Are We God's Poker Chips?

Have you ever asked, “Why is this happening to me?” People usually ask this question when they experience something bad happen in their lives. Naturally, we don’t ask this question when we get a promotion, or hit the lottery. There is no need to ask why good things happen to us. The answer is simple, because we deserve it. This blog will focus on why bad things happen to us and what role God plays in all of this.

There is only one book in the Bible that describes the events that take place in the metaphysical realm and explains how they relate to our daily troubles. The book of Job tells the story of a good man who faces major obstacles in his life and still continues to trust God. The book of Job is found in the center of the Bible right before Psalms. I will tell an abbreviated version of the story in my own words.

Once upon a time there was this super rich dude named Job that everybody liked. He loved his family and had a lot of camels and sheep and stuff. He even drove around in a Lamborghini. That was really cool. Everybody thought God liked Job because he was so well off. Job used to offer sacrifices to the Lord God as atonement for the sins of his children. He did this because he was not sure if they had steamed God by doing something wrong. Job figured better safe than sorry.

At that time, in the kingdom of heaven all the sons of God (angels) were summoned to headquarters for a corporate meeting. The sons of God were required to give an account of their works. Each one had to give a presentation on their accomplishments and use charts and graphs and everything. Satan was there also.

Then God says to Satan,” What are you doing here?” Satan said, “I was in the neighborhood and thought I might stop in a see how things were going in my old stomping ground.” God said, “So tell me what have you been doing with yourself?” Satan said, “I have been traversing to and fro and hangin out here and there. Ah such is my life.” Now God knew that Satan only comes to steal kill and destroy so He knew that Satan was not just roaming around doing nothing. Satan has only one objective and that is to turn the hearts of mankind away from God. It’s an ego thing. If he can’t get people to show him respect he sure doesn’t want them showing God respect.

Then God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job who is blameless and upright and turns away from evil, unlike yourself.” Satan says, “Give me a break. “The dude only serves you because you keep his Lamborghini from breaking down, and all of his camels are healthy. Besides every time I try to make a bad example of him my key card won’t let me through the gate.” Then the Lord God Almighty said, “Here use my card it always works.” Then Satan said, “Indeed I shall, and you will regret handing him over to me.” “Really,” the Lord said, “What exactly will you get out of all of this?” “Bragging rights.” declared Satan. “I will tell everyone what a fool you were to bet on one of these wretched humans.” The Lord looked into the soul of Satan and said, “We will see who the fool is, indeed we shall.”

So Satan goes off and gives Job the trashing of his life. Satan kills everything Job loved and scattered his possessions to the wind. The one thing Satan did not take was Job’s wife. Satan figured she was nagging Job enough so he better keep her alive to add to his misery. Satan is lazy and if he can find someone else to do his work, that’s all the better.

Then Satan goes back to see God when the next corporate headquarters meeting takes place. God greets Satan with the same formalities and asks, “Have you considered my servant Job for there is no one like him he trusts me and turns away from evil and still he maintains his integrity even though you have tried to destroy him for no reason.” Satan says to God, “A deer skin for a buck skin. “Yes, Job would gladly give up his children and camels and even his Lamborghini if it means his own life and health will be spared.” Then God said, “Behold his health is yours, only do not take his life.”

So Satan goes out and nails Job to the wall with more health problems then Dr. Gott has ever heard of. But still Job maintains his integrity even though his friends try to tell him he must have done something wrong and God is steamed at him. Job is angry that this has happened to him, but his trust is in God. Then his friends are angry because they want Job to confess that he has done something wrong and that is why God smote him. But Job does not give in for he has not done anything wrong. You see Job’s friends are nervous because they know if they can’t find a good reason why this has happened to Job that means the same thing could happen to them.

Eventually, God says enough is enough. He kicks Satan out of Job’s life and then appears to Job and his friends. First He talks with Job. God says, “I see you are really steamed about all that has happened to you.” Job says, “Ya think?” Then God starts askin Job where he was when God was makin the crocodiles and Job doesn’t quite know what to say. God’s tryin to tell Job that this isn’t His first assignment; He’s been around awhile and knows a thing or two. Job repents and tells God that from now on he will keep his trap shut and not interfere with the matters of God. God tells Job that is good because He has enough critics and doesn’t need one more.

In the end God restores Job’s health and his possessions. Job even has more children and lives to be a real old geezer. But I can’t help but wonder if Job didn’t spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder half expecting to be ruined again. After all when God spoke to Job He didn’t make any promises that things were gonna be rosy from then on. So Job wasn’t sure if he was completely out of the woods, if you get my meanin. . The end.

The older I become the more I wonder about why God allowed all these things to happen to Job. Then, of course, I have to ask why to bad things happen to so many of us. Was this a bet with Satan that Job would still trust God even after nearly being destroyed? Was God saying to Satan that if the most righteous person on the planet could hold his integrity even after being wrongly ruined then Satan would lose the bet?

I am troubled by the story of Job. I am troubled because there is no obvious answer to the question, why. No obvious answer unless you consider the time that Jesus was in the desert (Luke 4:1-13). I wonder if that was another bet? Then we must consider Paul and the other apostles and the trials they went through. Come to think of it God seems to be placing a lot of bets on mankind. I wonder how often He bets on you and me. I wonder how often He loses?

The Lord's Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer is found in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. Matthew provides a deeper understanding of the prayer and I will focus on the Matthew writing to provide the reader with a better understanding of the meaning of this unique teaching of Jesus. The first part of Matthew chapter six has Jesus explaining to His disciples the need for humility in prayer and altruism. His point is that God does not honor anyone who prays or, gives charitably in such a way as to be noticed by others.

It is important to remember that in Jesus’ day prayer was considered a holy matter and anyone seen praying was seen as a righteous person. Some people made a public show of their long prayers in the synagogues so as to appear righteous before God. Jesus is making the point that God will not honor such a person because that person is not honoring God; they are actually trying to honor themselves. They are only interested in how they are perceived by others. Today in America, anyone seen praying is considered a Christian kook, so I am not sure where the Lord stands on this issue now.

Regarding the matter of altruism the Lord’s instructions are the same. Some people then, as now make public demonstrations of their donations. To be fair, sometimes this is done to bring attention to an organization that the donator strongly believes in and wants others to be aware of so as to increase donor contributions. However, there are other times when large contributions are made to present the donor in a favorable public light, as well as provide a tax break. Only God knows the heart of the giver and He will be the final judge on the matter.

After Jesus finished speaking about that He taught the disciples how to pray. The prayer is unique for several reasons so I will discuss it line by line.

Our Father who is in heaven… Never before in Judaism had a prayer addressed God in this manor. God was considered a sacred, holy being, not our pop. The mere notion of addressing God this way must have surprised the disciples.

Hallowed be your name… God’s name is given glory. Now that’s interesting. Why is His name given glory? Why don’t we just give God glory? I have a theory about that. Satan who rebelled against God also wants glory and there are some who worship Satan as God. This prayer is addressing God and giving His name special honor thereby removing Satan from any kudos. We know that the “Father” being addressed is the Lord God and not Satan because Satan no longer lives in heaven.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Jesus is pointing out that this planet is not following God’s will. One day the Lord’s kingdom will come to earth and God’s authority will be manifested to us as it already being manifested to all the angels in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread…This verse reveals the intimacy of God in our lives. Many people would see mankind as responsible for taking care of itself, or as socialists see it the government taking care of everyone. However, Jesus is presenting God as being interested even in our basic food needs.

Forgive us of our sins as we forgive those who sinned against us. This is the foundation of Jesus’ ministry. Forgiveness. The very reason He would die on a cross after being beaten to a pulp is because of forgiveness. Nevertheless, forgiveness is a two way street. We have to forgive others the same way we expect God to forgive us. Easier said than done, I know.

Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. This is an interesting verse as God is not in the business of tempting people (James 1:13). The translation may be more aptly stated, “Lead us away from all the temptations of the world.” This last verse completes the prayer. The first part of which gives honor to God and the second part addresses our human needs and responsibilities.

One final part of this prayer is not found in the original manuscripts. It states, “For yours is the kingdom power and glory forever. Amen.”

Then, as now, we are pressed on all sides with the burdens of life. This prayer offers us an understanding into the mind of God and how He desires us to come to Him with our daily burdens. When we pray we are instructed first to give God glory because of His majesty. We should also see God as our provider even to the basis needs of daily food. We are also expected to forgive those who have wronged us. If you are not sure of who you should be forgiving the answer is simple, everyone who has ever made you angry. That should keep you busy praying for a while.

The Death of Lazarus

The death and resurrection of Lazarus is found in John chapter 11. The story is remarkable on many fronts and there are many lessons to learn from it so I will retell the story in my own words and let the reader learn all they can.

Jesus and His disciple chums had left the region of Judea because of the frosty reception He received there. By frosty I mean the religious leaders wanted Him dead. They went to the region around Judea that was not so populated so the Lord could get a break from everything.

Meanwhile, back in Judea a dear friend of His had fallen ill. The man’s name was Lazarus. Lazarus’ sisters, Martha and Mary, sent word to Jesus that He better high tail it back to Bethany soon, or the next time He sees Lazarus’ name it would be in the obituary column. Jesus used to hang out at their house and pork out with His disciple chums, so the news of Lazarus’ illness affected Him deeply. Even so, He stayed put in the remote area outside of Judea for two more days. His disciples figured He was doing this because He was afraid to go back to Judea. They remembered seeing all the wanted posters of Jesus and knew the religious sheriffs there did not want Him back.

Then after the two days Jesus says, “Ok guys were headin back to Judea.” One of his disciple chums says, “Is you mad?” “Last week the religious leaders there wanted to give you cement sandals and take you water skiing. “Maybe we should go someplace else, like Madagascar for example.” Then Jesus said to them, “Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I will go and wake him up.” One of the disciples said, “What’s the big deal? “If the dude is snoring he’ll get up when he feels like it.” Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus kicked the bucket.” So they all headed back to Judea to the town of Bethany.

At Martha’s house everybody was crying and wailing because Lazarus was dead and everything. Then somebody told Martha that Jesus was headin back into town with the boys. Martha says to Mary that she is gonna meet Jesus and asks her to come along. Mary, still steamed about Jesus’ tardiness, stays in the house. Martha meets Jesus on the road and says, “Better late then never. “Ya know we were hopin you would get here sooner and heal your so called friend so he would still be around.”

Jesus said to her, ”Lazarus will rise again.” Martha says to Him, “Yea I know on the resurrection day, a lot of good that does me now.” Jesus looks at her and says, “I am the resurrection and the life, anyone who believes in me shall live even if he dies. And anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Martha, not quite getting it says, “Yes, I believe you are the Messiah.” Then Martha turns and goes back to the house to see Mary. Martha tells Mary that the teacher wants to see her. So Mary gets up and all the people in the house go with her thinking she is going to the grave to morn there.

Mary walks straights up to Jesus and in a huff says to Him, “Lord, if you were here Lazarus would still be here.” Then she starts crying and I mean a real cry of anguish. Jesus looks at her crying and sees everybody with her crying and He is deeply concerned and troubled in His spirit. So He says to them, “Where have you laid him?” So they all go over to the grave and stand there. Then Jesus weeps. I am going to cut the story off here to make my point about what Jesus was crying about. If you are not familiar with the story the punch line is Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead and they all live happily ever after.

The Lord is not crying because Lazarus was dead. Why would He cry over a man He is going to raise from the dead in two minutes? He is crying because no one believes He is able to raise Lazarus from the dead. Jesus already asked Martha if she believed Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead. Martha skirted the question by saying she believed He was the Messiah. That was not the correct answer to the question Jesus asked. Now He is standing with Mary and all the friends of Lazarus who are crying and obviously believe they will never see Lazarus again.

That is why Jesus was troubled in His spirit; no one there believed He could raise Lazarus from the dead. They believed He could have healed Lazarus, but now that Lazarus is dead there is nothing Jesus can do. Clearly, their understanding of the Messiah was one of limited power.

The real issue here is one of faith. Jesus may have wept for more then one reason, but His real concern was their lack of faith. If His followers could not believe He was able to raise Lazarus from the dead, how would they ever believe that one day He would rise from the dead?

The Prosperous Christian

Walk into any Christian bookstore (or any secular bookstore with a religious section) and you will find myriads of books on prosperity. There are books on how to improve your financial status, books on how to improve your health (through faith, not diet), books on how to live a joy filled life by merely acknowledging certain scripture verses exist and making them part of your spiritual life. A simple stroll down the aisle and you will be convinced that with only a little faith you too can live like Donald Trump today and reap the riches of heaven in the afterlife. Sign me up for that program. In fact some books go so far as to say that if you are not prosperous it is your lack of faith that is the problem. But is this true?

Books aren’t the only source of prosperity teaching as there are a number of television programs that preach prosperity from faith. The television programs are often referred to as ministries, but the on air personalities are only ministering to their own wallets. Aside from the obvious fact that Jesus was born, raised, and died in utter poverty we need to determine if any of his disciples lived a more faithful life than He did and if they reaped the rewards of their faith.

Lets consider Acts 5 when Peter and John are called before the religious leaders of their day to account for their speaking about the resurrection of Jesus. The religious leaders who had Jesus crucified were not going to tolerate any of His disciples talking about His resurrection. The leaders listened to Peter and John and wanted to kill them, but a man named Gamaliel suggested they back away from that idea, as it seemed to rash to him. I will continue with verses 40,41. “40 They took his advice; and after calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them.
41 So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. “

They went on their way rejoicing because they had been flogged. Flog means to beat severely with a whip or a rod. Know any Christians in this country who would rejoice at being flogged? Either do I. There really aren’t too many ways of looking at this. One either Peter and John did not have very much faith, or two they had a very different understanding of what walking with the Lord meant. Come to think of it they probably did have a different understanding of what walking with the Lord meant because they did walk with the Lord for three years.

But that was Peter and John so maybe there are other Christian views on this subject. Lets consider Paul for example. Paul was not a follower of Jesus when Jesus walked the earth, as were the other apostles. Paul became a follower some time later. He may have a different perspective on this prosperity thing. He may have more faith then the other apostles.

During Paul’s journeys he wrote to many of the churches that he had planted in an effort to encourage them in their daily walk. While writing to the believers at Corinth, an ancient Greece city, he informs the believers what being a Christian has cost him. I am quoting from the New American Standard Bible.

2 Corinthians 11:23 “Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?”

Wow, maybe Paul needed to find a way to increase his faith because he sure wasn’t having a very prosperous life. Peter, John and Paul are just a few of the stories that are found in the bible that illustrate the hardships the early Christian church faced. Their hardships had nothing to do with faith, or trusting God. Truth be know their hardships were the result of their faith.

The mind of God is often complex and confusing to those of us who try to understand His reasoning. Some Christians are very prosperous while others struggle to make ends meet. This is also true of non-believers. Nevertheless, we know from what the bible tells us that Jesus did not live a prosperous life. If Jesus did not live a prosperous life, and the disciples did not live prosperously either then why would we conclude that His desire for us is to be prosperous?

Who is the Greatest Giver?

There is an interesting story in Mark and Luke that reveals the value Jesus placed on money, or more importantly on giving. The story is that of a poor widow who walks up to the temple treasury and makes her financial offering. The story is found in Mark 12:41-44 and Luke 21:1-4. Just to give you a little background I will explain some of the events of the day.

At the temple in Jerusalem there are a number of “courts” and “gates” where various activates take place. Jesus walks up to “The Treasury” and sits across from one of the thirteen receptacles where people were placing offerings (Tithes). The receptacles are there to collect the temple tax as well. Because the receptacles are in the open everyone can see who is giving and they can also get a good idea of how much each person is giving. In other words, there is a great opportunity here for this part of the temple to become a sideshow.

I will tell the story in my own words:

Jesus and his disciple chums walked up to the treasury and sat down across from where the people were giving so they could watch. This was during the Passover feast so the place was packed and a whole lot of rich guy types were walking up and making donations. Every time a person put money into the receptacle everyone could hear the coins slide down. When a super rich dude put in his stash the place echoed with the sound of the coins sliding down the receptacle.

The people standing around were sayin OOOOOOH and AAAAAAAAh whenever the coins made a lot of noise. After a super rich guy made his contribution an average middle class guy would walk up and only made a modest contribution. Since the coins did not make very much noise nobody would say anything. The whole thing was pretty embarrassing. Unless, of course, you were a super rich guy.

Then all of a sudden this old lady walks up and puts in two small copper coins and then walks away. One of the temple guards looks over at his partner standing beside him and they start chuckling. Some of the people standing nearby also start chuckling as well. Even some of the Lord’s disciples look at each other and make faces because they knew the contribution was worthless.

Then Jesus, seeing the time was right for a Sunday school lesson tells his chums to gather round. Jesus said to them, “Did you see what just happened?” One of the disciples said, “Yea nothing happened, nothing at all.” Some of the other disciples start laughing. Then Jesus says to them, “Tell me you who are so wise, who gave the most money today?”

Some of the wiser disciples sense a trap and keep their mouths shut. However, some are obtuse and begin thinking of a few of the rich people who came in an dropped a stash. One disciple said, “I think the guy dressed in purple, you remember he had a long robe. “Yea he gave the most. “I can still hear the coins hitting the bottom of the receptacle in my head. “Man that guy was loaded.” Some of the other disciples agreed.

Then Jesus said, “Wrongo reindeer, the one who gave the most was that poor widow.” The disciples look at each other in disbelief. One says, “Are you tryin to tell me that the old geyser lady gave more than the super rich guy? “This sounds like the new math kids are learnin in school these days and I’m not familiar with it so maybe you can help me out here.”

Jesus says, “Gladly.” “You see the rich guy is a gazillionare and gave about two percent of his earning for the year. “The poor woman is penniless and gave everything she had to live on. “Now she must trust God to provide her next meal. “In God’s eyes she gave the most of all the contributors today.” The disciples looked at each other and had to agree that the poor woman left the temple with nothing, but her faith. As a result she had to have given more than anyone else.

The moral of the story is not just that the woman gave all she had, it is that she was completely trusting God to provide for her immediate needs. The wording Mark uses in his description of the woman is far deeper than poor; it is destitute. The woman was probably homeless.

By temple law she had every right to keep one of the coins for herself. The fact that she was willing to donate everything to God shows her to be a committed Godly woman. When I look at myself I do not see a committed Godly man, certainly not in comparison to her.

The story reveals another aspect into the mind of God and how different His thinking is from our own.

The Letter of the Law

I suppose there is a bit of a hypocrite in every one of us, at least if we are honest with ourselves. Jesus confronted this vice on a number of occasions usually with the religious elite of the time. On one occasion in Matthew 15:1-9 some Pharisees confront Jesus because his disciples did not wash their hands before eating. Most mothers have these same opinions about their kids however; this was different because the Pharisees wanted the disciples to wash their hands for the sake of tradition and not as a germ control issue sponsored by the CDC. Jesus immediately confronts the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy with regard to the law. When it comes to the letter of the law that sword cuts two ways.

I will tell the story in my own words;

One day when Jesus and his disciple chums were traveling down a dusty road some pesky Pharisees confronted them all with a challenge. The Pharisees did this so often the disciples expected to see it almost every day. One of the Pharisees, a high falutin type, walks up to Jesus and says, “Why is it that your disciples transgress the traditions of the elders? These traditions have been handed down to us for generations and we know the value of paying homage to them.”

Jesus says to them. “What, pray tell, are we talking about now? The grand poo baah Pharisee says, “The one about washing your hands before you eat bread.” Jesus takes a small loaf of bread from the bread bag, with unwashed hands of course, and then takes a great big bite out of it and begins talking with His mouth full; another thing the Pharisees hate. Jesus says to them. “Don’t you guys ever get tired of being hypocrites? “I mean come on get a life. “You Bozos have got to be kidding me. Can’t you find some real issues to come after me with?”

Jesus continues, “Oh by the way, speaking of transgressing the law why do you make a mockery of the law by your distortion of it. God said that children should honor their father and mother and anyone who does not honor their father and mother should be put to death. “However, you say that children are permitted to pay tithes to the synagogue with money that might have been used to help their parents. “In other words a child could say, ‘Hey mom and dad I would love to help you pay for the groceries this week but I gave the money to God. ‘If you don’t like it take it up with Him.’ “So you see you are telling a child not to honor their father and mother and they can dishonor their father and mother by filling your pockets.”

No doubt the Pharisees were steamed by what Jesus had pointed out to them however it reveals the painful side of pointing the finger at another’s transgressions. The simple fact is we all transgress at least some of God’s laws and pointing out one person’s faults will invariably lead to someone else pointing out some of our own.

Hypocrisy is a street that runs both ways. I find myself walking the hypocrisy line if I am watching a ball game on TV and I see a call made that goes against my team. I might say to the referee, who can’t hear me of course, “Yo ref why are you calling that a penalty? Are you kidding me that wasn’t roughing the quarterback.” Now to be fair, the grounds crew is on the field with a backhoe trying to dig the quarterback’s helmet out of the ground. While the entire city’s paramedic squad has surrounded the player with several priests administering last rites. So the officials may have seen something I missed.

When my team’s offense is on the field and one of the opponent’s defensive linemen so much as breathes in the direction of my quarterback I scream at the official for not making the call. I tell the ref that a visit to the optometrist is in order and I demand that he admit to the National Football League authorities that he is on the take for the other team. You see even I can be a hypocrite at times.

What Jesus was trying to point out to the religious leaders of the day was that the letter of the law is too difficult to live by and living by the spirit of the law is more practical. The instructions about washing hands before eating is more of a ceremonial gesture not a command punishable by death if not obeyed. Jesus later points out to his disciples that the body is not contaminated by what goes into it but, rather what comes out of it. The evil words we say to one another and the slanderous statements we make are not the result of our unwashed hands, but rather our unwashed hearts.

Remember, the letter of the law kills but the Spirit of the law gives life.

Barnabas and Paul

An old friend of mine who is serving in the mission field in the Middle East made a comment recently about some personality problems among fellow staff members. The mission field generally has personnel issues because of the strong personalities that tend to end up there. Only very strong and determined people survive living for years in foreign countries. The same thing was true in Jesus’ day.

In the early days of the Christian church within a few years of the Lord’s resurrection, missionary journeys were started to promote the gospel of Jesus. On one of those journeys two men appear in the book of Acts. They are Barnabas and Paul. In Acts chapter thirteen both men are called together by the Lord to go on a missionary journey (Acts 13:2-4). They take along a young man called Mark (Acts 13:5). Theologians generally agree this is the same Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark.

At one point in their travels Mark decides that the missionary life is not for him and chooses to depart for Jerusalem alone. We do not know why he left Barnabas and Paul but some time later Barnabas wants to bring Mark back so he can continue to work with them in their travels. Paul rejects this idea and, as a result, a great argument ensues and Barnabas and Paul separate and go their own ways. Barnabas takes Mark with him to Cyprus and Paul takes Silas with him and continues the Lord’s work (Acts 15:36-40).

There is much to learn about how different personalities impact the church. The story of the separation of Barnabas and Paul can teach us how to better handle difficult situations. There is also much to learn about how God intervenes in these matters. The story is not a total loss, as I will explain later. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that what the Lord brought together (Acts 13:2) man separated (Acts 15:39).

I will tell the story of Acts 15:39 in my own words.

Barnabas and Paul are sittin around shootin the buffalo when Paul says, “Yo dude, why don’t we go back to the churches we started and see how they are fairin? Barnabas says, “Cool beans. I’ve been wonderin how some of those guys are holdin their own with all this persecution and everything. I want to take Mark with us.” Paul says, “No can do dude. After he bailed on us in Perga I don’t think he can handle all this missionary stuff. I know he’s a relative of yours and everything, but that kite won’t fly.”

Then Barnabas said, “Mark is a reliable and everything he just needed some space, a chance to clear his head. He’s cool now that’s why I want to take him with us.” Paul responded, “Don’t you remember what him leavin cost us? “We had to take money out of our own stash to send him back to Jerusalem. “Not to mention all the food and blankets. “He pretty much stripped us clean.” Barnabas said, “He’s a young guy, these things are gonna happen with young guys.”

But the stage was set and both men were digging in their heel for the next round. The next round of any argument generally brings out other issues that may not have anything to do with the original argument, but have to do with personality problems that were not addressed earlier.

Barnabas says, “Ya know you have been givin orders since we started out and I for one am getting real tired of all your yappin. “You need to take a chill pill and learn a thing or two about humility.” Paul graciously responded, “Look Mr. Potato Head, I know a thing or two about people and I know what they can and can’t do and I am tellin you Mark can’t hold his water on the mission field.” Barnabas responded with a level of diplomacy that is still spoken about today. “You snore so loud the camels are complaining.” Paul, not wanting to be outdone responded in kind. “Yea, well your cooking stinks.” Barnabas says, “Well if that’s the way you feel I’m outta here.”

Fortunately, none of this came to blows I mean after all how much Christian love can the world handle. Nevertheless, the story does reveal a great deal about human emotion and pride. Maybe more to the point, the story reveals the cost of human emotion and pride, as there is no record of Paul and Barnabas ever seeing each other again. It is interesting to note that Paul eventually has a change of heart about Mark and works with him on future assignments.

Mark is apparently with Paul during his first imprisonment (Colossians 4:10; Philemon 24). The next time we see Paul in prison he tells Timothy to send Mark to him because he needs him, or more precisely he needs Mark’s knowledge of the Old Testament (2 Timothy 4:11).

What a shame it was for Barnabas and Paul to separate the way they did especially since Paul works with Mark during his future ministry years. How many of us can look at a foolish argument that resulted in a permanent separation; a separation that a little humility could have prevented.

One ounce of humility will bring far more success then ten pounds of arrogance.