Wash, Rinse, Repeat

Ah Facebook. All social media, but particularly Facebook, has become a treacherous digital ground for me, especially during an election and especially during this election.

Let me back up for a minute. I am a journalist and a journalism professor, so staying up-to-date on what’s happening in the world is important and necessary. Generally, I keep my social media accounts open all day when I am at work and check intermittently when I am at home. I also use social media for more than news—posting pictures of my cute kids and for connecting to professional groups and friends from my past. But in this election cycle Facebook has become a treacherous digital ground fraught with opportunities to offend, jump to conclusions, misunderstand, polarize and (as the research tells us) isolate.

In James 1:19-27 he speaks directly to our behavior and communication. Carefully and concisely James explains that we should listen with intention, act on the Word, and control our tongues. Listening, doing, speaking… wash, rinse, repeat, right? This is a passage that was made for a Sunday school curriculum— James is direct and clear and it might seem simple to hold that triangle of behavior up to our own lives and find certain flaws. And perhaps we’re just a little bit comfortable with those flaws. Of course, we have all failed to listen (or we have heard and then wiped our minds clean); we have all failed to act; we have all spoken out with angry words (or is that just me?). Certainly James is referring to our life as Christians, not as Facebook users, but it’s easy to see connections into specific aspects of our lives.

But James asks a lot of us. Or perhaps more precisely, the book of James asks a lot of me. At the end of that passage (discussing listening, acting, and speaking) James wallops us with a heavy hammer: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” This is what our Christianity should look like—caring for the needs of others.

It’s easy to miss—the first time I sat down to read this passage for this piece I didn’t even notice it, but James is steadfast and clear: take care of widows and orphans; take care of the needy.

There are 153 and 170 million orphans worldwide. The range is wide because it’s difficult to get an accurate estimate government agencies around the world track (and define) “orphans” differently. But by either a conservative or liberal estimation the number is large. It’s almost impossible to get a clear estimate on widows for more complicated reasons, one being that numbers of widows are not consistently tracked within communities, much less governments. In James’ world, widows and orphans would have been the most vulnerable. Who are the most vulnerable today?

This passage in James is easy to think of as prescriptive, and it’s easy to use as a magnifying for our own flaws. But James reminds us at the end that the point is to take care of the needy, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27).

Elizabeth Smith Culver Palms Church of Christ Culver City, CA

Children of the Light

Just a little over a week ago, I was reminded of the darkness in the world. As a minister, I am exposed to darkness pretty often. In my context, it is usually the darkness of parents divorcing, or of loathing yourself so deeply that you want to hurt yourself, or sometimes a darkness of having nowhere to belong. I have experienced darkness in myself too, and I work hard to keep my darkness personal and hidden. I really like to pretend my life has no darkness whatsoever. But darkness seems to always be present. Just recently I, along with many across the world, have entered into a storm of immense power with the passing of one of my middle school students after a battle with cancer. 

Our whole community and church has really felt this loss. One of the ministers at my church described the feeling he felt as if he was a disciple on the boat during a storm with Jesus, and he is sleeping through it. They shake him awake and say, “Savior, do you not care?” In the middle of this storm, in the darkness with the shifting wind and waves our community cries out to God, do you not care?

I don’t know why God didn’t answer our prayers the way we wanted him to. I don’t know why eleven-year-olds die. Our world can seem so bleak, like maybe there really isn’t any light at all, but James tells us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (James 1:17) God didn’t give us this grief, he doesn’t give children cancer, or make mothers say goodbye to their children. He does give us peace, so the grief doesn’t overcome us. He does give us hope, that this world isn’t meaningless. He gives us comfort, letting us know we are not alone. He never left. He doesn’t shift. He is constant.

I wish there was less darkness in this world. But maybe darkness follows light wherever it goes, and we wouldn’t be able to recognize the light if we had never known darkness. Whatever the reason, I am glad that God is the light, and that he doesn’t change. I am grateful that when darkness threatens to overwhelm me, that God is always there waiting to warm me and rejuvenate me. His light is like a bon fire, keeping me warm. His light is like a lighthouse, guiding my way. His light is like a stovetop, by it I am fed. His light is like the sun, by it I can see. 

May we be children of the light, unafraid of what darkness can do. May we remember that God too thinks that sin and darkness have had control over his world for too long. May we live inside the hope of the resurrection, and that someday light will triumph over death. 

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

Holly Racca

Youth Minister

Southern Hills Church of Christ

Abilene, TX.

Consider it Pure Joy

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” James 1:2-8

I think we often separate this passage into two separate instructions from James:  be joyful during trials, and ask God for wisdom.  But I don’t think that is what this is.  I think that he addresses a problem: faith testing trials; then offers a solution: wisdom from God. 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  (vv. 2-4)

If you have been a Christian for a fair amount of time, you probably know this verse very well.  We have sort of turned it into a “fake it till you make it” mantra.  We remember this Scripture when we are in the midst of trials in our life, and remind ourselves that we need to be joyful and happy even though everything that is going on around us is crumbling down.  While I agree, Christians should definitely go through trials differently than the world; First Thessalonians 4:13 tells us “we do not grieve as those who do not have hope,” I don’t think James is saying that we should not feel sorrow or pain when we face faith testing trials.  I am not even sure that is possible. 

I think that sometimes, the joy comes after the trial.  Consider Job, who endured some really difficult trials.  He grieved…big time!  But he never stopped worshipping God and trusting Him. 

So, if you are going through trials in your life and don’t know what to do, here is what you do:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (v. 5)

We would be remiss if we did not pay attention to the warning he offers:

“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” (vv. 6-8)

During trials, our loyalty can be divided a few ways:

• Between God and our circumstances:  Consider Peter, who trusted Jesus enough to step out of the boat and walk on water, but sank because he took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the wind around him. 

• Between God and our own wisdom, or the wisdom of the world.  Sometimes, we ask God for wisdom and help, but ignore him when he gives it to us because we don’t like his answer, or it doesn’t make sense to us.

We serve a God who has the power to calm the storms raging around us.

I don’t think this passage is saying that when we face trials we must slap on a happy face and act like it isn’t affecting us.  What I do think James is saying here is this:

We can experience great joy when we rely on the wisdom and strength of our great God to get us through our trials, and in the process, our faith will grow because we have learned to trust God and see His faithfulness in a whole new light.  However, if we do not accept his wisdom, the raging sea that we find ourselves in will continue to rage and we will never find our way out of these trying times and experience His peace and joy.

Consider Jesus as an example.  He knew he was about to be arrested, beaten, and crucified.   He was not happy about what he was about to face, in fact, Scriptures say that he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat was like drops of blood.  Remember when he even asked God if he could find another way to accomplish his will?  Paul said that “for the joy set before him, he endured the cross.”  (Hebrews 12:2)  He wasn’t joyful during that trial, but he was obedient because he knew great joy was on the other side.  Because he was obedient, not only did He victoriously defeat death, we get to share in that victory as well!

“Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)

Karisa Madera Executive Assistant Central Church of Christ Del Rio, TX