“What you see is what you get” can be a high complement about a person. A person behaves one way to some people and the opposite toward others is what Scripture calls a “double-minded” person (Ps 119:113; 1 Tim 3:8; Jas 1:7, 4:8). Such people lack integrity. Integrity is defined in the dictionary as characterized by being undivided or complete. Integrity is not complicated. In fact, the simpler the better. Just as a good theory is simpler than a bad one, a person with true integrity is single—“yes” or “no.” Anything messier and more complicated is suspect.
Prayer: Give me the purity of heart to be totally yours. Amen.
17 – Love Whom?
Matthew 5:38–48 — (38) “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ (39) But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, (40) and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; (41) and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. (42) Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. (43) You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ (44) But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, (45) so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. (46) For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? (47) And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? (48) Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
If you counted the number of folks who have bumper stickers that read, “Don’t get mad, get even” and compared that to the number whose bumper sticker is “Love your enemies,” the “get even” folks would probably outnumber the “enemy lovers.”
Jesus set the bar pretty high when he told his disciples to love their enemies. Who would want to do that? It is absolutely clear what is wrong with your enemy. (You fill in the list.) Any objective observer should agree: My enemy is a good-for-nothing blankety-blank you-know-what; his mother couldn’t even love him.
Later, when asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus may seem to have backed off a bit when he said: “Love your neighbor.” But we don’t do well even with that limitation. Love is the kind of thing that takes it all out of you. And then calls for more. And it’s so hard to quantify. Like, when have you loved enough? Or put differently: When have you received enough love? How do you know when you’ve had too much? Do you get a stomachache or a headache? Do you get a notice from the banker indicating you’re overdrawn?
Jesus’ whole deal cannot be quantified. Here in college, as in life, you want to quantify—get certain grades, get requirements “out of the way”—but Jesus is never in the counting game.
Prayer: God of love, may I love others as you have loved me. Amen.
18 – Shhhhh!
Matthew 6:1–8; 16–18 — (1) “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. (2) So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward. (3) But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, (4) so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (5) And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward. (6) But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (16) And whenever you fast, do not look dismal, like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly, I tell you, they have received their reward. (17) But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, (18) so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”
Will that be on the test? (Do I need to study it? Or can I ignore it? Do not ask your professor this question. Ever.)
One of my favorite teachings of Jesus is when he tells us not to do something. That’s cool. The less there is to do in the Christian life, the more time I have to do my own thing. So I shouldn’t show off my piety. That will work; it will cut down on the time pretending to be holy. Don’t give alms in public. A serious economy move; I’m on it already. Don’t pray out loud. I always feel uneasy about public praying. Don’t fast. Wait: don’t fast means don’t don’t eat. Really? Okay; because I really like to eat.
Is there a common thread here? Anything that ties all these low-profile, “do not” commands together? What if we were to compare them to athletics? The athlete practices, exercises, trains, learns routines, watches her diet—all in private. In public, she performs. All the rest was preparation, disciplining (disciple-ing?) herself into what she believed she was.
In private you can concentrate on gearing yourself into the most appropriate response to God.
Prayer: God of power, control the temptation of pride that always lurks at my doorstep. Amen.
19 – The Prayer
Matthew 6:7–15 — (7) “When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. (8) Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (9) Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (10) Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (11) Give us this day our daily bread. (12) And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (13) And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. (14) For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; (15) but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
One of the neat things about college is the creativity of some teachers. A really creative teacher helps you learn from things you’d never thought of: garbage, tree rings, or paintings that don’t seem to look like anything.
Could you learn something from a prayer? We normally think of prayers as vehicles for asking God for something, or maybe expressing appreciation for something. But what about prayer as a teaching/learning exercise?
What was your last prayer about? Health for a sick relative? Success in a class? Healing in a personal relationship? Americans are good at knowing what they want. How about the run-up to Christmas when all the letters from kids to Santa appear in the newspaper? Each child tells exactly what they want: item after item. But almost never a thought about Santa giving something to someone else.
If we use the Lord’s Prayer as a model for our prayers, we begin by praying for something pretty big: God’s kingdom. Asking that God really take over the world is tantamount to relinquishing your own control over it. And then there is the part about asking for food. Didn’t you already pay hard-earned cash for food service? And the worst part is the one asking for forgiveness—which is supposed to be God’s favorite thing to do for us humans—and then making his forgiving you depend on your forgiving others.
Someone has written that we need to be taught what it is that we should want. Perhaps you could use this prayer regularly to shift your focus from what you want to what God wants you to want.
Prayer: Help me, O Lord, to listen to what you have taught me to pray for. And to truly want it. Amen.
20 – Heads or Tails?
Matthew 6:19–24 — (19) “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; (20) but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes