Don’t Feed (Your Ego) on the Weak: Paul’s Paradoxical Wisdom in Galatians 6:2-5

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.
Galatians 6:2–5 ESV

I preached on Galatians 6:1-5 many years ago. At the time, I gave most of my attention to verse 1 (“Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.”) I argued that the first verse implied that the “burdens” that Paul had in mind were the consequences of being sinned against or dealing with sin in the Church in terms of the work that it required, the risks that one had to face (temptation), or the stigma of shame in the community.

Just in Case that Resolution to Read the Bible in a Year doesn’t stick…

Far be it from me to disparage a New Years resolution, especially one so ennobling as the resolve to increase one’s own Bible literacy. I know that, by offering a way to salvage a failure, it is theoretically possible I might make the failure more likely in some cases. But I think it is far more likely that there are many who have quit sometime in March, or in Numbers, whichever came first.

I write this post because I think that people who read the whole Bible every four years are better off than people who read less than half the Pentateuch in the first quarter of every year.

Training Or a Disguised Hero Battle: Two Options for Perspective

In my last post, I think I vacillated between two perspectives on one’s life. That isn’t a problem because neither perspective completely explains our experience. But both are roughly accurate and helpful.

So let me more clear about them:

Why Not Play Your Life on Legendary?

Video games have gotten far more “realistic” since the days of pixelated two-dimensional plumbers dealing with monkeys. I use quotation marks because they are often unrealistic by portraying a world of science fiction weaponry or magic. Also, the games I know allow players to run without getting tired and usually heal their wounds instantly by contact with a health pack that promptly vanishes after use. But the three-dimensional graphics are amazing.

Can You Guard Your Heart?

Recently, I asked how one becomes a different person and answered that one becomes different by acting differently, as opposed to wishing to be different. Of course, people tend to assume one would only act differently if one wished to do so. But that is not necessarily true. People sometimes act in ways that will lead them to become someone that they do NOT want to become. A person who overindulges in alcoholic beverages often does not want to become an alcoholic. But such repeated overindulgence leads there no matter what he desires.

Another instance of behavior leading a person to becoming different apart from his desire to change is child-rearing. Parents have goals for their children’s character and require various behaviors of them in the hope that it will bring about that change. This often starts long before the child has any idea that adulthood lies in his future or that he is developing into a character that will be partly determined in the present.

How One Becomes a Different Person

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. Therefore an overseer must be…
Paul’s First Letter to Timothy 3:1-2a (ESV)

Paul goes on to list qualities an overseer must possess. The list is obviously meant to eliminate many Christians from being considered for the office. But he doesn’t begin by saying that people should not aspire to the office. Rather, he encourages them in the aspiration, inviting them to develop the required qualities.

People can aspire to change. Generally speaking, a Christian can (and should!) aim at becoming someone with a different character than he currently possesses.

Psalms 62 Says… a sermon

I recently noticed that Psalm 62 seemed related to the content of my book on Proverbs. Happily, I was invited to preach so I made it my sermon text!

https://youtu.be/_ymB_DvoG-4?t=803

Paul’s Paradoxical Wisdom of the Christian Life

I’m not sure if there are “Dune nerds” any more but that has been a thing in the past.

THE FEAR LITANY

A Dune nerd wasn’t merely someone who read or even appreciated Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel, Dune. It was someone who was able to recite the “Litany against Fear” and enjoyed doing so:

“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

Anger Is Not Your Real Self

It’s not a sin to be angry in response to some things. It might be a sin NOT to be angry.

And because people know that, anger is a powerful trap for the unwary.

Book Recommendation: “The Way to Will-Power” by Henry Hazlitt

There are many good books you could read about how to get better at life. Jordan Peterson’s works are often recommended. James Clears’ Atomic Habits is helpful. Of course, I’m partial to my own book and highly recommend it from (mostly) pure motives.

But there is another work I recently rediscovered that deserves to be better known and (more importantly) more widely read. Henry Hazlitt is known as an advocate of free-market policies (or maybe non-policies would be a more accurate term). But, thanks to the Mises Institute some of his lesser known works are also available, including his The Way to Will-Power.