Religious Exemption

You shall eat of it in sorrow all the days of your life Genesis 3:17

Sorrow – “Finding the Champion Within,” “How to Reach Your Full Potential,” “Your Best Life Now,” “The Art of Commanding Respect,” “Me 2.0,” and dozens of other titles shout the message, “You are special.  You are different.  You can rise above the rest.  You can have the life of your dreams.”  Before you laugh at the obvious marketing hype, remember our national ethos.  “The pursuit of happiness” is a fundamental element of our view of Man’s destiny.  An inalienable right!  Most people believe they have an exemption to God’s declaration.  Don’t lean on your religious arrogance.  Perhaps Christians would claim that life for sinners is pointless and fruitless, but they still assert that the redeemed are different.  The wicked might live lives of sorrow, but God spares the pure in heart, right?

I don’t think so.  Maybe your observation of the world is radically different from mine, but in my view, sorrow is a ubiquitous melanoma.  Scratch the skin of nearly every human being and you will find the universal language of pain and suffering.  We are eating from the results of our disobedience all the days of our lives.  There are no exceptions.  Even Yeshua knew sorrow.  It is part of the human form.

It is an enormous mistake to believe the mythology of happiness.  Even without God, happiness is as fickle as infatuation.  But for believers, happiness mythology is not simply a mistake.  It is deadly.  No believer is called to happiness, satisfaction or personal fulfillment.  We are called to holiness, righteousness and the nourishment of others.  Most of the time this means conflict, rejection and separation.  We are not here to find happiness.  We are here to serve the living God.

Here’s the truth:  the world is a terribly broken and sorrowful place.  No amount of human capital, no influx of economic assets, no great vision or political agreement is going to change this.  Certainly we can bring relief to some.  We can rescue some.  We can save some.  But the world is ‘atsav.  Sorrow is not going away – not under our watch.  God does not ask us to escape the sorrow of the world.  He asks us to find Him and our direction in this sorrow.  To be in the world is to reside where men and women hurt.  How can I show them the stripes on my back, the nail prints in my hands, the wounds on my feet if I do not walk the dusty roads with them.

No believer has his best life now.  No follower of the Messiah reaches his full potential here.  No servant of the King becomes a champion of the crowd.  There is no “Me 2.0” version in this life.  I do not command respect.  You and I run the race to exhaustion among those who are maimed, crippled and heart-broken.  We do not ride in chariots or limousines.  We are either covered in the dust of the rabbi or we are not following at all.

Topical Index:  ‘atsav, sorrow, Genesis 3:17

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Kathryn

Skip,

I think you made a valid point with “Religious Exemption” – one I needed to hear this morning. I have often disagreed with the mindset of chasing happiness (as opposed to fervently seeking after God). But in my pain and sorrow this morning, I was dwelling on the lack of life circumstances that will supposedly make me happy. Today’s Word is my home page, and I usually read it when I first open my browser. However, with my heart aching, I did not intend to read it this morning – until I caught a glimpse of the scripture reference. I could easily relate to those words this morning: “sorrow all the days of your life.” I was very much encouraged by the reminder that yes, life is painful, God is God, He is Love, and He is with me. Denial has never encouraged me much, but Truth sets free. Skip, I needed to hear the truth you expressed today. Thank you.

Carol Mattice

We see things not as they are but as we are. Funny how this can come about from one heart to another heart. I read this and I thought that being honest can look like a negative paragraph. I found it melancholy because I believe that you give much thought to what you bring forth. Sometimes being honest as Paul would say..The world is against me …………….and I am against the world. We may find that offensive and may ask..what kind of an attitude is that! But Paul knew who was his Joy. Paul never looked to the world to bring something that Christ could not be to him. The world is on its way out and the new kingdom order is being brought in. We have got to make a choice I guess as to what we run after and happiness in the Christian life is not something that the Good Book encouragess us to do. I think when we can accept this , the sooner we are to admit that Jesus is truly enough. Many of us have NOT come to that place but it is a coveted place for sure. What happiness did Noah have as he preached and taught and spent his life before GOD and then under GOD’S orders………..went into the Ark and left the world behind for GOD to do HIS work of cleansing. So much to say and I think that when we come to the sorrow that Jesus saw and how He dealt with it……well if we are following HIM , we too will turn our backs on the hope of the world ever having anything good for us. My hope is found in HIM and He is my world as I abide, live, remain in HIM> I may not be well read and I may not have said it as well as others but I am still in the race and my face is toward HIM> Thanks to all who are brave enough to submit their comments. I appreciate them all .

Matt Miller

Hi Skip,
I did not think your words were too negative actually, for me as a pastor, quite appropriate. I’ve had so many people sit in my office and tell me that they have tried and tried to pursue happiness with God through the accumulation of stuff… As if God was another thing of “stuff.”. God told us that he desires a ‘broken and contrite heart’ not a backpack of stuff. From my own experience with the death of our son, so many people also say, “I don’t know how to make it through this “pain/sorrow/tragedy/situation without God. But isn’t this the point… It is not us who finds God, but God who finds us?

Amanda Youngblood

I think I see what you’re saying, that life (to some people) is a 5-step program to find ultimate fulfillment and happiness. I think people get frustrated with “following God” when they try these multi-step programs that tell them that if they just say this prayer and give this much and do these particular things that their life will be blessed and they’ll have money and all the things they want will just fall into place. They try all those things, and it still doesn’t come out the way the author claims it should, leaving them to think they must be doing something wrong.

Ultimately, it’s not the pursuit of happiness, it’s the pursuit of God and obedience to Him. And the only way to do that is to follow His word and spend time with Him, which is not something that can be prescribed or broken down into steps. This is infinitely more difficult for us because we tend to like short cuts and quick fixes. Add to this the confusion created by our saturation in a Greek/Roman mindset, and it’s a mess. It seems to me that this Greek/Roman mindset is a little like the oil spill… it coats and saturates and can still be found deep in the soil years later, and it’s spiritually deadly just like the oil is physically deadly.

I’m like a bird soaked by the spill, but having been rescued, I’m in the process of being cleaned (Dove soap works well, I hear). The process is messy, but the end result is glorious! 🙂

Drew

Shalom,

There is no doubt that The Lord wants our joy to be complete! There is no doubt that The Lord blesses us abundantly! There is no doubt that The Lord wants us to enjoy the good fruits of His labor!

True happiness is the result of being in relationship with YHVH in Spirit by the power of Yeshua … being “echad”! This relationship is most powerful and full of blessings as our trust and submission brings joy and contentment … yes indeed we can be joyous … YET …

James 4:8 Draw nigh to Elohim, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Skip is echoing an important truth revealed to us through James … in my opinion!

We simply can not escape the human condition or the consequences of sin. Sin and consequences are the cancerous “chametz” which defiles the good bread! With such rebellion and widespread chaos upon “kol ha’aretz” how can a true believer be care free? How can a true believer not look into the mirror and realize that we are GUILTY and generators of “chametz”? We are all part of the leavening process; like it or not! … It is really really hard for a true believer to be “happy-happy” … rather we readily embrace the moments of serenity and joy that we are given. We can have complete joy … not just completely all the time! We can be thankful but at the same time lament for those that do not share the same blessings and relationship with YHVH!

The end result is that we must be moderate, humble and submissive! If we take upon ourselves the responsibility for and the pursuit of our own happiness, then we are essentially elevating ourselves to G_D … and re-visit the fall in the garden!

Liberty and the pursuit of happiness? … it is ironic because we know that from the Hebrew perspective this means submission to Torah in the pursuit of holiness and purpose … or essentially the emptying of self … as opposed to this notion of personal fulfillment and self gratification! Clearly any folks operating under some delusion that the good ole USA is some how a “chosen nation” … think again; our constitution stands in opposition to the constitution of Yeshua’s Kingdom!

Roy W Ludlow

Sometimes truth is hard to hear. Oh, I do want to be happy all the time, but such is not the case in my life. That is the reallity that I experience. I think you are right on, Drew, that life is iife and as such it is not always as I might wish it were. Right on, Skip. Keep it coming.

Brian

A man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward. This is the one of the things Eliphaz has to say to Job, during their discourse, that was sparked by Jobs suffering and subsequent sorrow.

Good Morning brothers and sisters. Hope this morning you have the King’s Joy amidst the sorrows of this life. Yeshua said: In this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world. He was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. He came to totally identify with our sin, grief and sorrow, so we could by the power of the Holy Spirit identify with His complete victory over these things. Praise God this was accomplished by the Resurrection!

Leanne Payne has this to say on the suffering and sorrow of this life: (my paraphase) We can over identify with the pain and suffering of this world and under identify with the power of the cross. God forbid that we do this. God did not minimize our pain and suffering, but took it upon Himself, The Only ONE who truly could!

I do not minimize my pain or my brothers and sisters pain, but i do take it up and present it to the Great Power and Love of the King! Because He lives, we live also!

Wayne

“We are not here to find happiness.  We are here to serve the living God.” Isn’t that the believers definition of happiness? Being smack dab in the middle of doing what He put me here to do?

carl roberts

Ask Solomon about “having it all”. Of course, poor Solomon did not have the treasure we now possess- (the words and wisdom of the Christ)- “a man’s life consists not in the abundance of things which he possesses” (Luke 12:15).

carl roberts

Aim at Heaven, you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth, you will get neither. “Seek ye first, the kingdom of G-d, and all these things will be added unto you.” “Happiness” is a by-product of seeking righteousness. “Happiness” is dependent upon our “happenstance.” It is not unlike a thermometer- taking the “temperature reading” of our surroundings. (is it hot in here?- lol!).
“Joy” is like the thermostat. “Joy” remains. No matter what- “joy remains!” All of us have “been through” some stuff. Yeah, “been there”, “done that” and bought the t-shirt. But, (love those big buts!), His joy “remains!”. (I’m not the only one here- hello readers!- has He not been faithful to you?) Testify! Let the world know what G-d has done for you!
Have we lost the “joy” of our Salvation? “Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and provide me with a spirit of willing obedience” (Psalm 51.12) was the prayer of David. Did YHWH answer his prayer? (hello?)
Here’s one of my favorites: “Whom having not seen, you love; in whom, though now you see Him not, yet believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” (1 Peter 1:18) “joy unspeakable!” I’d like to say more about this, but, – (drumroll?)- it’s “unspeakable!”- lol!
So, Christians don’t have any fun, you say.. Well.. where do I sign up? I just can’t hardly wait to become a Christian so I can suffer. Oh joy..- (pardon me..- No. No. and No, thank you)
Galatians 5:22,23. (shall we?).. But (love those Bible buts!) -the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! (John 15.11)
Well, I’m starting to see what Yeshua meant when He said to the Pharisees: “you do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of G-d.” (Matthew 22.29)- “That’s what He said!”
I’m gonna step out here and agree with my former pastor.. “I’d be a Christian, if there were no heaven.” “Just to know (yes, epignosko) Yeshua in this life.” He also would say- “if I had a thousand lives, I would give every one of them to Jesus Christ.” That man knew something. -Or Someone.
Am I “in denial” of the pain, sorrow,death and suffering seen in this world today? No. I “remember” the words of the Christ: “in this world- you will have tribulation, “BUT!”- (love those Bible buts!) be of good cheer! (did He just say- be of good cheer?), I have overcome the world.” For you see.. “greater is He that is in you- than he that is in the world.” We are “more than conquerors” (let’s do a study on this “more than conquerors!), through Him that loved us (and loves us still, today!) Dear family- “it is written!” (Romans 8.37)- Does G-d ever lie? Has he ever lied? (hello?)

Michael

“Oh joy..- (pardon me..- No. No. and No, thank you) Galatians 5:22,23. (shall we?).. Galatians 5:22,23”

Hi Carl,

In my experience, the essence of Protestantism could be conveyed in Gal 5:18 – Gal 5:24.

In my experience, the essence of Catholicism could be conveyed in Gal 5:19 – Gal 5:23.

For me Catholicism meant the Holy Spirit (God) under the Law (commandments) and the sacraments (confession and communion).

As a child Catholicism was seen as “action oriented”; Christ was the just Cross on the wall.

Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are [these]; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

Gal 5:20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

Gal 5:21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told [you] in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Brian

Joy and suffering go hand and hand it seems to me throughout Scripture. The fellowship of His sufferings the Apostle Paul said to the Phillipian believers. Yes, there is a suffering that comes from our sin, which causes brokenness and seperation from God, ourselves, one another and to this world. This is what Yeshua came to restore and put back in order and this is what we must identify with and focus on. Yes we grieve and sorrow not from a place of defeat, but from the point that His victory has not been fully realized yet.

There is a joy in suffering that comes from being identified with Yeshua or because we are in relationship with Yeshua: this is good and a reason for joy and rejoicing! Acts 5:41- Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. James 1:2- Count it all joy, my brothers………. There is a potential for great joy when we suffer for the sake of the name of Yeshua.

Sorrow is part of the journey in this life. Because, i, we and the world choose our way and not His.
How much more does it cause Yeshua sorrow when we choose our way instead of His? Check out the book ( Understanding the Difficult Words of Jesus) by David Bivin and check out his translation of Luke 12:49-51. This is a beautiful and haunting picture of Yeshua ache and longing for us to choose His way and not ours.
Shalom brothers and sisters!

Joseph "Don" Barnett

Wow! This word resounded deeply within my spirit Skip. “To know Him and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death.” These are the highest aspirations of the heart that is “covered in the dust” of the feet of Jesus the Christ. I find joy in being joined together with Him. And that is far different that our culture’s definition of “happiness.” Thanks for speaking truth to this generation, just as Jeremiah did to his.
Shalom.

Carlos Berges

Realmente tiene razón, Dr. Moen. Si nuestra vida aquí en la tierra es solo para buscar la felicidad, estamos perdidos. Nuestro destino está marcado por nuestro Creador para que llevemos Su Presencia al mundo perdido. Que ellos vean en nosotros que, a pesar de las circunstancias, somos libres, somos felices, no por lo que ellos tienen, sino por lo que nosotros tenemos en Jesús. Ese es el fin de nuestra existencia. Demostrar que Dios es el Amor que todos están buscando en el sexo, los vicios y las drogas. Gracias por ese escrito tan maravilloso. Comparto su opinión. Mi gozo es saber que soy salvo gracias a la Misericordia de mi Señor. Bendiciones.

Michael

“You shall eat of it in sorrow all the days of your life Genesis 3:17”

Just a few points that are interesting to me:

– Genesis 3:17 is directed at Adam/men and not at Eve/women
– Seems to be saying that women suffer pain at childbirth (home) and men suffer at work (toil)
– To be a disciple of Jesus, man or woman, we must suffer (be willing to sacrifice family) Matt 10:37
– Disciples are not conservatives who seek family happiness; they are revolutionaries under “fire”

Luke 12:49-51 “Jesus and his Passion”

Bessy

I believe our “joy” is intimately bound to our level of gratitude. As long as we remain focused on what we actually DO have, we won´t spend time dwelling on what we lack – and we will spend most of our lives in appreciation and joy.

Reality is, we will always lack something fundamental, since we cannot satisfy our deepest longings of connection with the Lord. Terrible and sad things happen every day, we cannot avoid those either. But can we remain grateful? that is entirely up to each one of us.

Wendy

Thanks Bessy, Your words are so appreciated today.

Judi Baldwin

A powerful teaching Skip and an important reminder for us to expect difficulties, not be caught off guard by them and to draw heavily on God’s teaching, guidance, and love in the midst of them.

But, on the flip side of all the pain and sorrow, I just happened to come across your teaching from June 21st (Event Horizon.)

There’s still a lot of JOY to be had!! Yipee!! 🙂

Mary

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psam 147:10, 11

I just returned from attending the funeral of a 26 year old man…one of the sweetest, kindest young men to ever inhabit the earth! I taught him in SS, I mentored him in the workplace, counseled with him and his beautiful young wife about very personal issues they struggled with during their short time together. In the final analysis, he chose to depend upon God for whatever he needed to live life to the fullest and to trust Him for healing and/or strength to endure whatever the LORD allowed to come his way. This young man delighted himself in the LORD, knowing he did not have physical strength, finances or anything else we so often equate with power. Will’s power rested in the blood of Christ to carry him through every phase/transition in life! I submit, he loved his best life now and it carried him through then and now throughout eternity. According to our cultural definition of “success”, he could have been judged a loser, weak, or unsuccessful. But judging how well he died, could lead us to judge how successfully he lived!
I/We have to guard myself/ourselves against the tendency to rely on my/our own abilities and strengths. Why is it i/we resort to hiding my/our shortcomings, yes weaknesses that God wants to use to show me/others how mighty He is and how much He cares for and loves me/us in spite of how others view me/us. Death is to teach us how precious the gift of life is. Dying daily to false concepts and mistaught ideals being us closer to the One who died for us so we might truly live. Consumerism is meant to turn our eyes away from that to see what this world has to offer. BTW, consumerism is a smokescreen hiding the pit that lies in wait for those who look to it for happiness. The consumer ends up being consumed! In the end, only true life remains for those who trust in the unfailing Jehovah. Let others seek a home below, give me the Way, the Truth and the Life…give me Jesus! Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Psalm 40:4
Thanks for sharing this with us today, Skip.

Michael

“consumerism is a smokescreen hiding the pit that lies in wait for those who look to it for happiness”

Psalm 147:11
Yahweh is interested only in those who fear him,
in those who rely on his love.

Psalm 40;4
Happy the man who puts
his trust in Yahweh,

Hi Mary,

It’s been a long time since Ross Perot taught Bill Clinton and the American population about the value of a budget; about the importance of spending less than you make.

And to tell you the truth, I was very surprised when Dick Cheney took over and told us that deficits didn’t matter; because, in my view, Dick Cheney was a very smart businessman.

Now, all our politicians seem to be singing from the same hymnal; encouraging deficit spending and the consumption of commodities as a form of salvation for the floundering American economy.

Doesn’t make any sense to me; and it certainly doesn’t work very well on the micro-level (family).

And, frankly, although Psalm 147:11 is one of my favorites, I don’t really think the following passage makes sense:

Psalm 147:11
Yahweh is interested only in those who fear him,
in those who rely on his love.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t rely on someone’s love if I fear him; I’m attracted to my friends because I “trust” them, I don’t “fear” them. Right?

For me, fear is a “mask” for suffering; I think most of us fear suffering and pain; not Yahweh’s love. Right?

I fear sin, because I’m afraid of the pain it will bring.

Or I fear something bad is going to happen to me or my family.

For me, fear is like a “red light,” an “alarm,” a “signal” that it is time to turn to Yahweh and “rely on his love.”

In my experience, if I act this way, I feel like “the man who puts his trust in Yahweh.”

I feel happy 🙂

Rodney

Michael, you wrote, “And, frankly, although Psalm 147:11 is one of my favorites, I don’t really think the following passage makes sense:

Psalm 147:11
Yahweh is interested only in those who fear him,
in those who rely on his love.”

I think that what we have here is another one of those Hebrew tautologies that aren’t immediately obvious when we read it in English. You might remember a while back that Skip made the point that Hebrew allows tautologies (a is b) without the copula (the “is”). The Psalmist says, “YHWH is interested only in those who fear Him”. Who are those who fear Him? “Those who rely on His love”. To fear YHWH is to rely on His love.

The Hebrew word is yarey (yod-resh-aleph) and refers to the fear or reverence one has for one in authority e.g. our earthly fathers (for those of us who were blessed to have Godly fathers). I trust(ed) my Father to love me, provide for me, teach me, play with me, enjoy life with me and support me when I needed it, but I also respected him and feared the consequences when I knew I’d done the wrong thing and that he would find out about it. I hope that my kids have the same relationship with me as they’re growing up (God help me to be the father that You and they need me to be).

Yarey is from the same root as yareh – an archer, one who throws an arrow, or to cast forth as an arrow or like rain – moreh – a teacher – and torah – teaching and instruction.

So one who “fears” YHWH is one who reveres him, relies on His love and aims for obedience to his teaching and instructions.

Does that help?

Rodney

Going deeper into the Hebrew reveals even more:

“YHVH is interested only in…” does not appear to be a good translation (I wonder what version this is from).

The word ratsah means to delight, take pleasure in, enjoy, be favourable to, affection, desire. The KJV renders it “YHVH delights in…” which is closer to the Hebrew meaning but I still don’t think it captures the depth of emotion that is being expressed here.

“Those who rely on His love” also seems to be deficient in capturing the idea behind the Hebrew. The word yachal is more related to wait, tarry, hope. The word rendered love is chesed and means kindness, mercy, goodness.

A literal translation of the verse would be “YHVH delights in/favours the reverent the ones waiting kindness/mercy”.

Michael

Hi Rodney,

I understand and agree; thanks for “going deeper” 🙂

The translation is from The Jerusalem Bible, which is my favorite translation in English.

As I’m sure you know, translations of poetry are always imperfect, and there is always something lost in translation.

For me, to fear consequences for bad behavior is not to fear God; in fact when I look back at my life I’m usually amazed by the tolerance God showed me.

More often than not God protected me from the potential consequences of my worst behavior.

Now I tend to see fear as the problem and God as the solution.

Mary

Hi Michael,
When I read this passage, I understand it as speaking to the prideful heart of man that thinks he can do it on his own without the help of God. We often think of our works as a means to winning the approval of God, as if we can devise some grand manner of religious expression that will touch His heart or change His mind to bow to our way, as opposed to our looking more earnestly at Him through His Word and listening for His Voice. This fear in the passage refers to reverence and honor to one who is superior. It is submission to the authority having the power of life and death. It stems from a knowledge of which the Bible says is the beginning of wisdom. God’s children know He loves them and therefore we do not cower in fear in an attempt to hide ourselves, He welcomes us and calls us to come and live close to Him through praise and obedience to His instruction. Yes, any other fear should also drive us straight to the One who loves us and is able to help in our time of need.
Michael, you have brought out a good point for us to consider about our spending habits and Skip masterfully prods our thinking about the American Dream and our individual “God-given” right to the pursuit of happiness. Yes, it IS God given although His idea is much deeper than escaping the politically ruled Anglican church. Rather it is to escape the world system that does not know God and attempts to exalt itself and its many gods above the knowledge of the Holy One. My prayer is for the rich mercy of a loving and just Sovereign to turn our hearts to Him in holy fear and awe. Blessings!

Michael

Hi Mary,

Thank you for your very thoughtful response.

I think it is a very good explanation of what I was questioning.

Blessings to you too!