What's Wrong with Absolutes?

Many aspects of our life depend on them. Bakers would have a hard time creating their delicious treats without absolutes. They know eight ounces will always equal one cup, three teaspoons will equal one tablespoon, and a pound of butter will weigh sixteen ounces. They can create smaller or larger amounts from those absolutes, as needed.

No matter how you feel about it, another area that depends on absolutes is math. Before we ever reach the stage of algebra or geometry, we rest assured one plus one will always equal two, four times two will always equal eight, twenty take away five will equal fifteen, and thirty divided by six will always be five.

I often wonder why people reject absolutes? Take the Ten Commandments in Exodus Twenty, for example. We are advised not to murder, commit adultery, steal, lie, or covet things that don’t belong to us. Can we say our world is improved because people choose to ignore these life-improving commands on an everyday basis?

According to a *poll published in 2021 by Gallup analytics, 47% of Americans rated U.S. moral values as “poor,” 37% as “only fair” and 16% as “excellent” or “good.” One year later would you say we have substantially improved any of these numbers?

We moderns seem to be copying an ancient scenario. Judges 17:6 and 21:25 both say, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

Absolute truth remains the same in any context, but relative truth is variable . . . what is true for one person may not be true for another. Accepting truth as being relative or changeable, weakens the foundations of society. Whose truth can we agree upon?

Which of these do you think has abdicated personal responsibility for teaching moral values in our generation: homes, schools, or churches? What role do you play in any of these?

What’s wrong with absolutes? Nothing. In fact, our survival as a society may depend on them.

What are the absolutes by which you choose to live? If you’re clueless, Exodus Twenty can get you started.

I googled “today’s morality” and this one paragraph came up first; however, when I clicked on the tagline below it brought up a different article. 

3 Ways to Cool Your Jets

 

When warming up for takeoff, the power in jet engines is noticeable to everyone. On a personal level, have you ever heard someone say, “Cool your jets?” If so, you might have noticed an angry adult, ready to explode. 

Power used in the right way is a tremendous blessing. People purchase airline tickets, counting on those big jet engines to get them up in the air and on to their destination. 

Humans have fiery jets, too. They’re called emotions, and some people control them than others. 

If you would like to “keep your cool” more often, consider this easily-read advice. Psalm 37:8 (NKJV): Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret---it only causes harm. 

The nouns are what fire up our emotions.  

ANGER

Make all hot and bothered

Make one blow his top

Lose one’s temper 

WRATH

Fury

Vengeance

Madness

FRET

Suffer or cause annoyance

Disturb, agitate, or vex

Worry or be bothered 

The verbs, or action words, are what put the fires out:

 CEASE from anger: Stop, terminate, or discontinue it . . .

FORSAKE wrath: Relinquish, renounce, or abandon it . . .

DO NOT fret: Don’t indulge in worry, or let yourself remain anxious over something . . .

The Psalmist emphasizes that fretting, or worry, leads to harm. Some people actually make themselves sick with worry; however, I think anger and wrath buildups can also harm our health, and our relationships.

A habit is something we do without giving it much thought. The good news is that habits CAN be changed. Articles about this seem to agree on one thing: There is no magic number of days required to create a new habit.

The important thing is to desire change, then start working on your desired goal.

Help is available if you ask. Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV) says, “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Do you want to be healthier . . . improve relationships . . . develop better self-awareness? Then start learning NOW how (and when) to “cool your jets.”

Pursue Peace

Not everyone desires peace. All of history is filled with conflict. Even King David wrote I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war (Psalm 120:7 NKJV).

You can find whole books about peace, but I’m offering a few ideas, so let’s get started.

If you think of peace as absence of conflict, you’re on the right track. It could mean not arguing, not fighting back or not demanding your own way. But let’s look at some other options.

Psalm 34:12 (NKJV) asks a question? Who is the (person) who desires life, and loves many days, that (they) may see good?  

The answer is in verses 13 and 14 (NKJV): Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Depart from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it.

You must seek before you pursue. You won’t just drift into peace; it will require some effort. To seek means to focus on a goal and pursue it wholeheartedly.

Before mining was done with heavy equipment, gold miners went out with pans and shovels. Even a little gold was worth the effort. So, let’s consider four seemingly little efforts with peaceful payoffs:

1. Keep your tongue from evil: According to James 3:1-12 the tongue can easily set things on fire. It’s easy to speak without thinking, or to want to prove yourself right. Sometimes the only way to make peace is to agree to disagree.
2. Keep your lips from speaking deceit: Lasting peace never comes through trickery, duplicity, or partial truth. “White lies” are a myth. Truth will out and leave you squirming.
3. Depart from evil: Evil means different things to different people, but here it means avoid words that are harmful, malicious or mean. Dictionaries prove you have plenty of word choices, so don’t limit your mindset or vocabulary.
4. Do good: Use your words to build bridges, not walls. We humans will never agree on everything, but that doesn’t mean we can’t seek peace by being tolerant of, or truly accepting of, another’s point of view. Even a few words, spoken kindly, can have a positive impact.

To pursue peace requires effort. Detectives don’t solve cases by sitting at their desks, staring out the window. They put their feet on the ground and get moving, thinking, analyzing, pursuing their goal.

To pursue peace is such a worthy goal that even God takes notice. Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9).    

Pursuing peace will not become a habit overnight, but consistent effort will pay off noticeably in time.

How Can I Pray?

First of all, let’s define prayer. Here’s the bottom line: Prayer is communication with God. It’s not that God doesn’t know what we need, but with prayer we invite Him into our lives.

Prayers can be formal or informal, written or spontaneous. Since God created languages, He's open to prayers from people in all countries. I grew up with the King James Bible, but was taught to pray in my everyday English language.

Here are a few simple guidelines:

1.       Approach God with humility, avoid praying to be seen by people.

Jesus taught this with a parable about two characters: A Pharisee and a tax collector.  One prayed to be seen, proudly listing all his religious accomplishments. The other tried to be unnoticed as he bowed his head and prayed, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:9-14)

2.       Prayer does not require wordy repetition.

Jesus said pagans thought their gods would hear them if they used many repetitive words. But He said our Father knows what we need, so prayers can be simple and direct. (Matthew 6:7-8).

3.       The Lord’s Prayer is a great model.

If you’re not sure what to pray, review Matthew 6:9-13 (NKJV). I enjoy praying this in group settings, but sometimes I pray it on my own, using one sentence at a time to jump start my own prayers.

4.       Pray for the needs of others, as well as yourself.

Be alert to people and their needs. In writing to the Thessalonians, Paul made his request very simple: “Brothers and sisters, pray for us.” (I Thessalonians 5:25 NLT)

5.       Simple sentence prayers are heard, too.

Remember when Peter was walking on the water toward Jesus? He lost his focus, started to sink and cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached for him (Matthew 14:28-31). Remember one of the thieves crucified next to Jesus? He said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” Jesus said, “Today you’ll be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:42-43)   

If you’ve considered prayer a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, think again. You can talk to God about anything, anytime, anywhere. What could be better than that?  

  

Be Generous With Joy

 

Joy is an upbeat feeling of gladness that results in positive actions. Some people sing for joy, others dance. Some people wax eloquent in poetry, others express joy through paintings or sculptures.

Christians find joy in knowing and serving God. Jesus found joy in obeying His Father’s earthly will to the very end, meaning even to His death on the cross (Hebrews 12:2).  

It’s hard to separate joy from happiness or contentment. True joy is hard to hide or contain, but why even try?

Joy gets even better when shared. It was never meant to be hoarded.

Some see joy as morning dew or a gentle rain bringing hidden seeds to life as colorful flowers in unexpected places.

Others see joy as a quiet brook bubbling along while refreshing friends. Either way it is something desirable, positive and uplifting.

Be generous with joy. “He who waters will himself be watered,” said Solomon (Proverbs 11:25).

“What a person sows they will reap,” said Paul (Galatians 6:7).

Joy can be shared with an encouraging word, a loving deed or even a heart of forgiveness.

Joy flourishes in the unity of community. Consider these suggestions:

• ·      Share time with someone by treating them to breakfast, lunch or dinner.
• ·     Send a card of thanks or appreciation.
• ·     Connect with friends or family through phone calls or other modes of communication.
• ·     Invite someone into your home for simple fellowship over coffee or tea and dessert.
• ·     Surprise a colleague with their favorite treat.
• ·     Share encouragement with a favorite scripture or personal story of God’s goodness.

I’m sure you have your own good ideas, and things like this make joy contagious. Spread joy, not germs!

Joy is an inner fountain that propels us through all seasons of life. Some would call joy the oil of gladness that keeps their days rolling along.

As you join others on life’s journey, be generous with joy. Together your joy will never run dry.  

 

Equality and Submission

                  

Here’s a dichotomy for you. Like a boat on dry land the title words oppose each other, so let’s take a closer look.

I was listening to a Bible teacher* the other day whose key points brought up a personal memory.

There has been a lot of misinformation about women and submission, but here are some truths:

1)      Men and women are created equal before God

2)      All women are not required to submit to all men

3)      Women can be leaders, CEOs, or military commanders

4)      Submission applies only to a wife and her own husband

Marriage is not for everyone. If the idea of submission sets your teeth on edge, you may want to say, “No.” For sure you should not marry someone you don’t respect or trust, or who doesn’t care about what you think or feel.

In the days when this scripture was written women, children, and slaves in Roman, Greek, and Jewish cultures had great responsibilities. Men, on the other hand, had a great deal of freedom.

The true translation of submission means “to place under rank,” and Paul spoke not only to women. He also addressed men, children, and slaves (Colossians 3:18-4:1). Think about it. Everyone in the world is in submission to someone. That’s the orderliness of society.

My husband and I enjoyed equality in marriage for many years. I was comfortable submitting because he cared what I thought. After freely sharing my opinion or insight, I expected him to make our family decision. 

Strange as it seems, in the 1980’s women started teaching submission to the extreme. In taking some of their advice, I stopped freely sharing my thoughts and feelings. The result was that gradually my husband stopped asking for my opinion.

Things came to a head while exploring options for housing on a new job. Riding around, I became extremely depressed. God had given me a clear vision (warning) a few weeks earlier and I said to myself I’m not going to share this. He won’t listen anyway.

I can still see the street where I finally burst into tears. Shocked, my husband pulled into a parking lot and asked, “What’s wrong?” I told him about the vision and why I had not shared it with him earlier.

Besides his apology, he asked me to promise I would always share what I thought or felt. The fresh start was good, but it wasn’t magic. We had to rebuild our trusting relationship.

Equality and submission are positive truths. Please avoid getting bogged down with false teaching.

*Dr. Robert Jeffress, Pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX, Pathway to Victory.

 

Can You Be Honest?

 

Have you ever had someone say, "Can I be honest with you?" No matter how you felt about it, I'll bet you said, "Yes."

I prefer that people be honest with me. I have a hard time with those who talk indirectly about an issue, expecting me to guess what they mean. My response may seem totally irrelevant. 

When I was fighting cancer, I became deeply aware of the Psalms. Before then I had read them, but never really studied them. In fact, I started with a simple Bible study booklet called *Praying the Psalms.

Today I focused on Psalm 139. There David praises God for His ability to be everywhere at once plus His ability to know all things. These characteristics are listed in the dictionary under omnipresent and omniscient.

In the first six verses, David says God knows everything about him. Then in verse seven, he asks, “Where can I flee from Your Presence?” He shares illustrations of a God that is everywhere; there’s no place to hide.

In verses thirteen through sixteen, David declares the beauty of creation in utero. I found it easy to agree when he said, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Our life systems are awesome---Skeletal, Muscular, Respiratory, Digestive, and Reproductive, to name a few.

The last four verses are interesting contrasts. First, David declares his love for God, including hatred for those who malign God and speak evil of him.

Then he follows up with a prayer: Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24 NIV).

Can you be that honest? Can I? If you read David’s life story, he wasn’t perfect. Neither are we, but with God, and people, honesty is the best policy.

 *Bible study booklets by InterVarsity Press are available in the Life Guide Bible Studies Series from ChristianBooks.com or Amazon.