The Credit Crunch
We are all probably over the ‘global financial crisis’ by now. Even the most economically illiterate of us have
now heard of terms like ’sub prime’ and ‘cash interest rate’. We may even understand what they mean.
I still remember watching a program on the crisis. An older lady in California was interviewed who was living in her car. She had multiple properties that she lost in the crash and was now sleeping in her back seat. How sad.
The Western Governments have taken drastic action in slashing interest rates and the major banks are tightening their lending practices–all to preserve our affluent lifestyle and our economies as we know them.
What remains to be seen is when the financial bleeding will actually stop. The US seems to have even more blood letting to go before it turns the corner.
At least petrol is cheaper……for now.
Ironically I got a letter in the post yesterday from my bank. They offered me a substantial credit increase on my Mastercard! I declined.
So what does all this mean for the believer? I personally believe that God has called us to a life of financial simplicity. We are in the world, but not of it. We use the world, but do not abuse it.
The world is simply reaping what it has sowed for so long. You can have a party on bad credit- but at some point the music will stop.
Further, many people who have tried to live within their means have suffered in the way of reduced property values. Sin affects everyone-directly or indirectly.
So in 2009, please make these financial resolutions:-
1. I will live within my means by the grace of God;
2. I will pay my credit card account in full each month;
3. I will pay cash for goods and clothing;
4. I will give generously to the Lord’s work;
5. I will use my money wisely and creatively for the sake of the kingdom of God;
While you can add a few to fit your own situation, these are a good start. Let us know if you have any other resolutions that we should all consider……
Someone’s Having Self Image Problems
Can you believe it’s almost Christmas?! Hey, it’s time to break out all your Christmas music and try to listen to each song at least once! But I promised to continue the self image topic today so I’ll save the Christmas post for next week… maybe.
Gotta go back to the beginning
Ok. So Genesis is the place to be if we want to understand a right self image (1:27).
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
Three points about self image flow naturally from the text.
1. God created you.
You were God’s idea. He made you, and He did it because He wanted to. You’re not an accident. You’re not a cosmic mistake. Every detail of your being is God’s good idea.
2. You are an image bearer.
You are not original art. God didn’t come up with a new idea when He put your existence together. No, you’re a photocopy of God. Here’s what that does not mean:
It doesn’t mean you are god.- It doesn’t mean you are unaffected by sin and the curse.
- It doesn’t mean that God is limited in the ways you are.
Here’s what it does mean:
- It does mean that your fundamental existence is in many ways modeled after God Himself.
- It does mean that you are an eternal being.
- It does mean that you are different to and superior to all the animals and all other created things.
3. Your sex is part of God’s image in you.
Someone has said that the reason it takes the whole church to accurately reflect the glory of God is that no one person can reflect all of the many facets of His glory. An all male humankind would not do the job. It takes all of the differences of gifting, personality, and yes, even sex, to reflect the many aspects of Who God is. This is why in Scripture we see God alluded to both as a father and as a mother. “Male and female he created them” and that was on purpose.
So what does this do to you?
There are several things that should naturally follow when we understand these truths.
- Your existence is full of purpose and meaning.
- That meaning will only be found in the knowledge of the prototype Being.
- God made you to reflect His glory in ways that no other human being can.
One application
In last week’s comments, Alen pointed out that the way to have a right view of self is to have a right view of God. A very insightful point and it makes sense when you understand that we are made in God’s image. The more we understand about Who God is and how He works, the more insight we will have on who we are and how we were created to function. That’s why A. W. Tozer said “All our problems are theological.”
But all of this leads to a dilemma. What do we do with all that depravity of man stuff then? Isn’t man a rebel at heart? You know, the whole tea bag/Jim Berg thing… That’s where I’ll try to pick up next time.
This week’s tidbits
- I’ve mentioned in some of my seminars the role music has played in terrorism interrogations. Now the musos are angry about it.
- There’s a very appropriate post for those having a rough time right now over at Truth Matters.
- And you husbands need to check out this video about the Doghouse before Christmas.
Christmas music plug
Back in 2005, I had the opportunity to meet Merilyn Aveling-Rowe at a music seminar hosted by Worship Music. Merilyn recently emailed a link to a new recording she and her son Stephen have put together to help raise money to help children in India. Please visit the site and consider ordering a copy of the CD or DVD. I’ll give you a clip here…
The Dangers of Reading Christian Books
There are some real dangers that I want to inform you about if you purposefully read on a regular basis Christian books.
First of all you might learn something. I know it can be scary so I want to warn you about it now. Reading could lead to discovery. Now to be fair, you need to know that you might learn about some errors. That’s not so bad. But even more dangerous is the possibility that you might learn some more truth. Watch out! It’s out there! Don’t be naïve!
And if by chance you have been victimized into discovering truth, be careful, you might grow as a Christian. Even more tragic is the fact that you might change. Now I know that “change” can be a four-letter-word to some people and many Christians so be careful when you read that you guard against change. The best way that I’ve found to help prevent my actions from changing is to make sure that my thinking never changes. So when I read I make sure I argue against everything that is written and strongly disagree with the writer so that no new information penetrates my already mature understanding of life.
Another danger to avoid is that of cost in money and time. It is always safer to spend your money on things that make you dumber (i.e. video games, DVD’s, comic books). Books are for the most part entirely too expensive and not nearly as entertaining as other worthy investments. And those that do take the risk of reading – think of all the precious time that they waste! I mean, think of all the fun and leisure they can have enjoying the good life now!
I’d better hurry and end this article with just a few more dangers – I wouldn’t want this item to unintentionally carry any of the above contagions (reading Christian blogs can be almost as dangerous as reading Christian books you know!).
Beware of the leadership you might gain by reading good Christian books. People might look up to you because you can communicate clearly the learning you’ve achieved by reading. You might actually gain influence over your peers or the next generation, or – heaven forbid – the “older” generation. Leadership is a terrible disease that is often transferred to those who read.
Lastly, avoid at all costs the jeopardy of accountability. If you are foolish enough to read and even learn something, then you automatically become accountable. Great responsibility comes to those who read Christian books. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Phishing
Every day people enter various bits of sensitive information into websites that are designed to look like the real thing. The word used to describe online fraud carried out by this means is “phishing”.
Phishing attacks are typically directed at major websites such as web mail providers, banks, and online vendors. These attacks come in the form of emails asking you to verify your account or enter in some extra details for some service you’ve signed up for. It can sometimes be difficult to tell the difference between the real thing and an imitation with website, so here are some tips to keep handy.
1. Do not click on any links people send via email or chat, even from trusted friends, unless you can verify where the link leads. Any legitimate link should be accompanied by enough information about where it leads that you can trust it. Don’t hesitate to inquire what a link is about before clicking on it!
2. If you ever need to visit a website that requires a login, such as your email or Ebay account, do so only by visiting the website directly, or through a previous bookmark. Do not follow a link from an email to a website requiring a login, a large portion of links in such emails will be to fake websites that capture your details and take over your account.
3. Always check the url when moving from one website to another! Look at the address bar when moving to another website, if the first bit of the url doesn’t start with the domain name you want to be on, then close your browser window immediately. If wanting to visit facebook for example, and you end up on a site with a url of http://81.180.59.10/index.htm, then you know you’re not where you want to be.
4. Make sure that whatever browser you run is the latest version. While the best protection is being aware of what to look for and avoid, it helps to automatically have an extra layer of protection when dealing with online scams. Following are links to the various page browsers have set up to inform users of the protection they provide and how to make sure it’s on.
Internet Explorer
Firefox
Safari - no built in phishing protection
Chrome
Opera
Please let me know if you have any questions regarding staying safe online, I’ll do my best to provide the information you’re after.
The Message of the Mangoes
We have a huge mango tree in our backyard. Here is a picture to prove it.
While our mango tree provides lots of shade and is visually attractive, its God-given task is to produce mangoes.
Last year we had but one solitary edible mango from that massive tree. There were a couple of others that grew but didn’t amount to much. Apparently we had rain at the wrong time of the year and that stunted the harvest.
Earlier this year I began to prune many of the old branches of the mango tree. I pruned for hours with a borrowed chain-saw. It was exhausting work and the tree looked half of its regular size after I had finished pruning.
What do you know? We have had a terrific mango harvest this year!
As mango trees are everywhere in North QLD, no one is asking me for mangoes. My wife doesn’t eat them so apart from any visitors, there are still heaps left to eat. Thankfully mangoes are fruit so they can’t be too bad to eat. The only problem is I like to eat them with vanilla ice cream…
When I think about the harvest of mangoes we have enjoyed my mind keeps going back to the words of Jesus in John 15:
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. ….4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
The Power of Self Image
n recent decades, popular psychology has sold the idea that man’s problem is that his self esteem is too low. And Christians have bought it. In fact, many Christians have made it their gospel.
But have we fundamentalists over-reacted?
First, I think of Joe Zichterman’s statement when he left Fundamentalism that spiritually abused people should listen to Joel Osteen 24/7 for a week just to de-tox. While we can probably agree that this is overstatement (and Joe might even agree on that point), it does suggest that we need to do some self-examination on the matter.
Second, our first concern tends to be the gospel. We see how easily an emphasis on self-esteem can undermine the gospel. We’ve seen whole churches stop preaching the gospel because they’ve bought into the self-esteem model and we’re incensed. And rightly so.
A crucial distinction
There is a crucial distinction between “self esteem” as popular psychology has dubbed it and what I’ll call a biblical self image or self awareness. A distinction that we too easily miss. Because these terms are full of connotative nuance, I’ll try to paint a picture of the two concepts that I am referring to.
| Self esteem | Self image |
|---|---|
| Self esteem deals with me in relation to myself. | Self image deals with me in relation to God. |
| The goal of self esteem is to make me feel good about myself. | The goal of self image is to make me think rightly about myself. |
| Self esteem focuses on how I view myself. | Self image focuses on what is true about myself. |
| Self esteem focuses on the rights I have based on who I am. | Self image focuses on the responsibilities I have because of who I am. |
| Self esteem contradicts the depravity of man. | Self image fits perfectly with the depravity of man. |
A secular self image paradigm
Lots of animals were fighting with each other trying to survive and we human animals became so much smarter than the rest that we mastered the other animals. Morality is social. Immorality is anti-social. You deserve respect because you’re the strongest or the smartest and you’ll only get it when you demand it.
You’re an accident. So is everyone else. You deserve respect just as much as the next guy (or walrus) and who do they think they are not to give it?
You are loved because of what you have to offer. When you can no longer offer something worth “loving,” they will stop loving. You love others for the same reason. It’s mutually beneficial so it makes sense in a world where we’ve got to survive and be happy before you die and are no more. And if someone is not making you feel good, don’t stay around to get hurt. That’s stupid.
No wonder we’re looking for self esteem
With that kind of self image, no wonder people are trying to boost their self esteem. There’s not much of beauty or virtue in all of that. In fact, there’s not really such a thing as beauty and virtue in all of that.
People who live in that kind of a world would probably be insecure, self-protective, back-stabbing, and self-serving. In fact, there’s probably not much such people wouldn’t do if they felt it was necessary to get what they wanted out of this short existence.
In the beginning…
Can you see how a right self image is vitally important for every human? Next week, we’ll have a brief look at how self image is developed and what it should be.
I’m still very much developing my thinking on this so please give me your thoughts in comments.
The obligatory links
- Gordon over at neo-baptist (a Baptist Union pastor I believe) has some helpful tips for saving on your church budget here, here, and here. (Just don’t switch to Linux!)
- Larry over at Stuff Out Loud had a great post on the situation where a person was crushed to death by shoppers recently.
- On the wierd side, the Empire State Building in NY was stolen this week.
- Ok. Since we’re all getting used to the video clip routine, check out the Porpoise Driven Life. Have to admit I lost it at the “without original fin” part.
