I’m going to upset some people today, I think. It can’t be helped. This is what I was given.
We only did three verses yesterday, but those three were a lot of information. Today we might get four. We’ll see.
Those three verses from yesterday told us how we were blessed if we had things we consider today to be hardships, problems, or what I’m calling “storms” this year. Being poor, being hungry, weeping or crying, and being persecuted are not things we typically consider blessings. However, Jesus assures us they are because we are not made for the world of flesh. We are made for the world of the spirit, His world, His Kingdom. Here are the passages for today.
23“Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.
24“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.
25“Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
26“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.
Luke 6:23–26 (NASB95)
The King James Version uses the word “rejoice,” whereas the NASB uses “Be glad….” They are both equally valid. The Greek behind it doesn’t really add anything other than it is a greeting or a farewell similar to Godspeed. That last bit I like, as I’ve taken to using Godspeed as a closing statement. Its connection to rejoice or be glad seems appropriate.
Verse twenty-three sets out why we should feel blessed, rejoice, and be glad at those things we view as hardships for His sake, as listed yesterday. It’s in the middle of verse twenty-three. “…your reward is great in Heaven.” We also see that we are in good company when the World treats us like this. The Old Testament prophets were also treated badly by the people they spoke to. But notice Jesus says, “For, in the same way, their fathers used to treat the prophets.” The Sons and Daughters of Disobedience have always treated God’s children badly, especially those on a mission.
That first verse provides us some comfort after the three we got yesterday that seemed not to be so kind. Verse twenty-four returns to the realm of not as kind. Let’s take a look at that one.
24“But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.
Luke 6:24 (NASB95)
“But I’m not rich. I live paycheck to paycheck, don’t travel to exotic places, or even eat out that much.” Recall from yesterday being poor isn’t necessarily mean being low on money. Just as being poor can be something we mistake, so can being rich be something we’re wrong about.
Let’s consider not just those people we see daily but the entire world’s population. Most of us here in the United States, and even in the state of Georgia, where I am from (and my Sunday school class is based), have it far better than other places. From a Methodist standpoint, while I am in the North Georgia conference, one of the largest conferences in Methodism, we are not the largest. The largest Methodist conference is the African conference. Consider how people in Africa live. Most of them do not have air conditioning. That might not be as important to someone in Montana, but it is a necessity in the Southeastern United States. Most people in Africa do not have that. It is a luxury only available to rich people. By their standards, we are rich. In Heaven, whose standards is God going to use?
25“Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.
Luke 6:25 (NASB95)
I won’t even go into how well-fed we are in the US. It boggles my mind when my children walk into the kitchen and say, “We don’t have any food in the house” or “there’s nothing to eat in here.” I’ve been hungry and seen actual starvation. The people of the United States, for the most part, don’t know hunger.
The immediate reaction from some who read that last paragraph is to note “food insecurity” is real. Their point is a valid and accurate one. Plenty of people might live in your and my very neighborhood who do not have enough to eat or make decisions about food you and I find appalling. If you are aware of these people, you should help them.
Let’s learn the children’s lesson that used to be taught by mothers long ago. Let’s not get angry or upset over words. My statement that people in America don’t know hunger should not be a “triggering” statement. If you find that you are getting upset as I type the words that Americans don’t know hunger, it is likely because you know someone who is, in fact, hungry.
Good. Instead of becoming angry at me for stating that Americans are surrounded by food and don’t go hungry, feed that person. This is a convicting call to feed His lambs.
15So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Tend My lambs.”
16He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”
17He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Tend My sheep.
18“Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to gird yourself and walk wherever you wished; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you where you do not wish to go.”
John 21:15–18 (NASB95)
Let us be adults who take action rather than children who take offense. Let us recognize these things that get our blood up, not as things we should be fighting over, but things we should be acting upon. Let us turn that energy that is banging out snippy comments on social media into action: an old thrift store backpack filled with non-perishable food to hand out the car window. Zip lock bags with prepackaged foods if a full backpack is too expensive. Bottled water riding around in the back seat to hand out the window. Hygiene kits with a comb, wet wipes, toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, and foot powder to help clean up. Things we can do to be the hands and feet, prepared and ready in the car for that unexpected moment when we turn a corner on the way to an appointment, and someone has a cardboard sign by the side of the road.
We have storms and hardships in life, but so does everyone else. Ours are different from theirs. Sometimes they are the same, and in that, we can find comfort with others who truly understand what we are going through, but most of the time, they are different. That doesn’t mean I am worse off or better off than you or vice versa. It means I don’t have to understand what you’re going through, just that you are in a storm too.
“How can I help someone else if we’re both drowning?” For starters, you have hope. If you don’t have hope or don’t feel very hopeful right now, go read some red letters in the New Testament from Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Jesus is filled with Hope and passes that on to anyone who has ears to hear it. His hope is not the hope of this world but of the spiritual Kingdom of Heaven that is to come. It is the hope that we do have it right here as concerns our Risen Lord. It is the hope that while this storm is temporary, His embrace is permanent. We also have a gauge for figuring out where we are in that process.
26“Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.
Luke 6:26 (NASB95)
Does the World love you or hate you? Do those people know you are a Christian? Do they wonder what you think of God’s Word?
I will confess it has been and, for the time being, continues to be my policy not to get embroiled in theological discussions on social media. I used to do that. I used to be in what I call an “apologetics phase,” where I thought it was my calling and duty to correct every infraction of Christian doctrine and dogma wherever I found it on the internet. I spent a lot of time, energy, and frustration banging out words on a keyboard. It taught me a lot. Mostly about myself, but also about what I think God wants of me at this stage in my life. That can change, but for now, I am firmly rooted in what I believe God has set out for me as a path. It is both comforting to know and to have affirmations from the Most High regularly that I am on the right path. It is why I send out these missives daily, as imperfect as they are. This is what I am supposed to be doing right now. What are you supposed to be doing right now? I’ll get to that in a minute.
What are we to do with people who call us out publicly? Jesus might have anticipated that question. Let’s look at the next scripture.
27“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Luke 6:27 (NASB95)
Love your enemies is a hard one. I don’t love the people who hate me. I don’t want to do good to those who treat me poorly. Some look at this passage and start to try and play with words to formulate a response that begins with, “What Jesus really meant….” What He really meant is what He said. The next verse sort of proves that in my mind.
28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Luke 6:28 (NASB95)
Sticks and stones may break our bones, but words will never hurt us. We used to be taught that by our mothers when the other children said mean things about us. Today, people want to “cancel” other people because they said something they disagree with. The generation of outrage needs to toughen up. If you read these words and begin to grow angry with me, I cannot help that. I firmly believe we as a generation of human beings need to mentally toughen up so that objectionable speech can be heard once again in the town square. Why?
When we allow people the freedom to express themselves without reservation, we see who they truly are. People self-identify as people we don’t want to be around, are violent, or should be dealt with in extreme cases. Good. It is far better to let people out themselves with their own words than to try and investigate or use detective skills to figure out “what they really mean.” Speaking plainly is a quality we are breeding out of people because it ends up with difficulty. So, they don’t say what they really mean. They keep their true feelings secret so no one gets to see them until they explode in public in a messy and unacceptable fashion. People need to be able to express themselves freely, or what might have just been words in anger turns inward and festers until it becomes violence that spills over onto good people who did nothing wrong. When that happens, Jesus has words for us too. These words I don’t like. I’m in the camp of people who have a hard time with this one, I freely admit.
29“Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either.
Luke 6:29 (NASB95)
I don’t want to turn the other cheek. I want to “strive” with someone. That’s a King James word that means to argue or fight with them. I am contrary by nature (ask my wife), willing to debate or argue any side or point. I’m working on it, but how do we work on it? Once again, Jesus anticipates the question.
30“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.
Luke 6:30 (NASB95)
Do you want to practice this one? It is very hard but very worth it. Here’s how.
“Give to everyone who asks of you.” Whatever it is. “But I don’t want to give that to that person.” I know. I don’t either, especially when I think they might misuse it. Here is some wisdom from Proverbs to guide this type of giving.
26For the Lord will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught.
27Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it.
28Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you.
29Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you.
30Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm.
31Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways.
32For the devious are an abomination to the Lord; But He is intimate with the upright.
Proverbs 3:26–32 (NASB95)
“When you have it with you.” Meaning if you have the thing that has been requested, you should provide it, whatever it is. Someone asks you, “Hey can you help out next Sunday with INSERT THING YOU DON’T WANT TO DO?” Say yes. Go do the thing you don’t want to do if you have the time available to do it but just don’t want to do it. Be careful, though. You can get legalistic with this too. If you find yourself justifying why you don’t have to help with this thing, this time, you probably should.
Finally, the last thing I will leave you with today is more guidance on how to know when to acquiesce and help. It is Jesus continuing to provide wise counsel on the subject in Luke. It’s almost like He was God or something and knew what we would want to know.
31“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
Luke 6:31 (NASB95)