Philosophy of Neighbor

February 12, 2013

“‘So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?'” (Luke 10:36)

I heard a businessman say, “There are two things to be gained in every business deal: money and experience.  When you do business always get the money and give that other person the experience!”

According to the way the parable of Jesus ended with the verse above, when a devout disciple of Jesus is involved in a business deal, should they always get the money and give the other person the experience?

Jesus taught this parable in response to the question: “Who is my neighbor?” In His answer Jesus presented three philosophies of neighbor.  “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours will be mine just as soon as I can take it.” That was the philosophy of the thieves in this story.  “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours” was the philosophy of the religious people Jesus profiled here.  Jesus’ philosophy of neighbor, however, was showcased by the Samaritan in this way: “What’s yours is yours and what’s mine is yours any time you need it.”

How should that philosophy of neighbor impact the way we do a business deal as committed followers of Jesus Christ?  The way we answer that question should make us think about our entire philosophy of life and not just our philosophy about how we do business.

What is your vision statement and what are your mission objectives in life?  Is your vision statement to get rich and are your mission objectives all the ways you can think making money?

What is your philosophy of neighbor?  Is your own personal vision statement in alignment with the philosophy of neighbor Jesus taught us?

5 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward

Why Evil?

December 17, 2012

“The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ ‘An enemy has done this while men slept!’ the farmer exclaimed. ‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. ‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest.”  (Matthew 13: 27-30)

The question “Where did evil come from?” has baffled spiritual and ethical leaders since people began to think and ask questions. In this parable Jesus implies two answers: “An enemy has done this” and “While men slept.” Edmund Burke told us that all we have to do for evil to triumph is to do nothing.  Jesus told us all we have to do is sleep.

Thinking and hurting people in Connecticut are joined with millions who are asking questions like this today.  The Scripture quoted above is as close as Jesus came to addressing these questions.

Isaiah wrote that there is as much difference between the way God thinks and acts and the way we think and do things as the heavens are high above the earth (Isaiah 55).  Moses told us there are secret things that belong to the Lord but the things He wants us to do He has made very clear (Deuteronomy 29:29).

Our thinking is flawed and God has not willed to tell us why He lets the wheat and the weeds grow together.  We must conclude that somehow and in some way it glorifies God to permit that horrible enemy to be here. Ultimately, we must leave these questions with our faith in the character of God.

“While men slept” leads us to realize there are some things we can wake up and do to oppose that enemy.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward

An Applied Formula for Living

October 12, 2012

“Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”  (Matthew 7:26)

As we apply the previous formula for living blog, Jesus is clearly teaching that if we base our belief system on His teachings we will have a rational belief system that can weather the storms of this life. When a counselor is disputing the belief system of a depressed person, a favorite disputation question is: “What are you telling yourself about the fact they you lost your job that has you so depressed?” That is the question you should ask yourself when you are experiencing irrational emotional consequences like depression.

The medical director of a large mental hospital for the entire state of Virginia told me the purpose of psychiatry is to find the unconscious explanation for the conscious behavior of people.  He lamented the hard reality that so often today the psychiatrist is a pharmacologist who medicates the person’s depression without ever getting to the cause of the depression.

The word “psychiatry” means “the healing of the soul.” Was there ever a greater healer of the soul than Jesus?    I’m convinced that Jesus was the greatest Psychiatrist who ever lived.  I also believe that the values and the teachings of Jesus will give us the healthiest belief system for living we will ever discover as we pass through this world.

However, it is critically important that we implement that belief system as we respond to the storms we encounter.  In this era we have gone bonkers over knowledge.  According to Jesus, it is not the knowledge of His teaching but the application of that belief system that builds the house that survives the storms.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward

A Prerequisite Prescription

March 27, 2012

“And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine will burst the wineskins and be spilled, and the wineskins will be ruined.”  (Luke 5: 37)

Here Jesus uses a metaphor that had probably been the experience of some of those who heard this teaching.  Undoubtedly they had made the mistake of putting new wine, or unfermented wine, in an old brittle wineskin.  They would hang that wineskin on the wall of their home to let the wine ferment.  But one afternoon while they were taking a siesta there would be a loud popping sound and they would see wine running down the wall.  They would immediately know they made the mistake Jesus was describing.  The expanding fermenting wine burst the wineskin.

By this metaphor Jesus was teaching that His truth was like unfermented wine.  When they took that truth into their mind, if they did not yield to the pressure of that truth and apply the teaching it would literally blow their mind!

We place such a high value today upon knowledge that many people think knowledge is virtue.  However, it is the application of knowledge that leads to virtue and wisdom.  Jesus taught in another place that it is when we do what He teaches that we will know His teaching is the Word of God (John and 7:17).

This is also a warning from Jesus.  If we build up a reservoir of the truth Jesus taught that we never apply, that unapplied teaching can give us so much conflict it can make us sick.  The greatest truth this world has ever heard came through Jesus.  Resolve to do it before you know it.  The application of the truth Jesus taught can convert you into a new wineskin.

1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward

Three Philosophies of Life

February 14, 2012

“So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” (Luke 10:36)

 Jesus was the absolute master storyteller of parables – stories that illustrated His teachings (in Greek Para = “alongside of” and Ballo = “to throw.”)  A lawyer asked Him the question: “Who is my neighbor?” In response Jesus told a parable about a man who was mugged and left half dead.  When a priest saw him he passed by on the other side of the road and did not get involved.  A Levite, or Temple assistant, who traveled that road did the same thing.  Then a traveling Samaritan came down the road.  When he saw the helpless man he gave him all the first aid he could, put the man on his animal and took him to an inn where he paid for his care.  Jesus then asked the question quoted above.

This parable presents three philosophies of life.  The mugger’s philosophy of life was: “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours will be mine as soon as I can take it.” The religious professionals in the story believed: “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is yours.” The philosophy of the Samaritan was: “What’s yours is yours and what’s mine is yours any time you need it.” That is obviously the philosophy of life Jesus was teaching by His parable answer to the lawyer’s question.

May I ask you to get real and ask yourself which of these three philosophies of life and neighbor are yours?  Do you believe people are to be exploited for your personal gain?  Do you not want to get involved?  Or are the people who intersect your life an opportunity for service?

1 Comment | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Dick Woodward

Next Entries »