Chained to a Pillar of Shame

"You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the LORD your God.  You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the LORD your God hates. (Deuteronomy 16:21,22 NKJV)

   Sacred “totems” were common among the pagan Canaanites. Some were carved similarly to those we are familiar with from Northwestern indigenous tribes, having images of actual living things. Others were carved with created images, and some were left uncarved. Both Alaskan and Canaanite ancients had another similar totem called a “pillar of shame”.  In modern Alaska, a few remain. One has the image of Exxon’s CEO. It is a “pillar of shame” for the perceived unpaid debt to Alaska for damage done when the Exxon Valdez spilled oil and polluted the local environment. The concept is that the pillar will stand until the debt is paid. Images carved on totems tell a story, and pillar of shame totems repeat at every glance the story of unpaid debt. In Croatia, an ancient pillar of shame still stands. People who had committed various misdemeanors were  chained to it for a day of public humiliation.

   The worship of God must be pure. Yahweh commands that we don’t worship anything but Him. You shall not plant for yourself any tree…I know I’ve erected several totems to myself over the years. Before I knew Christ, I enjoyed being exalted. When I read this verse today it made me consider that I may have also erected some pillars of shame. You shall not set up a sacred pillar…. I didn’t cut down any trees to do it, but instead tried to carve someone’s sin into a permanent pillar by repeatedly  mentioning it, ….which the LORD your God hates. Although I haven’t initiated a Christian sin totem carving class, I have too often repeated the past sin of others. When I preserve someone’s pillar of shame by mindlessly gossiping about their sin, I am denying the existence of Christ’s work on the cross. The damage done to a fellow Christian by verbally re-carving their sin stories is small compared to the damage to our Lord. Sin gossip can turn Christ's church into a minefield of unrelenting shame.

   I know that nothing I have done or can do has remitted my sin. Amazing Grace is God’s alone, but sometimes I seem to want God to require more than that of others. Grace seems like a sentence too light for them. I want and enjoy immediatef reedom from my transgressions of the law but prefer if my cellmates aren't paroled before their due time. The bible says of Jesus -- He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (Hebrews 9:26b) If I erect a sin pillar of someone's shame, I deny my Lord’s plan and purpose. If I repeat the sins of others I re-animate their sin, and I am saying that the blood sacrifice of Christ is an insufficient payment. And it’s not enough to just stop repeating the sin totems of others. I need to stop listening to them, too. Listening to Christian gossip is sin. 

   The Lord is not absent minded. He chooses to forget my sin. He is a just God and his unwillingness to even hold the memory of my forgiven sin reveals His justice. My sin is gone to prove it is forgiven, to validate the righteousness and finality of the sacrifice and the One who was sacrificed to remove it. OK God. Help me stop carving pillars of shame. Praise the Lord, let it be so.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. (John 1:29 NKJV)

Copyright 2012 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. May be quoted in whole or in part if a link is provided to http://wordworkswednesday.blogspot.com 

Powerball Dreams, Fireman Ed and Forgiveness Flowing From Love

 

 

A few years ago I was in Asia in a restaurant that served western style food. A wealthy local family entered and were seated. They were very westernized Asians. They all wore all name brand expensive western clothing. They had several children with them and also a poorly dressed young woman, the family slave. She watched them eat and waited on the kid’s every whim. When they had finished eating, she was allowed to finish their unwanted scraps. At 15, she was their slave. She had no rights. She had no right to express her indignation. She had no recourse but to do exactly what she was told, exactly when she was told to do it. In a nation like America where many are focused today on small white Power Ball lottery tickets that will award someone $500,000,000 (pre-tax) and how we would spend that if we won, it is hard to relate to the notion of one human owning another.        Peter reminds those who were slaves in the natural who belonged to Christ that they were to, by voluntary submission to Christ, also submit to their masters, whether good or evil. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh.(1 Peter 2:18 NKJV)

  

  There is almost nothing as likely to bring me charging from a submissive state of mind than when I suffer an injustice and the accompanying feeling of humiliation at the hands of another person. I feel the need to voice my opinion and fight back. Slaves do not enjoy that right. Peter lived in a world where often nearly half the people he saw were slaves. I might more easily agree with this verse if he had written — If your master treats you well, respond well. His instruction for Christian response to harsh unjust treatment was to voluntarily carry the burden that is unfairly being heaped upon you. Fireman Ed, the New York Jets most famous super fan, resigned his fanship this week because the indignation of supporting a losing team was more than he could bear. Really? We live in a country with very high class injustice.  
 

   Peter’s words make me consider my own reaction when I suffer harsh unjust treatment. In the very next verse he says — For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.
 

    The issue of my reaction to harsh treatment and suffering because of conscience toward God lands fundamentally in my faith. Do I trust God to care for my rights and my honor or do I let my hurt feelings reign and determine that I must fix the problem myself? God will always treat me more than fairly. My salvation testifies to the Grace of God in this regard. Christ’s revenge on me for my sin was expressed not like I would have expressed it, but instead with forgiveness flowing from love. Is it possible for me to follow Him to a place where I can respond to injustice with forgiveness flowing from love? What if I react instead of with revenge or even quiet separation, but with forgiveness flowing from love? What if the greater the harsh injustice, I meet it with greater forgiveness flowing from love?
 

   Jesus often leads me to places where I cannot take another step until I surrender to suffering for His name’s sake and trust Him to lead me through it. When I submit, the issue is settled and I have peace (even if my tormentor is still flailing away). People may call that losing, but it is in fact a mighty spiritual victory. It exalts Christ. I cannot lift the name of Jesus by refusing to suffer injustice like He did. There can be victory in submission to suffering that the world will never understand. I need to revisit these thoughts daily, submit, pick up my cross and follow Him.

Copyright 2012 Mission of the Master Ministries, Inc. Can be quoted in whole of in part without prior written permission if a link is provided to http://wordwrokswednesday.blogspot.com