Break But Don't Bend

Have you ever come to the realization that God has been there, done that, and that nothing is new for Him? Would you believe me if I told you that God invented twitter thousands of years ago? You can read His tweets in this extraordinary book called PROVERBS. (I follow "Book of Proverbs" on twitter - you should too. Its like reading God's tweets everyday).

Recently, they posted an interesting slant on Proverbs 29:1: "A person who will not bend after many warnings will suddenly be broken beyond repair."

In our society, we have a bend but don't break attitude. We bend just enough to get under the bar set before us. We bend our attitudes just enough to keep our positions. We bend our beliefs in order to avoid rocking the boat. We bend in order to keep from breaking. 

At first glance, this appears to be the sentiment of Proverbs 29:1. However, I believe that the meaning is much deeper and more profound than taking it at face value. When reading any part of scripture, ALWAYS remember that it is subtly pointing to Jesus, and specifically His cross and resurrection. The Old Testament points ahead to Him, and the New Testament points back to Him.

So what does Proverbs 29:1 tell us in light of the cross and resurrection? That we MUST BE BROKEN. Not only that, we must desire brokenness. We must stop bending.

Let me explain.

When I first read this verse, I got a "visual" in my mind of a prideful person refusing to listen to anyone, doing everything his/her own way, without need for anyone telling them how to live their life, and because of their pride, they will meet their destruction. While this is certainly true and powerful warning for those who choose to live life that way, it takes on a very different meaning for the Christ follower. The problem for us is that we follow this guy named Jesus who was broken in every sense of the word (we actually call this guy "Lord"). And if we want to truly follow Him, we must be willing to go where He went. We must be broken in order to get the blessing. But there's a problem: our pride protects itself at all costs! What results is what I call spiritual bending. We become lukewarm Christians. We attend church, but there's really no life change. We talk the talk, but we don't walk the walk. We tell everyone we are Christians, but we don't become disciples. We bend, but we don't allow God to break us.

Moses HAD to be broken so he could lead the people.

Jacob HAD to be broken so he could become Israel.

David HAD to be broken so he could become king.

Saul HAD to be broken so he could become Paul.

Jesus HAD to be broken so He could become our Savior.

And on and on in scripture. Psalm 31:12 - "I am forgotten as though I were dead. I have become broken pottery." You see, it is our brokenness that drives us to God. He is ever searching for broken pottery, broken bread, and wine that has been poured out. He had a Son that was willing to give away His food, HIS LIFE - and we are still benefitting from His brokenness 2,000 years later. And that's pretty cool.

You want God to do great things in your life? Stop bending...let God break you.

-MCL

The Beautiful Snakes

Last week, I was talking with pastor Steve Ayers at our mother church, Hillvue Heights, and he began to tell me of the time that Hillvue experienced SIGNIFICANT growth and began making waves in church circles. Because of the attention the church began to receive (both locally and nationally), three entities presented themselves in hopes of financially partnering with the church in some way. Needless to say, the offers were lucrative and substantial.

As he began entertaining the offers, Steve tells of a lady in the church, whom he had a high level of trust, that came in his office one day. She advised him that God told her there were three opportunities present for the church. Then she looked him in the eye and said, "Beware the beautiful snakes."

I'm not a fan of snakes. AT ALL. But I must admit that they can be absolutely stunning in their beauty. Like these:

Notice the amazing and vibrant colors...like they were created on an artist's canvas. Beautiful.

Funny thing...us humans are drawn to beauty like a moth to a flame. And Satan knows it.

I've often wondered about the snake in the Garden of Eden. He had to be beautiful; probably more beautiful than all these snakes combined. I'm sure he was an incredible sight to behold, splendid in his presentation; at the sight of him, I'm willing to bet that Eve was left breathless at his beauty.

But he was still a snake.

Their bites are deadly. They carry poison. They are designed to kill. They shed their skin many times during the course of their lives. They are designed to preserve themselves at all costs. They can eat things larger than themselves. They are cold-blooded. They slither on the ground, looking for their prey. The snake in the garden had all these characteristics, and one more.

He could talk.

From time to time, we will encounter snakes in our lives. We will be drawn in by their beauty; deceived because everything looks appealing on the outside. We will be drawn in by their forked tongues - tongues that speak what we want to hear on one side but utter words of death and destruction on the other. But snakes are meat eaters, and they must eat. They won't be able to exist in any situation very long without biting and injecting their poison.

The way to combat snakes in our lives is through prayer. Ask God to reveal to us the snakes in our lives, both internally and externally. Then ask Him to remove them, and to do whatever it takes to do so. We have not been given a spirit of fear - don't fear anything in Christ.  But be wary, watchful, wise as serpents and gentle as doves.

Beware the beautiful snakes.