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 Sunday, March 7, 2010 Sermon: "Vices: Past and Present" Scripture: I Corinthians 10:1-13 Reverend Larry M. Gerber Now that the Olympics are over perhaps we should look at another world competition. The WorldSkills Competition. It features practical skills. Worldskill is basically the Blue-Collar Olympics. In Calgary 2009, the United States medaled only in Welding and Auto Repair. So disappointing. We seemed like a lock in Sheet Metal Fabrication, but Chinese Taipei proved to be better. WorldSkills 2011 is in London, and our Pastry Cook team is vowing to bake up a gold. The biannual trade-athalon is actually a serious international showcase of skills on which our societies and civilizations depend. For instance, in 1946, skilled laborers were in huge demand in Spain, but the labor pool was shallow. José Antonio Elola Olaso led a campaign convincing students and their parents, teachers and prospective employers that the path toward future opportunity ran through the trades: woodworking, welding, mechanics, etc. He created a skill competition featuring 4,000 Spanish trade apprentices. That first event has now evolved into the international WorldSkills Competition held every two years. Participating nations send their best and brightest 17- to 22-year-old laborers to compete in a litany of "who-knew-that-was-a-sport?" events. Bricklaying. Cooking. Fashion Technology. Auto-body Repair. Web Design. Plumbing. Computer Networking. Landscaping. The Table Waiting competition includes events in serving food, wine knowledge, identifying alcoholic drinks and folding napkins. "Waiters, when the gun fires, you must race to fold these napkins into a swan, a rose and a fine-dining triangle. Then prepare 20 napkins for 'all-you-can-eat ribs' night. Bonus points are awarded for your creativity in the final fold, an interpretation of the '50s-diner napkin." But anyone who has waited tables can tell you what serious work it is. Same with welding, landscaping and catering. WorldSkills not only showcases the skills of these trades; it seeks to promote skill development within these careers. Inspired by WorldSkills, perhaps we could hold the 2010 ClergySkills competition. Events could include: -Finance Committee Management: Budget Cut and Special Donation Allocation categories; -Angry Parishioner Diplomacy: Phone Calls, E-mail and Office Visits; -Preaching Illustration: Gossip Less, Tithe More, Memorize Scripture; -Situational Public Prayer: Marrying, Burying and Blessing the Potluck. The Clergy Multitasking competition would be a one 10-hour workday: in 10 hours you must disciple one new Christian, meet with the council chair, provide premarital counseling to a couple, attend a lunch prayer meeting, make two hospital visits, clear your inbox of 143 new e-mails and flesh out Sunday's sermon with vulnerable personal stories, exegetical nuggets and deep, reflective insights. All of the foregoing is a prelude to Paul's discussion of an essential skill for Christian living in today's text. He's already done a little work on the exodus journey as a way to encourage us to learn from Israel's past. And his endgame isn't a lot different from those trade competitions: skill building. As we continue through the Lenten Season one must ask: How skilled am I in resisting temptation? How do I rate in self-discipline and self-control? Have I developed the ability to delay gratification? What is my aptitude for saying "no" to myself and "yes" to God's vision for me? Can I use God-given tools to protect my character? Paul wants the Corinthians to develop new skills in resisting temptation, so he gives them a practical theology on the nature of sin as a motivation. Sin is unoriginal We need to learn from the past. The same stuff that snagged Israel can snag us today: idolatry (v. 7), sexual immorality (v. 8), impatience (v. 9), complaining (v. 10). Satan is boringly predictable; he hasn't had any new temptations in years. John summed up his Big Three as "the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches" (1 John 2:16). Call it what you want. Passion, Position, Possession. Sex, Power, Money. Sensuality, Status, Salary. To feel, to have, to be. These are the same temptations that Adam, David and Jesus experienced. They're basically Israel's vices that Paul recounts. Although the specifics may change, it seems like the Big Three is all that the devil has working for him. So let's find inspiration in Paul's reminder: "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone" (v. 13). In other words, countless believers who have gone before us have faced the same thing. And if we don't learn from their past, we're likely to make it our present and our future. In his book: Jesus Wants to Save Christians, Rob Bell and Don Golden summarize the Old Testament's missional mishap: Israel became the new Egypt. Instead of learning the evil of oppression and injustice from their captors, the Israelites ended up repeating it later when they ignored the prophets' cries to care for the poor, the alien, the widow and the orphan. Their idolatrous worship became just as disgusting to God as the polytheistic religion of Egypt was. The captives were set free only to become the unwitting captors of others. It's called repeating the sins of our fathers. Conflict-avoiding parents raise kids who avoid conflict. Financially shrewd families usually develop generations of financial health and stewardship. If Grandpa, Uncle Bill and Mom were all control freaks, don't beat yourself up for being wound up yourself. This sort of stuff is as natural as your hair and eye color. Sin is unoriginal, so we should take Paul's lead and be students of how others before us have gotten caught up in its clutches. Sin is a choice There's a difference between sin and temptation. Jesus was tempted yet was without sin. It's possible. There's a difference between feeling hungry and eating. Between yawning and lying down to sleep. Between being approached by a door-to-door salesperson and saying, "No thanks." The offer of sin and the acceptance of sin are different. We shouldn't ever feel guilt or shame when we're tempted. That just means the devil thinks we're enough of a threat that he feels the need and ability to derail us. Paul says, "but with the testing?" -- meaning that testing and temptation are assumed givens -- "he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it" (v. 13). You can yield not unto temptation! First, God is faithful. This doesn't mean that he created humanity and then sat back laissez-faire-like, as in the deistic picture of the old, white-bearded god in a celestial rocking chair. No, he sees our temptation, meets us in it and remains faithful to battle it with us. Second, God limits temptation so it's never beyond our ability to resist it. He knows what we cannot endure and prevents us from experiencing it. "The devil made me do it" is garbage theology. Sure, he can tempt you. But he can't tempt you so much that you are "made" to sin. It's always a choice. Resisting temptation is like going to the gym. There is a maximum amount of resistance you have previously been able to bench press -- say 200 pounds. That means there's no point in putting 300 pounds on the bar. It would crush you. But there is merit in putting 210 pounds on the bar. It stretches your limit and pushes you to develop new strength. Developing more strength and developing deeper and stronger abilities to resist sin are really similar. Perhaps God allows us to face more at certain times so we can resist more in the future. Third, God promises to provide the ways for us to resist. He has given us several tools to avoid the temptations that come our way: - Instruction from the Scriptures (v. 11) to make us wiser. - Conviction, reminding us what is right and wrong. - Natural consequences to be avoided. - Memory of the pain of our past failures. - Accountability through vulnerability and seeking help. - Memorized Scripture to combat temptation. - Prayer for strength and the prayer of others supporting us. But none of these things is forced on us. Sin is a choice because our ability to resist it is a choice. God has "provided" the way for us to endure temptation, but that way is ours to seize. Sin resistance is a skill we must build. God's grace doesn't just forgive us, it empowers us. God graces us with the ability to resist sin in order to live more satisfying lives. Like the Worldskills competitors, let us dig in a bit ourselves in order to overcome temptation and be empowered by God's grace to go beyond our vices, both past and present. Don't just take Holy Communion, experience the forgiveness and feel the empowerment. Empowerment to stand up against temptation. On the night he was betrayed... Sources: Bell, Rob, and Don Golden. Jesus Wants to Save Christians: A Manifesto for the Church in Exile. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2008. |
