God's Top Ten List from Exodus 20:1-21

Today I am commenting on Exodus 20:1-21, which, of course, gives us the Ten Commandments.

One of the popular recent comedy gags is to have a funny list of some kind. Jeff Foxworthy is famous for his list that helps you decide if you are a red neck or not. Late night host David Letterman included a top ten list in each of his shows.  I saw one the other day that was called:

Top Ten Indicators You Drink Too Much Coffee:

10. Juan Valdez names his donkey after you.

9. You get a speeding ticket even when you're parked.

8. You watch videos in fast-forward.

7. The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.

6. Your lips are permanently stuck in the sipping position.

5. You can jump-start your car without cables.

4. You've worn out the handle on your favorite coffee mug.

3. Starbuck's owns the mortgage on your house.

2. You're so wired you pick up FM radio.

1. Instant coffee takes too long.

God has His top ten list too, and God gave this list to Moses to pass on to Israel.  Though times have changed, God never does, and His top ten list stands today.  We need to know it, honor it, and live it.

GOD’S LIST TELLS US HOW TO LIVE WITH HIM IN VERSES 1-8: 

Then God spoke all these words: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy.

God’s two main concerns are His Name and His creation, and both are addressed in this list. His name takes priority and comes first in the list. His creation comes next, “last but not least.”

Before God gave His list, He reminded them Who He is.  He is the God who delivered them and the God who was to be their Lord and their God. These same factors hold true for us today. God has not changed and  neither has His love and although our world is very different today in many superficial ways, God’s care for His people has not changed

God’s basic assertion here is that He is a monopoly. Although we believe in economics that the free market is the best design, God accepts no competition. God wants to be our only God and our only Lord. He wants to have our full attention. As Matthew 6:24 says, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Matthew also tells us in Chapter 10:31-33, “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.”

Make no mistake, God is calling us to make Him our first priority! The only way we can live in harmony with Him is to make Him our first priority!

GOD’S LIST TELLS US HOW TO LIVE WITH PEOPLE IN VERSES 9-17:

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

God loves His creation and He wants to protect it. After He created each thing, He said that it was good, and after He created people, He said it was very good. The horror of having His creation ruined by sin was unspeakable.

 When I was a company commander in the Army, one of my unit’s cooks was a young soldier who had just completed his training. During a field exercise he baked a beautiful cake for dessert which was ruined when a folding table he had placed it on collapsed. He was upset, but he went one to bake a second cake. When that one was accidentally knocked to the ground by a clumsy colleague, he was absolutely crushed to the point he almost burst into tears, yet the disappointment he felt was nothing compared to that of God when His creation was ruined by sin.

God’s list reminds us that when we sin against another person we sin against God. Jesus told us this when the prodigal son said he had sinned against God and his father. The person we offend is God’s creation and  that person is loved by God.  And, remember, Jesus died for the person we offend.

God’s list tells us how to live with:

• Our families.

• Our neighbors.

• Our employers.

• The rest of humanity

If we make God our first priority, that will affect all of our lives, including how we treat people, God’s greatest creation.

GOD’S LIST IS IMPOSSIBLE AS SEEN IN VERSES 18-21:

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

The Israelites reacted to God’s list with fear. They were afraid of what they saw, and they were afraid of what they heard. They wanted to turn around and run.

We too, often want to run and hide, the way Adam and Eve did in the Garden. We know that we get distracted from our walk with God. We see how hard it is to live with family and neighbors and we can’t be honest with each other. As one lady used to say, “I told the truth as I knew it at the time.”

The Bible also confirms what we know instinctively: We are unable keep the Law of God. As Paul confessed in Romans 7:21-23, 

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.

The Law does not save us, but it is valuable because does it show our weakness. It is like a mirror; it only reflects our life, and we get so frustrated with it we give up trying. In our own power there is no way to please God! The fault is not the law, which is good and right, but in our own character, which is weak, and frail, and limited.

GOD’S LIST IS FULFILLED IN CHRIST JESUS AS SEEN IN MATTHEW 5:17-20:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.

God knows we can’t keep the Law, so He had two choices, either destroy us or help us. In righteousness He could have destroyed us, but in love He decided to help us. 

Jesus came to save us and fulfill the Law. He was totally righteous and fulfilled the Law completely. His dying paid the price for our failure to keep the law and His rising from the grave defeated the power of sin and so He gave us the power to keep the law.

Yet, God still expects us to respect His Law. God still expects us to be righteous and He still expects us to do things His way. He expects us to try to do the right thing. Paul said in Romans 6:14-18,

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.  What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!  Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

Jesus fulfilled the law, not so we could ignore it, but so He could help us live it in His power.

CONCLUSION:

How are we doing with God’s Top Ten List? He expects us to pass the test, and He gives help to do that. Are we making the grade? If not, if we will repent, He will help!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

In Your Right Mind from Philippians 2:1-18

Today I am commenting on Philippians Chapter 2. 

When we handle important issues, it is vital that our minds be clear, and that we are in our right minds.  That’s why the labels on many medicine bottles warn people not to take those pills and drive or operate heavy machinery.

I found this to be true in my own life.

Once, when I was in the Army, I became so violently ill that I got dehydrated.  I had to go to the hospital for IV fluids and nausea medicine.  I had also pulled a muscle in my back, so they gave me some muscle relaxers to take for a few days until it quit hurting.

Then, they told me to report for duty the next day. I discovered that this wasn’t a very good idea. My head was fuzzy all day long, and I spent most of the day sitting sideways at my desk staring at the wall. Most of the day, that is, except for the time when my boss came boiling out of his office to ask me a question.

My boss was a short, hyper-active, bachelor major.  I was a junior lieutenant at the time and he really didn’t like me very much. He was a handful on a good day, but that day I have no idea what he asked me!

He spent several minutes quizzing me on some issue; to this day I know not what!  I also don’t have a clue what I told him!  It must have satisfied him because he turned on his heel and scurried back off to his office.

That experience frightened me so much I have never again taken muscle relaxers!

Paul taught the Philippians that the Gospel is so important that we must be in our right minds as we deal with it.  Let us look at what that means to us as we read our text for today.

For the Christians, A Right Mind is a Unified Mind: 

Verses 1-4 read:

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Sadly, Christianity is rife with division. We are divided in large groups like Protestants and Catholics and Orthodox. Each believes they have the total truth, and they serve God in their own distinctive ways. The Orthodox Church even has their own church calendar by which they celebrate Christmas and Easter at different times than does the rest of Christendom.

In Protestantism we have divisions as well: Evangelical vs Main Line vs Pentecostal, etc. Even Baptists have divisions; if you ask five Baptists the same question, you’ll probably get six or seven answers, and not only does conflict exist at the denominational level, intra-church conflict was a pandemic long before the world ever hear of COVID-19.

These divisions cause the church much trouble because it damages our reputation in the community. Dr Bob White identified this as a serious problem in his book Healthy Kingdom Churches. He documented that a church’s reputation is a vital part of its potential for growth and effective ministry.

Of course, division also damages our relationships with each other.

Paul taught that we must be unified in The Gospel:

• Because of the work of Christ.
• Because of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.
• Because of the love and mercy of God in our lives.

He also gave some very practical tips about how to do that: 

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

For the Christians, A Right Mind is a Humble Mind:  

Verses 5-11 read:

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus is not only Our Savior and Lord, but He is also Our Example. We are to follow His lead and live His kind of life.  We are to have His kind of mind.

This was the genesis behind the book In His Steps, which later spawned the “WWJD” bracelets that ask us to consider, “What would Jesus do?” This is what Paul tried to do. It is also what he wanted the Philippians to do and what we need to do also.

What we find in this passage is that the mind of Christ was a humble mind. Jesus was and is God, and yet He put that aside to come to Earth to save us from our sins. He put away His rights as God to live as a lowly man. Can we ever imagine the extent of that sacrifice? The closest thing I can come to such humility is the missionary families who choose to live in villages in the developing nations of the world. Missions is sacrificial cross-cultural ministry and in coming to live with us, Jesus demonstrated the concept of incarnational missions!

We need to bow in awe of such humility. We need to put aside our petty pride and jealousies and to bow down in submission to our God who saved us. We need to make Him the true God of our lives. True worship and adoration is the first priority of a Christian.

For the Christians, A Right Mind is a Respectful Mind:

Verses 12-16 read:

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.

We all need to work out our own salvation. While we don’t work for our salvation, we must, however, work to grow in Christ after our salvation. Like getting married, or having a baby, getting saved by God’s grace is only the beginning! A significant portion of having a mature mind is learning to have a proper fear of the Lord.

Christians must remember Who God Is! He is the preexistent creator that created all things and the One who has given us everything. He flung the stars into space and knows them all by name! When we think of this, it hard to escape the thought God must be amused by our efforts to explore space.

God not only knows the details of all the worlds across the heavens, He also knows our hearts as well. Our attitude ought to be like that of the Apostle Thomas. When he had seen Jesus face to face, he proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”

Again, Paul gave some practical guidance. He told us to quit whining and complaining and fussing. He said we should be blameless and harmless and without fault so we can be an example to a sinful generation. He also told us to hold fast to the Word of God, not in part, but in whole!

For the Christians, A Right Mind is a Sacrificial Mind: 

Verses 17 and 18 say;

But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

From a human perspective, no one desires to be a sacrifice. As my seminary professor ruefully commented, “The problem with living sacrifices is that they tend to crawl off of the altar.” 

Self-preservation is a powerful force as is our pride is also a powerful force. We like to honor sacrifice, but not be a sacrifice. For example, in World War II, the Vice President of the Philippines burst into tears when asked to stay behind to work with the invading Japanese to protect the citizens of the islands.  He believed he would be known forever as a collaborator and traitor.

Yet, Paul said we need to have the same mind as Christ. If He was willing to be a sacrifice, so should we. If He was willing to die young and unmarried for God, so should we. If He was willing to be executed between two thieves so that righteousness would prevail, so should we.

Conclusion:

Paul told the church at Roman that we must be transformed by the renewal of our minds. He expanded on that thought in our focal passage for today. He taught the Philippians just what that it meant to have renewed minds.  

As Christians, we ought to have minds that are united and humble and respectful. We ought to have the mindset that is willing to sacrifice for the sake of Christ. 

What is your state of mind today? Are you willing to have it transformed for the cause of Christ? 

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Misson First, People Always

As you can tell by looking at my picture, I’ve been around a while. What you may not know is that besides having a civilian ministry I have also served for 27 years in the Army, with 20 of those years as a National Guard Chaplain. 

Just for the record, before I was a Chaplain, I was a platoon leader and division staff officer in the 25th Infantry Division on active duty, and a company commander and group staff officer in the National Guard. It was a long time ago, but I do still remember what it was like to be in charge of lots of Soldiers with lots of potential and lots of problems. 

When I was a company commander, we had a young Soldier who always seemed to be in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong uniform. I will call him “Smith.” My First Sergeant would correct him and say, “Smith, it isn’t rocket science to get this right.” 

One day my First Sergeant came to me a said, “Sir, you know Smith, right?” I said, “Yes. So?” Top went on, “You know how he is always messing things up.” I again said, “Yes. So?” My First Sergeant continued with, “And you know I always tell him that being a good Soldier isn’t rocket science?” I was starting to get a little impatient at this point and said, “Yes, I know that.” Top, who always liked to stretch out a good story said, “Well, did you know he is a student at LSU?” “No,” I snapped, “please get to the point.” My First Sergeant broke out into a huge grin and said, “Well, he’s studying aeronautical engineering.” I just look at him, and he said, “Sir, don’t you get it? He IS a rocket scientist!” I just shook my head . . . you can’t make this stuff up.  

As I think back to my days as an ROTC cadet back in the, yes, 1970s, I've been reminded of a poster I saw displayed in a Fort Benning, Georgia barracks back in those days. It was just a poster on the wall, but it has had a lasting impact on my life, my service in the Army, and my civilian ministry. 

That poster was very simple, and it only had 4 words: “Mission First, People Always”. It would be hard for me to describe the importance of those four words in my life and ministry, but let me try:  

Two Wings of the Same Airplane:

One of our biggest needs is for balance in our lives and in our work and our leadership. Airplanes have two wings for reason. They need both wings to be able to fly straight and true. 

When I was a young boy and I would get upset about something, my momma would always tell me to straighten up and fly right. Well you can't fly straight, and you can't fly right if you are out of balance and this idea of “Mission First, People Always” gives us the balance that we need in our lives and our leadership. 

This motto begins by reminding us that we have a mission to accomplish. In the National Guard, we are to defend our country from all enemies foreign and domestic and support the civil authorities in our state in time of crisis. If we don't accomplish this mission, then we have no reason to exist. We have a purpose and we need to carry out that purpose. The government of the United States and the government of our state and the citizens of our state need us to accomplish our mission. So, our airplane of life must place the wing of mission first. We must put our mission first. 

The idea of mission first not only applies in our careers in the National Guard but also in our personal lives as well. 

We have a mission to pay our debts; we have a mission to raise our children; we have a mission to love our spouses; we have a mission to provide for those who rely upon us. We must accomplish these missions too because people are relying upon us.

Although we must put mission first, we must also understand that we cannot accomplish that mission without people. The Army is the most personnel intensive of all the armed forces. We do have an abundance of high-tech equipment, we do have many installations, and many other pieces of equipment that we rely upon. But the core of our force is our people. We cannot do our job without our people. 

It is our Soldiers who drive our trucks and fire artillery pieces and operate the high-tech equipment in the cyberwar arena. It is our Soldiers who maintain our training areas and ranges and barracks and armories. Without our Soldiers we have no Army and we cannot accomplish our mission. In the civilian world, without employees, we can have no businesses, and without members we can have no churches. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to always take care of our people. And not only our people at work but our people at home, in our communities, in our churches, and our schools.

Taking care of people is essential so that we can accomplish our mission. It is also essential because it is the right thing to do. Did not God say we are to love Him with all our hearts, AND love our neighbors as ourselves?

Let me put it this way if we just focus on our mission then we become bureaucrats. If we just focus on people, we become politicians. We must have both wings to fly this airplane straight. This is not as easy as it sounds.

The Trap:

As a Chaplain, it would be easy for me to urge commanders to always put Soldiers first. I would like to note that there is a purpose for the vehicles we drive and repair and the buildings we construct, and the ranges that we maintain. All these things are there so that our Soldiers can have what they need to do the mission.  Everything leaders do affects the Soldiers in our formations, so would be easy for me to say that Army leaders need to focus solely on taking care of people because really that's the mission of the Chaplain Corps. 

A chaplain told me once about a soldier who looked at him with a smile and said “Chappy, you got the best job in the Army!” The chaplain was a little cautious and he asked the soldier what he meant. The Soldier replied with an even bigger grin, “It's because you get to take care of Soldiers for living!” That of course is a true statement. 

It would be shortsighted however to say that is all that we need to do and in truth there is a trap that leaders can fall into. Let me refer to a couple of well-known movies to illustrate this point 

In the move “Gettysburg,” Robert E. Lee makes a speech to James Longstreet that describes how hard it is to get this balance correct. He said,“Soldiering has one great trap. To be a good solider you must love the army. To be a good commander, you must be willing to order the death of the thing you love.”

In “Saving Private Ryan,” Captain Miller and Master Sergeant Horvath discussed this trap also. Captain Miller, said, “When you end up killing one of your men, you see, you tell yourself it happened so you can save the lives of 2 or 3 or 10 others. Maybe a hundred . . .  and that’s how simple it is. That’s how you rationalize making the choice between the mission and the man.”

 

Master Sergeant Horvath then replied, “Except this time the mission is a man.” Getting those wings balanced is hard!

Now I will admit that I saw on YouTube a video of a stunt pilot who was flying his airplane in an air show. During his display he lost at wing of his plane, but the engine of that airplane was so powerful that he was able to basically hold it on the prop until he could land. It was an amazing thing to see but it is the exception that proves the rule. Almost every other kind of airplane but the kind that he was flying would have crashed and burned after losing a wing. 

We've all known leaders that had one wing of their leadership much bigger than the other. 

We've all had bosses and leaders who focused so greatly on the mission that they didn't take care of people very well.  We've also known bosses and leaders that love to take care of people to the point where they forgot to accomplish the mission. 

Usually the tenure of these leaders did not end very well. The truth is we must put mission first, but we must take care of people always. We must pursue balance in both of these areas.

I also know that all of us have known bosses and leaders who had one wing more developed of their airplane than the other, but they seem to do OK. Maybe like that stunt plane their personalities were so strong that it was able to carry the day even though it should not have worked. 

We've all worked for bosses and leaders who by the force of their personality was able to accomplish the mission even though they didn't take care of people. 

We've also known bosses and leaders who took care of people so well that they overlooked the mission, but their people loved them so much that they went the extra mile to accomplish the mission for their boss. We probably don't see as many of the latter type of leader as the former but here is the truth, once you've worked for a commander or leader who is out of balance you never want to do it again. 

As the old saying goes, "It was real and it was fun but is wasn’t real fun!" And many people would decide to find other things to do after such an experience. 

There is no escaping this central truth: we must both accomplish the mission AND take care of people if we are going to be effective commanders and leaders in the Army and in the civilian world as well.  We must balance the airplane of our lesadership by making sure both wings our sound and well maintained. 

So how do we get this right? We need help, but the good news is that help is available to us! 

First Seek Wisdom:

As a Chaplain I would urge leaders to seek wisdom. James 1:5 assures us that, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

Without wisdom every leader will struggle to get their wings balanced. We’ve heard it said, “when in charge, take charge” and that is great advice to anyone in leadership, but I’d add this caveat: “When in charge seek wisdom, and when it is revealed, take charge and execute it!”

Second, do the Right Thing:

A colleague, when he was in the Inspector General’s office, often told leaders that “There is no right way to do the wrong thing," and a former boss of mine always said, “Do what’s right, even when no one is looking.” 

Both of these men gave great advice to leaders.

Next, Remember that Loyalty is a Two-way Street:

The first value in the list of Army Values is Loyalty. While leaders expect their subordinates to be loyal to them, we all must remember that loyalty is a two-way street. Leaders must be loyal to those whom they supervise just as much as they expect them to be loyal to their leaders.

During the Civil War, after William T. Sherman captured Atlanta, he cut loose from his lines of communication and made a bold thrust across Georgia to Savanah, eviscerating the Confederate war effort. In doing this, he accepted a huge amount of risk, but he could do that because he knew Ulysses S. Grant had his back. After the war, Sherman wrote Grant, saying, “Wherever I was I knew you thought of me, and if I needed you, you would come.” Sherman had the confidence to perform at a high level because Grant was a loyal to him as Sherman was to Grant.

If we want those whom we supervise to excel, we need to be as loyal to them as we expect them to be to us. 

Find a Mentor:

Another thing we can do is find someone who is living a balanced life and allow them to mentor us. We know that we should lead by example, but we should also follow those who set a good example.  I was fortunate to have some great mentors in my early career and when I imitated them, I discovered I could be successful. 

Paul told the church at Corinth, “Therefore I urge you, imitate me,” and 3 John 1:11 urges us, “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good.”  Imitation is the greatest form of flattery and we need to imitate those who demonstrate that they are worthy of our flattery. Let us learn from those who keep their leadership in the correct balance.

Finally, Multiply Yourself:

Finally, let me remind us all that, our Army, our nation, our businesses, and our churches are only one generation away from extinction. It is up to us to prepare the next generation to take our place. 

None of us are going to be here forever, and if our institutions of life are going to thrive in the future it is up to us to prepare those who will take our places. As Paul taught us in Timothy 2:2, “And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” 

We are not finished when we can implement “Mission First, People Always” ourselves. That's a big enough task, but we are really only Mission Complete when we help the next generation learn to balance the wings of their airplane as well.

Conclusion:

As I said from the beginning, I am an old soldier. I only have two more months before I retire from the National Guard, and I am facing the fact that there are many things I will never get to do again. 

I will never again jump out of an airplane or fly in a Blackhawk helicopter. 

I’ll never get to eat in a DFAC (or dining facility, and by the way, Army cooks are great!), or hang out with troops at the range. 

I'll never again get to lead a chapel service and pray with Soldiers on a regular basis.

My military record is pretty much written and pray that as I have been able to help others to live by “Mission First, People Always.” 

I commend that approach to you also. You know, it really isn’t rocket science after all.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt

Focus from Ezekiel 33

Today I am commenting on Ezekiel 33:7-11, which reads:

So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, "O wicked ones, you shall surely die," and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life. Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: "Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?" Say to them, As I live, says the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Everyone has heard the old saying, “You can’t see the forest for the trees,” but some people may not understand the full ramifications of that phrase. When we get so involved in the details of an event, process, or activity that we lose our focus on the purpose we are trying to achieve, then we can’t see the forest for the trees.  This is often the case when it comes to sharing our faith and when it comes to correcting fellow Believers who have lost their way.

Sins of Commission

As Ezekiel clearly asserts in our focal passage above, when we share God’s Truth with people our purpose is to turn their hearts back to the Lord. It is not about being right, or scoring points, or showing off our own spirituality. Confronting another with Truth, be they Christians, or be they non-believers, has a purpose and that purpose is to help them turn from their wicked ways and be reconciled with God.

Jonah is an excellent, Biblical example of someone who lost their focus. He didn’t want to go to Nineveh and preach to the citizens of that great but wicked city, but when he did, they repented. A revival broke out in that place, and what preacher would not want to see such fruit from his labors? Well, Jonah for one:

But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” (Jonah 4:1-3)

Jonah clearly lost his focus. He acted is if God’s purpose was to embarrass him. Jonah forgot that God sent him to Nineveh to give them a chance to repent, not just so God had an excuse to destroy them and their city. God rebuked Jonah and in the same way he will rebuke us if we misuse our opportunities to share the Good News with those who need it.

Sins of Omission

In the same way, however, we must never forget that we have been called to share God’s Truth with those who need it. The only thing worse than sharing the Good News with the wrong motive is to not share the Good News at all. 

Christians often get so focused on how, when, or with whom to share the Gospel, that they suffer from the paralysis of analysis and do nothing. When confronted with a crisis people often have the impulse to flee or fight, but many also freeze in place. Again, the only thing worse than sharing the Gospel with the wrong motive is failing to share it at all. 

Many ministry models are operative in the 21st Century that go the extra mile to be relevant and gain a hearing, but ultimately fail to actually share the Good News. For example, I worked some years ago with a missionary to university students who once confessed, “I work so hard at being culturally appropriate in my relationships that I often overlook opportunities to share the Gospel.”  If we fail to share the Truth after we have worked so hard to gain a hearing, then we have lost our focus.

Conclusion

In the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lieutenant Colonel Nicholson was the senior British officer at a jungle camp where the Japanese were employing British prisoners of war to build a railroad through the wilds of Burma. Nicholson was appalled by the lack of morale and discipline among the British troops, and he used the construction of a railroad bridge as a means of restoring order and pride among the British soldiers. He did this so well, that the bridge was built sooner and far better than the Japanese could hope for, and in the process, he did rebuild the morale and discipline of his regiment.

The problem was, of course, his purpose as an officer in the British Army was not to rebuild the pride of his regiment (and one might say he was actually rebuilding his own pride in his regiment), but to resist the Japanese military efforts. Building his enemies a better bridge than they could have produced themselves was not a valid part of that purpose. Nicholson lost his focus, and at the end of the movie he lost his life.

We can’t fall into the trap of failing to see the forest for the trees. We must maintain our focus and as Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.”

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt