My thoughts on life insurance...

The following is an excerpt from one of my projects for Biblical Interpretation and Application. For this class, we had to do a Scripture twisting journal. I know that I have had previous conversations in the past with fellow Christians who wonder about taking life insurance. This is my response to that question.

Scripture Twisting: Matt. 6:19-20

            My friend and I recently got into a conversation about life insurance. I guess that’s a sign of growing up and having to deal with real life issues. He was debating whether he should get one or not. When I asked him why he was hesitant about it, his answer took me by surprise. He said, “isn’t it wrong to get a life insurance? I mean, doesn’t the Bible say that we shouldn’t store up our treasures here on earth and that we should store up our treasures in heaven instead?” Since the Bible does say that we are to store up our treasures in heaven rather than on earth, does that apply to life insurances?

            France comments that “the focus of this saying is on priorities: heaven rather than earth. It is going beyond the intention of the saying to use it as a basis for ruling out all material possessions and all provisions for the (earthly) future on the part of the disciples.”[1] He reminds us of how “the itinerant and dependent lifestyle of Jesus and his disciples depended on the support of those who had not divested themselves of all their possessions.”[2] This verse is trying to highlight the need for us, as followers of Christ, to have an eternal perspective. It is to remind ourselves that we need to live a life that brings honour and glory to God. However, this does not mean that we should not be mindful of the fact that we do have an earthly existence rooted in material things. We need to eat, drink, have a job so that we can take care of ourselves and our family. Jesus is not trying to advocate some Gnostic idea of the flesh and how we should not take care of it. Jesus is, however, advising us that everything we do in this life is meaningless if we do not prepare for the life that is to come. We need to have a heavenly focus while we are on earth.

            My friend misunderstood the crux of the matter. This verse is not averse to taking care of our fleshly needs and desires. Getting life insurance isn’t about storing treasures here on earth instead of in heaven. Getting life insurance is a wise investment of the financial resources which God has given unto us. However, if our mind and heart puts its trust on our life insurance instead of God to provide for us, then we are in danger. It is a matter of priorities rather than a blank statement against having material possessions. According to Carson, he committed a fallacy arising from omission of distanciation in the interpretative process.[3] In some way, he is interpreting this passage just like the fisherman in F.F. Bruce’s story. Thinking that acquiring or being rich in material possessions is bad, he then imposes that theology on this particular verse. A proper understanding of this verse should lead him to first and foremost, question his motives behind getting a life insurance. Is he getting it so that he does not become a burden to those he will leave behind? Is he getting it so he can ease the burden on his family since his death will result in a loss of income for the family at large? Or is he getting it because he does not trust that God will provide and so he better start taking care of himself because God may or may not help him out in the end? Examining his priorities and evaluating his response would be a better way for him to tackle this question.

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[1] France, The Gospel of Matthew, 259.

[2] France, The Gospel of Matthew, 259.

[3] Carson, Exegetical Fallacies, 128.

The question of enthrallment

I was talking to a friend yesterday about some of the problems we face when we communicate with our parents. A lot of the people I know (especially the Asians, or immigrants in general) have trouble talking to our parents. Why? I think it's the generational gap in thinking that serves as a barrier. Our parents usually ask questions like "What kind of job can you get with your degree?" or "How much money are you going to make with your job?" Our response is usually something along the lines of "Life isn't just about money or getting ahead" or "I don't care what job I get as long as I'm happy." And the tension between the two generations rise up. While our parent's generation had to deal with "real" problems like poverty and famine, our generation deal with existential problems like "Who am I?" and "What is my purpose?"

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs give us a glimpse into how this works itself out. For people who have to deal with questions of basic needs like "where are we going to get food for tomorrow?," they do not have the time to bother themselves in asking "do I find fulfillment in what I am doing right now?"

And so, we sit through class lectures at university wondering how knowing chemical equations, logical fallacies, and Darwin's evolutionary theory can give us a sense of accomplishment. What is this all about? Is it merely a series of events that culminate with me, walking down the aisle, and getting a piece of expensive paper with letters beside my name? Is this about getting a degree so that I can look/sound better than other people (when really there is no discernible difference between me and others, other than my degree that tells me I know things except I forgot everything after that first mid-term)?

What is our purpose? As Christians, the answer to that question is simple: our purpose is to obey God. After all, we are his servants. His very slaves. But, if we are honest, we have no idea what being a servant/slave means. No friggin' clue at all.

I was watching a show the other day about a man who owns gladiators and slaves. In his desire to exalt himself, he plots and schemes his way to curry the favour of a top Roman official. To entertain him, he gives the Roman official his most prized gladiator to deal with as he wishes. The Roman official, in his depravity, orders the gladiator to commit a morally contemptible act with another slave. The dilemma: the slave is his best friend's wife. But, slaves as they are, they have no choice in the matter but to follow orders. Even when they did not want to. Even when it was something against everything they stand for. They had no choice: they were slaves. They were nothing but property of their master who will deal with them in any manner he so chooses. Their lives are at their master's whim. Such is the life of a slave.

And yet, here comes God, in His infinite goodness, who sees our situation and buys us into a life of goodness. Sin is a cruel slave-owner and the price for getting out is dear and costly. It might even cost someone his own life. Yet, knowing the price for a wretch, God sends His own Son to redeem us, to buy us back from a life of depravity and death. His death in exchange for mine.

Let's pretend this scenario happens: someone who was not worth a dime being bought at a price of someone's own life. If that happened, I feel like I would be so extremely indebted to that person that I would do anything and everything for him. Even if it wasn't demanded of me, the freedom I now enjoy would cause me to celebrate and honour the man who has purchased me. If the one who has bought me would release me from his own power, yet would I not leave his side.

And yet this scenario is not some hypothetical example! This is what happened when Jesus Christ came to die on the cross and was raised from the dead three days later. His crucifixion and resurrection were the very means of our own redemption. Our freedom was gained through the sacrificial Lamb.

Something I'm guilty of, and I fear most of us as well, is how we do not understand the suffering of Christ. The whips, as horrible as they were, could not compare to the anguish of the soul that must have overcome Jesus when the very people he fed and who praised him just days before, were also the same people whose faces were turned against him, pleading and crying out for his death. How lonely and rejected he must have felt when the disciples who lived with him who professed their love for him were the ones who denied knowing he even existed. The physical, emotional and spiritual brutality that was inflicted upon him is incomprehensible. This was not something drawn out in weeks, months, or years. This came so suddenly and so strongly. Were we in that same position, would we not, just like Jesus, cry out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

All of this Jesus endured for our sake. Should this not well up within us such feelings of humility, contrition and love for Him? A worm such as I, deserving of nothing, was given everything! I, who owned nothing, am now made co-heirs with the Son of God. I, who was nothing, am adopted into the family of God. The pauper is now made prince! What sheer delight should fill our soul at such a thought! If this God ever tried to get rid of me, if He said to me, Leave my presence!, I have no choice but to let Him know that I shall do no such thing! I have seen what the world offers, and it pales in comparison to what He has shown me. I cannot and will not leave Him even if He should try to rid Himself of me! Such is my love for Him.

Yet, I fear that this is not the case. "Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it/Prone to leave the God I love" is more the refrain of my life. And I have often wondered why? Why is it that despite of everything God has done for me, I so easily wander away from Him?

The answer was simple: God did not enthrall me. When I go to a store and I see the latest gadget, my eyes are fixed, my heart beats faster, and I am enthralled! I want that! I covet that! When my eyes perceive a thing of beauty, my knees go weak, my tongue is stilled, and I am enthralled! I yearn for that! I long for that! The things of this world so easily seduces me with its empty pleasures and empty promises. The problem with idols is that sooner or later, you realize that it wasn't worth it but you've lost everything of worth in the process.

As I gaze upon the wondrous cross, am I left speechless at the sheer agony and pain my Saviour must have endured for me? Do my eyes fill with tears of joy because for once in my life, someone thought I was worth something and showed it to me through the giving of his own life for mine? Does my heart leap with joy at the thought of a lone figure, hanging on a cross, knowing that I put him there and yet he musters up enough strength to stay the hand of his hurting Father and say "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

And I feel the question linger in the air: this God who has given His all, does He enthrall you? Are you enthralled by the beauty of His majesty? Are you enthralled by the humility of his divinity? Are you enthralled by His love that woos you to Himself?

My heart and mind says Yes, Yes, a thousand times Yes. And yet, my actions say No, No, a million times No.

Oh God, may You be my pleasure, my happiness, my delight. May I be enthralled by You in my very core. May my actions reflect how much You have enthralled me. That even if I have "better things" to do, I will set them aside because I cannot do anything but praise You! May my heart be full of You! May You be my Consuming Desire that urges me to recklessly abandon all I have to please You.

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

and scene...

Reflections

I have been doing a lot of papers for seminary and sometimes, actually most of the time, I don't have the time to properly reflect on the things that I have written. More often than not, I am more worried about my marks than learning every single thing I can out of the readings and research I am doing. I'm trying to change that this year. It has been a difficult journey of switching priorities but I know that in the long run, this is what I'm supposed to do and the attitude I need to take. My marks will be useless in ten years, but the lessons I learn would hopefully stand the test of time.

One of the things that I have really thought about and in the process of grappling with is the following Hebrew word (hesed) חֶסֶד. It is roughly translated as steadfast love, loyalty, kindness, love, and goodness. Yet these translations pale in comparison to describe the extent and the fullness hidden and expressed by this word. For this, Michael Knowles' unpublished book Tell Me Your Name is a great resource. Reading and meditating on what this means for me, it brought me to a place of deep awe and love for the God Who has this type of love for me. This is the love that pursues, the love that fights for me, the love that follows me all the days of my life. What a beautiful word! This is something I wrote on hesed:

One of the things that stood out to me as I read and reflected on this chapter is the notion of God’s love as the love that pursues us till no end. His love knows no bounds. The example of Psalms 23 stands out to me. Because of the popularity and familiarity of this psalm to me, I have viewed this passage in a very monolithic way. God will be there to comfort me when things are bad. While that interpretation is still true, I think it misses out on some key salient points within the passage that can only be understood within the hesed paradigm.

In v. 1 and 3, we read “He leads me in right paths on account of, for the sake of his name”. Professor Knowles in his book points out that “in other words, God’s primary concern is for his own reputation, a point that is easy to overlook given the psalm’s recurrent images consolation, rescue, and generous provision, all of which cause readers to consider their own situations of need. God’s purpose in showing mercy, in caring for his people like a shepherd for sheep, is to demonstrate his own true nature, and to keep them from misunderstanding what kind of God has taken charge of them. God’s concern for his own name is a frequent Old Testament motif recalling for Christian readers the initial petition of the Lord’s prayer, “May your name be sanctified.”

Another thing that I've been thinking about lately is the beautiful, blessed Trinity. James Torrance Worship, Community, and the Triune God of Grace is an amazing book that talks about regaining the centrality of the Trinity in our understanding of worship. The following is taken from a book review I wrote on this book:

Christian worship, as it is defined and proclaimed in this book, is not only viable but is a much-needed application point in the life of many Christians. Too often, worship and community are seen within a very individualistic paradigm. An experiential event model of salvation that emphasizes the personal nature of salvation can cause a false doctrine of entitlement and works-based theology among its followers. In many of the Evangelical Protestant churches that I have attended, worship is often viewed as something that an individual does to please God or as an act that must be performed because it is commanded by God. It puts the onus on the individual to create the worship towards God. Yet, if Torrance is correct in stating that worship is based on our awareness of who God is and what He has done, then the primary character in the drama of worship is God. We, in response to what God has done, reciprocate by giving worship. There is nothing that I can personally do to create or manufacture worship. Likewise, my worship to God is not caused by my own will. Once we can move out of the individualistic paradigm of worship, we can finally see worship as an act that happens in true community with God. As much as God is the object of our worship, He is also the subject of our worship.The perichoretic unity found in the Trinity provides us with a model of what true worship and community should look like: united, humble and loving.

I'm really thankful that I have this time and opportunity to study the Word of God and think about theological things. I know that when I leave seminary the time I would have to devote on such things would be infinitely lesser than the time I spend on them now. I really want to take advantage of this time that God has given me. I pray that instead of focussing on just getting better marks, I would focus instead on the important things like encountering and being encountered by God!

and scene...

Poem

Here's a poem I wrote on the bus the other day.

Eyes opening,
Taking in the sights all around me
Staring at a ceiling, a blank, white ceiling

Ears opening,
Listening to the sounds of the street
The humming of cars, a familiar beat
Faintly heard, almost imagined

Mind thinking,
Wondering why I ever saw this world alive,
Hoping that the miseries of life would come to a halt,
Though some may say the answer comes at too high a cost

Slowly I get up
Go through the motions of life
Walking out to a world that I daresay I loathe.

Good morning.

Thoughts

This summer, I got an internship with Micah Challenge Canada, a Christian organization that aims to equip and mobilize churches to be advocates for social justice issues. I'm about halfway done, and I have definitely learned a lot. I've had the unique experience of working with other like-hearted organizations like Make Poverty History and it's always energizing when you're surrounded by like-minded and like-hearted individuals. It doesn't necessarily mean that you will agree on the same methodology, but there is a similar purpose that unites us all.

I've also had the opportunity to take a summer course called "Theology of the Holy Spirit." This course has revolutionized my thinking about Christianity and my life in general. It has opened my eyes to things I normally wouldn't have a problem with and now am faced with trying to answer those questions that a transformative doctrine forces you to do.

I still need to get my readings done. There are a couple of books that I would like to read. One of them is John Locke's "Two treatises on government" and the other is Charles Taylor's "Multiculturalism and the Politics of Recognition." Hopefully, I'd be able to read at least one of them this summer! I would love to read more for sure!

I don't know what my future looks like. I'm quite scared to face it, to be honest. But, I have to rely on Someone Who is wiser than I am, and I trust that He will carry me through.

and scene...

On the Holy Spirit

Recently, I've been thinking much about the Holy Spirit. A big part of that is because I'm taking a summer course called "Theology of the Holy Spirit." Doing my readings, and the research and the writing I have to do, has caused me to reflect much on the Third Person of the Trinity. I really don't think that I had a very Trinitarian view of God prior to taking this course. In many ways, I haven't really thought of the Holy Spirit. He was more of an aside. Yes, I know that He is a part of the Trinity. Yes, I know that He is very much involved in the sanctification process that every Christian goes through. But in terms of my thinking about who God is, I really think that the term God was mainly limited to thoughts of God the Father. After that, then God the Son. And as some sidekick comes the Holy Spirit. I was struck by this realization as I reflected on my thinking about God and how I definitely did not have a very Trinitarian view of God.

As I reflect on the Holy Spirit, I am more and more amazed by Him. The Spirit is the animating principle of life. He is a veritable part of the Tri-union God. Pretty amazing! He is the giver of life, not only in a spiritual sense, but in a very tangible, physical way. The very thought makes my mind swirl! Oh how I am amazed by You!!!

On a random piece of writing I found while cleaning my room

While I was cleaning my room, I came upon this piece of paper and was wondering for the life of me what essay was I in the process of writing and for what course? Here's a writing that I apparently have written about the role of women in religion. I have no idea when I wrote it but it was probably for my Sociology of Religion class in university.

Women have played an integral part in religion. Although the official religions have often downplayed or gave a more subservient role to women, they still are the major consumers of religion. Of course, because of the distinction between official and non-official religion, we can also see the distinction between the roles that women serve under these two different social spheres. Women in official religion, for the most part, are not fully recognized in the role they play while women in non-official religion are more visible in terms of the power and role that they hold.

Gender roles play an important part in sociology because it explains why people act the way they act. To a large degree, gender roles dominate our interaction between each other. Generations of cultural bias against women have stood the test of time leading us in a an era of female submission to men. This can be seen in how the official religions delegate power within the church. Oftentimes, the position of the deacon, the elder and the pastor in a denomination belong to the males. Females are subjugated to a lesser role. Women are the ones who, by and large, regulate the affairs of the church. They often do the household chores such as cooking, cleaning, and arranging the flowers in the pulpit. They may be involved in organizing meetings between the ladies of the church and formulating a schedule of who should bring snacks during meetings. Seldom is the woman in a position of power. Although there are a greater number of females today who are preaching, their numbers still do not compare with the male majority. Thus, women in official religions, although they possess the informal power within the church, do not, for the most part, occupy positions of formal power within the church.

The fact that women are often in low positions of power have led women to seek "greener pastures." They often find this "greener pasture" in non-official religions. To better understand this argument, it is beneficial to first state the difference between official and non-official religions. Also, the difference between organized and non-organized religions must be stated to further comprehend the argument.

I don't know where the rest of this paper is. I hope I ended up writing this paper. :P

Thoughts? Comments?