Pride and Humility

One of the ideas that surfaces frequently in Jesus' ministry is that of not "exalting" ourselves.

For example, while eating with a Pharisee on one occasion, Jesus noticed the way in which guests invited to the dinner typically seated themselves in the most promient place available (Luke 14:7ff.). No one wanted to take the lowest seat - that furtherst from the host or guest of honour. Instead, everyone clamoured for the highest position.

Seeing this, Jesus told a parable about a wedding feast. "When someone invites you to a wedding feast," he said, "do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place'. Then you will be honoured in the presence of all your fellow guests" (vv. 8-10).

So that his hearer's wouldn't miss the point of this story, Jesus adds, "Everyone who exalts hismelf will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (v. 11). That's the lesson: exalt yourself - that is, promote yourself before others - and you will be humbled. Humble yourself - take a genuinely lowly view of yourself - and you will be exalted or honoured before others. That's a law of the kingdom of God.

Self-promotion doesn't fit well with our true place in God's scheme of things. It smacks of a spirit of self-importance, self-satisfaction, self-achievement. All of these are elements of human pride, something abominable to God. The truth is that there is nothing that we have or are in ourselves that is not ultimately a gift of God. To boast in our achievements, good looks, intelligence or the like robs God of his honour. That's what makes a self-assertive spirit so repugnant to him.

Much better is the attitude that recognises that all we have comes from him. When that - the true fear of God - permeates our being, it puts another complexion on our achievements. Not only does it recognise their true source, but it makes them appear for what they are - the imperfect works of an unprofitable servant (Luke 17:10).

This truth applies to farmers as much it does to anyone else. The temptation to be self-promoting haunts the modern farmer just as it does others. We've got a marvellous paddock of wheat or barely, and we want others to know about it. Our sheep have performed well this lambing, and we make our lambing percentages a common talking point. Our cows have milked well this year, and so we broadcast our butterfat yields.

Outstanding achievements are to be enjoyed. A humble spirit receives them with gratitude, giving credit to God. A self-promoting attitude, however, broadcasts perfromance and basks in the glory. People who do this set themselves up for a fall.

The Spirit and the Letter of the Law

This past weekend I was staying with a farmer whose property is a certified organic farm. I was intrigued at one point in our discussion on fertilisers by his reference to certain fertilisers "not being approved." It was an illustration of one way in which farming today is regulated. There are many other "do's" and "do not's" as well.

How should we as Christians approach "law-keeping" in such instances? Jesus' frequent altercations with the Jewish leaders of his day over Sabbath-observance help us here. In Luke 14:1-6, for example, he responds to those who are "carefully watching" him while in the home of a Pharisee. There was a sick man in the house, and Jesus' observers were waiting to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Knowing their thoughts Jesus asked the Pharisees and law experts present if it was "lawful" (that is, in accord with the law of Moses) to heal on the Sabbath? When they remained silent he took the sick man, healed him, and then sent him on his way.

Turning to his audience he then asked, "If one of you has a son [or perhaps, donkey] or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?" His question was met by silence. No one had anything to say. They all knew that if such a fate were to befall one of their animals or family members, of course they would help them - and do so "immediately". They wouldn't dare let one of their precious children or oxen lie injured in and threat of drowning in a well - even if the accident occurred on the Sabbath. The value of a life took precedence over the law demanding "rest" in such instances.

What Jesus was doing when he asked this question was revealing his understanding of the spirit or intent of the Sabbath law. Was he a Sabbath-keeper? Of course he was. He was a Jew who kept the law of Moses at every point (Galatians 4:4). What made him different to the legalistic law-keepers he so often encountered was his understanding of the true intent, and consequently, demand of the law. He highlighted this on another occasion of Sabbath dispute when  he declared, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). He wasn't weakening the Sabbath ordinance, merely expounding its true intent. A proper observance of the Sabbath recognized it as a gift for the good of man, and consequently, allowed room for acts of necessity and mercy as well as those of "piety." His opponents only saw the letter of the law; Jesus saw its inner intent, and was able to act with practical wisdom and grace in its observance.

Christian farmers ought to reflect that in the way they approach the laws that regulate their industry. On the one hand they ought to be law-abiding. But at the same time, they ought to be intelligent law-keepers, understanding the intent and benefits of the law. If, in their view, a law is wrong, then it ought to be changed, and they should be in the vanguard of seeking its change. But if it is good and valid, they ought not only be scrupulous observers but active promoters of the value of the law. One thing they shouldn't be - wooden law-keepers who begrudging give what they owe and chafe all the while they do so. Worse still, they shouldn't be legalistic nit-pickers, intent on being law-detail specialists. Jesus shows us a better way.

Consumed With Zeal

Early in his account of Jesus' life, the Apostle John tells of a visit Jesus made to Jerusalem at the time of the Jewish Passover (John 2:12-25). While there he visited the temple and was deeply stirred by what he saw. The courts of his Father's house were crowded with men selling cattle, sheep and doves (for sacrifices) and with money changers converting foreign currency into Jewish coinage (for temple offerings). The scene resembled a market place, and it provoked Jesus to act.

Making a whip out of cords, he drove the cattle and sheep from the temple courts (v. 15). Turning to those with doves, he ordered them to take their birds and be gone (v. 16). And finally, he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables - violent stuff (v. 15).

Witnessing this scene, Jesus' disciples were reminded of words of King David in one of the psalms, "zeal for your house consumes me" (Psalm 69:9). They understood that Jesus wasn't acting in an irrational frenzy, but out of zeal for God. He was deeply offended by the fact that these merchants had turned his Father's house into a common market (v. 16). It stirred him so deeply that he had to act. While what he did was radical, disruptive, and even violent, it wasn't uncontrolled. His violence was the violence of offended love. Zeal for his Father's honour was like a consuming fire within him. It totally absorbed him and powerfully activated him.

Zeal for God and for Christ is another principle of life within God's kingdom. From the very beginning of the world it was God's intent that human lives should be orientated toward him and directed to doing his will. Moses captured that obligation when he said, "And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD'S commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your good" (Deuteronomy 10:12-13).

The Apostle Paul translates this into our new covenant setting when he writes to Christians in Colossae, "And whatever you do, whether in word of deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17). Followers of Christ today are obligated (like Israel of old) to live their lives with passionate zeal for the Lord.

That means Christian farmers too. Serving Christ is not something additional to, or separate from, working dogs and milking cows. Rather, farm life is the context in which he calls you to live out your discipleship. And that means nothing less than life with the full-hearted zeal for him that he showed for his Father. Everything we do is to be done "in his name" - as he would do it if he were us. Love for Christ and passion for his glory should consume the heart of farmers in everything they do.

Being Merciful

This morning I came across another principle of God's kingdom - his nature and the way he rules - in Luke 13:6-9.

Jesus tells a parable about a man who had a fig tree planted in his vineyard - apparently a common practice in biblical times. For three years the owner of the vineyard came looking for fruit from his fig tree. He was fully justified in doing so; it had been planted in the fertile soil of his vineyard for the very purpose of bearing figs for him. However, for these three years he found nothing on the tree when he looked.

Impatient with its unfruitfulness he instructed the keeper of the vineyard to cut it down. "Why should it use up the soil?" he said (v. 7). Again, he was perfectly within his rights to make this decision. It could be said that efficient husbandry demanded that he replace the tree with something more productive. However, in the story, the keeper of the vineyard intercedes for the tree. "Sir," he said, "leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down" (vv. 8-9).

In the context this parable is referring to the unfruitfulness of the nation of Israel. Matthew and Mark both relate an event in the last week of his life when Jesus cursed a barren fig tree - again, a symbol of God's judgment upon unfruitful Israel (Matthew 21:18-21; Mark 11: 12-14, 20-24). The people of God had been given plenty of time to bear fruit but, in spite of their privileges, hadn't. Judgement was looming. This seems to be the idea here as well.

The  intercession of the vineyard worker in this parable is really an appeal for delayed judgment. And the apparent readiness of the owner to comply with the request points to God's longsuffering, his readiness to show mercy, his withholding of judgment in order to give more time for people to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9). That's the kingdom principle that surfaces here. The God of the Bible is merciful. He withholds judgment in the hope of repentance. He is slow to anger and doesn't reward us according to our sins (Ps. 86:15; 103:8). That's the kind of God he is, and that's the way things operate under his gracious rule. He is not rash and hasty, but overwhelmingly patient and ready to give another chance - up to a point. There is a day of judgment, and on that day all who have failed to yield the fruit of faith and godliness will be condemned. But his mercy and love make him slow to act.

This holds challenging implications for Christian farmers who want to reflect the character of God and live according to the ways of his kingdom.  Modern agriculture is intolerant of the unproductive. Production and profit demand that the barren cow be slaughtered and the ewe that bears only single lambs be ditched. Why, even the young hogget can find herself on the way to the freezing works - or at least, to someone else's farm - if she hasn't conceived. 

The same is true of pastures and grain crops. If they are not producing, change them - instantly. Fine in terms of economics, perhaps, but potentially deadly in terms of character. The production/profit-driven farmer can end up becoming ruthless and callous in his efficiency. In fact, ruthless intolerance of unproductivity its often viewed as a virtue in the modern farmer. 

Jesus' parable doesn't demand that farmers give barren sheep yet another year's grace to bear lambs. But it does caution against intolerant, ruthless attitudes. The fact is that God is not that kind of a God. If he were as impatient with our unproductivity as we can be with the seeming infertility of our animals and sluggishness of our pastures, there would be no chance for any of us. Christian farmers, in their pursuit of farming efficiency and excellence, can't afford to lose the qualities of patience, longsuffering and mercy. Somehow they need to be reflected in farming practice.

Bad Things Don't Always Happen to Bad People

My plan with these blog postings is to share insights into kingdom principles as I come across them in my daily Bible reading. And I did come across one this morning that, in the course of the day, proved to be an encouragement to a local family when I spoke to them about it. So I will note it now while it is still fresh in mind.

Jesus was once approached and told by people about a group of Galileans whose blood the Roman Governor Pilate has "mixed with their sacrifices" (Luke 13:1). Evidently these Galileans had come to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices at the temple, and while doing so, had been set upon by Roman soldiers and slaughtered. The outcome had been that their blood had been mixed with that of the sacrifices they were offering. To any Jew the act must have seemed one of horrendous sacrilege. 

When told of this event, Jesus asked the question, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?" (v. 2). Jesus understood their thinking well. He knew the tendency of people in his day to apply the "retribution principle" in a wooden way, much as Job's comforters had centuries earlier. Simply put, this principle taught that bad things happened to bad people, and good things to good people. According to this way of thinking, it must have been because they had been terrible sinners that the Galileans suffered the fate that they did.

But was that really the case? Jesus provided the answer. "I tell you, no!" he said. But unless you repent, you too will all perish" (v. 3). The important part of what he said for our purposes is his emphatic "No!" Terrible, tragic events don't necessarily indicate that the people affected by them are great sinners. Life in our fallen, Satan-afflicted world doesn't work out like that. We simply cannot say, when bad things happen to people, that its because they are particularly bad people.

That's something farmers need to hold onto. A failed swede crop, an outbreak of Brandenberg among expectant ewes, a TB infection in a milking herd - these and the many other on-farm disasters than happen year by year can't be taken as indications of some terrible sin that a farmer (or his family, or even his forebears) have committed. Yet it's easy for us to think that way. No one is blameless - true. And if the truth be known, we all deserve constant affliction and chastisement from God. But the truth remains, you can't measure the size of a person's sin by the size of the tragedy (or hardship) that strikes them.

Decided Followers of Jesus

Since moving into a rural pastorate in May 2008 I've been constantly thinking about what it means for farmers to be decided followers of Jesus Christ.

Historically, the southern part of New Zealand has been a very "churched" region. Generations of farming families have formed the backbone of many churches in rural communities. While that continues to be true today, there are also changes afoot as long-establish families alter farming practices and in many cases, move out of the districts they grew up in.

For those who do remain, making a living has become more challenging than ever. It's tempting for Christian farmers to jump onto bandwagons and adopt recommendations without thinking seriously about what Jesus would have them do. One of my desires is to be able to help such farmers (and others too) identify the principles of God's kingdom that should regulate our daily lives, and work out how these apply to the everyday practices of farm life. I've been able to do this to some extent (usually indirectly) in my regular preaching and pastoral ministry in Wyndham, but have a deep hankering to do so more directly and explicitly. Hence the birth of this blog site.

What I plan to do in it is to (a) identify principles for living under God's rule (kingdom principles) from the Bible, and then (b) suggest applications of these for farming practices. I'm more familiar with the first of these - the kingdom principles from the Bible - and will dwell at greater length on these than on their application to farming practice. I hope, however, that identifying and expounding the principles will excite Christian farmers to think seriously about how they can be applied to life. That, I'm sure, is how Jesus wants farmers to live today.

A last word - the prophet Isaiah tells us that God's ways are not our ways, his thoughts not our thoughts (Isaiah 55: 8,9). That being so, we had better brace ourselves for some radical thinking and change. There's a lot more to being a follower of Jesus than having our sins forgiven and going to church. Becoming like him, and living each day as he would if he were us, is going to demand radical and often painful change. But it will please him to see us serious about following him.

Andrew Young