Reluctant Retiree

Shows featuring Hollywood celebrities engaging in athletic competitions were on television years ago. We enjoyed watching our favorite stars participating in events that they were never trained to do. Some celebrities were hyper competitive and took the games seriously, while others just had fun and enjoyed the interaction. The final event was often a winner-take-all tug of war. Two teams would pull against each other. Usually the team with the best anchor person would win. The anchor would dig in and was immovable. Eventually the other team would tire out and were easily pulled across the line.

Life can be like a tug of war. We want to do what is right, but get pulled in another direction. We used to picture the devil on one shoulder luring us to do evil and an angel on our other shoulder encouraging us to be strong and do the right thing.

We don’t use this imagery often nowadays but the reality of this tug of war still stands. A constant battle between good and evil exists and influences us to one side or the other. James 4:7-8 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

It’s time to choose sides. This time team captains do not do the choosing, you do. Will you choose to believe the lies of Satan? Or will you resist his lies and draw near to God? If so, then trust God to cleanse and purify you. Submit to His love and salvation. It is an eternal choice well worth taking. God will be the anchor for your soul.

I once had a supervisor who would call me on the phone everyday, late in the workday. Since we lived and worked in different states, I think part of the reason for the call was to make sure that I was still working. But the troubling part of the call was that every day he found something to criticize me about. He always had a harsh tone and used disturbing language.

After more than a year of these daily calls, he was given a new supervisor over himself. It didn’t take long to discover that the new supervisor was treating my supervisor the same way that he had been treating me. One day during our daily call I thanked him for not passing onto me the added pressure that he was under. And I told him that I was praying for him. He thanked me at the time, but a greater change occurred later. When he needed someone to fill a position in his office, he chose me. Our relationship had indeed changed.

Romans 12:14-18 says, “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.”

I could have become angry with my supervisor and bad-mouthed him to others. I couldn’t see how that would help me or him. So when I got the chance to show a little compassion, I did it in the only way I could, by praying for him and thanking him. Returning evil for the trouble I felt was not a good option. So I humbled myself and submitted to his authority. God made a good thing happen as a result.

The world system has always put pressure on us to conform. Marketing tells us what food we should consume, what car we should drive, and what house we should buy, among many other things. Political ideologues instruct us how to follow the party line. With social media, we are now told how to speak and who our friends should be.

Following all these voices can be exhausting and frustrating. Exhausting, because so many voices can be heard with so many different judgments. Frustrating, because the voices don’t agree with each other. It would be easier if there was just one voice to follow and if that voice was both authoritative and good.

Well, God has spoken on the matter of conformity and we seem to have gotten it all wrong. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Instead of having concerns about what other people say we should do, we need to think differently. We should renew our minds in the truth of God’s Word. There we will find what is good and acceptable and perfect. Because there we will find God’s will. Let’s shut out the voices of the world and listen to God, the one true authoritative and good voice.

My wife and I witnessed first hand how a life can be consumed with traditions. We watched as Hindu neighbors and friends painstakingly followed the traditions of their faith. It required a lot of time and effort to carefully practice the traditions, which included a daily offering to the gods. I still can’t imagine the extent of personal sacrifice and diligence it took.

In our culture we tend to look down on traditions as old-fashioned nonsense. We may think that these traditions were fine for an older generation, but don’t make sense for us today. In many cases this type of assessment is true. For instance, you will not catch a cold simply by going outdoors in chilly weather. So for some traditions, it may be proper and right to reject them. The problem comes when we just reject all traditions or don’t investigate the reasons that the traditions are observed.

Paul encouraged believers to hold onto some traditions when he wrote, “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.”

We must hold onto the traditions that we learn from God’s Word and from godly people. These traditions are based on truth and lead us into the glory of Jesus Christ.

The loftiest title ever given to me is “The Reverend Doctor”. However, it was mistakenly given. I am not a Reverend or a Doctor. I am still not sure where these people got the idea that I held such titles. Worse yet, why would they think that I wanted to be addressed in such a manner?

Some titles we can earn through education or our professions. Royal families in various countries are given titles simply because of their genes. Other titles are given based upon achievements, like All-star, War Hero, or Teacher of the Year. These titles describe us to a certain degree, but they do not define who we are.

God gives His children various titles. We have not earned these honors, but God gives them to us by His grace to describe who we are by faith. I Peter 2:9-10 lists some of these God-given honors; “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

We are given these royal titles because we are now born to the King of kings and Lord of lords. He has adopted us as his children and made us joint heirs with His Son Jesus Christ. All these honors belong to those who have trusted Jesus for salvation.