This negative appraisal of our society is a deadening assessment of the members of that society, of each of us. But such an evaluation should be no surprise, for it is what the Scriptures call sin. Yet we too often associate sin with certain specific and rather sensational misdeeds like murder, adultery and theft. But 'sin' has a much wider connotation. Sin is, at its heart, just another word for self-centeredness. God clarifies what sin is by telling us what He expects from us. When we define God’s law by the two great commandments we see how this is the case. The first commandment is that we love God with all our being and secondly that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Sin, then, is the reversal of this order. It is to put ourselves first, virtually proclaiming our own autonomy, our neighbor next when it suits our convenience, and God somewhere in the background. Self-centeredness is part and parcel of who we are. Since Adam it’s how we’re wired. This is evident from the rich variety of words in our language which are compounded with 'self'. There are more than fifty which have a pejorative meaning- words like self-applause, self-absorption, self-indulgence, self-gratification, self-glorification, self-pity, self-will. Moreover, our self-centeredness is a terrible tyranny. Malcolm Muggeridge often wrote of 'the dark little dungeon of my own ego'. And what a dark dungeon it is! To be engrossed in our own selfish concerns and ambitions, without regard either for the glory of God or for the good of others, is to be confined in the most cramped and unhealthy of prisons. (John Stott, The Contemporary Christian, p.48-50) This was well illustrated a few weeks back, when the icon of self-promotion, Donald Trump, when asked if he’ll be lonely when he moves into his new luxury condo in New York City all alone since he’s dumped Marla Maples, responded flippantly, "I always have myself." The cult of self is the lie from the Garden that we can be like God, that we have the right and duty to promote our own good, that we are the center of the universe and all glory, honor and praise belongs to "me." Self-centeredness forms the crux of our passage this morning. In a series of four stanzas we see how self is inflated at the expense of others. 11. "`Do not steal. "`Do not lie. "`Do not deceive one another. 12. "`Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 13. "`Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. "`Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight. 14. "`Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD. 15. "`Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. 16. "`Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "`Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD. 17. "`Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt. 18. "`Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. Let’s look at the 4 problems of a self-centered life. THE PROBLEM OF SELF-CENTERED SPEECH (Verses 11-12) This aspect of self-centeredness may be most easily identifiable, yet it is a trap into which we often fall. When our words become fluid, flowing into whatever context we desire, we may mold our communication like a wax nose, shaping it as we see fit. “People lie at the drop of a hat. Lying is part of their lives,” says James Patterson. In his book, entitled The Day America Told the Truth, he found that over 90% of Americans admit to lying routinely, and 36% of these say they tell big lies that hurt other people. The lie, far from an invention of our own era, continues to be used freely by people irrespective of race, gender, political affiliation or religious confession. A simple lie forms the fabric of so much of our lives that we often scarcely notice its presence. It rolls off our tongues as easy as: “How are you?” “Fine,” when in fact we feel as though we’ve just crawled out of a sewer. None of us likes to think of ourselves as a liar. We seem to associate such a sin with the pathological liar, the husker, the con artist. But admitting that we are people of the lie is a great step in acknowledging what is so true about us. Don Chandler, minister of New Hope Baptist Church in Lothian, Maryland tells about Sarah, an enthusiastic five-year-old, who came up to him after a morning worship service and informed him that she wanted to be baptized. "I know what it means, too," she said. "It means that you have to love Jesus with all your heart and you have to be good at least until you're 85." "Well, Sarah", Chandler said. "I'll speak to your parents about this." Somewhat annoyed at his response, Sarah continued, "But I know what it means. It means you have to love Jesus with all your heart and you can't lie anymore." Then, Sarah paused for a moment and then said, "Pastor, I think I'll wait for a year." With that she skipped off down the hall. But the passage here shows how insidious our lies can be. There is the prohibition against encasing God in our lie (verse 12). It has been said that patriotism is the last refuge for scoundrels, but I wonder if it is not religion. For while some may wrap themselves in the flag to protect their ill intent, it is far to easy to wrap ourselves in God talk, thus insulating ourselves from criticism. The only people who know the truth are the liar and the Almighty, and God isn’t saying a whole lot right now. But here the problem is that in an effort to promote our own agenda, we lie and with an oath call God to verify our statement; we drag God into our lie. In that, we tarnish God’s name. THE PROBLEM OF SELF-CENTERED STATUS (Verses 13-14) Here is a person using a position of power over another. It begins with the general terms of fraud and robbery, but is clarified then regarding holding back wages. In that culture, it was incumbent for the employer to pay the employee at the end of every day. The money was needed to purchase the necessary food. Delaying payment would cause undo hardship. Self-centeredness is seen in the idea that one’s bank account, the strength of the portfolio, determines what is right. Just because the person does not have the resources to appeal the labor dispute is not reason to withhold what is his due. In verse 14 a similar warning is given: don’t curse the deaf, nor set up a stumbling block for the blind. Whereas verses 11-12 forbid crooked dealings between equals, or at least between those capable of taking one another to the law if they have a grievance, these verses deal with exploitation of the weak who would not be able to seek such redress. To curse the deaf might have been fine sport, for they could not hear the cursing! But God would hear, and he is the Protector of the unfortunate. I’m real tough in what I say to the driver in the other car when I know he can’t hear me. To lay a trap for the blind is easy enough. They would not know who made them trip. But God knows. The spirit and design of these precepts are that we must not take advantage of the ignorance, simplicity, or inexperience of another. THE PROBLEM OF SELF-CENTERED JUSTICE (Verses 15-16) Self-centeredness is evidenced in this section by the twisting of right and wrong for personal means. Verse 15 literally means “don’t do an injustice of justice.” We are all familiar with a justice system that favors the wealthy over the poor and know that it is not right. But we may find it equally interesting that God abhors showing partiality to the poor. The self-centered sin is that we want to achieve justice by our standards. Self-centeredness is seen whenever we ignore truth for another cause. Righting past wrongs by means of a verdict for an unrelated offense is not tolerable. The problem is that in so doing, we turn the concept of justice on its head. We can’t manipulate the law for a greater good. Justice is not justice unless the scales of balance swing even. A self-centered right and wrong is seen also when we try to make our business go our way. What about our business ethics? In verse 16 the term for slander, rakil, is related to a word which describes the work of a traveling merchant. It pictures the slanderer in a business context who goes door to door making sure every knows about his competitor. The product he trades each and every day are the juicy tidbits about others which will elevate him or her and give that competitive edge, whether that edge be in business or in relationships. This self-orientation is seen also in the person who does that which will endanger others. An extreme example of this was in the newspaper recently which reported a raging war by coffin sellers in the southern Thailand city of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Eight shops are located across the street from the city's largest hospital, and bribes of hospital personnel for clients are common. A television station reported that one shop's agent sneaked into several hospital rooms to disconnect oxygen to terminal patients whose relatives were already known to the shop and thus might have given that shop their business. While such an action may illustrate the depravity of the human heart, we think we are distant from such actions. Yet, we must ask ourselves the question, “Do I do anything that would harm another person? The way I drive, what I produce or sell? Do I justify cutthroat tactics as good business?" We can’t dismiss this with a nonchalant attitude of laissez-faire, let the buyer beware. Just because the person has less understanding and you can snow ball them but they make the choice, do not imagine that you are off the hook. THE PROBLEM OF SELF-CENTERED EXISTENCE (Verses 17-18) Self-centered existence prolongs hatred. The assumption here is that another did something wrong, offended you. But each of us knows from experience that it is far easier to be annoyed at someone else for their sin, than to deal with the person over the situation. The self-centered life allows the offense to fester inside. The hatred here is not evidenced in the form of a lie, it is not withholding what is due, it is not the perversion of justice. It is simply allowing hatred to continue. And that is as self- oriented as any of the other sins, perhaps worse, for no one knows it is there, except you. Rather than allowing the hatred to continue, notice what should be done: rebuke. This is something each of us shrinks away from so often. We don’t want to get our hands dirty in confrontation. We’d rather allow the cancer to grow in us than to put the cards out on the table and deal directly with the problem. Why? We don’t want the pain. We are just too self-centered. But notice what the benefit of such an exercise is: to confront sets not just the other person free from sin, but you, as well. We are held guilty if we refuse to confront another person’s sin. Self-centered existence promotes revenge. The final instruction here is to not seek revenge, not to bear a grudge. The word for grudge here was often used of the person who guarded the vineyard. Keeping a grudge is like putting a security guard over your emotions, putting them under lock and key so that, whenever you want to get to them, you can go, unlock the door and enjoy the anger, the hatred for that person once again. The story is told about a little boy who got into a fight with his older brother. Somewhat outmatched, he took quite a beating. It was his pride, however, that suffered the most. The whole experience left him feeling bitter. In fact, he refused to talk to his brother all day. Bedtime came, and their mother, very much wanting to see the two make up, said to the younger, "Don't you think you should forgive your brother before you go to sleep? Remember, the Bible says, `Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.'" The youngster looked perplexed. He thought for a few moments and then blurted out, "But, Mom, how can I keep the sun from going down?" The boy's question revealed that he had no intention of getting rid of his grudge. The cure, the answer to all this, in fact, to the whole passage, is to love your neighbor as yourself. When we come to this final, familiar phrase, it seems as though the answer is so easy, but so hard. The cure to self-absorption is being other-focused. How is that supposed to work? It’s not just something I can turn off at a drop of a hat. There is a degree of irony here, like telling the sick person the key to better health is to stop being sick. Some will try to answer this quandary by saying that the road to loving others is by loving yourself. Here our narcissistic culture’s bent on self-esteem rears its ugly head. Some foolishly speculate that this is saying that before we love others, we need to work on loving ourselves. But the passage says nothing of the kind. There is no need to command that which we do so naturally. Even the person with the most abjectly low self-image is still very much wrapped up in self, even as he pities his poor estate. We don’t correct the self-centeredness by focusing on self even more. Sinful actions do not flow from a person who has a bad self-esteem, but rather what we commonly call poor self-image is produced by constant law breaking. Except in those rare cases where the heart is so hard that sin doesn’t affect the psyche, the poor view of oneself is an evidence of a sinful pattern that knows no forgiveness. Instead, the thought here is that we are to love others with the same dogged devotion that we expend on ourselves. But how? That was the question raised by a lawyer trying to trap Jesus in Luke 10. He wanted to know: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus pointed him to the Law, and the lawyer gave the obvious summation of the law (verse 27). Notice how the summation of the law, taken from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 helps to clarify all that we are to do. Jesus congratulates him on his answer and then gives the command, “Do this and you will live.” The lawyer was still not satisfied. In verse 29 the lawyer wanted more clarification.“Who is my neighbor?” The more clear the answer, the better he thinks he’ll be able to keep the Law. Jesus then gives the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. This familiar parable is meant to answer the question not only of what it means to be a neighbor, but also what it means to inherit, and to work for, eternal life. A man is attacked by robbers on a road and left for dead. A priest and then a Levite pass by, but offer no help. Then along comes the hated Samaritan. He was not even considered a person by the Jews, but a misfit, an enemy of the nation. He stopped and helped the wounded man. Jesus concludes this parable with the question, "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" (verse 36). Notice how the lawyer is even unable to answer the question, for he says, "The one who showed mercy toward him." (verse 37). To this Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.” We hear this parable as a command to go and be like the Samaritan. The problem is this is not what Jesus meant and this is not what the lawyer heard. The answer was a slap in the face to the person wanting to know how to get eternal life. That was the last person the lawyer wanted to be like. There is no way he would do that. Why? Because the hatred he felt toward that person made identifying with him absolutely impossible. At that moment the lawyer would’ve understood the absolute impossibility of his question. "Sure, go do this and live. But just try it." The self-centeredness, the self-absorption is far to great to even think of following that pattern. In the same way, for me to tell you that the cure to your self-centered lifestyle is to love others should be meet with the same huge question mark. That is where we are left when we confront the law. We know we must break out of our shell of self-centeredness, we must love others, but we can not, we will not. We really can not love others like the Samaritan. In fact, we are more like the wounded, dying man in the ditch. The moralist passes us by, unable to help. The religionist offers not comfort. Rather our enemy, God’s own Son, bends down and offers us what we need. He is the only one who has ever loved His own as Himself. In fact, He loved us more than Himself as He laid down His life. He died for our selfishness, our self-centeredness. His death covers our conceit. We may be "bereft of conscience" and a generation of "moral stutterers." But God showed His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. |
