Serving a Proud God

Lately I have had this strange urge to look into the topic of pride. It all started after I saw a quote from C.S. Lewis that reads, “According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. It was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” But after reading that, I was reminded of a Bible class lesson I had @ LCU about 5 years ago, in which the teacher made the argument that God is a very proud God, however, the pride of man is a far cry from the pride of God. This morning I want to first off look at some of the ways we express pride that the Lord Himself frequently does, but then I want to show how His pride differs from that which we ourselves experience.

I call the first expression of pride the “I Am Expression.” This one phrase “I Am” can be a very potent expression. “I am the President of this or that company.” “I am the captain of this or that team.” “I am the preacher this morning.” All these phrases express a pride in the speaker’s position, and with that comes an unexpressed demand of respect. We should be careful about the way we use these “I Am” expressions. But God Himself uses these exact words simply for His name. EXODUS 3:14 On several other occasions God claims “I Am the Lord your God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” This is a phrase that we hear regularly throughout the Old Testament. In my study, it seems to me that every other verse in the book of Leviticus ends with the phrase “I AM THE LORD.” Jesus even plays on this claim in the book of John. John 8:58 says “"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" And in John 10:30 Jesus makes the claim that He is God. However, back in John 8:50 Jesus says I am not seeking glory for myself.” In that same verse, Jesus does however prove to us that God is a prideful God when He says “but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.”

The second expression of pride I believe is the “That’s My Name Expression.” If we look closely at our lives, we are always trying to make a name for ourselves. We want people to hear or think of our names, and have a certain picture of who we are. Most of us strive to build a good name for ourselves. Actors, Athletes, and Businessmen are very concerned with their names, and very often their names can become very popular/valuable. Consider a plain t-shirt or a simple pair of shoes. Print the name of a famous athlete, Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan for instance, along with their endorsement and you have a product that every one wants, and is worth about 10-20x more than it was before. Autographs boost the value of common, mundane items. Names carry a great deal of pride.

Unfortunately God doesn’t care about your name, He only cares about His. Consider Abram and Jacob. God changed both of these men’s names. GENESIS 17:5, GEN. 32:28 Think about the stories and the histories these men had, but God didn’t care about the names they had built up for themselves. He changed them without any reservations. But consider God’s consideration of His own name. EXODUS 3:15, 20:7, 33:19, LEV. 19:12. God takes His name so seriously that in Lev. 24:16 it reads “anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.” That’s some serious pride in a name if you ask me.

But now I want us to look at what exactly the “Pride of the Lord” looks like. Much like joy, love, and everything else, man’s version of pride is a far cry from that of the Lord. In the case of pride, it tends to get us into trouble more than it gives us the result of greatness which we are looking for. Like C.S. Lewis said, it leads to every other sin and it was through pride that the devil became the devil. Look where pride got Moses, Samson, even Adam and Eve fell to a small seed of pride. Through the “Pride of Man” many people become alienated and oppressed. But the “Pride of the Lord” lifts people up and helps those in need. The difference between the “Pride of Man” and the “Pride of the Lord” is that Man prides himself for himself while the Lord prides Himself for His children.

Consider the Israelites story in the book of Exodus. In Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh claims that he does not know the Lord. But in Exodus 7:5, 14:4, and 14:18 God says that He is doing these things so that the Egyptians would know that He is the Lord. Joshua 4:24 says “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God." And Joshua 1:9 says Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." How much more peace this claim brings knowing that God has so much pride in Himself that all the peoples of earth would know and fear Him.

The reason God cares so little for our names and so much for His is because He places His name on His children, making their names greater than they would be without Him. Remember our example of athletes, products and endorsements. God endorses us. God’s name is so great because of the great pride He has taken in building it up that He can take a worthless product, a sinner like me, and make it worthy of righteousness through His name. God does not want us to misuse or profane His name because He does not want to disgrace us when He places His name on us.

Pride is dangerous. As human beings we are incapable of practicing it like God does, and therefore we twist and tarnish its true beauty. Back in John 8:54 Jesus says “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.” 2 Cor. 10:17-18 says “But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” I argue that it is good to have a little pride, but that pride need only be in God. Consider the Israelite army as they take the land of Canaan. After every won battle the victory cry was “FOR THE LORD!” Consider the men who marched around the walls of Jericho. It was not by their marching that the walls fell and they may have had a sense of pride in their victory, is was not in their marching, but in the fact that God was with them and would do mighty works for them. We should only express pride with a phrase like “I am a child of God,” and also in actions that will help build up His name. Only through our pride in God, through our desire to glorify Him, can we ourselves be glorified by Him.

May The Force Be With You - Episode VI - Christian Jedi Training: Life-style and Service

The final episode of our study. Again, this excerpt is from Star Wars Jesus: A Spiritual Commentary on the Reality of the Force by Caleb Grimes.

"Lifestyle is a discipline. Most of you reading this book, myself very much included, have way more than you need to live, and [we] indulge ourselves with pleasures great and small. Consider every bit of extra in your life, which is most of our life-style,something we are held accountable for using resources rightly or wrongly when we face judgement. This applies even to our entertainment. Slow down in the enjoyment of what you imbibe, avoid excess, live simply, and remember that there is no try, give until it hurts, do not accumulate treasures on earth. What does this mean for each of us? Each person must determine this individually, but it could be very exciting, mysterious even, how the extra can be used for the welfare of others. One of the biggest extras many of us have is information. Giving of this information to help our neighbor is a good way to live, even this sharing takes building friendships and relationships. The Jedi lived very, very simply in an age of plenty."

"Along with this is a commitment to service. This is one external that distinguishes a Jedi from a Sith. Do your religious or political leaders serve themselves? One of the great problems of this world is that authority figures serve themselves. Some governments serve themselves by showing preference for a friend's company in giving out contracts. Others take outright bribes and kill for power. Many religious leaders exalt themselves. Part of a Jedi's life-style is service because this is evidence of selflessness. There is something about self that tends to lead us astray. For this reason, the way we live, the way a Jedi lives, is to be seen as a discipline."

May The Force Be With You - Episode V - Christian Jedi Training: Worship and Meditation

The following is a continuation of Caleb Grimes' Star Wars Jesus "[99] The Spiritual Disciplines of the Force."

"Worship: Suffice it to say that Yoda is right, we are luminous beings. We need worship to recharge our luminosity and to express that light in voice, the position of our bodies, and in the position of our spirits. Think of worship as having the same benefits as exercise has for skin; sweating unclogs the pores and helps the skin to breathe just as worship unclogs the pores of our spirit and helps it to breathe."

"Meditation: We get the idea Luke is meditating as part of his training on Dagobah, and we see Yoda on a kind of meditation cushion in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This is the practice of getting a clear signal, so to speak; it is hearing what God is trying to say to you so that you can do it. Yoda says 'You must clear your mind,' and this means you must empty your mind of all the garbage, which to to my experience is best done by confession and maybe even counseling, then filling it with God's known words to us from the Bible. What happens when Luke has the right frame of mind? Success, as in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. What happens when Anakin does not have the right frame of mind? Insanity and failure, as happens to Anakin in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."

May The Force Be With You - Episode IV - Christian Jedi Training: Prayer and Bible Reading

For the next three "episodes" I will be reproducing entry number 99 of Caleb Grimes' book, Star Wars Jesus, entitled "The Spiritual Disciplines of the Force."

"Prayer is like reaching out with your feelings. Prayer is like listening to the midiclorians. Prayer is what happens when you are calm; at peace. Prayer is like connecting to the living Force, feeling it flow through you. It comes to this: do you want to talk to the Creator or not? This discipline is odd in that it is perfect in the first moments you ever do it yet it takes a lifetime to perfect the art and attitude of prayer."

"Bible reading, analyzing and memorizing are analogous to Jedi training. Here is where you learn the character of God through the words of God. 'I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you' (Psalm 119:11). When shiny things - words, ideas, people, etc. - tempt you away from the light side of the Force, God's words to you in the Bible help you stay centered and focused. How do you know what is true versus what is not? How do you recognize a cult? You start here, with God's revelation of himself to us. This must be similar to how a Jedi learns of the Force in the first place."

--Grimes, Caleb, Star Wars Jesus, "[99] The Spiritual Disciplines of the Force", pg. 248

May The Force Be With You - Episode III - What about the Dark Side: Anakin, Palpatine, Satan, and You

I feel that in the last couple of entries, I have established a strong comparison of the Star Wars idea of the Force to Christianity's idea of the Holy Spirit and how viewing the Holy Spirit much in the same way as we do the Force can actually shed some light on the mystery of the Holy Spirit. As we understand that the Force is a supernatural life-force that works freely in the lives of the characters in the Star Wars mythology, we also understand that our Holy Spirit is much the same, freely working in our lives, guiding and instructing us. At the same time however, we know that there are a select few characters who are actually able to use and bend the Force to do their bidding. These characters are Jedi and Sith. This realization brings us an appearant flaw in my comparison, which some may have already discovered.

This flaw stems mostly from a surface level understanding of the Star Wars mythology and story. On the surface, our realization of the difference between Jedi and Sith is that there are two sides of the Force; the Light Side and the Dark Side. This discovery suggests that the Force itself is actually good but at the same time evil. You can see where this assumption is a really bad deal when comparing the Force to the Holy Spirit. This, however, is really only a surface level assumption about the Force. In the Star Wars story, the Force is never revealed to us except through those who use it, Jedi or Sith, so therefore, as we dig a little deeper we realize that the Force itself is not inherently good or evil, but those who use it do so in a good or evil way. The same rings true for the Holy Spirit.

Allow me to explain it like this: You are Anakin, Satan is Emperor Palpatine, and the Holy Spirit is the Force. In Episode I: The Phantom Menace we are introduced to Anakin, a young boy, full of innocence and hope, void of any understanding of how the Force is working in his life. By the end of the film we find that he is destined to be the most important Jedi in history and he begins his Jedi Training. Episode II: Attack of the Clones is where our story starts to take a turn. It is established that Anakin is doing quite well in his training, but we start to see a dangerous trait growing inside him. Pride starts to creep up in him as he becomes more aware of his importance in the future of the Jedi and his exceptional skill with the Force. Anger also starts to take control as we see in Anakin's slaughter of the Tuskin Raiders after the death of his mother, and a thirst to know more rises as he begins to feel that he should be able to do more. In steps Emperor Palpatine, a Sith Lord hiding in plain sight of the Jedi Council. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith sees the decline of Anakin as Emperor Palpatine slowly begins to twist the young Jedi's views of the Force and promises him the chance to learn so much more about it than a Jedi could teach. Anakin falls for these promises and chooses to use the Force for evil and becomes known as Darth Vader. In Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Darth Vader makes another decision to save his son and once again use the Force for good.

This is totally our story. We start out innocent and unaware of the sin in the world. Then as we become Christians, we find that we are very important in the future of our world, and we gain the use of the Holy Spirit. However, becoming a Christian does not guarantee our eternal goodness. Enter Free Will and Satan. The choice to use the Holy Spirit for good or evil is ours. In his book Star Wars Jesus, Caleb Grimes uses the example of Mother Teresa and Hitler to show this choice. While Mother Teresa used her power to help and serve others, Hitler used his power to kill and destroy without remorse. They both had a great power and influence, the difference lies in the way they used them. Much in the same way that there is a choice to be Jedi or Sith and to use the Force to those respective beliefs, we have the choice of how we will use the Holy Spirit. William Shakespeare put it this way; "Even the Devil can site scripture for his purpose." (Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 3) Good and evil do not lie within the Force itself, but the choices we make in how we use it.

May The Force Be With You - Episode II - Obi-Wan, Philip, A Eunuch, and Luke: Lessons In Following Directions

In my last post, I made the connection of the Force from Star Wars to the Holy Spirit of the Christian faith, in an attempt to better understand the Holy Spirit, by discussing the way they both guide their respective believers down the paths on which they need to be going. In this post I want to build on this idea of their similarity by discussing their ability to instruct those who will listen.

Obi-Wan, Philip, A Eunuch, and Luke: Lessons In Following Directions

I want to start this discussion by directing you to the account of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch which can be found in Acts 8:26-40. Here we follow the travels of Philip as he goes about preaching the good news of Jesus in Samaria. Philip is given his first direction in verse 26. He is told to go to the desert road which leads from Jerusalem to Gaza. Upon following this order from the Lord, Philip meets the Ethiopian Eunuch, who happens to be unsuccessfully trying to study the book of Isaiah. A second order is given by the Spirit here. "Go to that chariot and stay near it." As we read on we see how Philip is able to help the Eunuch to understand the things that he is reading and studying. A third command is followed in this story, though the command itself is not expressed in the account. As we come upon verses 36-38 we see the Eunuch obeying the Spirit's command to be baptized.

We see this same story in the climactic battle of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We find ourselves gripping the edge of our seats as the forces of the Rebellion take on the seemingly impossible task of destroying the Empire's ultimate weapon: the Death Star. Swarms of Y-Wings, X-Wings, Tie Fighters, and Tie Bombers fly through the narrow corridors of the surface of the Death Star. The target of the Rebellion, and their only chance of defeating the Empire, happens to be a thermal exhaust port that is only two meters wide. Our hero, Luke, finds himself within shooting distance, and his computer guided targeting system is locked on the target. Just as Luke is about to pull the trigger, a familiar voice speaks to Luke. "Use the Force, Luke. Let go, Luke. Luke trust me." The voice is Obi-Wan's, but we all know that he has become part of the Force. Luke turns his computer guided targeting system off and does as the Force has instructed. The proton torpedo goes straight down the exhaust port and the Death Star is destroyed.

The idea here is that only by following their directions were the three men able to accomplish their missions. We get the sense that the Death Star would not have blown up had Luke used the computer guided targeting system instead of the force. We also get the sense that Philip would never have helped the Eunuch had he not gone down the road he was told, or gone to the chariot as he was instructed. And the Eunuch could not have been saved from his sins without following the command to be baptized.

The Spirit instructs us every day. Some would call this our conscience. We all have that voice inside our heads that tells us when we should do this thing, or when we should not do that thing. It is imperative that each one of us should follow those instructions so that we can accomplish our ultimate mission in life; to know and be known by God. Caleb Grimes describes it this way in his book Star Wars Jesus, "Like Luke in the trench, however, our abilities will always be limited. We must use the Force to 'practice being sure of what we hope, and certain of what we do not see' (Hebrews 11:1)" (pg. 72). Grimes also uses the words of God in Proverbs 3:5-6 to equate to Obi-Wan's instruction to Luke: "Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge me, and I will make your paths straight." Not only is it important for us to listen for the guidance of the Spirit in our lives, but we must also follow the instructions which the Spirit gives us if we are to accomplish that which is impossible by our own doing.

May The Force Be With You - Episode I - Old Ben (Obi-Wan), R2D2, C3PO, and Jesus: Adventures in the Desert

So I didn't expect to take so long between these blogs. Anyways, here's the first installment of my comparison of Star Wars and the Bible. As the title implies, I want to focus on the Force. This will actually be my main focus, and through it I will make a few comparisons of elements from the movies and the Bible.

Through the reading of Star Wars Jesus by Caleb Grimes, and an study of the Holy Spirit at church, I happened upon an epiphany: The Holy Spirit is like the Force! The Holy Spirit is always a tough topic in church. More often than not, we tend to shy away from talking about it because we have so much trouble understanding it. When we do talk about it, the discussion tends to go in all sorts of directions and so we really never pin down a better understanding of what the Holy Spirit is. The Force however, is easy to understand. If you've seen the movies at all you have at least a basic understanding of the Force. Well if you think about it, The Force and the Holy Spirit are really along the same lines. And, at least for me, the Holy Spirit becomes a little easier to understand. Consider this as we compare the two.

Old Ben (Obi-Wan), R2D2, C3PO, and Jesus: Adventures in the Desert

After being jettisoned in an escape pod from a Rebel ship, R2D2 and C3PO are found wandering through the desert in an attempt to locate a man by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Their mission seems hopeless (as C3PO is more than happy to point out) and once the Jawas appear, our droid friends seem done for. However, the Jawas, somehow, bring the droids to exactly the right person to help them find Obi-Wan. It seems like coincidence, but when you consider that the Force is involved, coincidence looks more like design. Following the droids purchase by Luke Skywalker's uncle, R2D2 shows his loyal determination to his mission, and runs off into the desert of Tatooine. The following morning, Luke sets out to find the lost droid, and gets himself into some trouble with some Tuskin Raiders. Just as it looks like the end for our future Jedi, a man named Old Ben miraculously appears and scares the Tuskins away. This again may seem very coincidental, but let us not forget the role that the Force plays in the Star Wars universe (let alone the major role it plays in the life of a Jedi). It would seem more as if the Force had led Old Ben into the desert, and directly to Luke and R2D2. These events seems oddly familiar to the story of Jesus and his journey through the desert.

Found in Matthew 4, Jesus is led into the desert by the Spirit following his baptism, much like Obi-Wan. On his journey through the desert, Jesus encounters Satan, an encounter that would mean doom for any other human (mirroring the arrival of the Jawas on the droids' desert journey and the Tuskins attack on Luke). Through the guidance of the Spirit, Jesus overcame the temptations of Satan and sent him away defeated (and I would argue that Satan left a little fearful, much like the Tuskins ran away after the arrival of Obi-Wan).

Much like the Force guides characters in the Star Wars universe, the Holy Spirit is a guide to our world. It guided Jesus through the desert, Paul on his missions to preach to the Gentiles, and leads us today in our walk with the Lord. In his book, Caleb Grimes states "Coincidences, as we perceive them, are often the way God brings about the possible"(26). In the next entry, Grimes says "Being mindful of a succesion of events, or things perceived as coincidence, is a good way to listen to God and become wiser; to learn to take those paths that He is directing you to take"(28). It's all about letting the Spirit work through you, and guide you along your path to an eternity in heaven.

My next entry will go a little deeper into this idea of the Holy Spirit being like the Force by looking at the way they instruct and perform. Until then, May the Force be with you.