Don’t Live for the Likes. 

Posted on by scottcatchot

 

Love it or hate it, Social Media is a huge part of society. With apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, SnapChat, YouTube, WhatsApp, TikTok, WeChat, Pinterest, Linkedin, and a host of others, there is something for everyone. You can even make a decent educated guess regarding someone’s age group based on the social media they use the most. It is a great way to stay connected, network, and just have fun, however it can also lead to drama and cause people to have a tendency to live for the likes. What I mean by this is to be worried about how many followers, what people think about them, are people liking their posts, how much interaction are they getting, it can be overwhelming. We all have a tendency to want to be liked to some degree or another, after all We are created as social beings and we really can’t do life alone, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.  Now though scripture does not mention social media, it does have some things that are applicable to this topic. 

Take a look at  Matthew 23:1-12

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

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Believe it or not, October is just around the corner. This means Halloween and  All saints Day is just around the corner.  I find this scripture selection ironic considering the way society celebrates  Halloween, where people dress up, pretend to be people and things they are not, wearing  masks etc because this

scripture is about the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of Israel. Their dress, their deportment, their teaching, their demand for salutations that curry honor from the people, and even their very presence is a magnificent pretense, offensive to God and painfully imprisoning for those who follow them.

Are we who we portray ourselves to be? And does it matter?

In Hamlet: The Tragedy of the Prince of Denmark, Polonius, the chief counsel to the murderous King Claudius, tells us his son, Laertes:

“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”[1]

“To thine own self be true,” is a rebuke to Laertes who is in a disastrous contest for Ophelia. 

Many 12 step programs as they work with people to break the cycle of addiction use this as a reminder , To thine own self be true.

I often have issues with this, Yes we need to be true to ourselves and not fall into the Rat Race of impressing others, doing things for the sake of how it looks, but scripturally, there isn’t much in of ourselves that is good to be true to  outside of Christ and so it needs a caveat, to thine own self in Christ be true. 

We generally know ourselves according to the manner in which we  think of ourselves. Others usually see us differently. If we are completely honest, we do not always view our own selves correctly. I find myself looking in the mirror and not always recognizing who looks back as changes happen through the years. 

One of the goals of personal and spiritual growth is to know who we are, as we are, as we are known, as God desires us to be, and to make sure there is truth in what is shown.You know me as a pastor. In a sense, I have worked to have you to know me as such. I have been working on an education and being credentialed for this role. Is it for self or for God? And with such a role comes expectations.

Perhaps, you say to yourself when you see me, “If he is a pastor he must hold to all those characteristics that Paul speaks of in 1 Timothy 3.” Beyond Biblical expectations, there are social or we might say “cultural” expectations. He is faithful to His Word, His wife, His family, and he is devoted to God. 

Or, does  your own cultural experience lead you to think  Christian minister equals a fraud. , an Elmer Gantry.   Elmer Gantry is a movie from the 60’s starring Burt Lancaster and Shirley Jones. However, Sinclair Lewis published the novel Elmer Gantry in 1927 at the height of the roaring twenties and Prohibition (the Volstead Act creating the 18th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, 28 October 1919), Both the law and Sinclair was influenced by the moral zeal of Midwestern evangelicals. So, Lewis left his native northeastern suburbs for Kansas City. He went to church. He watched preachers. The Methodist Episcopal Church South was the largest denomination in the land and very prominent in Kansas City. So, the famous and sometimes infamous author crafted a character based not upon his observations of ministers in Kansas City, but upon his own prejudice against evangelical Christianity. His disdain for pastors is undeniable as you read the last lines of Elmer Gantry. Having been sued for $50,000 by an angry husband of a woman under the spell of Gantry, and with his association with distillers made known, Lewis ends with this scene:

“Oh, my friends!” cried Elmer, “do you believe in my innocence, in the fiendishness of my accusers? Reassure me with a hallelujah!” The church thundered with the triumphant hallelujah, and in a sacred silence Elmer prayed “O Lord, thou hast stooped from thy mighty throne and rescued thy servant from the assault of the mercenaries of Satan! Mostly we thank thee because thus we can go on doing thy work, and thine alone! Not less but more zealously shall we seek utter purity and the prayer-life, and rejoice in freedom from all temptations! He turned to include the choir, and for the first time he saw that there was a new singer, a girl with charming ankles and lively eyes, with whom he would certainly have to become well acquainted. But the thought was so swift that it did not interrupt the oæan of his prayer “Let me count this day, Lord, as the beginning of a new and more vigorous life, as the beginning of a crusade for complete morality and the domination of the Christian church through all the land. Dear Lord, thy work is but begun! We shall yet make these United States a moral nation!”[2]

So, is the truth of Elmer Gantry that the character is flawed, evangelical Christianity is a sham? Or could it not be that the author is flawed?

Yet, what about you? How does the public person and the private person that you are  compare to each other.? Do they? And why does it matter?

 Well mainly because It matters to God. The Lord has condemned It. Jesus called the Leaders of his day out of it frequently. Pointing out their Hypocrisy. In our scripture today he says to listen to them, but don’t do as they do. Sinclair Lewis’ Gantry has nothing on these guys. . And how the world has changed since SInclairs days. 

Parents often catch themselves saying things like, “Do as I say not as I do”, however plenty of studies show that the example watched often holds more power than the words, therefore it is important to work toward walking out what you say. 

And so hypocrisy continues, it is part of the fallen human condition. We want people to see us in a good light, often to think of us better than we think of ourselves. 

To seek the approval of others has always been a struggle for humanity, and in Today’s society the Rat Race pushes many to seek approval of others in ways previous generations could not have even imagined. 

In our algorithmically driven age, everything is done for attention. Nothing is safe. Whether it’s posting a picture of your food or sharing a video detailing your morning grooming routine, or documenting every detail of your best, worst, or most mundane moment, all of human life exists for display. People post pictures hoping to get others to like them. I do it, it is an easy way to share and keep up with friends and family, but we need to be mindful of the driving force beyond why we do it. 

 This isn’t new to our species – merely amplified by technology. God has a different, simpler, and humbler plan.  

It isn’t that he never wants us to be exalted, to get atta boys, but get them for the right reasons and most importantly the right way. See we are not to Lord things over others, and do you know why? Because we are all equal in God’s eyes. Yes equal in worth, equal in the love he has for us, but also equally screwed up. Equally in need of a savior, equally separated from Him outside of His son Jesus. There is none good, no not one. And so in my opinion a better phrase to remember beside to thine own self be true is except for the grace of God there go I. Anytime we look at someone and think How we are better off, remember it has nothing to do with ourselves and everything to do with the Grace and Love of God.

The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.  God wants us to allow Him to exalt us, let His work in us and through us be what brings glory, praise, exaltation. Since he is the only one worthy of all praise, it is the appropriate way. Being liked is a good thing, but let’s get likes because we share Jesus in our lives to others and not get our view of our self worth from the status of our social media. You are loved by the creator, you already have worth, regardless of the likes your posts get. Never forget that!

Do You Know The Master?

Posted on by scottcatchot

My Church was doing a Wednesday night series over the Parables of Jesus. Last night I shared over the Parable of the Talents and wanted to post it as I learned some really great things during this study.

The Parable of the Talents Matthew 25:
14 “For it is just like a man going on a journey. He called his own slaves and turned over his possessions to them. 15 To one he gave five talents;[c] to another, two; and to another, one—to each according to his own ability. Then he went on a journey. Immediately 16 the man who had received five talents went, put them to work, and earned five more. 17 In the same way the man with two earned two more. 18 But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. Look, I’ve earned five more talents.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’
22 “Then the man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. Look, I’ve earned two more talents.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’
24 “Then the man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a difficult man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. Look, you have what is yours.’
26 “But his master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy slave! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then[d] you should have deposited my money with the bankers. And when I returned I would have received my money[e] back with interest.
28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has 10 talents. 29 For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 And throw this good-for-nothing slave into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

I am sure many have heard this story before. I have heard it shared many times in the past and have read and reread it multiple times since, especially the past few weeks. I have also read more commentaries on it than I care to remember. The usual message I have heard on it relates to God giving us talents that we are to put to use for His glory. This is a great message, biblically sound because that is exactly what we are to do with our talents.

There is more to this parable than a great message on using our talents for Jesus. As a matter of fact if you look at the etymology of the English word talent, that’s a fancy word meaning the study of the origin of words, our usage of the word talent actually comes from the common interpretations and teaching on this parable. The only problem is that was not the meaning of the word in Jesus’ Day or how it is used in this parable.
Obviously the story uses talents to represent money. But parables have a purpose which is to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. So there is more to this story than meets the eye. The original definition of talent is that it was an ancient unit of weight. A talent in of itself is not a unit of currency.

The talent was the heaviest or largest biblical unit of measurement for weight. There is some debate over the actual modern equivalent due to different cultures having a different weight associated with their talent but an average estimate is around 75 lbs would be the weight equivalent of 1 talent. So when using talents you would have a talent of gold, silver, copper, etc. In the parable it just says he gave one 5 talents, one two, and the last only one. It does not say if it is gold, silver or copper. Regardless it was a considerable amount all across the board. One was given 375 lbs, another 150 lbs, and another 75 lbs. This is not something you just walk around with in your pocket. Some scholars estimate the monetary amount could have been up to 20 years salary.

So the master has called these slaves and has given his possessions over to them. Some translations say property. I need to mention the importance of property. Property to the Israelites was tied to the promises of God. It might trace back to the inheritance given when entering the promise land. It definitely represented what was the inheritance to be given to family when one passed away.

Considering this I find it interesting that Jesus does not specify an amount but stresses that a weight was given to each or dare I say a responsibility or a measure of something was given to each.

Now most commentaries and messages focus on what the talents represent. Which is where I began my study into this parable. It says they were given to each according to his own ability. Well regardless of how truthful and how great the interpretation is regarding using our talents for Jesus, It doesn’t make much sense that abilities were given according to abilities.

I spent a lot of time researching and praying over what God wanted me to share about this parable. In this parable Jesus uses a comparison between how the different slaves handled their talents. Two put the talents to good use, One hid the talent. The two were rewarded, the one, not so much. I studied the context of how the parable was told. Jesus is actually speaking to his disciples. They have questioned him about the end times, when to expect everything to come to pass. This parable is set between two other parables and they are all giving examples of what the Kingdom of heaven is like.

The verse preceding this , verse 13 says,
”3 “Therefore be alert, because you don’t know either the day or the hour.[b]
then continues into 14
“For it is just like a man going on a journey.

SO the importance of this parable is tied in part to Jesus stressing being alert in the end times. So what are we to understand the talents to represent? I continued to study digging into the greek for the words ability and at how the comparisons between the different slaves played out. Two put the money to use and one hid his away. They were rewarded and punished accordingly to what they did it seems.

But an important thing to remember in studying the Bible, is context. Everything must be understood in context with the rest of scriptures as well as in its’ own chapter.

But If the point of Jesus’ teaching in the parable of the talents is indeed the effort, faithfulness, or works, then based solely upon the context of this parable, one is confronted with the alarming possibility that the difference between those who enter the joy of the master from those who are cast into outer darkness is simply diligent labor. In short, if these interpretations are taken to their extreme, logical conclusion, they are ultimately teaching a works-based salvation, or if the notion of outer darkness is downplayed, then a works-based way to become more righteous. This is against all that the Bible teaches regarding Grace.

But in looking at all of these things I realized there was something that did fit all this criteria and that the talents could very well represent faith.

ROMANS 12:3
3 For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one.

Everyone is given a measure of faith, the more we use our faith, the more it increases. It is our faith that leads us to do works. It is by faith that we are saved and the bible even tells us that faith without works is dead and it is impossible to please God without faith. Even looking at the other parables in Chapter 25, the similarities underscore a message of faith.All of them deal with Jesus at his return; they cover judgement, accountability and the separation of two groups. So they are each in their own way showing how to be ready for when the master returns and keeping faith.

It was at this point The Holy Spirit highlighted something specific to me that I was missing. What he pointed out to me, took this parable to a whole other level.

There is a lot to gain looking at this parable and relating the talents to faith. And honestly we can teach great messages out of this making the talents represent many things, abilities, using money for god’s purpose, opportunities we are given. But The most important aspect in this parable isn’t what they were given, but what they did with what they were given and more importantly why. The motivation behind what caused the slaves to respond and act the way they did is the true gem of this parable.

Jesus’ relating of the servant’s actions and the master’s response showed that this was not a parable about work, money, or getting rewards. Instead, the parable of the talents is a story about motivation and the condition of one’s heart.

This was not a story about money but a parable about relationship. So now let’s look at this parable through that lens.

It says the first went immediately to work, the second did the same but the last hid his away. After a long time the master came and settled accounts. So the first two put that faith to use, the other did not, why the difference in what they did?

The man who had received five talents approached, presented five more talents, and said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. Look, I’ve earned five more talents.’
21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’
22 “Then the man with two talents also approached. He said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. Look, I’ve earned two more talents.’
23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’

ok let’s observe even though they both were given a different amount, they both put it to use and therefore saw an increase. And they both received the same thing. They were both told well done, good and faithful slave.
Ok a slave doing a job for his master, even a trusted slave as these obviously were, has no rightful expectation of keeping any profit or getting anything in return. He is merely doing what is expected.

What does the master go on and say?

You were faithful over a few things,I will put you in charge of many things. A few? well it is obvious the Master has an abundance . Remember the monetary equivalent we mentioned. But more importantly he said Share your master’s Joy!

So they just got promoted, And then asked to share in the Master’s Joy ? The relationship between them just changed. They were just invited to a closer intimacy. Well this is a parable that uses comparison to highlight it’s point so let’s compare the last slaves actions.
24 “Then the man who had received one talent also approached and said, ‘Master, I know you. You’re a difficult man, reaping where you haven’t sown and gathering where you haven’t scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the ground. Look, you have what is yours.’

This slave goes on to explain why he did what he did.

But the Master does not agree or disagree with him in regard to his judgement of his character. Instead he uses the slaves own words against him.
26 “But his master replied to him, ‘You evil, lazy slave! If you knew that I reap where I haven’t sown and gather where I haven’t scattered, 27 then[d] you should have deposited my money with the bankers. And when I returned I would have received my money[e] back with interest.
28 “‘So take the talent from him and give it to the one who has 10 talents.
Telling him,If you believed this, then you Should have put the money in the bank and allowed interest to grow. He was called evil, lazy and tossed out of relationship with the master.

Why did this slave respond differently than the other two who were eager and went to work immediately ?

There is one thing he said that is important to note. He was afraid. Why was he afraid ? He says it was because he knew the master.But is his assessment of the Master true? The master didn’t have to give them anything to use while he was away, he could have even chosen other slaves. If he truly expected to gain where he had no right to gain, he would not have then rewarded the slaves and definitely not ask them into a closer relationship. and share in his joy.

It’s possible this Slave may not have even truly believed what he was saying, but was just making excuses because his actions did not back up what he was saying according to the master. The truth is this slave did not really know his master and therefore allowed his fear to keep him from putting his faith to use. He claimed he thought his master would expect something from nothing and yet he still did nothing. His improper understanding of his master affected how he responded to what the Master truly wanted and therefore his talent, or his unused faith did not produce anything for him because he hid it.

In the same way, for each of us, our understanding of the master, our understanding of who Jesus is affects how we relate to him and therefore affects how we respond to him. Lot’s of things can cause us to have a misunderstanding of who Jesus is, Things that happen in the past, relationship with our parents, or spouses.Events going on around us. Anything that can cause us to think Jesus is a certain way or shake our understanding.

The Bible is the ruler and guide by which we are to learn who the master is.The entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation is the story of a personal God seeking to restore relationship with mankind. The very reason Jesus came was to restore relationship between God and man. This parable shows us what the kingdom of God is like. A master who has left his slaves in charge, left them with a measure of faith.

Our view of God affects our relationship with him. We either trust him and act in a way that shows we trust him and therefore use our faith. Or our picture of who the master is causes us to hold on to our faith allowing fears to keep things hidden away out of sight, not being used , unable to increase. This is something that can affect so many different aspects of our life. Are we willing to take a chance with God?

Truly the word Talent can represent many things: But what do we know about the master? Can we trust him with our our talents, our abilities, our money, our faith, opportunities we are given. our lives, our health, or whatever. Or do we have an understanding of the master that allows fear to cause us to hide these things from him, like the slave who buried the talent

Are we going to put our faith in him and thereby find ourselves invited into a closer relationship?

So the choice is ours. What will we believe about Jesus? Will we use our faith, taking hold of opportunities that we are presented with, will we trust in what kind of master we have and get to share in the master’s Joy or allow fear to cause us to hide our faith away. Do not allow a misunderstanding of who Jesus really is to cause you to do nothing and ultimately miss out. Having faith and then putting it to use brings opportunities for an even closer relationship with Jesus, hiding it will cause even what faith we have to be lost. It is a true use it or loose it situation. What do you know about the Master?

The Season of Figs

Posted on by scottcatchot

As I was reading in Mark earlier this week, I had a small detail stick out to me and it really stuck with me. It was the story of Jesus cursing the fig tree. What stuck with me was why Jesus cursed the fig tree in the first place. The story in question is:

Mark 11:12-14 and 20- 25 (HCSB)

The Barren Fig Tree Is Cursed

12 The next day when they came out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 After seeing in the distance a fig tree with leaves, He went to find out if there was anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples heard it.

Cleansing the Temple Complex

15 They came to Jerusalem, and He went into the temple complex and began to throw out those buying and selling in the temple. He overturned the money changers’ tables and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple complex.
17 Then He began to teach them: “Is it not written, My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations?[a] But you have made it a den of thieves!”[b] 18 Then the chief priests and the scribes heard it and started looking for a way to destroy Him. For they were afraid of Him, because the whole crowd was astonished by His teaching.
19 And whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.
The Barren Fig Tree Is Withered

20 Early in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peter remembered and said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that You cursed is withered.”
22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God. 23 I assure you: If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for—believe that you have received[c] them, and you will have them. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.

Jesus tells his disciples not to be shocked it withered and uses it as an example of praying with faith and expectation. This is obviously the primary purpose and lesson here, but that small detail kept me pondering. It clearly states it was not the season for figs. Why is the fig tree punished for doing what it was created to do in accordance to the seasons? Well knowing what I know about Jesus, His character being fair and not unjust, my assumption was there is more to this than meets the eye and so I began digging into fig trees and how they relate to this scripture.

It turns out that figs function differently from other fruit bearing trees in several ways such as it blossoms prior to putting on leaves and it’s bloom is covered. What is most important to this verse is how it produces fruit. Figs have more than one crop per year. The Breba crop develops in spring (the time period that this story occurs) on the previous years shoots. The main crop ( what would be referred to as the season for figs) develop’s on the current year’s shoot growth and ripens in late summer or fall. These are the sweetest and tastier crop, hence why it is referred to as the main crop. Another consideration is that depending on climate, the fruit bearing time extends over a longer time period and it is common to find fruit from the previous season still on trees outside of the main harvest time. Therefore the fact the tree was covered in leaves, as they could tell from a distance, it was not weird to expect their to be fruit on the tree that was so covered in leaves.

This then leads into the important message that exists in what happened to the fig tree in this story. Jesus cursed the tree and it withered. This was first an example of faith to the disciples, as Jesus explained to them. It also serves as a reminder of the importance of having spiritual fruit in our lives. The fig tree is the third tree mentioned by name in the Bible, Genesis 3:7. It is mentioned multiple times in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Jeremiah,Joel Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and probably in places I have missed. The New Testament carries on the usage of the fig tree as examples and symbols of Israel. Having fig trees was a sign of being blessed and prosperous. Conversely not having any, or one dying could be seen as a sign of judgement and/or rejection. The fact this event took place around him cleaning out the temple, It was another clue to the disciples about the coming judgement to Israel and the importance of bearing good fruit as was in line with many of Jesus’ other teachings. It would be wise of us to consider this in regards to our own lives and what it means to bear good fruit and not just look fruitful or we may find ourselves facing a disappointment and shock as happened in

Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV)
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

May we never hear that phrase, but instead hear, “well done my good and faithful servant.” It is about the relationship, not the work and outward sign as shown by the tree that looked as though it should have fruit and by the people who had the testimonies of what they had so called done in His name, and yet He did not know them.