Borrowed Light

Learning the Language of Lament (Conclusion)

December 11, 2017Mike Leake 1 Comment

Why does it really matter if I grumble instead of lament? Is there really a big difference between saying, “We’re going to die out here!” And, “Lord, I’m afraid we are going to die out here, deliver us!”

Yes.

And it’s all about the state of the heart. This isn’t simply about making sure we say the right words in the right way. Lament is not a formula. Neither is grumbling really. They are both expressions of the heart. One is a heart that is hurt and wounded and yet trusting in the Lord. The other is a heart that is hurt and wounded and refusing to be humble under His mighty hand. The biggest issue in the heart of the grumbler is a lack of trust in Jesus.

All of this is on full display in John 6. I find it interesting how connected John 6 is to the other grumbling narratives in the Old Testament. Here Jesus identifies himself as the manna in the wilderness. To use the pointed words of Russell Moore, the test in the wilderness is whether they wanted to be fed or fathered. The first grumblers chose food over Sabbath rest. The same takes place in John 6, they’d rather be fed than fathered.

Secondly, the first generation of grumblers could not trust in the sovereignty of God. This is true of God’s protection and plan in the wilderness wanderings and in the leaders he set over them. The generation of grumblers in Jesus’ day have the same spirit. Just as in Korah’s rebellion the religious leaders cannot fathom that Mary and Joseph’s boy could be the I AM. They cannot accept that He would be the one to rule over them. And so they grumble.

So they respond with a self-protecting dodge. “These are hard saying, who can accept them.” But they aren’t difficult sayings intellectually. This is not a problem of understanding it is a problem of following. It is not information they lack. It is a heart willing to obey. They do not actually want to follow Jesus and so they resort to grumbling against him. Perhaps, they must think to themselves, if they can grumble enough they will tear him down to size and be freed from the demand He has upon their lives.

This is why grumbling and lament matters. They are declarations of the bent of our heart. So, how can we lament and still be obedient to the Scriptures about joy, thanksgiving, and trust?

Because in lament we are proclaiming the reality of the situation, we are expressing how we feel about the situation (painful and disoriented as those feelings might be) and we are saying along with Habakkuk, “yet will I trust in you”. This is what praise and trust and faith is; namely, seeing things as they actually are and trusting in the character of God. It’s a belief that perhaps our eyes and our limited perspective is deceiving us. It refuses to question the way that God is ordering His world and at the same time refusing to believe that it doesn’t actually hurt. It’s fully human with eyes fixed on the Lord.

—

I pray this has been a helpful little series on learning the language of lament. There is much more to be said. I’m working on outlining and writing a book on grumbling and lament. We’ll see if I can get a publisher to bite…

—

Photo source: Geoff Box

Read This! 12.07.17

December 7, 2017Mike Leake 1 Comment

The Sinner Next Door and the Banality of Evil

I really appreciate this piece of writing by Jared Wilson.

4 Phrases for Preachers to Avoid

I’ve been guilty of a couple of these, but as soon as I say them I know that I shouldn’t have.

Sip It, Don’t Dip It

I have to confess I haven’t given a ton of thought to this.

7 Sure Marks of a False Teacher

I think that fourth one and the sixth one are those I notice first.

Five Reasons the Homogenous Church is Declining and Dying

There is a ton of truth to this statistically speaking but here in Southwest MO our culture is still not very heterogeneous.

Sunday School and Small Group: Friends Who Need No Reconciliation

This is the position we are embracing.

What Happens if Catholics Think the Pope Is a Heretic?

Now that’s an interesting question.

Companies Should Ignore Angry Online Mobs More

Yes. We seem to be ruled by a mob mentality these days…or perhaps a fear of a mob mentality.

I know some of my friends will disagree with this, but I appreciate the discussion:

Learning the Language of Lament (Part Five)

December 6, 2017Mike Leake

I’ve got a challenge for you. Scroll through your preferred social media platform and see how many posts it takes to find someone complaining about a political leader or an action of a political leader. My guess is you won’t get to double digits before you see some sort of complaint recorded.

As freedom loving Americans we value our ability to air our opinions of our leaders. We the people are supposed to hold the weight in this country and we don’t like it when a leader attempts to tell us what to do. They might hold a particular office at present but we know that they aren’t any different or better than us. We’ve been given the freedom to complain and so we are going to use it.

All that is well and good but we end up sounding an awful lot like those in Korah’s rebellion. Granted, grumbling against Moses is a tad bit different than grumbling against a politician. Though we could argue that God places every leader in place it isn’t quite a one to one comparison. Nevertheless, one of the things I found present in almost all instances of grumbling that I did not find present in lament is a kicking at God’s sovereign rule. And particularly a displeasure at the leaders that God has set before them.

There is an interesting connection between the grumbling of the Pharisees in John 6 and the grumbling of those in Korah’s rebellion. In Korah’s rebellion they thought it unfair that Moses and Aaron were in an exalted position, so they said, “For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” In John 6 the religious leaders are upset because Joseph and Mary’s boy is gathering such a following and so they grumble. They believe they should be in a position of greater influence. They’ve paid their dues. They’ve studied the Torah. Why are people following Jesus?

There is something about grumbling which kicks against the sovereignty of God. The grumbler does not like what God has done with someone else, and especially how His activity in the life of another relates in comparison to yourself. It is a discontentment with the lot you’ve been given.

And in almost every instance of grumbling what I found were threats and/or unholy actions. “We’ll go back to Egypt”. Or a more pronounced rebellion as we read of in Numbers 6. And we see this as well in John 6 when many grumble and turn away from following Jesus.

There are several examples within the lament genre where the writer is distraught because of poor treatment by leadership. And in almost every instance the response is not grumbling but petitioning God. There are no veiled threats towards God in the language of lament. “If you don’t fix these leaders God, I’m going to take matters into my own hands.” Instead what we read are cries for God’s rescue and His justice to come.

Imprecatory prayers actually come from those bruised by leaders who are still trusting in God. And what I find interesting is that we are so quick to balk at imprecatory prayers whilst simultaneously giving ourselves permission to rage on Facebook. I appreciate the words of Gordon Wenham:

It is surely better to pray to God to punish the wicked than to do it yourself. Praying the laments breaks the circle of violence instead of perpetuating it. (Wenham, 49)

The imprecatory prayers are there as we pray for God to bring justice when our hands are tied. The Constitution might give us freedom of a full vent of our spirit and opinions but the Bible doesn’t. There is a way in which we can grumble and complain against our leaders which is not honoring the sovereignty of God.

There are times to speak, yes. In a democratic society there is a way in which silence could be highly unfaithful. But we must learn how to lament first. We must have taken our aches and moans to the Lord first and ask Him to provide justice. When given opportunities to put boots to ground we should work towards biblical justice using godly methods. But in the meantime, when our voice is but a whisper in Washington, let us learn how to lament.

—

Photo source: here