortunes of those who fail to follow the Lord may not be so outrageous, and portraying worldly selfish people with no regard for the things of God in their lives as "good people" in their death is not only a lie, but is an active campaign against the gospel of Jesus Christ. While only God knows the eternal destinies of those who go into death, if someone's life doesn't confess Jesus before men, we can realistically expect that 'poor Joe' or 'poor Jane' are suffering in hell, regardless of the sentimental platitudes that family and friends speak on their behalf. I know these are really dreary thoughts for a Saturday, but deception is a game that Satan plays, and when we fail to consider the truth of someone's life, or the suffering that results from a life lived apart from God and His ways, we join in league with the spiritual forces of darkness that would like to lull us to sleep and to believe the lie that "all dogs go to heaven," or that God accepts people based on their merits, or through an all-inclusive universal grace that puts the evil with the good and the godless with the faithful. Our lives matter. Our choices matter. And while we shouldn't accost the grieving with the hard truths regarding those whose die has been cast, we shouldn't believe the lie that those who live without God on earth will be with Him in heaven for eternity. Likewise, while we should not disparage those who are suffering because of their failures to live a life that was blameless, we should encourage them to learn from their mistakes and lean on the Lord to guide them in the way they should go for the road into the future. Remember to challenge the stories that the world is telling you and to not only reject the lie— lies that are being said, but to be ready to tell people the truth and to do it with love. Today's Bible verse comes to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Cruis. This morning's meditation verse comes from the section on communication, gossip, and lying. Today's verse is Proverbs 10:19, and the word of God says, when there are many words, transgression is unavoidable. But he who restrains his lips is wise. Today's verse is the third of five passages of scripture that fall under the fifth point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on communication, gossip, and lying. And that fifth point is: Be quick to listen, slow to speak. Today's verse tells us that there is a danger to saying too much. The more words we speak, the more likely we are to say something that isn't necessarily true. We like to tell our side of the story to support what we believe, and in our zeal to support our narratives, we may embellish certain aspects of a situation to paint things in a different light, or we may choose to leave out certain details that are not flattering or useful to our agendas. Proverbs tells us to restrain our lips to be wise. One piece of advice regarding speaking that I recall from my walk through life in other words, I forget the source material for this advice, for there are many, uh, is to think before we speak and to ask ourselves some questions about what we are about to say before blurting it out. Is what I'm about to say true, helpful, necessary, or kind? If the answer to those questions is no, we should probably exercise our right to remain silent or ask ourselves what the consequences will be if we don't speak. And pray to the Lord to guide us in the way we should go. Many words may lead us into transgressions, so examine what you need to say and rely on the Lord to show you when, when to remain silent or when to proclaim the truth with love. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org, where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk Today we continue sharing from According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen F. Alford, a collection of devotional journals from 1940 and '41. And in this resource, Alford points to, you know, reading Bible scripture, and he recommends one chapter in the morning, one chapter in the evening. And for today's passage, he pointing to Matthew 19 and specifically to verse 21, which says, "If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me." And Alford writes, the Lord's desire for this young man was that he might prove not only the good and acceptable will of God, but also the perfect will of God. If you want to be perfect, what then had the young man to do? William Cowper had to say, from a heart experience, "The dearest idol I have known, whatever that idol be, help me to tear it from thy throne and worship only thee." Alfred continues to write, what the Lord wanted from this young man was not his riches so much, but the unreserved surrender of his heart and body. Instead, he chose the fleeting treasures of time in place of the pleasures of eternity. He denied himself the possession of eternal life for the temporary enjoyment of earthly riches. And Alfred ends his devotional entry by praying, Continue to remind me, Lord, to strive for your perfect will in my life. Amen. Well, that concludes our sharing. And, uh, yeah, the rich young ruler, uh, basically was, was asking, how do I be approved? And, uh, Jesus told him, you know, surrender what you, what you worship and follow me, basically. And, uh, it was a pretty, you know, pretty, pretty demanding, uh, demanding claim by Jesus, but he knew what what, what, what owned this young man's heart. And so in order to give his heart to Jesus, it was going to require surrender, um, of his material possessions to, to follow him. And, uh, you know, that might seem crazy, but, uh, if the Lord calls you to do it, you're to do it. Now, we're not to take this parable necessarily and apply it to our lives. You know, to prove our faith. But, uh, if the Lord should call you to do it, do it. But, uh, you know, I would pray about it and see what the Lord has to say, because, you know, if you can easily do that, there might be an issue. Maybe that's not the, the thing you're holding on to, you know. Um, what we need to hold on to is the truth, the truth of the Gospel, that there are no good people. That God is only good, and that's why we need a Savior. You know, that, uh, about, you know, trying to say that, you know, imperfect people have no hope. Um, we have a hope in Jesus, and we confess him before man, he will confess us before the Father in heaven. For life is an empty testimony of worldly living, and, you know, no regard for the Lord, no evidence for a life of faith, we can't really expect to be in a state of grace in eternity. And, uh, it's something that, you know, really weighs on my heart as recently I've seen people's stories be told that are nice stories, but they're missing something. They're missing Jesus. And, you know, while I have sympathy for some people who are suffering, I have sympathy for all people who suffer. In the case where someone is, you know, living a life separated from God and making poor decisions, you know, from the flesh and putting their trust in things to make them happy, to give them comfort, that are not of the Lord, you know, their suffering is just the natural consequences of those poor decisions. And, uh, I encourage them to seek the peace and the solutions for life that come through God's word and through faith in Jesus Christ. Um, because I don't like to watch people suffer, and I don't like it when people, um, have no regard for the Lord, because it's what life's all about. The Creator creates us and he calls us home into eternity. And human history, the history of the universe, will be determined by the Creator. And his word tells us, you know, that we're to put our faith in Jesus and that Jesus will return to rule and reign in a new heaven and a new earth someday. And if we're not in alignment with that, we're gonna perish. So that's where that's all coming from. I don't want to, you know, speak ill of the dead or, you know, blame people for their own problems, but I want to keep it real in hopes that it'll convict us to share the wisdom of the gospel with people and to encourage people to surrender to the Lord's will for their lives. So I did that, and while I suffered greatly for it and lost a lot of things and relationships because of my decision to follow the Lord, I suffered a lot more before, before coming to the Lord. You know, I suffered trying to figure life out by myself and make meaning and happiness out of out of circumstances of this world that were corrupt and falling apart. If you don't go, go to God and find peace with him, you'll never have peace. No matter how, how, how nice and how positive your experiences in life can be, without the Lord it'll be for nothing. And, um, so we encourage people to follow the Lord and to, and to to share the good news of Jesus, because it is the way to life everlasting and peace and joy here, here on earth when we abide in him. So today's Saturday, um, I'm up at my countryside home, and circumstances couldn't be better for experiencing circumstantial peace, as I am with my beloved wife, and, uh, things are good, life is good. And despite, you know, problems outside of my experience that are in the circles around me, um, I have peace, I have joy in the Lord and in my marriage, and I'm going to enjoy it. So I'm not sure what the day will bring, but coming from that place will be pretty good. It'll be pretty good today. So I pray for anyone— let's— well, let's just pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your Kingdom. Well, we thank you for your truth, your love, your grace, and your healing and freedom that you give to those who put their faith in you. Um, Lord, we just pray for anyone who's listening, that they'd be encouraged, that they know the truth, not to believe the lies of the world and to, uh, to follow you only. And, uh, Lord, we pray for you to come alongside them and their prayer requests, to help them in their life of faith. And to lead them in the way they should go. And, uh, well, we pray for that for ourselves too. Help us to remember to love and, uh, and to be kind where we can, but to not compromise the truth that will lead to, uh, you know, eternal life and peace on Earth. Lord, so help us open our eyes to the things you want us to see and lead us in the way we should go. Today and every day. This we pray. Lord, we thank you, we praise you, we love you. We pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.