Author: Dave Burchett

My sons were a bit surprised and a little creeped out that their geezer Dad created a Facebook page. My argument was that wrinkled faces like to communicate with others too! In fact a lot of my slightly “higher mileage” friends are jumping into the cyber social networking scene. So it was with some interest that I read about a new bit of incredibly important research released this month. The news was startling.

Facebook users can be narcissists.

Can you believe it?

A new University of Georgia study suggests that online social networking sites such as Facebook might be useful tools for detecting whether someone is a narcissist. The researchers, whose results appear in the October issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, found that the number of Facebook friends and wallposts that individuals have on their profile pages correlates with narcissism. The research says this is consistent with how narcissists behave in the real-world, with numerous yet shallow relationships. Narcissists are also more likely to choose glamorous, self-promoting pictures for their main profile photos.

Here is my Facebook profile picture.

Yes, I am pictured in a television production truck with a donkey wearing headsets. I wonder what that says about me? I have often used the example of Balaam’s donkey as an example of why people should read my humble ramblings. In Numbers 22 we read these words.

And the LORD opened the mouth of the (donkey).

I chickened out on the King James Version. But my point is that it could happen again. The Lord could choose a (donkey) to speak through so keep reading just in case He does it again. The study made another observation about Facebook narcissists.

“Sometimes they’ll have a famous (Ralph Waldo) Emerson quote, but they’ll include quotes from themselves or something flattering someone else said about them.”

I have not done the self-promoting quote thing. Perhaps that is because my most flattering quote from a friend was something like this.

“I have had worse friends than Dave.”   Bradley

Based on this research I may not be a narcissist. My profile picture is hardly flattering. There are no fancy quotes on my site. Another indicator of Facebook narcissism was a lot of bragging the “About Me” section. I wrote this on my page

I am a joyful follower of Jesus Christ. I am incredibly happily married to the lovely Joni. Father of three most excellent sons and proud father-in-law of two extraordinary daughters. The rest is just filler.

Nonetheless, I really can’t be too smug about my mental stability. I am, after all, intently giving instructions to a polystyrene donkey wearing headsets.

You would have to be in a cave or colorblind to not know this is breast cancer awareness month. Some may find the pink ribbons everywhere a bit much. I am one who is grateful for every ribbon I see. My bride is now a two year survivor and the dollars poured into research along with faith, hope and prayers all contributed to her current status. I know many other woman (and their friends and loved ones) are on this tough journey right now. For the rest of October I am going to re-post some of the articles Joni and I wrote during that trial. Today we begin with D-Day…diagnosis day. Joni and I hope her story will be an encouragement to those going through the storm.

Blessings and grace, Dave

SENTENCES THAT CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Most of life’s sentences are blissfully mundane. I can’t find my keys. Take out the garbage. Please feed the dog. I can’t find my keys. ADD readers will relate to that string of comments. But sometimes a single sentence will change your life. My bride of nearly thirty years dropped one of those sentences on me this week.

“My spot was cancerous.”

After an optimistic initial briefing from the surgeon days earlier we were not prepared for the harsh reality of the pathology report. The  breast cancer is still small but aggressive. The prognosis still optimistic but the journey will be hard. Yesterday I quoted that noted scholar and philosopher Mike Tyson who said, “Everyone has a game plan until they get hit in the mouth.”  That was how I felt after talking and crying with my wife. We are looking at a year of treatment and trials. But God is good and His grace is truly sufficient. How can you explain how forty eight hours later we can have such confidence and peace?

Many of you read these ramblings at Crosswalk and I have become a regular peruser of that site. Just last week pastor and author John Piper wrote an amazing article at Crosswalk called “Don’t Waste Your Cancer.” Piper wrote the article on the eve of his own prostate surgery so he has a little “street cred” on the topic. I was blown away at his godly response to this fearsome foe. I never dreamed that I would be sharing that article with my wife just days later.  Joni and I have adopted John’s spiritual battle plan right alongside our doctor’s medical strategy as we proceed to fight this giant. Here is just some of John Piper’s wisdom from that article.

You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.
 
It will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it. What God permits, he permits for a reason. And that reason is his design. If God foresees molecular developments becoming cancer, he can stop it or not. If he does not, he has a purpose. Since he is infinitely wise, it is right to call this purpose a design. Satan is real and causes many pleasures and pains. But he is not ultimate. So when he strikes Job with boils (Job 2:7), Job attributes it ultimately to God (2:10) and the inspired writer agrees: “They . . . comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). If you don’t believe your cancer is designed for you by God, you will waste it.

You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). “There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel” (Numbers 23:23). “The LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).

You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.

The design of God in your cancer is not to train you in the rationalistic, human calculation of odds. The world gets comfort from their odds. Not Christians. Some count their chariots (percentages of survival) and some count their horses (side effects of treatment), but we trust in the name of the LORD our God (Psalm 20:7). God’s design is clear from 2 Corinthians 1:9, “We felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” The aim of God in your cancer (among a thousand other good things) is to knock props out from under our hearts so that we rely utterly on him.

You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.

When Epaphroditus brought the gifts to Paul sent by the Philippian church he became ill and almost died. Paul tells the Philippians, “He has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill” (Philippians 2:26-27). What an amazing response! It does not say they were distressed that he was ill, but that he was distressed because they heard he was ill. That is the kind of heart God is aiming to create with cancer: a deeply affectionate, caring heart for people. Don’t waste your cancer by retreating into yourself.

You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.

Christians are never anywhere by divine accident. There are reasons for why we wind up where we do. Consider what Jesus said about painful, unplanned circumstances: “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness” (Luke 21:12 -13). So it is with cancer. This will be an opportunity to bear witness. Christ is infinitely worthy. Here is a golden opportunity to show that he is worth more than life. Don’t waste it.

Joni and I do not intend to waste this experience. When we prayed about her upcoming surgery my amazing wife dropped another sentence on me that was a life changer.

“Dear God…I am not and I will not question you.”

How can you not want to go into battle with a woman like that? Yesterday I told her that I wished I was going through this and not her. She said that she was glad it was her and not me. The miracle of the two becoming one is that we both meant what we said. Just about thirty years ago I proclaimed another life changing statement without really realizing the magnitude of the vow that I was making.

I take you Joni to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health…

So it is my turn to step up to the plate and back up that vow. What a privilege to be there for her as she would be there for me. We value your prayers. For anyone who might stumble on this blog I would suggest one more life changing statement. This is a statement that I have experienced and can highly recommend for both the mountains and valleys of this journey.

Jesus…I want to know you personally.

(Yesterday I wrote about a church in my town (Garland, TX) that took out a full page ad to admit they had been wrong. I had written earlier about my journey to learn how to admit that I have a well developed capacity to be wrong. Since this is “Admit You Are Wrong” week I decided to re-post that article today).

There are a lot of fun things about being a published author. For example, you are forever a published author even if you end up in a lonely bargain bin at some godforsaken outlet mall while some smiling preacher sells millons and millions of books for saying practically nothing but I’m not bitter. Whew. Didn’t see that coming.

One of the really bad things about being published is that your words are forever “out there”. When you write a book your words cannot be denied. That is unless you are Charles Barkley and you claim you were misquoted in your autobiography. But Charles…your autobiography is your own…sigh…never mind.

Something that seemed clever or wise eight years ago now seems like as bad an idea as the “Dumb and Dumber” tux I wore when I wed my beloved. I will point out that the smokin’ hot future Mrs.Burchett was somehow able to look past the tux and still say “I do”. 

So my wedding picture will forever be linked to Jeff Bridges and I will always have some words in print that I wish I had safely back in my computer.

When I was a younger man I suffered from CFS…Chronic Fonzie Syndrome. Fans of the old Happy Days TV show will recognize the character of Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli. Fonzie was the coolest guy on the show. But he had one big problem. He could not bring himself to say he was wrong. The clips are still funny. Fonzie takes a deep breath and makes the attempt.

“I was wr…wro…wr…”(and finally he just makes a choking sound in total resignation)

I know that CFS can also be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and I am not making light of that frustrating malady. But it can also really wear you out to never be able to be wrong. When I was wrong in the past it would cue up the old soundtracks (negative tapes are always instant cues) and I would feel stupid and less than enough. I knew they would soon discover that I was an imposter and a college drop-out and that I had a Barry Manilow cassette in my car. I would get defensive and hidden.

And then I was healed. Miraculously I no longer suffer the effects of Chronic Fonzie Syndrome. I fact I can say it in all caps.

I WAS WRONG!

My healing was very simple. I finally trusted that what God says about me in His Word is true. I am justified by faith. I am not condemned. I am a new creature in Christ. I have been changed already. All of the junk that makes me defensive and weird and hidden has been nailed to the Cross. It does not exist anymore. I am a saint in the eyes of the Father. I have the Holy Spirit to help me understand His Word and my deepest needs. So why was I afraid to admit that I am also still human? Because I knew everything in this paragraph but I didn’t yet believe and trust it. That is the difference.

So I got a chance to exercise my incredible healing when an irate e-mail arrived in the cyber mailbox.

Dave, I’m reading through your book right now, “When Bad Christians Happen to Good People”. I bought it at Half Price Books for $1.00. I thought, ‘Hey, a sweet deal and (hopefully) a sweet read’. While I can say that the first few chapters fulfilled a sense of enjoyment well worth the asking price, I soon found your political stumblings too much to chew. I’m okay with the fact that you’re a republican, and I can appreciate the fact that you’re not a perfect Christian. However, I am bothered by the fact that you can use a politically charged rant as a method to reveal wisdom about evangalism.

I wish you well in the future Dave. I contemplated whether or not I should visit your site and post a writier’s criticism, because I have a feeling that you will simply write me off as one of those evil Christians your book deems as nonsense.   Michael P.

I had no problem admitting to Michael that I agreed with him that using politics was a really bad idea. I had no problem agreeing that I am not a perfect Christian (other references available from Joni and sons). I had no problem in posting his views on the old website. And I had no problem sending a note to him to tell him I was wrong.

I was just about finished with my daily dose of depression from the morning newspaper when an advertisement stopped me cold. It was a full page ad from a local church. The headline in the Dallas Morning News screamed out in big, bold letters.

We Were Wrong

“We followed trends when we should have followed Jesus. We told others how to live but did not listen ourselves. We live in the land of plenty, denying ourselves nothing, while ignoring our neighbors who actually have nothing. We sat on the sidelines doing nothing while AIDS ravaged Africa. We were wrong; we’re sorry. Please forgive us.”

That is a powerful and sobering admission. I was shocked. And I was greatly encouraged by the courage and the humility needed to admit such an embarrassing message to the public. Since I loved the ad I am sure Springcreek Church in Garland, Texas will get a lot of criticism. I don’t think like a lot of the herd.

I opened my first book When Bad Christians Happen To Good People with these words.

I must begin with some words of disclosure. I am a hypocrite. I can be arrogant and selfish. I have been known to stretch, conceal, or slightly massage the truth. I am sometimes inconsiderate and insecure. I struggle with lust and impure thoughts. My ego often rages out of control, and I battle foolish pride. I can be lazy and foolhardy with my time. I get angry, petty, and ill tempered. I am sarcastic and cynical.

I am a Christian.

Does that surprise you? It shouldn’t. If there is one theme about our faith that should be communicated, it is that we all fall short of the goal spelled out in Christ’s teachings. Author Max Lucado has a wonderful line. He says that God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way. So all of us believers are somewhere on that continuum of where we started and where God wants us to be. But that realization seems to penetrate our thinking only sporadically. In fact, there are those among us who will call me a counterfeit since I admit to such unflattering traits. They will write and tell me that if I had their brand of faith I would be above any of these sins all of the time. I believe they would be wrong.

Obviously a “bad Christian” like me was intrigued to hear how Springcreek Church explained their very public confession. Senior Pastor Keith Stewart wrote this in an open letter on the church website.

No one is perfect. No one lives sin-free. You blow it. I blow it. And the church does, too. I’m sure that you (like me) have, on more than one occasion, had to make something right by apologizing. So why is it so rare to hear a church apologize? The truth is, an apology from the church should not “stand out.” It should not make the community sit up and take notice. But it does, precisely because that the church rarely does what it tells others to do.

I know my tens of readers want to know how I feel about this apology. Is it Godly or is it a gimmick? Pastor Stewart began his open letter with this Scripture.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. (1 John 1, NIV)

I would love to go to a church that can confess with humility and grace that they have erred. I trust that Pastor Stewart’s heart is sincere and his congregation shares his authenticity. I rarely write in absolutes but one thing I have found is that truly Godly people always demonstrate humility. From reading the comments at the church website I am struck by the humility of Pastor Keith Stewart.

If I may gracefully add one caution to my fellow sojourners here in scenic Garland, Texas it would this lesson I learned the hard way. I am responding to a couple of lines that appeared in the open letter. I hasten to add that the leadership may be well ahead of your humble correspondent on this point so forgive me if I am presuming anything in your letter. Here are the sentences that caused me to recall my long journey to practice grace.

The only way the community will ever believe our words is if our behavior backs it up. With the help of God, we want to become a community of believers that lives out its creed.

May I suggest with all the grace I can muster after watching political coverage this morning the following thoughts. The community will believe your words if you create an environment of grace. A place where people can walk in flawed and hurting and be accepted for who they are and where they are. A place where they don’t have to wear a mask to be accepted. That is when, in my humble opinion, the community will believe your words. I am praying for you daredevils at Springcreek Church. Don’t let the spiritual hall monitors get you down with the drive-by judgments that will surely happen. If you are following the leading of the Holy Spirit you had no choice but to apologize. I pray that many of us will follow your example both personally and corporately.

I wish this article was more encouraging. Every year in the illustrious history of the humble ramblings I have breathlessly brought you the results of the M-LAW (Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch) Wacky Warning Label Contest. The contest is conducted to reveal how lawsuits, and fear of lawsuits, have driven the proliferation of ridiculously common-sense warnings on U.S. products.The reason I am reluctant to publish this right now is because of the over arching implications of these labels. The same people who apparently need the warning labels we are about to see are going to vote in a few days for the leader of the free world. God save America. Let the stupidity begin.

Honorable mention went to a warning label found on a letter opener that says:

“Caution: Safety goggles recommended.”

“Please don’t let any human see me donning safety goggles to open a letter from Aunt Bee. But if I don’t put on the goggles I can’t sue if there is a tragic letter opening mishap. Life is so complicated!”

Another honorable mention was awarded for a warning found on the Vanishing Fabric Marker which cautions users:

“The Vanishing Fabric Marker should not be used as a writing instrument for signing checks or any legal documents.”

“I sent you a check last week….wait a minute…did I grab the darn Vanishing Fabric Marker again? My bad.” 
Perhaps we should have Congress write all of their bills with the Vanishing Fabric Marker. They could stay busy without hurting the country.

The second place award was awarded to a label found on an iron-on T-shirt transfer that warns: “Do not iron while wearing shirt.”

Okay. Apparently this happened somewhere. Somebody decided it would just take too much time to take the t-shirt off to iron on the transfer. Yep, that person may be voting soon. 

The third place prize went to a label on a baby-stroller featuring a small storage pouch that warns, “Do not put child in bag.”

Seriously. Pretty sure this was a Dad who decided the storage bag was a handy carry-all for junior. And that Dad soon found a label that said “Do Not Sleep in Bedroom”.

The nation’s most obvious warning label in M-LAW’s annual Wacky Warning Label Contest was this great piece of advice found on a small tractor that warns, “Danger: Avoid Death.”

That is such good advice. I have put that label on my car. I put it on the seat when I fly. In short, this label has become my strategy in all of my daily activities. So far it is working like a charm.

“Warning labels are a sign of our lawsuit-plagued times,” said Robert B. Dorigo Jones, M-LAW president. “An unpredictable legal system – in which judges allow anyone to file a lawsuit on almost any theory – has created a need for product makers to plaster wacky warnings on everything.” Humor columnist Dave Barry wrote about this trend. “Fortunately, I live in the United States of America, where we are gradually coming to understand that nothing we do is ever our fault, especially if it is really stupid.” 

And these warning labels are a sign that too many of us are unwilling to take any personal responsibility for our actions. We are the culture of “not at fault”. There is “no fault” auto insurance and “no fault” divorce. A child learns to say “it’s not my fault” right after they learn to say “no.” The “not at fault” mind-set has crept into the body of Christ as well. For too many people nothing is ever their fault. We seem to have lost the ability to simply say “I was wrong. Please forgive me.” Instead we do the dreaded apology light. You know the syndrome. Some people can only say the words “I am sorry” if that phrase is immediately followed by a gigantic but (that would be one “t”).

Whenever I see or hear the gigantic “but” I tend to discount the apology.

• I am sorry but I was having a bad day.
• Forgive me for my words but I was really tired and not feeling well.
• I shouldn’t have reacted but the other person was rude.
• I over-reacted but he pushed my buttons (whatever that means). Blah, blah, blah, blah.

Or how about the “you are too touchy apology”.

• Forgive me if my words offended you.

Nope. Just say forgive me. Take responsibility and don’t make excuses. Don’t put it on the other person being thin skinned. Being responsible for our actions is an act of love and obedience. Clearly we have a biblical responsibility to love one another. The Apostle John has some insight.

If anyone boasts, “I love God,” and goes right on hating his brother or sister, thinking nothing of it, he is a liar. If he won’t love the person he can see, how can he love the God he can’t see? The command we have from Christ is blunt: Loving God includes loving people. You’ve got to love both. (1 John 4:20-21, The Message)

The command is indeed blunt. Noted Christian author A. B. Simpson once noted that “a good way to test your love to God is by the way you treat your brother…God is more concerned by my conduct toward my brother than by my prayers to Him.” 

Amen.

Jesus made it clear how important it is to reconcile with our fellow sojourners.  

“You’re familiar with the command to the ancients, ‘Do not murder.’ I’m telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother ‘idiot!’ and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell ‘stupid!’ at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. “This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right.”  (Matthew 5, The Message)

I want to be willing to take responsibility for my actions. If I am stupid (make that when I am stupid) I want to be willing to say I am wrong with no excuse. I am learning to say I am sorry…and no buts about it.

The whole world seems a little shaky these days. The political climate is discouraging and draining. My retirement just got delayed until I am 110 years old. I am a devoted Cleveland Browns fan. Can it get any worse?

I usually don’t think too much about my days in the legalistic church I grew up attending. You might remember me talking about the First Church of Jesus Loves You But We Probably Won’t. But for some reason today as I was praying, meditating and thinking about the state of the world and the AFC North I drifted back to that church. In particular I thought about a little old lady who always sat in the third pew on the right. And I remembered how she used to belt out hymns with great gusto. She usually wasn’t within sight of the correct key but she didn’t care. One song that she loved to sing off-key came back to me today. Standing On The Promises.

Alan Jackson sang this song in his collection of hymns that he released recently. I remembered the refrain in particular.

Standing, standing,
 standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;
 standing, standing,
 I’m standing on the promises of God.

To be honest those lyrics didn’t mean much to a young teenager. I didn’t know much about God’s promises. I hadn’t lived enough to experience his trustworthiness and love. Now I have. And now I understand why that sweet little lady belted out those words. God’s Word is loaded with promises. And these are not the kind of promises that we are hearing in debates and political ads. God’s promises are not meant to buy our favor. They are meant to redeem, comfort, sustain and mature us.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
 listening every moment to the Spirit’s call,
 resting in my Savior as my all in all,
 standing on the promises of God.

Wow. Something else came to mind as I reflected on the truth of that old hymn. It doesn’t say “leaning” on the promises or putting a little faith on God’s promises. To experience His peace and comfort you must put your full weight on these promises. Stand on them. I chose one promise to stand on today. Jesus words to His followers as He sent them out to make disciples and teach is my promise for these turbulent times.

And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age. (Matt 28:20, NLT)

That just makes me feel a whole lot better about the state of the world. I might as well have a good attitude since I have to work another 55 years.

(Under the weather today…please enjoy a gently read previous post)

Recently I suffered a nasty bout of writer’s block so I decided that if I was going to be unproductive I might as well watch television. That philosophy of time management has been challenged on more than one occasion by the lovely Mrs.Burchett. Surprisingly the dip into the often vapid world of cable television proved productive. I stumbled upon a fascinating History Channel feature on Ben Franklin. I knew Franklin as a brilliant statesman, inventor, writer and a bit of a scoundrel.

 Courtesy of www.earlyamerica.com

But I did not know that in his autobiography the venerable statesman admitted a radical plan. 

“I once conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection.”

Wonder how that worked out?

Benjamin Franklin could have saved himself some aggravation by reading Paul’s letter to the Roman church. Hold that thought. Franklin outlined the thirteen virtues he desired to master. Here are his baker’s dozen of admirable traits as written in his autobiography and in the language (and spelling) of the day.

   1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
   2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
   3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
   4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
   5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
   6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
   7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
   8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
   9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
  10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
  11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
  12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
  13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

There is a lot of good in that list although Franklin’s personal life might have made number 12 his biggest challenge. Nonetheless the optimistic Franklin devised a plan to avoid drinking to elevation, engaging in trifling conversation and limiting his venery.

Ben decided that taking on the whole list would be too daunting so he ordered the list and planned to address one virtue at a time until that trait was a habit. He devised a grid to chart his progress. As Saint Paul predicted in his treatise to the Romans, Benjamin Franklin’s system was destined to fail. Franklin wrote a passage not unlike the Roman argument.

“But I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my care was employed in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason.”

Hmmmm. Sounds a lot like old nature and sin nature. Centuries earlier the imprisoned Paul had outlined the same struggle. “I try to do the right thing but I invariably do the opposite.” Paul noted that the law clearly demonstrates our sinful condition just as Franklin’s thirteen virtues convicted him of his failure. Paul would have told Franklin that  the law convicts all of us of the impossibility of living a sinless life that would satisfy  a Holy God. The Apostle’s lament would be depressing if he had stopped after this proclamation to the Romans. “For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”

But Paul did not stop there. He explained that only a miraculous theological event could free us from the enslavement of the law.  That the penalty was paid and we are justified by faith and nothing else.  He argued that our sin was literally crucified with Christ so that we no longer would have to be a slave to that sin.  He wrote that all of the junk from our sin past is now dead in God’s eyes and we have no condemnation if we are in Christ Jesus. Emerging from that shame into the light of grace allows me to begin a path toward sanctification. Realizing how powerless I am to control my sin causes me to come to the same logical conclusion that Ben Franklin sadly deduced. I can’t do this on my own.

But there is the difference between Saint Paul’s plan and Benjamin Franklin’s plan. Paul realized that it is only through Christ who lives in us that we can be free from the slavery of our sin nature. Realizing that we need to lean wholly on Christ and the empowering awareness of the Holy Spirit allows us to begin to resolve our sin issues. Only then can we be free, without condemnation and lavished in His amazing grace. Paul’s letter to the Romans was not a plan to achieve moral perfection. That is not possible in this go around. Some of the principles that my friends at TrueFaced espouse have reoriented my thinking. By the way, you can download and sample a part of the TrueFaced Romans series when you visit their website.

The day I put my belief in Christ by faith I was changed. I have a new nature. God is no longer interested in changing me. I have already been changed. God is interested in me maturing into what it is already true about me. The old sin nature is dead. But the old nature needs to be brought under the gentle control of the Holy Spirit. Steadfastly marking off my good deeds on a list of virtues will not make me holy.  Righteousness is not gritting our teeth and determining to sin less. When we begin to trust the truth of what God says is already true about us we actually can begin to resolve our sin issues and begin to understand righteousness as God sees it. Righteousness is not what we do. Righteousness is who we are. When we place our trust in Christ we are righteous. Still not morally perfect but equipped to move in that direction.

Ben Franklin had a great goal.  He just needed a better theology than self-effort.