Miscellany

SEPTIC TANK THEOLOGY. In our current Sunday morning sermon series on popular cliches, sayings, and expressions in everyday conversation evaluated in the light of scripture, we recently considered the oft-used phrase, "misery loves company".

That line can be taken 2 different ways. It may mean that sometimes hurting people want others around them to listen to them and comfort them. Or it might be suggesting that bitter, miserable folks often want to spread their toxic attitudes to others so they won't be all alone.

How does this saying look from the perspective of God's Word? Perhaps we should examine it from some varying biblical angles.

It is safe to say that cranky, negative, unhappy individuals do sometimes seek out others to align with them in their misery. A swamp, a cesspool of emotional and relational poison is then formed. Through gossip and complaining, resentful and frustrated persons build a coalition of folks who then stew in their juices and spew out their venom. The ancient wisdom teacher warns us frequently not to be drawn into these webs that can turn us into angry, whiny people. Check out Proverbs 13:20, 16:27-29, 21:19, 22:10, 24-25, 26:20-22, and 29:22. Read Hebrews 12:15, too. Two Old Testament characters, Korah in Numbers 16 and Absalom in 2 Samuel 15, stand out as spiteful, critical persons who tried to get others to link up with them in their meanness.

We do have a biblical mandate to go to and try to help hurting people, though. Texts like Romans 12:8, 15-16, and James 1:27, and 2 Timothy 1:16-18 all stress that. So does Galatians 6:1. But we better make sure we're strong in the faith when we attempt to minister to those who are bogged down in sin or grief or anger or guilt. We need to be constantly getting spiritually re-charged by prayer, time in the Word, and fellowship with positive, emotionally healthy individuals or we'll be vulnerable to getting sucked into the pain of those we're attempting to rescue.

I suppose that Hell will be the ultimate and eternal misery. Sinners who die without Christ have that as their unending destiny. My impression, though, is that even with that horrible place being heavily populated, there probably won't be any companionship there. That's the sense I get from reading Luke 16:19-31. Hell will be a destination of utter loneliness.

It needs to be said that all of us are miserable spiritually until changed by Jesus. Jeremiah 17:9 and 31:33 and Romans 3:23 and Mark 2:16-17 and Matthew 11:28-29 and John 10:10 make that point powerfully. How blessed we are that Christ came to us and beside us in our weakness and hopelessness and began to transform us! In the 4 Gospels, Jesus spent a lot of time in the company of miserable people and when they were willing to be changed(John 5:6) He lifted them.

NEW BOOK. Kerry and Chris Shook have written Love At Last Sight(Waterbrook Press, 2010). It is a helpful, practical, 30-day guide to growing and deepening relationships, whether marital or with friends. It's simple and straightforward but very insightful. The discussion on pages 151-152 of how certain types of aquatic life illustrate how different people deal with their anger is worth the price of the book. Puffer fish, hermit crabs, angelfish, electric eels, sharks, and piranha all picture the wrong approaches to expressing angry feelings. There are lots of constructive tools here for building stronger ties with those we love.

YOGA. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler stirred up a hornet's nest with his recent blog post(reprinted in our worship guide the other week) criticizing the practice of yoga by Christians. He's gotten a lot of response, much of it negative. Maybe what he wrote will drive folks to the Word to see if what he said is right(Acts 17:11) or just personal opinion.