Prudence – Living Intentionally

This is the first of our follow on posts from the video posted here - Unwelcome Words – Prudence and Temperance - if you haven’t watched it (just under 7 minutes long) pause here and take a look!. We want to look at both prudence and temperance (because they are different) – today we will look at prudence.

What is Prudence? Since we have to ask this question (I struggled to create a definition on my own, I know), we already partially know that it is something that is not spoken of that much anymore! True, part of that is because language has moved on, but I think prudence is not something we speak about in our society any more.

So, in the dictionary, you will get this (or something like it) -

Prudence: The ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason 

So in summary, intentional self discipline. You can see why it is not a popular notion in our current materialistic society!

In the video with Dr Kevin Kinghorn, he defines prudence as ‘Not losing sight of the true value of things. Keeping firmly in mind the relative value of short term lesser goods, and long term greater goods‘.

What does the Bible say about Prudence?

What does this mean for my life and yours?

Being prudent means to live intentionally in the light of the Kingdom of God. It means not just to float along, at the whim of everything and anything that comes your way. It means not just to accept what ‘feels good now’ – whether that is the right choice or not. It means sometimes making hard decisions in light of the facts – knowing that the decision you are making is the right one in light of Gods call on your life.

Prudence then becomes the act of choosing to do the right thing every time. It becomes the act of knowing that one choice may lead to short term benefit – but long term destruction, whilst the other may lead to short term difficulty – but significant long term gain. If you like, prudence is an essential component of discipleship, as making prudent, Godly decisions is part of how we grow in Christ.

What do you think? Is prudence then something we are called to, and something that is worth the effort on our part?

Unwelcome Words – Prudence and Temperance

I came across a very well presented video today, which linked well with yesterdays post – Get up and Do It! It is presented by Dr. Kevin Kinghorn, and brings up some very valid points that I hope to discuss, in light of what the Bible says, over the next couple of posts.

One of his key points was this -

Prudence and Temperance are perhaps the most critical determining factors in whether we make wise and Godly decisions, day in and day out.

So then, pretty serious stuff. I encourage you to take a look at the video, have a think about it, and tomorrow we will take a look a prudence from a Biblical perspective.

(Feed subscribers might need to click through to the full post to see the video)

Get up and do it! James 1:22-25

Why is it so hard for all of us (me certainly included) to just do the things we know we should do?

Lets take a very personal example from my life. I like junk food. I really, really, enjoy junk food. There isn’t much more that I enjoy that a mid morning snack on a box of pringles, or some oreos, or many other assorted sweet and savory treats! But there is a problem. Whilst there is nothing inherently wrong or sinful about these things, I eat too many – and that has a negative affect on my health.

I always claim I am going to do something about it. Sometimes I even get in the swing of eating less and exercising more, and I feel better. But every time, without fail, I do something to stop exercising (like injuring myself), and I go back to wanting more and more of the rubbish food (that tastes so very, very good).

All I need to do is recognize the problem – and do something about it. I know what I need to do, so why can’t I do it?

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
(James 1:22-25 ESV)

Now lets take that problem – and call it sin instead.

How many of us, in our lives, have some sin that just keeps coming along and dragging us down? We excuse it (it’s not as big as another one, or someone elses), we hide it (it won’t happen again), we deny it (the devil made me do it), but we never overcome it. We know what needs to happen – we have read God’s word before. We have heard the pastor speak about it. We might have even had a friend or two pull us up on it. We know, deep down, that we are basically disobedient, but we don’t want to deal with it.

Why?

Because just like my problem with junk food, it ‘tastes good’. More often than not, it feels good to sin. You might feel terrible after, you might feel like a horrible person, dirty and ashamed. You crawl back to God for forgiveness and proclaim that you will never do it again.

But, it tastes good, and soon the hunger is back.

So what do we need to do? First, some encouragement – it is not as bad as you think. As a child of God you are NEVER beyond hope.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
(1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV)

Second, it is going to take some self discipline (yep, ouch). When the ‘hunger’ comes, that desire to do what is wrong, despite all that you know to be right, despite all of your experience, despite all of your memory of how you feel afterwards, when that ‘hunger’ comes you need to put your foot down. It is at these times that you are given the choice – you can choose to sin, and so go backwards, or to resist in the strength that God has given you, and go forwards. There is no standing still, there is no status quo. You can go forward, and grow in strength and faith, or go backwards into sin.

That is a hard word – to sinners and junk food eaters alike. But it is what we are called to do – go forward in Christ to the reward that He has set before us, to grow in His grace, not in our sin.

For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
(Galatians 2:19-20 ESV)

So remember – your old self is crucified with Christ. It is gone – and only you can choose to bring it back. But there is always a way out of that sin – a way to a greater peace with God (and yourself). So next time that hunger strikes – choose to say no. Every time you do, the next time will be easier!

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
(Romans 8:1-6 ESV)

(Photo flickr:Irene Jorba)

Counter Cultural Christianity – John 13

When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
(John 13:12-15 ESV)

 The call of Jesus is truly counter cultural! Compared to the ‘worlds’ systems and measurements, the call of Jesus stands out because it is so very, very different.

Take a general look at how the world measures success. The more successful you are, the higher you are esteemed by others. The more successful you are, the more people you have hanging around you, waiting on you, serving you, doing everything they can to please you. The most successful people often have drivers for their cars, pilots for their planes, cooks and cleaners for their houses, valets in their houses and offices to deal with their every want and need. In many cases, the more success a person achieves, the more withdrawn from the normal flow of life they become – they have but to click their fingers and people come running.

Now take a look at Jesus. This is the night of His betrayal – that will lead to His painful death in a very short time. And even worse, He knows full well who is betraying Him, how much for and why – and has known all along. The night of agony has begun – and yet he takes the time to get some final teaching in, to truly demonstrate what being a disciple of Jesus means.

Jesus takes off his robes, wraps a towel around his waist, and washes the feet of his disciples.

This for me is one of the most amazing things. Taken at the level that many people hold Jesus – a great and famous teacher, healer and miracle worker, it is something that would leave you dumbfounded. But it is greater than this – Jesus is God – and the creator of the universe is washing the feet of His disciples.

And let’s throw one more twist to the plot. Judas Iscariot, the one to betray Jesus (and the one Jesus knows will betray Him), is one of the 12 who gets their feet washed. We can be pretty sure he was one of them as he is mentioned straight after about being sent out – so Jesus, Creator of the Universe, washes the feet of the one to betray Him to the cross in full knowledge of what will happen.

How does it end then? Jesus explains to his disciples that to be a true disciple – you need to live by the culture of Heaven, not the culture of this earth. And just as Jesus washed the disciples feet, including the one who was to betray him moments later, they were to go out and do the same.

So how are we to live as disciples of Jesus in this world? To be the servant of others. No matter what our station in life is – be it CEO, beggar or anything in between, we need to live to serve Jesus, and to serve others just as He did.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
(1 John 2:15-17 ESV)

Bring what you have – John 6:1-14

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?”
(John 6:8-9 ESV)

How many times have you looked at what someone has done, and thought ‘I wish I could have done that!’ or ‘O if I had that much faith how amazing would that be!‘.

Do you know, God does not call you to have ‘more’ faith than anyone? But just to have faith, to have trust in Him – that He is going to do something.

Let’s take a look at this scene in John (you can read the full passage in John 6:1-14). There are about 5000 ‘men’ following Jesus at this time. This could mean anywhere from 4500 (counting for loose maths of the recorder) to maybe 15000 or more (if women and children were not counted, which is a common belief). What ever way you count it, that’s a lot of people – and Jesus knew it.

So, Jesus calls over Phillip – ‘Hey Philip, these people are hungry, can you short order some catering for them?‘

Philip, instead of having a heart attack, simply responds ‘What?!!? 8 months wages wouldn’t buy enough food for these people, not to mention where on earth we would get the money or the food from, and you want me to feed them???‘

Now granted, if I had been Philip, this most likely would have been my response. What! You are Joking right Jesus, Ha Ha, very funny, what’s the real plan? This is the response of the flesh – without faith. We look at the insurmountable and cry out ‘that’s impossible!’

But here is the point. A guy we don’t hear much about at all – Andrew, the brother of Peter (yes, that Peter), speaks up. Maybe even in just a quiet, nervous voice – ‘Hey Jesus, I know it’s really not anything at all, but I’ve got a kid here with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Not enough to feed you me and him even, but it’s all we have‘.

You see, Andrew was starting to get it. He knew Jesus could do it. Jesus could have called manna from heaven and fed everyone there and then – but He chose instead to increase the faith of his disciples. So, Andrew offered what he had. ‘I know it’s not enough Jesus, no where near enough, but it’s something‘. He could have just told the kid to scurry off and eat his dinner before someone in the crowd mugged him, or just looked at them, said ‘yeah right’ and let it go. But instead, he took what little he had, and spoke up.

And so Jesus calls us to do. We don’t have enough to deal with the issues that face us daily – we might think we do, the world thinks it does, but in the end none of us do. We cannot solve our own issues of sin and lack of faith, let alone anything else! But God calls us to take that little that we have and step forward – ‘Here I am God, use me‘.

So what was the outcome here? All 5000 men (and possibly women and children as well, but 5000 is plenty impressive) ate until they were satisfied. We are not talking about a bite or two each – but each ate enough that they didn’t want more. Everyone was ‘full’. Just like in the desert when God had supplied manna for the Israelites - all were satisfied, whether they gathered little or much (Ex 16:18). God, through that little offering, had provided for them all more than they could need – so much more that the leftovers far outweighed the original offering.

So what is our takeaway? It doesn’t matter what your offering is – take it to God and He can, and will use it. You don’t need to be a ‘giant of faith’, with more talent than you could possibly dream of using – you just need to be willing to take what you have to God, and let Him do the multiplication.