MiM - Lesson 7

Man in the Mirror (p. 191-231)

Chapter 13
Decisions

We studied some of what the bible had to say about money last week as a stewardship responsibility. This week we look at time. Many of the principles are the same for stewardship of our time.

In the context of prostitution, Paul tells the Corinthian Church that they were not their own and that they were bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The attitude that we are masters of our service to God runs deep. For the Corinthians it ran so deep that they believed that they could take part of their life and visit a prostitute. Paul had to remind them that their bodies were the temple of the Holy Spirit and that they didn’t own themselves. Likewise, if you are a believer, you do not own your time or life. Generally this is a source of praise in our lives. Most Sunday mornings we can praise God for (as our memory verse from last week says) delivering us and atoning for our sins. We praise God for his promise from Jeremiah 29 that “We will seek Him and find Him” … at least most of the “time”. The problem is that He is Lord. We could breathe easier if He was Lord of 9:30 to 12:00 on Sunday. We might even give Him Sunday night and Wednesday if He serves supper. However, He just says that He is Lord and leaves it at that without any constraints. He is Lord of every moment of every day and you are not to act in any way that brings grief to the Holy Sprit in you. This is a challenge to practice the presence of God in our lives.

I like Morley’s identification of the core problem we have. Under the title “The Problem” he simply says, “We all do exactly what we decide to do” and that is the key. One of the guys I work with has a quote by Brian Tracy in his signature on his emails that says, “"It is not what you say or hope or wish or intend but only what you do that counts. Your choices tell you unerringly who you really are." Brian Tracy is a consultant and sort of motivational speaker and sales guru. I don’t think it is quite that simple because we are often distracted from our values and fail to listen to God in the decision making process. I suppose you could say that simply means we are distracted people and therefore the statement stands but that seems a little contrived and we’ll spend more time on this topic a little later.

When we make bad decisions we may recognize them as bad decisions. By “bad decisions” I mean decisions that don’t represent our values and goals. I think that is what Morley is getting out when he quotes Zbigniew Brzezinski who said, “Seen from the outside, decisions may seem clear and concisely formulated … but one learns that much of what happens … is the product of chaotic conditions and a great deal of personal struggle and ambiguity.” Jonathan Edwards said, “We always choose according to our strongest inclination at the moment”. So how do we order our lives so that in our moments we glorify God and avoid bringing grief to the Holy Spirit?

Morley first divides our important decisions into those that are primarily priority oriented and those that are primarily morality oriented. How we spend weekends will reflect priorities while avoiding sin, for example mental or physical adultery, is a moral decision.

As an example of decision making … Morley uses Jesus when He was tempted to make wrong decisions in the wilderness. In the temptation to avoid God’s will in His life and make stones into bread (to bail out of the trial) Jesus uses principle number 1 of effective decision making. He lived by the Word of God.

The second principle was applied when Jesus was tempted to throw Himself off the roof of the temple. The second principle is that we do not put God to a test by placing ourselves in a situation from which only He can save us. Following God into the Valley of the Shadow of Death is a good idea. Running into the Valley of the Shadow of Death and seeing if God will bail you out is NOT a good idea. Don’t put God to the test.

In the third test satan tempted Jesus to worship him in order to achieve control of all the earth. Thinking we can do good things by serving evil is dangerous but seductive. Jesus could have avoided the cross. The temptation to do what God has called you to do in a way He has not called you to do it is tempting. But that is all it is; it is tempting but not God’s will. I had a friend years ago who would always listen for the words “that is tempting” or “I’m tempted to …” and like clockwork when he heard those words he’d stop the conversation and say, “Well then it can’t be God’s will because He doesn’t tempt anyone”. Sometimes it was annoying – like when I was trying to decide what to have for lunch – but he was right and it is a fundamental principle of decision making. Morley lists it as number three. We should always worship God and serve Him only in our decisions.

All of our decisions have consequences. Moral decisions and priority decisions all have impacts on our lives and our ministries. Our service to God, our service to our family, our service to the Body of Christ, and our secular work all are interrelated and require us to consider all facets of our life in making decisions. We live with consequences. Forgiveness doesn’t take all the consequences away. We may want to back up and do it all over but real life doesn’t work like that. We move forward under God’s leadership from where we are through the consequences.

If you make bad decisions, or when you make bad decisions, then you must not abandon good decision making principles. There is a tendency to focus on the error and stop making good decisions. In sports, when someone who does something really dumb we may see their performance drop as they “get rattled” or “choke”. In our walk with God, the worst thing we can do when we blow it is to lose focus on God. Remember these principles:
1) Live your life according to the Word of God,
2) Don’t make decisions that test God, follow Him anywhere but don’t “dare” Him over anything, and
3) Guard the place of worship and service to God in your life.


Chapter 14
Priorities

The problem identified here is that most men haven’t established priorities and when we do we often don’t live according to those priorities. If we are going to live according to biblical principles then:
1) What does God want me to be and to do?
2) How does God want me to use my time and my money?
3) What character and conduct traits does God desire in me?
4) What relationships and tasks does God want me to emphasize?

These are important questions for us each to answer. We really fundamentally need to develop and implement biblical answers so that the place of the right answer for each of us isn’t taken by a default answer.

Love God
Relationship with God is to be our top priority. When Jesus was asked about the most important Scripture (Matthew 22:36-37) He quoted from Deuteronomy 6:4 and emphasized that our relationship with God was to be most important in our lives.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (ESV)

We implement this relationship through bible study, prayer, worship, and sharing our resources. A faithful Jew was expected to recite the Shema (these verses from Deuteronomy) at sunrise and sundown. I think we would do well to refocus each day on our primary orders from God.

Love Others
As Jesus went on to share, loving our neighbor’s as ourselves is our second charge. Our lives should be ordered around these two commands. Most people don’t prioritize around these commands and if you do then you’ll find it is an uphill battle to keep focused on these commands.

Rest
We need to be active and we need to rest. If we aren’t active in doing the things God has for us then we’ll be tired and burned out but rest doesn’t come or at least doesn’t seem to restore us. David’s problems with Bathsheba came from not being active when he was supposed to be and hanging around tired and bored. Rest from activity is God given and blessed. Burn out is a gift from God to His children who won’t listen when He says to come away for while and rest.

Work and “Good Works”
God blesses us with our vocation as we mentioned in an earlier lesson and provides additional works for us. Rest prepares us and energizes us for these works. If we are experiencing burn out then we are out of balance and need to seek God. You don’t really want to work at things that God hasn’t called you to but to be called by God will enable you. For example, Morley identifies evangelism, disciplemaking, and caring for the poor and needy as works that we’ll each be called to do. The wonderful thing is how creative God is in using us for these purposes. We’ll each have unique works. This enabling is what Paul had and why he could do what God called him to do even if it was death in a Roman prison.

Morley lists our love of God, our love of others, to rest, to work, and to do good works as fundamental callings in the lives of men. We have a Father who will lead us and focus us in these areas but we need to pay attention.


Chapter 15
Time Management

I appreciate his story about Dr. Bright’s ability to value the individual. I think Morley had the key when he said that he had no idea that when Dr. Bright said he prioritized his life based on the Great Commission that he meant one person at a time. If we reflect on the live of Jesus we see the same thing. He didn’t discount his work with the disciples so that he could address the big crowds. He stopped for the individual when led to do so.

As we manage our time we need to avoid generalizations about how we relate to others. The leading of the Holy Spirit is a key element of making sure you don’t ignore individuals and that you’re available for God. As Morley says, “God always provides enough time to accomplish God’s plans.”

The cycle presented on page 221 sounds sort of familiar.
1) I tell God what I’m going to do,
2) God responds,
3) I beg Got to let me do it anyway,
4) Finally I humble myself and listen, and
5) God tells me what He is going to do.

Obviously the smartest thing you could do in time management is skip to 4. In prayer we need to place a decision before God in submission to Him. Can you really say that you want God’s direction no matter what it is? Are your circumstances indicating that God may be directing your life? God is able to speak and direct and He is merciful and gracious to do so. It isn’t even hard for Him to do.

We really do need to translate these practices to our daily life and our work life. Balance comes from that primary relationship to God and to people. You can fight against Command 1 and Command 2 but you will not find a pleasant solution apart from loving God with all you are and your neighbor has yourself.

Love lasting things lastingly and passing things passingly. God and people last forever and the rest is temporary. We’ll be together in Glory some day but not with our things. As we seek God we can keep our priorities right and work at the right job and do it right. Our good works need to be works that God directs, done when He wants them done, done the way He wants, and with no thought from us but for His glory.