Category: Gospel and Culture

Culitivating Obsession (or craving well)

Posted on May 21, 2009

This is a guest blog by Steve Cota, a City Group leader at Austin City Life.

When we think of the word “obsession”, we typically think of a lust or perhaps something along the lines of the movie “Fatal Attraction”.  The movie Obsessed tells the story of a woman obsessed with a co-worker, willing to go to great lengths to obtain him, regardless the consequences. Is this all there is to an obsession? Can our careers, sports and fitness also be obsessions?

What Determines an Obsession?

In the book Consolations of Theology, Andrew Cameron writes: “These [obsessions] are whole-body desires that wage war against our very selves.” They are not righteous obsessions. Cameron takes St. Augustine’s account of obsession and says, “We have proper longings for God the Father, for each other, and for all the goods of a good earth.  But these proper longings are distorted and disordered into improper longings, many of which we call “obsessions”. Notice his distinction between proper and improper longings. It’s as if the line between proper and improper is not determined by the object of longing but the strength of our longing.

Be Obsessed

Obsession or desires aren’t evil in themselves.  In fact, the Bible has accounts that share those obsessions or desires are good.  For example, in Proverbs 13 there are these confessions of the truth’s about desires that are of a godly nature:  “… but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (vs.12)  “A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul…” (vs.19). Cameron explains, “We also see several NT appearances of strong desires as a form of moral excellence.  Disciples, prophets, and angels long to see divine truth; apostles long to see Christ; or to see their people; or for their people to progress in faith; young men rightly long to care for God’s people.”

Crave Well

So the question is: “can we crave well?”  Can the object of our obsession be a “righteous craving?”  Cameron offers some thoughtful theological consolations for obsession:

  • Rest in Christ: “We can rest safely in Christ, even in the grips of our obsessing weakness.  At our worst, our most inhuman … when we are least like him but most need him…,” he will die for us.  And thus bear our most damning unrighteous obsessions.
  • Reorder Your Affections: “Christ opens the way for the Spirit to be poured in our aid.” “The Spirit reorders our affections to respond in joy to his divine and holy affection.”
  • Fly to God in Prayer: “Then, under the gentle power of the Spirit,” flying to God in prayer to aim our obsessions toward these new joys.  This joy is to love the proper object, the “perfectly ordered and harmonious enjoyment of God and of one another in God.”

We don’t need to find and cultivate obsessions or desires within ourselves, for they already exist.  According to St. Augustine, it is finding the proper response to that reality about us. For us to aim toward these new loves, as opposed to our obsessional loves.“Augustine points us to the proper object of our love, so that the old treasures we obsessed about can fall away as boring, or find their proper place.” That proper place is well articulated by Augustine: “you have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts, [may they] find no peace until they rest in you.”

How Do You Forgive?

Posted on May 20, 2009

We all have multiple opportunities every day to give and receive forgiveness. We all sin against others and are sinned against. We all sin against God, belittling his worth, snubbing his grace. What do we do in these moments, with these sins? Throw out an “I’m Sorry” and carry on? Give ourselves a guilt trip and engage in private penance for three days? How would the gospel guide us into true forgiveness?

It’s Hard to Forgive

Jesus set up the paradigm of 77 times (Matthew 18), which was his way of saying always forgive. But forgiving and asking for forgiveness can be so hard. A lot of us tell ourselves we forgive someone without even telling that person! What we really do is avoid conflict and sweep the offense under the rug, where the lump gets bigger over time until we trip over it and blow up in anger or shut down in despair. However, Gospel progress in conflict with others will always result in a maturing of a relationship, not in slipping back into neutral or a “keep the peace” mode.

It’s Better to Forgive than Forget

Contrary to the popular saying, the gospel does not call us to “forgive and forget.” Forgiving and forgetting, is code for cheap sorrys and faking a bad memory. The reality is that sin is really hard to forget, especially when you are sinned against. Funny, you’d think our sins against others would be more memorable! All too often, when I sin against my wife, resolve to be more sensitive and kind-hearted, I end up forgetting how I offended her and repeat the offense a few weeks later! Why? Because I forgot! True forgiveness stands taller in the presence of sin. Grace shines brighter in the darkness of offense. But don’t misread me here. We should neither minimize not maximize sin, throw out cheap sorrys or berate one another with our memories. However, without the memory of sin, there is no need for forgiveness. The trick is to remember our sins, not others sins!

Forgiving One Another

The gospel calls us to press into grace by pressing into our sin. Instead of disregarding sin against another, we confess it, both to God and to the other, and tell them why we were so mean, impatient, or unkind. We ask for their forgiveness, for wounding them unnecessarily, for putting our desires above their dignity. We press into our sin in confession and repentance, but don’t stop there. We move on through into forgiveness and grace, genuinely forgiving and being forgiven, refusing to harbor resentment. Forgiving again and again with each memory. As we forgive, we absorb the cost of the offense, as Jesus absorbed the infinite cost of our sin, and communicate his grace to others. But how can we do this? Sometimes it is so hard. Tim Lane, author of Relationships: A Mess Worth Making, offers a few principles on how to absorb the cost of an offense and to live in true forgiveness:

  • Choose not bring up the offense again or use it against others. The only reason to raise the offense with the offender is for the purpose of reconciliation, not vengeance. It’s not about forgetting; it’s about forgiving, reconciling, loving.
  • Choose not bring the offense up to others in gossip, or malign others because of it. Where you have forgiven, rest in Christ’s forgiveness and perfect love. Resolve not to use conflict against others, but rather, to use it for others by offering grace and Christ-centered forgiveness.
  • Choose not bring the offense up to yourself and dwell on it. Resolve not to replay the videotape of your own sin or others to relive every detail. Press into grace so that you don’t make the other person pay for what he or she has done.

Next time you are offended or offend, try pressing into sin  (confession and repentance) and pressing into grace (forgiveness and reconciliation). When we do, we lift Jesus up above our demands, the cross over our sin, and we can move into more grace-based, maturing relationships that display the sufficiency and beauty of Christ for everyday life. Take a minute to think of how you could apply these principles towards a situation, sin or person today. Enjoy grace and true forgiveness.

Books on Justification

Posted on May 19, 2009

On Sunday we examined the gospel doctrine of Justification. I mentioned that there are several perspectives on this doctrine that are worth considering when trying to answer the question: “How do unright people get right with a righteous God?” Here are a few resources for those interested in reading and studying more on this topic:

Rambo and Mission to Burma

Posted on May 19, 2009

I recently watched Rambo, yes the fourth installment of the sixty-three year old Sly Stallone, who shocked us all with his recent Rocky comeback. Unlike his performance on short-lived The Contender reality boxing show, both of these last Stallone installments were actually quite good. Unlike the previous Rambo movies, Rambo is more story-driven than action-driven. In fact, we see Rambo doing very little hulking “action” apart from a few shots from his bow and a lot of machine gun fire. He doesn’t pop out ponds or trees, and his shirt doesn’t even come off (not that we would want it to)!

Oppression in Burma: The Plot of Rambo

Instead, Rambo is about the plight of Burma. The story focuses specifically on the Karen people, and their long-standing conflict with the oppressive milliatry junta. The opening scene shows a military transport truck pulling up, unloading Karen captives in the middle of the Burmese countryside. The Burmese military force the captives to run through mine-laden rice fields for sport, and shoot the ones that don’t get blown up. This is not exaggeration. In fact, when I was in Burma a few years ago I frequently saw these military trucks, full with soldiers, on their routes to fight with the indigenous peoples of Burma. It is a war-torn country.

Burma’s Need: Gun or Gospel?

As the movie unfolds, Rambo is asked to take some missionaries into Burma to offer medical aid and salvation to the Karen. Rambo is cynical and reluctant to take them, but eventually obliges them. The naivete of the missionaries is striking. Rambo tells them that the only thing that will change Burma is a gun. The missionaries believe in the gospel. Who was right? Rambo or the missionaries? Well, I’ll leave that to the comments but the missionaries are killed and captured, resulting in the need for a rescue attempt, which Rambo is pulled into.

There’s a lot of blood. Not a lot of philosophy or theology (which would be out of place). But there is the simple, powerful impact of the plight of the peoples of Burma. Oppressed, killed, tortured, children conscripted, and recently even monks were shot in Rangoon during a peaceful protest. When I was in Burma I was struck by the corruption, poverty, beauty, and deep brokenness of this largely Buddhist country. I worked with the Shan peoples, who have also been at war with the junta, who have also been oppressed as the Karen. Consider the 10s of 1000s killed by the cyclone last year. Burma needs more missionaries, more gospel, more justice, more mercy, more love, more hope. Go to Surehope to see the project we started with the Shan.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to a Shan-Tai Prayer bulletin contact: maisung@bigfoot.com

Aung San Suu Kyi’s Trial

Now consider the audacious trial of Burma’s unsung hero–Aung San Suu Kyi–Nobel peace prize winner, advocate for democracy who has been under house arrest for years. Her health is waning. And Burma’s hope with it. Pray for Suu Kyi today, the second day of her trial. Pray for Burma. Visit www.freeburmarangers.org and advocate for these people. Check out this article and video from BBC.