WARNING: What I have written here may offend you. If it does, I hope you’ll stop and think through the logic of it, and give pause to consider whether it might be truth. I’ll trust and honor the decision you make once you’ve thought it through.

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This Makes Sense: When you come to the light hanging over the roadway, if it is green, then go on. But if it is red, then stop.

And, this Makes Sense: Thirty years ago when I was a student at the University of Missouri and a fruity little company named Apple had just released their first MacIntosh I had a class where they taught us to write code. I don’t remember much from that class, but I do remember that they taught “If-Then” statements so that as the computer “thought” when it came to a fork in the road “if” a certain thing were true, then the computer did a certain thing, and “if” a certain thing were false then the computer did something else.

These “If-Then” statements about computers and stoplights make perfectly logical sense to us. We abide by them and don’t argue with them. They are socially acceptable. But now, I’m going to introduce you to an “If-But” statement that most people object to.

Similar, but Socially Unacceptable:  In a book written nearly 3000 years ago by a man believed to have been raised in aristocracy and ultimately executed because his socially unacceptable call to higher living offended people, a leader wrote to people saying that they had forgotten God. They were still acting religious but their religious offerings and behaviors were “detestable” because they weren’t offered from pure hearts. Their religion had become a “transactional business relationship” instead of a “love affair of devotion.” (How does that work in your marriage?) And they were far from God.

Isaiah challenged Israel’s behavior and then wrote this interesting, logical “If-But” statement: “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land (sounds good doesn’t it); but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword (ouch, that’s bad).” (Isaiah 1:19-20)

I’m pretty sure I could gather a random group of people and get them to buy in on the “If-Then” logic of stop lights and computer programming, but when presented with the “If-But” logic of living under God, they’d rebel with much protestation saying things like “How can an educated and sophisticated man like you believe such a fairy tale” or “There is no such thing as absolute truth” or other such goofy, uninformed and intellectually weak arguments. Humans object to being ruled by anyone or anything—even themselves—and the notion of bowing before God the Creator offends their self-righteousness, and their self-grandeur.

The simple truth is you and I can’t be righteous in and of ourselves. Our righteousness can only be bought through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. And grand? Well, yes we are—grand creations living out the grandeur Heaven values when we are living God’s way, doing God’s work, empowered by God’s Holy Spirit. Alternatively, we’re a heap of dung.

Not a very socially acceptable message, was it? Are you offended yet? Don’t be. Come instead and join me in bowing before a loving creator who wants more for us than we do for ourselves. Luke, one of the men who traveled with Jesus recorded this quote from Jesus “What Father, if his son asks for a fish will give him a snake? Of if he asks for an egg will he give him a scorpion? How much more will your Father in Heaven give……to those who ask Him.” (Luke 11:11-13)

God is good. He has good in mind for you. He’s got simple rules, and most of them are logical. This one certainly is.

All the blessing that Heaven can afford (stop and think about how much Heaven can afford) is waiting for you. If………

We’re all going to screw up from time to time and not be able to deliver on commitments we’ve made. It’s inevitable. But our failure doesn’t have to be fatal. Here are some tips on how to screw up with integrity.

#1. Be the first to deliver the news. Don’t hide and hope that the people who are depending on you won’t notice and that you’ll slip by under the radar. Trust me, they’ll notice. So, when you’ve made a commitment on which you can’t deliver, don’t let them make a surprising discovery. You tell them first, face-to-face if possible.

#2. Own it. I received a call yesterday from a corporate executive—the leader of the largest corporation of its type in America. She had failed to deliver. She was calling ostensibly to apologize after word had gotten back to her that I was displeased with her unresponsiveness. However the “if” embodied in her “if I failed” statement coupled with the slight disowning of the problem, all after she’d told me “I will get on this” sort of bent the credibility of the apology and didn’t garner her any trust from me. When you’ve screwed up, just own it. Say “I have made a mistake. I am very sorry. And I am asking for your forgiveness as I do the best I can to make the situation right.”

#3. Overtly apologize. Say “I am genuinely sorry. This is my fault (I like to say “my bad”).” Also ask their forgiveness “Will you please forgive me?” (And wait for their response.)

#4. Do everything possible to fix the problem you have created. In some cases, late delivery accompanied by humble ownership of your tardiness is all it takes. In other cases, you’ve created a big—maybe enormous—problem for the other person. You may not even know the extent. If that’s possible you need to say “I think my failure has caused……but is there anything else that is messed up because I <insert what you didn’t do> that I need to get fixed for you?” Then proceed to resolve every matter that they were depending on you to resolve and the new issue that have cropped up because you failed to deliver.

#5. Ask for their help. Sometimes we’ve messed something up and we can’t fix it unless someone else will help us. So, put your hat in your hand, bow your head, humbly confess your problem, and ask them to help you fix it. You’ll be amazed at how generous and charitable people can be. They’ll usually run to your aid.

#6. Ask if you can move forward together, AFTER you’ve done the above steps. Once everything is fixed, I’d offer a final “apologize again” and say something like “I want to assure you I’m going to do my dead level best to never let you down again. Can we move forward and let me prove to you that I’ll deliver next time?”

#7. Deliver. Many people blubber and jabber and shuck and jive about what they are gonna do. Just shut up and do it. Less talk. More action. Deliver.

I wouldn’t presume to be able to clearly and fully articulate with exact precision what it means to “be a Christian.” But a recent event in our own community has given me pause to reflect……

The former president of the local PTA has been arrested for stealing money from the organization. About $38,000 is missing. The press reports she’s admitted her guilt.

This is a woman we know. Practically everyone does. She’s lived large in attempt to be known—as many insecure people do—attempting to find acceptance. Besides heavy involvement in school she’s also served on the local city council. She and her children have been in our home. Her oldest daughter is the same age as mine. That’s where this story is going.

Another lady who I consider a friend, and who is an overt Christian, is said to have instructed her child to have nothing to do with the children of the alleged thief because “you are known by the company you keep.” Meanwhile, a third friend of mine (who does not profess Christ) has stepped up in great concern over how this woman’s children may be ostracized because of their mother’s crime. You know, teenaged girls can be cruel.

Who is right, my friend the Christian who vows disassociation, or my friend who doesn’t believe, but is overt in being gracious to the children? No question: I’m with the pagan. My Christian sister has missed the point. If ever these children (and the alleged thief herself) needed to see the love of God in action its now. The woman deserves and will likely get whatever punishment comes from her crime, but to ostracize her children because of their mother’s crimes would unfairly and unrighteously compound the damage. If these kids are to survive the upheaval in their family life they need a vivid demonstration of acceptance and graciousness. They need a refuge from the Hell that has enveloped their lives, not an indictment from those of us with theological expertise on Hell. Which brings me to the question: what does it mean to be Christian?

I believe those of us who call ourselves Christian have gradually slid into grave error by defining “Christian” by the language a person chooses, the beverages they drink, the movies they watch, the tattoos they have, what they do or have done with their sexual organs, etc. We’ve missed the whole point. We who have received grace live and behave as if we’d never needed it in the first place. That’s a real problem. It’s living like a Pharisee, who coincidentally were the most frequent targets of Jesus’ wrath.

Language that lifts is important—even scriptural—but sometimes certain words that those who are thought to be righteous wouldn’t use are in fact quite appropriate.

A friend of mine from long ago has politically maneuvered himself into being the leader of the largest denomination in our state. In a sermon carried by press across the state he recently trotted out the archaic Baptist sugar-stick about avoiding alcohol. In his sermon he essentially said “The Bible doesn’t say it’s a sin, but you still shouldn’t drink it.” Huh? He squandered a great opportunity to speak grace into our state and chose instead to beat people up over something that Jesus himself doesn’t condemn. He chose his topic—in my opinion—to ingratiate himself with a bunch of other guys in dark suits who also have their heads up…….er, in the sand.

Parenthetically, I remember a discussion with a Sunday School friend of mine about how Jesus related to people. The question I posed had to do with whether Jesus would sit down at the South Avenue Bar in Springfield and talk with the guys while they (and he?) had a beer. My friend finally balanced the emotional shock in her brain buy saying “Jesus wouldn’t go into the bar, but he’d stand out front on the sidewalk and talk with the people before they went in.” (OK, go ahead and guffaw!!! I know. I’m embarrassed to be associated with such weak thinkers.) By contrast, I find it delightful that some Jesus’ followers are taking the risk of hosting “Theology on Tap” nights at local establishments where the claims of Christ are presented to people who—gasp—are drinking beer.

I’ve been doing a lot of studying in the Old Testament lately, particularly surrounding King David who the Bible says was a man after God’s own heart. But let me tell you, David was a horny fellow, too. The sex and innuendo gets steamy, and that is outside of the Bathsheba episode. In fact, sex in the Old Testament is far from puritanical. It’s embraced as a normal part of healthy living, and is abusable just like drink, or language, or everything else. Our challenge is to embrace all of these passions and interests in a way that honors God, rather than making fools of ourselves and a mockery of him in the process.

The point I am feebly trying to make is that you aren’t a Christian because you have a plastic fish emblem on the back of your car, or because you do or don’t drink beer, or because you always maintain your composure and never utter a word that is verboten among Christians, or don’t have a tattoo on your butt or breast or……, didn’t tongue kiss before you got married. You aren’t even a Christian because you are nice to people and act like Jesus. One can only “be a Christian” by bowing their knee before the higher throne of Jesus, accepting his death as payment for their sin, asking His forgiveness, embracing His resurrection power to live beyond sin, and pledging their lives to follow Him. And then…..we go out and love people, seek to do good, to make a difference in the world, always telling the story of the one who loved us enough to die for us when we were unlovely and unworthy, and who loves them just the same. Then we invite them to follow Him alongside us.

Jesus was a friend of sinners. Those who follow him should be, too.

Shannon, you and your kids are welcome at my house anytime. In fact, I’d like to tell you about a friend of mine……..

OK, my friends who are reading this are belly laughing now that Barry Watts would dare write anything about humility. But, let’s think about this together.

Humility isn’t weakness. Power can be humbly expressed, and is when you recognize that you aren’t strong, mighty, or powerful in and of yourself. The power comes through you, not from you. On the other hand, false humility often projects itself when appropriate praise and honor is deflected, when soft weakness is offered where strength is needed, when you hold back when your world (or company, or family, or church) need you to step-up, speak-up, and stand firm.

A pastor friend and I were visiting recently about a professional we both knew who’d come upon some hard times, gotten into some trouble, lost licensure and certification, and ultimately all the family’s substantial income. The pastor said “I don’t sense that (anonymous) has really taken responsibility and repented. I think (anonymous) continues to place blame on others.”

In my own life, I’ve discovered that you can’t ever become something greater than you are, until you are empty of yourself. Until you can stand before God and say with the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah “Woe is me. I am a sinner.” and sing with the saints “Nothing in my hand I bring, only to Thy cross I cling” then you are still full of yourself, and there’s no room for God to work in your life.

Many of us will eventually get empty; either voluntarily, or by violent force. We’ll come to the end of our rope and when we do, then, our usefulness to God begins to bloom. That’s the way it happened with me. My usefulness to God was limited when I was a clergyman because I was terribly insecure and felt that I needed to protect myself. I wasn’t honest and real, because I feared what people would think of me. When I reached the end of my own rope and embraced emotionally what I knew intellectually—that God loved me because He was good, not because I was impressive—then I grew very comfortably in my own skin, no longer needed to impress, and found myself in an open and teachable frame of mind. That’s when God opened His rich truths to me and I began to grow and become what God wanted me to be all along: a tool in His hand (remember, the tool doesn’t get credit for the masterpiece, the craftsman does).

Humility is required for learning. I’ve discovered that people who need to speak can’t listen and who need to teach can’t learn. It takes humility to be quiet, to learn, to consider ideas to which you may at first want to react negatively. It is humility to stand before someone and say “please teach me what you know.”

Ultimately, you and I can either be full of ourselves, and there’ll never be room for the greater things in our life. Or we can quiet ourselves, open our heart and mind, learn, stretch, grow, develop, and become effective in our living—a person truly worth knowing.

Don’t let your ego get in the way of your progress.