Quote of the Week

"Jesus did not come into the world mainly to bring a new religion or a new law. He came to offer himself for our eternal enjoyment and to do whatever he had to do - including death - to remove every obstacle to this everlasting joy in him."

John Piper, In Our Joy

New versus Old

A week ago, we discussed why bigger doesn't always mean better. I thought it might be interesting to explore another misconception noted in John Piper's address to INSIGHT graduates - that new is better than old.

If not excusable, it is at least understandable that we might trip over this. After all, as card carrying members of the digital age, haven't we been conditioned to equate "new" with "improved"? In this Web 2.0 world of blogs, social networks and iPhones, there's always a new version of something waiting to be unveiled. And, let's face it - we just like new and shiny...at least most of us do.

Yet, the idea that new is necessarily better is a notion we should actively resist. Sure, the latest iPhone is probably better and cheaper than the prior model but when it comes to the really important things, new isn't typically better. Things that really matter in life, things of eternal value, are by definition, timeless and old.


Have you fallen into the "new is better than old" trap? I wouldn't blame you at all but here are a few points to consider as you take inventory of your life -

What you read - Do you take the time plumb the wisdom of old classic books instead of the latest bestseller? C.S. Lewis had this to say about the benefits of reading old books:

"It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between...Every age has its own outlook. It is specially good at seeing certain truths and specially liable to make certain mistakes. We all, therefore, need the books that will correct the characteristic mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books."

Practical advice - When it comes to advice, is new, novel advice really better than old, trusted and proven? When you're making critical decisions on your job or your personal life, where do you go for trusted, pragmatic advice? What's the best source of wisdom when you need insight on how to run your business or how to raise a family? Unfortunately, many Christians wouldn't think to look to Scripture before they checked out the latest business blog or parenting seminar. While they might affirm the inerrancy of Scripture, at a functional level, they deny its sufficiency for practical living. We are so easily seduced by the latest insights by the congnoscenti of our day, aren't we? But how do those insights compare to God's revealed wisdom found in the Bible?

Proven paths - I'm all for innovation and creativity but I'm also in favor of not reinventing the wheel. This means honoring time tested institutions and practices. For instance, it's become popular to deconstruct the traditional institutions of marriage and church, noting their many, apparent failings. But these institutions aren't just cultural innovations, they were established and set apart by God and hence, holy. Dismantling or redefining these instutions isn't just fruitless, it's foolhardy.

In some other areas, these proven paths aren't quite as significant but the notion that we should pay attention to them is still applicable. At work, instead of perfecting the latest career enhancing techniques, perhaps we could focus on old fashioned values of hard work, integrity and accountability. These values may seem antiquated but they actually might work in your favor.


What do you think? Are you, like me, often captivated by the "new and shiny" instead of focusing on old, timeless truths?

Bigger Isn't Always Better

Last week, our family listened a wonderful message by John Piper called "Four Mistakes I Hope You Don't Make". It was addressed to the graduating class of a program for college age students but I think the points he makes are applicable to all of us. The gist of his message revolved around four mistaken assumptions that Christians can make as we navigate our way through life.

The first mistake he highlights is the assumption that big is better than small. It struck me how easily we're preconditioned to this mistake since we live in an age of mass consumerism and discretionary wealth. Let's face it - we are attracted to large and flashy, not small and modest. According to the National Association of Homebuilders, the average size of a home has increased from 1400 square feet in 1970 to 2330 square feet in 2004. As consumers we're demanding bigger portions and the food industry is only too willing to comply - in 1998, the large soda at Burger King was 32 oz...by 2002, it was "supersized" to a 42 oz drink. Bigger portions must be better, right?

Yet this isn't just a modern (or post-modern) malady. It is actually the folly of our fallen condition to assume that "big" is necessarily better than "small". Jesus told a parable to illustrate the folly of covetousness and ever seeking "bigger barns":

And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
(Luke 12:18-21)

Not into building bigger barns? Don't be too sure that this doesn't apply to you.

This shows up in our lives in many different ways. Sometimes, we fail to recognize God's purposes in small beginnings and modest achievements. Perhaps we're in a perpetual search for a better, higher paying, more fulfilling job. Or maybe we're silently dissatisfied that our big dreams aren't being fulfilled. The truth is we're often easily discontented with what we have or where we are, presently.

But God has a different perspective, doesn't He? By His measure, bigger isn't always better. He chose David, a smallish, young shepherd boy in preference to his older, bigger brothers. He is the God of the mustard seed that grows to the largest of trees. God may start us in modest surroundings but He has glorious plans for His elect.

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Do you naturally assume that big is necessarily better than small? How have you been tempted to make that mistaken assumption? What encouragement from scripture or elsewhere can help us regain a right focus?

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Quote of the Week

"The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world. It is not the X-rated video, but the prime-time dribble of the triviality we drink in every night. For all the ill that Satan can do, when God describes what keeps us from the banquet table of his love, it is a piece of land, a yoke of oxen, and a wife (Luke 14:18-20).
The greatest adversary of love to God is not his enemies but his gifts. And the most deadly appetites are not for the poison of evil, but for the simple pleasures of earth. For when these replace an appetite for God himself, the idolatry is scarcely recognizable, and almost incurable."

John Piper, Hunger for God, p.14

Quote of the Week

"The point of every deadly calamity is this: Repent."

"Let our hearts be broken that God means so little to us. Grieve that he is a whipping boy to be blamed for pain, but not praised for pleasure. Lament that he makes headlines only when man mocks his power, but no headlines for ten thousand days of wrath withheld."

John Piper, quoted from article, Tsunami and Repentance, January 2005

Quote of the Week

If you could have heaven, with no sickness, with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasure you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?

John Piper
God is the Gospel, p. 15

Perseverance in the Life of William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce labored for the cause of social justice for 46 years, often against significant opposition. There was public pressure arising from the national interests at stake. John Piper explains this in Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce –

"It seemed utterly unthinkable to Parliament that Britain could prosper without what the plantations of the West Indies provided. If one nation, like Britain unilaterally abolished the slave trade and others did not, it would mean…that power and wealth would be transmitted to other nations and Britain would be weakened internationally."

Wilberforce's public image suffered greatly when he spoke out against Queen Caroline’s marital unfaithfulness. There were also accusations that he cared more for the slaves than for the poor of England. Sadly, he also experienced the death of his daughter.

Yet, he persevered. Piper tells us that his opponents took note of his endurance.

“His adversaries complained that Wilberforce ‘jumped up whenever they knocked him down.’ One of them in particular put it like this: ‘It is necessary to watch him as he is blessed with…that Enthusiastic spirit, which is so far from yielding that it grows more vigorous from blows.’"

What was the secret of his perseverance? According to Piper, it was more than simply the encouragement of good friends, though Wilberforce had many. His remarkable perseverance in the midst of challenging work is rooted in an unquenchable joy in God.

“There is a deeper root of Wilberforce’s endurance than camaraderie. It is the root of childlike, child-loving, self-forgetting joy in Christ.”

Piper conveys this in Wilberforce’s own words -

"We can scarcely indeed look into any part of the sacred volume without meeting abundant proofs, that it is a religion of Affections that God particularly requires…Joy is enjoined to us as our bounden duty and commended to us as our acceptable worship…A cold…unfeeling heart is represented as highly criminal."

Piper concludes with this thought -

"When we say that Wilberforce’s joy was unshakeable and undefeatable…we mean that he had learned the secret of “the good fight”, and that his embattled joy reasserted itself in and after every tumult in society and in the soul."

How do you respond when the “chips are down”?
Do you persevere in such a way that your spirit “grows more vigorous from blows”?
How can we capture the kind of joyful perseverance that characterized Wilberforce and apply that in our lives?

Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833) was a British politician with uncompromising Christian faith. He made his mark in history as a social justice crusader against slavery. This year, there is particular renewed interest in Wilberforce because March 25, 2007 marks the 200th anniversary of the Slave Trade Act which banned slave trading in the British Empire.

Amazing Grace, the upcoming movie about Wilberforce doesn't hurt the public interest meter either.


Ahead of the movie, I'm currently reading through John Piper's biography of William Wilberforce entitled Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce. I've been intrigued by Wilberforce ever since reading about him in another Piper book called Roots of Endurance a few years ago. Amazing Grace in the Life of William Wilberforce isn't a long book (6 chapters, 80 pages) but it fleshes out a little more detail about Wilberforce's life and work.

What stands out to me, even in the first few chapters of the book, is the wonderful way God intervened in Wilberforce's life and directed him to his life's work. Note Wilberforce's own words in describing his early days in Parliament as an unbeliever.

"The first years I was in Parliament I did nothing - nothing to any purpose. My own distinction was my darling object."

Many of us waste opportunities and years seeking our own distinction. In the case of Wilberforce, this occurred before conversion but this can also be true of converted hearts as well. Yet, as with Wilberforce, God is patient in dealing with us. He helps us see the folly of building our own towers of achievement and gently leads us to give our lives to something bigger than ourselves.

Some years later, at the age of 25, Wilberforce experienced true spiritual conversion. He was so dramatically affected that he considered leaving his political career to pursue pastoral ministry. He was advised by his friend John Newton, Anglican clergyman and writer of the popular hymn Amazing Grace, to remain in Parliament. Here's what Newton wrote to Wilberforce.

"It is hoped and believed that the Lord has raised you up for the good of His church and for the good of the nation"

Upon heeding this good advice, Wilberforce turned his attention to the cause of social justice, specifically the abolition of slave trading. He was no longer purposeless but rather as he wrote in his diary, he had two great objectives.

"God Almighty has placed before me two Great Objects, the Suppression of the Slave Trade and the Reformation of Manners [morals]"

Just a couple of points about this.

First, thank God for wise counsel from friends. We need the kind of friends who can come alongside to help us figure out the hard questions of our lives. Little did he know at the time, but John Newton's encouragement to Wilberforce literally shaped the course of history.

Second, it is noteworthy that Wilberforce's zeal for God led him to initially consider abandoning his political career to pursue ministry. It speaks to the gravity of his newfound faith upon his life. However, it also betrays Wilberforce's initial view of vocational ministry as superior to his life's work in the politics. Unfortunately, I suspect it's a common problem even today. Many view vocational ministry as the inevitable calling for the spiritually mature. I'm certain most of us know better than to subscribe to this view. But I wonder if we aren't functionally hindered by this kind of thinking, in part because we have no picture of what spiritual maturity in our daily work looks like. As Christians working in business, academia, public life or maybe at home, let's help each other connect the dots between the faith we hold so dear and the daily work we're involved with.

Here are a couple of questions to chew on -

Even if you're not planning to change the course of history, do you view your work as noble service to God?
How do you connect the dots between your faith and your daily work? What do you find challenging in doing so?

Biblical Thinking on Racism

In response to a proposed measure requiring the state of Virginia to apologize to descendants of slaves, delegate Frank D. Hargrove tells the Virginia state assembly that "our black citizens should just get over [slavery]". In a "two-fer", Hargrove also goes on to insult Jews. If you're interested, you can read the account of his remarks here.

Although primarily symbolic, the proposed measure was viewed as part of a healing process according to Donald McEachin, who is black and one of the bill's sponsors.

“No one is asking any individual to apologize, because certainly there are no slaveholders alive today and there are no slaves alive today...but Virginia is alive and well, and Virginia was built on the backs of slaves, and Virginia’s economy boomed because of slavery, and it is Virginia that ought to apologize...”

I'm not sure if the proposed measure would materially advance the healing process but I'm certain of this - Hargrove's negative comments does nothing to promote racial harmony.

As I've asserted in a previous post, how Christians think and respond to racism is strategic to contextualizing the gospel. Unfortunately, there are precious few voices that speak biblically and faithfully on this topic. Hence, we miss the opportunity to communicate the gospel as glorious good news to an area of life that "the world" cares deeply about but cannot fix.

One compelling, insightful voice is that of John Piper. In the article, Stereotypes, Generalizations and Racism, he offers three exhortations to Christians.

• Christians should not simply reflect the morality of their era but the morality of the Bible.

• Christians should not be guilty of stereotyping groups, recognizing that stereotyping is different from the just and loving use of generalizations

• Christians should use generalizations justly and lovingly to form true and helpful judgments about people and life.

I think Piper's analysis, differentiating between generalizations and stereotyping is particularly helpful here. In his article, he defines generalization is the method by which we derive principles, laws and understand standard behavior. Generalization carries no moral or ethical component. On the other hand, he defines stereotyping as unjustified and uncharitable generalizations. He also goes on to define how uncharitable generalizations and stereotyping can lead us to racism.

How does this stack up against real life issues pertaining to race relations? In view of these exhortations, can racial profiling ever be justified?