Bible Insight – Worship without Justice

Question: What’s worse than not singing songs about justice?
Answer: Singing songs about justice and then not “doing justice” in our broken world.

The people of Judea and Jerusalem had all the trappings of worship. They presented sacrifices to God and observed Holy Days. They offered many demonstrable prayers to God with hands uplifted. We might see a church like this as a model church, a worship experience to be replicated.

But God would have none of that. God’s message through Isaiah is one of the harshest to be found in Scripture. “Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. I cannot bear your evil assemblies. I hate your festivals and feasts. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you” (see Isaiah 1:10-15).

What are the people to do to have the True Worship of God restored? Attend another 3-day workshop on how to make worship more dynamic?

No! “Wash and make yourselves clean. Stop doing wrong, learn to do right. Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow” (see Isaiah 1:16-20).

The same pattern of worthless worship and remedy is found in Micah 6:6-8. “Shall I bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings and thousands of rams? What if I even offer my firstborn to God?”

No! The Lord has shown you what is right and what God requires of you—
“Act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”

Is God pleased because we do “spiritual stuff”—set aside a day to bow our heads and humble ourselves? Or maybe set aside a day for fasting?

No! God tells us what true fasting is: “To loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke and set the oppressed free.” The true fast is to “share your food with the hungry, provide the poor wanderer with shelter, clothe the naked, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed” (read Isaiah 58).

Prophets Are Good for Business…

Applying Biblical Principles of Honesty to Work Situations
“Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died…
Then a new king, who did not know about Joseph, came to power in Egypt.” – from Exodus 1:6, 8

The new king of Egypt didn’t know, didn’t care, and certainly didn’t intend to concern himself with the memory of Joseph—all Joseph did for the salvation of Egypt and all the benefits an appreciative king at that time bestowed on Joseph and his family. Covenants of good things were replaced by bondage.

It’s as if the new royal administration could just sweep away the covenants made by previous administrations—agreements that were of long duration by their very nature, and therefore binding over time.

In my November 2021 Newsletter I spoke about “Dishonest Christian School Teachers” who signed contracts and later broke them to go to more lucrative positions at secular schools. This is employee dishonesty which, while it might be legal, is certainly not ethical.

Now it’s time to put the shoe on the other foot. Employers are also bound by honesty. Minimalist legal compliance won’t cut it ethically. And the word of one authorized to speak for the corporation at one time is binding on the corporation later, even as it has morphed.

Quoting words on the importance of truthfulness (November 2021):

Psalm 15 asks the question “Who shall dwell on God’s holy hill?”
Answer: “[The one who] swears to his own hurt and does not change.”

God honors the person who keeps his word even when the outcome is not as desirable as it would be if he were to break his word.

“Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin.” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6)

I knew a person who worked by annual contracts with an organization that had made long-term promises to him. But later a rep of this organization said, since the contracts were annual then each new contract cancelled out any understandings from former contracts including long-range promises. How convenient! Maybe legal, maybe not. But ethical? Not at all!

I knew a pastor who was dismissed by his congregation, which then ignored its own constitution that specified a three-month termination period. If this church wanted the pastor to make an immediate departure, it still owed that pastor three months of compensation. Another church promised a part-time pastor a full-time one-year position. But later it said, “We never got that in writing.” So?

Written documents promote clarity on specifics, but the absence of a written document doesn’t change the fundamental point that people and organizations are to keep their word, spoken or written—especially religious people and orgs that supposedly realize they “answer to a higher power.” *

The Wall Street Journal reported on December 27, 2021 that a manager employed by a major company was given an early retirement package which, as an incentive, included a death benefit of at least $63,000. I hope he hurried to the pearly gates, because the company’s new policy said (in effect) that if he didn’t die by the end of 2021 the benefit would be no more than $15,000.

Such unilateral changes in employment agreements are probably more frequent than I’d ever expect. They may be legal or not. Arbitration and litigation can decide. Christians are instructed to avoid certain litigation
(1 Corinthians 6:1-8). But to the extent the Bible forbids litigation, it is not with the intent of protecting dishonesty and removing any recourse. Christian organizations shouldn’t hide behind 1 Corinthians 6, but some do (“You’re a Christian, so you must not sue us because we are a Christian ministry!”).

“Let your ‘Yes’ be yes, and your ‘No’ no, or you will be condemned.”
That scripture quotation is literally “right on the money.” It concludes a passage that focuses on the failure of employers to treat their employees justly by paying them the wages they were owed (read James 5:1-12).

These first-century employees may not have had much legal recourse or been able to file a grievance with their union, but they did have a God in Heaven to whom they could cry out. “The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty” (James 5:4). So these employer-thieves had better prepare for Judgment Day or even quicker temporal judgment. They might escape the “lower courts” but won’t escape the Court of Heaven.

Yes means yes,
whether written or verbal,
whether today or ten years ago,
whether your private word or your business word,
whether you are in a position to bully your way
out of promises or not.

Honesty and trust are bulwarks of a stable society. Dishonesty by workers or corporations weakens the fabric of society. A strong society needs citizens and companies that are models of integrity and good to their word.

Even when it hurts (Psalm 15:4).

* There are laws that require a written contract in certain cases (such as purchase of real estate). This doesn’t affect the moral necessity for honesty in both written agreements and non-written understandings.

Back the Badge
“Blessed are those who
maintain justice.” – Psalm 106:3

“COVID” Hits Law Enforcement Hard

I remember walking into an apartment with officers years ago while doing a “ride-along” as a chaplain. It was a “pack-rat” apartment—dirty and littered. Next day I had flea bites on my ankles.

This is one small example of the risky, unhealthy situations that law enforcement officers often face as they do their jobs. Now there is COVID.

According to the latest statistics on the “Officer Down Memorial Page,” COVID accounted for 2/3 of the total Line of Duty Deaths (LODD) in 2021 (325 of 484). Gunfire was a very distant second (61) and vehicle crashes third (22).

The LODD due to COVID was a 28% increase over 2020, when 254 deaths were due to COVID out of 385 LODD. Texas led the way in 2021 with 91 COVID deaths. Border enforcement and corrections are two services especially impacted by COVID deaths. [See www.odmp.org]

I concur with Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva that government should not punish law enforcement personnel who refuse vaccinations:

My objection to the vaccine mandate for my department is not ideological; it’s practical. I need deputies on the streets. Sitting at home on Zoom like our critics is not an option. My unvaccinated deputies and I might not agree about the vaccines, but I have no other option than to stand by them and protest this move to fire today the heroes who risked their lives yesterday. The next time a pandemic hits, and no vaccine is available, I know they would stand with me, working to keep the public safe. [Washington Post, November 12, 2021]

That said, and without disregarding religious convictions, concern about governmental overreach, and other arguments for exemptions, I strongly encourage law enforcement personnel to be fully vaccinated, as I have said in other writing for church members and the public in general.

“AH-mi-cron” Virus? Or “OH-mi-cron” Virus?

Omicron Virus

The World Health Organization names the Covid variants after the letters of the Greek alphabet —
(A) Alpha, (B) Beta, (Γ) Gamma, (Δ) Delta and so on. Now the surprise “Omicron” virus has popped up, eleven letters after Delta. Spokespersons and the public pronounce it either with a short or a long “O”.

Four observations:

First, the letter “Xi” (Ξ) is right before “Omicron” and it was skipped. Wonder why. Would the world ever speak of the “Xi variant” since the President of the People’s Republic of China is Xi Jenping??? I don’t think so!

Second, there are two “O’s” in the Greek alphabet: “O-Omicron” and “Ω-Omega,” the last letter of the Greek alphabet.

Third, how are they pronounced? I hear both words pronounced the same—with a long “ō” or a short “ô” as in “soft.” This would be “AW-micron” and “Aw-MĀ-ga.” But I have heard “Omega” pronounced with a long “O” ever since I took beginning Greek. I’ll stick with that and with a short “O” for Omicron.

Fourth, theologically, the first and last letters are descriptive of the Eternal God (note the great claim, “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty’” – Revelation 1:8).

Notice the dramatic monotheistic declaration (Isaiah 44:6 ESV): “Thus says the LORD [‘Yahweh’ = ‘Jehovah’], the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts [‘Yahweh Sabaoth’]: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.’”

Quite remarkably, then, the first and last letters are also claimed by Jesus (“I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” – Revelation 22:13). He makes the claim to being eternal three ways—how can we miss it? The first and third phrases are also asserted by Jesus in Revelation 21:6 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.”

Go all the way to the beginning—Jesus and God (the Father) are there (John 1:1). Go all the way to the end—you will find Jesus and God (the Father). Either Jesus is eternal with God the Father (affirming his deity) or he is deluded or a blasphemer or the writer is deceptive. I see no other options.

Religious Liberty Vigilance –
The Waning of Religious Affiliation in America
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” – United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights (Article 18)

As I state on the first page of every newsletter, one of my missions is “Defending Religious Freedom for All.” “All” includes the right of a person to confess NO religious faith without recrimination.

The Pew Research Center’s recent thorough examination of religion in America finds that THREE OUT OF TEN U.S. ADULTS ARE WITHOUT ANY RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION.

[Source: Pew Research Center, www.pewforum.org]

That’s almost twice the 16% figure in 2007!