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Pierre

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February 5, 2012 4:48 pm

Knowledge is key

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by    in Bible

Image credit: D.B. Gaston, modified and reused under CC license

In the beginning, it was easy. One command – do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Then sin crept in, and suddenly things became more complicated. We started to have a law written on our hearts, and yet transgressing it.

Cain’s sin is exactly that – he knows that he shouldn’t have killed his brother, and therefore tries to hide it; and that’s what gets him exiled. That he knew he had done wrong.

Then the Law came. But without knowledge of the Law, it is nothing. Let us remember that we all have the knowledge of the law that’s written in our hearts, and not try and twist the written Law.

Yet, a little knowledge is a very dangerous thing. Recognising the Devil’s temptation (Matthew 4) as Biblical truth would have made devout people yield to temptation. The difference was – Jesus’s knowledge was perfect. He could know right from wrong – easily, too, and instantaneously.

We can’t know the fullness of the Law and have it in our mind constantly. That’s the difference.

But after the Law, Jesus came. And there is a difference between knowing an object, and knowing someone. We can know Jesus, and through knowing him and following him, we can follow the Law too.

Biblical knowledge is important, but it must not supplant personal relationship.

Otherwise, the scholar’s pride comes knocking at the door.

How do you get this across in your Bible studies?

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January 31, 2012 3:48 pm

Apologetics: you’re doing it wrong

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by    in Bible,Questions

Doctrinal statements annoy me.

In focusing on beliefs, we divide the church. We make it less accessible to outsiders. We make it look like it’s impossible to be a Christian if you don’t believe in, say, the Trinity. Or, yes, I’m willing to go as far as the Resurrection.

Beliefs don’t come first. Love does.

And it’s our own focus on what we believe, the stuff we teach, that leads to that.

I’m embedding a song by Benjamin Jameson Morey which embodies all that from the atheist side:

THIS is the reason why we must spread the word. Not because we want everyone to  agree with us, not because we want to get people to say they accept those matters as true.

And while I do believe most people will agree with that, I also believe that we sometimes try to convince people more than we try to love them and share their burden.

1 Corinthians 1:25  “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”

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January 29, 2012 9:50 am

You can trespass on my turf

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by    in Leadership

Image credit: Alex J White, reused under CC license

There is no such thing as a decision by committee. As the workload grows, however, there will be more than one person involved in running your organisation. Job descriptions will be drafted, and “territories” created. As they grow, people sometimes restrict themselves to their territories, for fear of not doing what they ought; or for fear of hurting the feelings of others; or simply, out of plain laziness.

If you are working in a team,

  • firstly, do the task you were assigned. If nobody does, then some jobs just won’t get done!
  • take initiative.
  • if you feel it is someone else’s role, let them know about your initiative. If it is something that can’t be cancelled, give them some time to veto it.
  • if it is an unassigned job, get started. Try and involve as many people from your team in this, but do not wait too long because you can’t arrange a meeting.
  • be humble. Just because you can go over someone else’s territory, it doesn’t give you authority over it. You can lead people there, but will always have to submit to the person who was in charge of it.
  • be loving. Do overstep your boundaries to lighten your friends’ loads. Let that be your motivation – not a desire to take their place permanently. Do not try to outshine them.
  • be welcoming. Allow others to come onto your turf too. Invite them, even, when you feel you need to.

Are you comfortable going over other people’s turfs?

What do you do to make sure the people you lead feel comfortable stepping on other people’s turfs?

 

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January 22, 2012 9:43 am

A culture of consequences

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by    in Questions

Many times, I’ve heard people in a position of authority incentivise obedience by explaining what would happen if rules weren’t followed.
Many times, I’ve seen adverts against fraud (either on trains, or tax fraud) focus on the risks that are taken.
A few times, I’ve talked to deliberate fare dodgers who told me that, given the frequency of inspections, they were better off paying the fine when they got caught than if they always paid their fare.

Deal with the consequences?

Image credit: psgreen01 reused under CC license

Living with the consequences of our actions is something we are all taught from a very young age.
Recompenses are built into a societal model where one gets what they deserve, and where that’s what’s right.
The Bible does not speak of right, or of entitlements. It only speaks of duties and of facts.
Receiving the love of God is not conditional on following a set of rules.

No, we did not deserve grace; nor do we deserve salvation, but by keeping on pointing this out, we are perpetuating a culture of deserving rather than one that puts love and duties first without thinking of the recompense.

We need to decouple rights and duties, in order to move away from a model where duties are only filled in order to guarantee those rights.
We need to make sure love comes first.

How do you deal with wrongdoings?
How can we teach what’s right without associating it with the consequences of disobedience? Should we?

Can we still marvel at grace in the same way if we lose sight of our own undeserving nature?

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January 19, 2012 4:12 pm

Staying or leaving

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by    in Notes

Jonathan Pearson recently blogged a great piece called “3 signs you need to find another place“.

I’ll just give the three headings again, reading the original post is highly encouraged.

1. Your current place is draining you rather than fulfilling you.
2. You’re giving your current place only half effort.
3. Your current place is affecting your family life. 

We live in a society where quitting is frowned upon, whereas, paradoxically enough, fresh starts are seen positively. It is quite interesting that this post comes only two days after encouragements to push through from the  same blog.

Both views are, of course, compatible. There are moments when it is time to leave, but it shouldn’t be following a temporary rough patch. The three signs are actually a very good way of seeing whether it is just a rough patch or something more serious worth investigating.

I went into academia because it was the natural thing to do. I started off with maths and kept giving it my all till 5th year of uni. Then I realised that I wasn’t thrilled by maths and turned to education. Looking back, what then felt as a natural and perfectly valid transition was a change effected by a desire to leave. Educational research… well, I gave it my all for the first two years, but now, on a PhD course, I find myself agreeing with all three bullet points.

Research isn’t my calling. It doesn’t mean that it wasn’t my calling before, nor that completing a PhD wasn’t my calling to start off with. It means, however, that it is time for me to, indeed, find another place. Time for me to start looking for different directions for after the PhD.

God equips those he calls.

This blog, in itself, is currently where I’m at. I feel blessed to be able to write and share posts with… well, with you :) and this is something I find  both fulfilling and challenging. So thanks for your readership!

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