The Bulletin
of the
Church of Christ at
New Georgia
Tim Johnson, editor
February 8, 2004
In
This Issue:
Doing
Odd Things to Get Even
by
Steve Klein
What
the Bible Will Do for You
Doing Odd Things to Get Even
Have you heard of someone cutting off their nose to spite their face? In an effort to get back at others, or teach somebody a lesson, people often wind up inflicting a lot of pain on themselves. Suicide bombers are a case in point. The bitterness and hatred that could lead a person to blow himself up just to harm those that (he thinks) have harmed him, reveals human vengeance for what it is: self-centeredness gone stupid.
In Genesis 34, there is the record of Shechem, a prince of the Hivite people, violating Dinah the daughter of Jacob. To avenge their sister, Dinah's brothers Simeon and Levi devised an evil plan against Shechem and his people. They told Shechem that he could marry their sister if he and his men were circumcised. Shechem agreed. Genesis 34:25 states, "Now it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males." While this vengeful atrocity appears at first to have evened the score, it did not. By their vigilante justice, Simeon and Levi made many enemies for their family from among the people of the land -- they had cut off their own nose, in a manner of speaking. "Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, 'You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and since I am few in number, they will gather themselves together against me and kill me. I shall be destroyed, my household and I." (Genesis 34:30). Chapter thirty-five of Genesis goes on to tell how that it was only by God's protection that Jacob's family was able to safely flee to Bethel.
Vengeance does not belong to men; it belongs to God. "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. (Romans 12:19).
There appear to be any number of reasons that God has not given individuals the right to avenge themselves. For one, we aren't wise enough to determine who deserves to be punished. Nor are we very good at deciding the appropriate degree of punishment to be inflicted. This is especially true when we are personally involved in a situation. Our judgment is imperfect at best, and often clouded by self-serving prejudice. But another reason we haven't been given the right to take vengeance for ourselves, and the main point of this article, is that our efforts to even a score are often so badly botched that they wind up hurting us more than anyone. Truly, "Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and he who rolls a stone will have it roll back on him" (Proverbs 26:27). Let us give place to the wrath of God. "He will repay my enemies for their evil" (Psalm 54:5).
by Steve Klein
A few months ago I read the story of an old sheepherder in the hills of Idaho, who was a faithful listener to one of the finer musi-cal programs on the radio. One night after listening to the concert, he wrote a rather amusing letter to the broadcasting station in which he made a most unusual request. He said: "I enjoy your program from New York every week, and I am writing to ask you a favor. It's rather lonely up here in the hills, and I haven't much to entertain me, aside from the radio. No other human beings are near. Now I have an old violin that I used to play, but it has gotten badly out of tune. I wonder if you would take just a moment on your program next week to strike 'A' on the piano, so that I may tune my violin."
Well, at first they only smiled about that letter. But then they began to see something more than humor in it. Was it perhaps a symbol of what they should be able to do with good music on the air? They decided to use the letter on the broadcast. And so that night they actually interrupted the program long enough to strike "Au on the piano in New York, while the old sheepherder in the hills of Idaho got the right pitch for his violin. (Faith Amid Fear, by Peter Eldersveld, p. 3.)
As I read that story the thought came to me that we need some. thing like that in a spiritual sense. Our world seems to be out of tune with God, and that accounts for all the discord. We are making noise, not music. There are wars and rumors of wars; national and international tensions; crime, conflict, corruption, even in high places; turmoil with-in and without; and a widespread feeling of fear in the hearts of men.
Not only the world as a whole, but men as individuals also give evidence of being out of tune with God. This accounts for the parental delinquency, the crimes, the broken homes and the immorality in our land. Much of the misery, wretchedness, and woe of today is caused by our people being out of tune with God. It is not necessary for us to remain in a state of such discord, for the Lord gave us the Bible that we might tune our hearts and lives to His will. If you will permit it, the Bible will bring harmony and peace to your soul.
The reason so many of our people are out of harmony with God's will is that they are not letting His Message through to their souls. They are listening to everybody but God. The guesses, and predictions of scientists and philosophers are heard rather than the word of God. Our situation may be illustrated by an incident that happened in one of our southern cities. A water main had burst, shutting off the water supply from hundreds of homes in one section of town. A postman discovered the trouble, and hur-rying to a phone, he tried to noti-fy the officials of the water com-pany, but failed. The reason was that many housewives were com-plaining to the water company, and holding the line from him. Thus, the only person who knew the source of trouble was barred from using the phone.
In our confused state today we are listening to too many voices to be able to hear the solution to our problems. If for just a minute we could stop all these voices and listen carefully, we would hear the real answer, the correct solution. Quietly, confidently we would hear the voice of Christ speak as He has been speaking for centuries. If we will listen to God's Son, and obey His word we will find the peace that passeth all understanding.
Something more the Bible will do for you is to bring you the knowledge of eternal salvation. The forty-eight scholars who gave the King James Version of the Bible to the world prefaced their translation with the very appro-priate statement that, "If we be ignorant, the Scriptures will instruct us; if out of the way, they will reform us; if in heaviness, comfort us; if dull, quicken us; if cold, inflame us." These schol-ars could make .this statement because an inspired writer of the Bible said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed." (Rom. 1:16,17.) The very purpose of the Bible is to give God's revelation to man, and to show man his relationship to God. God's word is not merely in the Bible, but God's word is the Bible. An unknown author has truly written:
This Book unfolds Jehovah's mind.
This Book salutes in accents kind.
This Friend our needs will amply meet.
This Fountain sends forth joys sweet.
This Mine affords us boundless wealth.
This Good Physician gives us health.
This Sun renews and warms the soul.
This Sword both wounds and makes us whole.
This Letter shows our sins for-given.
This Guide conducts us safe to heaven.
This Charter has been sealed with blood.
This Volume is the Word of God.
Even scientists recognize that the Bible only can give us the knowledge of salvation. Galileo said, "I believe that the intention of Holy Writ was to persuade men of the truths necessary to salvation, such as neither science nor other means could render credible, but only the voice of the Holy Spirit." (Books of Books, by Goldman, p. 292.)
-- Via Gospel Digest, Volume 18, October 1960