A Life of Tension
BY D. STUART BRISCOE
We have to live with tension. In fact, we cannot live without it! Muscles go flabby without the tension of regular use, minds become sterile without the challenge of new ideas, and character degenerates into selfishness when pleasures become the dominant themes of existence.Proverbs 12 Not all tensions produce strength of character and body, though. Some people are destroyed by them. As a pastor, I have heard many stories of outstanding courage and triumph from people undergoing trials, but sadly I have also heard stories of defeat and destruction. It is the way we handle tension that determines
whether we grow through them or are defeated by them.The tensions that arise from social impoverishment, physical infirmity, family disintegration, financial obligations or personal expectations are readily understood nowadays because they are clearly recognizable. But when we get into the realm of moral tension, things are not quite so clear-cut. Many simply do not accept the premise that there are moral absolutes, while others, though acknowledging that right and wrong do exist, do not consider them sufficiently important to require their adherence thereto.
Perhaps the most troublesome aspect of the contemporary attitude is that people are comfortable with the idea that a person can do whatever he feels is right, provided nobody else is hurt by his action. This throws the door open for all manner of abuse. It leads us back to the days of the Judges when "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25).
Any society that gives everyone the "inalienable right" to do as he sees fit is headed for chaos. Without knowing what is ultimately right or wrong, confusion results. The on-going debates on homosexuality and abortion are conspicuous examples of such confusion. Worse yet, there is no hope of a solution. When adhered to, the Biblical position never places society in such a predicament. Scripture takes bold stands on issues, declaring without equivocation that which are right and that which are wrong.
The Bible also states that man is to live in the challenging tension generated by the coexistence of right's and wrong's. That's why Solomon has much to say in Proverbs about the choices man has to make in the moral arena. His oft-repeated use of the words "righteous" and "wicked" to describe the attitudes and life-styles of certain people need to be studied carefully.
Two different worlds
Before we turn our attention to our text in Proverbs 12, it might be useful for us to outline the broad teaching of Scripture on righteousness and wickedness. With characteristic solemnity, the Apostle John writes, "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness" (I John 5:19). And speaking of the last day, the Lord Jesus says, "So
shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just (or righteous)" (Matt. 13:49).The believer who seriously desires to live rightly in this world must bear in mind that the world in which he lives is under the dominating power of Satan. The latter, being in total opposition to God and His Son, uses considerable powers to deflect people from the truth. And should they become exposed to the truth, he does all he can to distract them from examining it.
Satan finds an ally in the human heart, which has a great propensity for sin and a troublesome affinity to evil. In fact, because the world is overruled by the devil, humans are exposed to all manner of evil temptationsa picture that hardly fits in with the optimistic, humanistic view to which we are so often exposed.
Facing reality. On the other hand, the Scriptures have some positive things to say to those who acknowledge the existence of wickedness. There was the advent of the Christ into this world. As the confrontation in the wilderness some two thousand years ago showed, He was more than a match for the evil one. Satan's trump card was death, and to his intense delight he was able to see his greatest enemy go down into death, even the death of a cross. But this was all part of a divine plan to show that God, in Christ, could beat Satan at his own game. And beat him He did through the glorious resurrection.
This resurrection becomes the cornerstone of man's experience. As he realizes the degree to which he has transgressed against God and how he has been influenced by sin in this wicked world, he recognizes his desperate need for forgiveness through the death of Christ. But what he may not realize is that, having been forgiven, he is now called to live a new godly life in the old wicked world. When he does discover this, he begins to face the monumental tension of living in a world and system to which he doesn't belong.
Thankfully, there is hope for him in the Risen Christ, who in His Spirit comes into the life of the redeemed sinner to give him the power to obey and the will to triumph. It is thus imperative for the believer to be constantly relying on the power of the indwelling God to live in this hostile world, thereby growing in spiritual strength.
Divine model. Some people find the struggle so great and the tensions so demanding that they either throw in their lot with the world, or try to live for God by isolating themselves from their world. Neither option is available to the believer, however, as the example given by our Lord Himself shows.
As the "friend of sinners", Christ was constantly in contact with all types of people, fully conversant with their life-styles yet never identified with their sin. He had the unique ability to live in the tension between good and evil without identifying Himself totally with those people or completely isolating Himself from them. His opponents, failing to understand that ability, criticized Him viciously. To them, Jesus was associating with sinners and, therefore, was partaking of their sin. Falling into the trap of their own making, they thought they had kept themselves free from sin just because they were disassociating with
sinners.The Proverbs
Against that background, let us look now at some of the wise sayings in Proverbs. Hebrew writers were fond of a poetic form called parallelism, where ideas were set in marked contrast to each other. This type of writing was used by Solomon with great effect when he talked about the difference between wickedness and goodness, and between the respective people who practiced them, whom he called the "wicked" and the "righteous".He says, for instance, "A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved" (12:3), and "The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand" (12:7).
Once we have accepted the reality of good and evil co-existing in this world and the necessity for the child of God to live rightly in a world that is prone to live wrongly, it is helpful for us to compare the different life-styles and attitudes of the wicked and the righteous. Verses like the two quoted above give much food for thought, because they show us in vivid language the importance of the choices we must make and the gravity of the consequences of our choices.
Underlying factor. Behind all behavior patterns lies a philosophy of life. Scripture states clearly that unless the philosophy comes from the mind of God and the life-style is built on the truth of God, there is no hope of life being lived correctly. This is where the battle is joined and the decisions are made.
Solomon writes "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded" (13:13). You see, there are those who openly despise the word of God. Then there are those, while not quite so forthright in their rejection, simply ignore it. Left without any absolute standards for behavior, they are both adrift on a sea full of treacherous currents, and as this verse says, "they shall be destroyed."
It is a fact that for centuries, much of the Western world's social morality has been derived from scriptural principles. Often, even people who despise the word of God have been living by an accepted norm that is Biblically based. But those days are going, if they have not already gone. In recent years, there has been such an erosion of public confidence in the word of God and such a massive substituting of secular dogma for the truth that even professed "Christian" societies have placed considerable distance between themselves and that which is scriptural.
This makes the necessity for determining the basis of a philosophy of life more urgent than ever. But it also draws the lines of demarcation more clearly. Soon, there will be no opportunity for vague uncommitted attitudes, because everyone will have to decide whether their approach is fundamentally secular or spiritual, and whether they will build on foundations of divine demand or contemporary caprice.
Integrity. The choices made at this level become clearly apparent at many sub-levels. In the area of integrity, for instance, the differences are great, "The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit" (12:5). Doing busi
ness with a man committed to doing what is right is much less taxing than doing the same kind of business with a man whose only interest is his own gain. The former can reasonably be expected to demonstrate honesty and integrity, but the latter may need watching like a hawk.This statement should not be interpreted to say that only believers are honest businessmen or even that all believers are honest. But it does say that if a businessman bases his principles of doing business on the ethics that prevail in an increasingly wicked world, there is every chance that he may be less than honest in what he says and less than transparent in why he says it.
Speech. Conversation is another area in which the difference of life, philosophy, and choice is readily recognizable. The power of words to harm or heal is not always appreciated. But when we consider that our speech is the reflections of our thoughts, intentions, and attitudes, words take on a major new significance. Jesus says, "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" (Matt. 12:34), and Solomon echoes, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue" (Prov. 18:21).
Here are a few verses from Proverbs 12 showing the vast difference between the talk of the righteous man and that of the wicked man. "The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them" (v. 6); "The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips: but the just shall come out of trouble" (v. 13); "He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment" (vv. 17-19).Relationships. Proverbs also has much to say on the vital subject of personal relationships. Like other areas of human experience, these, too, are the products of decisions. Either we choose to obey God in our attitudes to people, or we decide to do that which is right in our own eyes towards our neighbors.
There is sufficient evidence in our world at the present to show that far too many people regard their fellow men, at worst, as objects of hatred and ridicule and, at best, as the means of personal advancement. The strong insistence of Scripture that we are related through our Creator to each other, that we are all made in the image of God, and that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves demands
that people behave in a special way to each other.The rejection of these truths leaves the door open to all manner of abuse. The unusual words of Proverbs 12:10, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel" are designed not so much to convey the thought that believers are all animal lovers and all animal lovers are believers; rather, the righteous feel more compassion for their animals than the wicked feel for people.
This difference in relationship is seen from the fact that people spend lavishly on dog food but give little, if any, for famine relief. They weep copiously over the death of a canary but care nothing about the killing of millions of unborn babies. Even among churchgoers, there are those who spend more on their pets than they give to finance individuals or ministries that are sending forth the gospel.
Conclusion
Great differences exist in the lives of people with different principles, and there is no more accurate measure of the reality of a person's commitment than the examination of his behavior against the teaching of the scripture.As believers, we need to acknowledge that there are tensions between right and wrong and commit ourselves to making the right choices in the power of His risen Son. We ought to take time out to carefully evaluate our integrity, our speech, and our relationships with our fellow believers as well as our unsaved neighbors. We want to live our lives to the glory of God. o
Dr. D. Stuart Briscoe is pastor of the Elmbrook Chruch, 777 South Barker Road, Brookfield, WI 53045.