Being
a “Peculiar” People Once Again
(based on Romans 12:1-13; Galatians 5:16-27)
About a year ago, my phone stopped working. It would not charge, so I went to the Verizon store to see what could be done. I explained very plainly, “the phone was working fine until last night when I plugged it in, it was at 20% charged. I got the message ‘charging’ and I left it to charge overnight. This morning, it was down to 2%. When I plug it in to charge it, it tells me that it is charging, but it doesn’t.” The person I spoke with asked me some very specific questions. First he asked, “Did you drop the phone on the ground?” My answer was “No.” He then asked, “Did you drop the phone in water or get it wet?” Again, I answered, “no.” I didn’t mind the questions, but as he inspected the phone, he said, “I don’t see any signs of physical damage from being dropped.” So I re-iterated, “I didn’t drop it, it just stopped working.”
Then he asked again, “did you drop it in water or get it wet?” So I said again, “Nothing happened to the phone, it just stopped working.” He went through all his diagnostics, that I also had tried (different chargers, jiggling the connector, resetting the battery, etc.) So then he says, “We’ll have to give you a new phone and send this one back.” I agreed.
Then his remark to my agreement was, “when they receive the phone, they will take it apart. If they find any signs of water damage, they will charge you for the new phone. Are you OK with that?” At this point, I was very upset. I have said over and over that I did NOT do anything to the phone, it just stopped working! Why will this guy not believe me. Doesn’t he know who he’s talking to?
But reflecting on the answer to that question, I realized, “no, he doesn’t know who he’s talking to. In his eyes, I am a normal customer, and apparently, he gets lied to ALL the time. So of course he doesn’t trust my word about what happened.” I was upset, because I felt my reputation was on the line. I feel I’m an honest person. I expect to be believed because I expect the same from others. But because I’m honest, it apparently makes me “peculiar” at the same time. Honesty, is not the norm in our society any more, otherwise, this situation would not have happened. To be "honest", is to go against the world’s way of operating.
Years ago, the Brethren were known as a “peculiar” people. What does that mean? It pretty much means the same thing that it means today. Back in those days, as today, they did not live by the accepted practices of the world. For example, a story is told of farmers who delivered their produce to market. All the wagons of the farmers were stopped at a checkpoint to have their produce weighed or counted. But for Brethren farmers, they got waived through the checkpoint, because it was known that they were delivering what they said they had… “as a minimum”. If they said they had 300 pounds of wheat on the wagon, they definitely had the 300 pounds, but it was probably a little bit more. They were known to never cheat or short anyone in the marketplace. Their word was their bond. No matter what words came out of their mouths, it could be trusted. That’s not how the rest of the world operated. That’s why the checkpoint was established in the first place. The world could not be trusted. The Brethren were “peculiar” because they could be trusted.
Let me ask, what is YOUR personal reputation? Are you known as someone whose word is never doubted because what you say can always be trusted? If you aren’t, may I suggest that you might need to do some self reflecting? Are you living as a representative of the world and the way the world does business? It doesn’t have to be business, it can be any interaction. Do those who know you believe every word you say, because you have proven to always be honest? Are you ok with telling a little white lie because perhaps it prevents someone’s feelings from getting hurt? Or maybe it prevents you from being seen as a failure because you made a mistake? I know people who have taken the “little white lie” to new heights. Actually, for some of them, they are in the “big, black, ugly lie” stage.
So why are the Brethren so “peculiar”? Paul writes in Romans, “Do NOT be conformed to this world”. That means “don’t do things just because everyone else is doing them.” A better rule of thumb might be, “if everyone else is doing it, you probably should NOT be doing it.”
Going against the world’s way of doing things is hard. You usually become the “outcast” of your circle of friends because they are all doing it. If they do something, and YOU don’t, no one understands why. And, if you explain why you won’t do it, it will normally sound like you disapprove of your friends’ actions. Being peculiar is always the best way to become an outcast.
So what are we supposed to do? Be unpopular because we are so disagreeable with the world? Paul didn’t stop with saying, “Don’t conform to the world’s standards”, he continues on by saying, “INSTEAD, be transformed by the renewing of your minds.”
First, what does being “transformed” even mean? And second, how do we “renew” our minds for this “transformation” to even happen? The Greek word for “transformed” is only used once in the 4 Gospels. It is when Jesus is “transfigured” (same word) on the mountain in God’s presence. Being in God’s presence “transformed” Jesus. It changed his physical being. Paul says we need to transform ourselves, by “the renewing our minds”. The type of transforming Paul is talking about goes far beyond modifying our behavior. You can change behavior with never being “transformed”. We see that all the time. We have laws that tell us proper behavior for living in our society. The laws require certain “do’s and don’ts”. You can follow those laws with not believing them to be good or right. Paul is not saying you need to follow a set of rules, he’s saying, “get into the presence of God and let God change you.” Seek God’s will in everything you do. Obey God, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because you are striving to make those things a part of your very being. You want to renew you mind, or in other words, develop a mindset of always seeking God’s will in everything.
You need to be:
reading your Bible... daily,
praying... daily,
asking God to direct your path... daily,
looking for opportunities to serve... daily,
thanking God for your blessings... daily,
thanking God for your difficulties... daily.
If you keep yourself in the presence of God daily, your will be transformed. Your mind will start seeing things it never noticed before. Create the habit of seeking God every day.
I’ve read from several different sources that when you wake up in the morning, the first thing you should do is thank God for the good things in your life. When you live with a thankful attitude, your entire day will go better. Even if it should be a really bad day, starting with thankfulness will improve it from the get-go. When you start your day with dread, the rest of the day is going to be bad. If you start with thankfulness, the minor inconveniences will not matter to you. Many of the major ones will seem minor.
I don’t like clichés. When I hear someone use a cliché, I dismiss it and ignore it. But clichés actually come about because they started with some truth. For example, this little gem, “your attitude will determine your altitude.” I hear that and cringe. I always believed that many people who use clichés, don’t know what to say, so they fall back on something that sounds nice. But just because a cliché is overused, does not mean that it isn’t true. This one in particular is very true. If you have an attitude of thankfulness, your day is better, you can achieve more. If you have a bad disposition, you will always encounter more and more problems.
A question Paul’s letter addresses is this, people often ask, “how do I know what God’s will is?” Anyone ever ask that question? I used to ask it all the time. It’s a very good question. Paul tells us that the transforming of your mind is required. He says, “the purpose of being transformed by the renewing of your mind, is so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
If you are trying to discern God’s will, but not doing what is necessary to transform your mind, how will you know when you found it? If you don’t know God’s will now, how will you know it, if you never change?
Paul has a few more words in Romans for us. He says, “everyone among you [should] not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”
I have a personal situation where I struggle with this one. Today, I get to stand in this pulpit and speak to you. It is seen by many as a place of authority. When I first started preaching many years ago, I was always tempted to desire people to say nice things about my sermons. I felt I was “better” than those who did not preach. It took a while, but over time, I learned that preaching is not being an authority OVER others, but being a servant TO others. Since I have been granted the opportunity to preach, I have the responsibility to deliver a message that will build others up, not build ME up. Sure I want to do a good job, and be inspiring. But it is not for me that I preach, but for God’s glory and the building up of His people. I am here to serve, not to BE served. The temptation comes because the preacher is the “face” of the service. But really, is that person the only one involved in making the worship service meaningful?
There are greeters, ushers, worship leaders, child care providers, the children’s story teller, the organist, the music director, the administrative assistant who put all our materials together, the persons who take care of the décor, the custodian who keeps it clean, the choir, the acolyte, and I’m probably missing some. But when it’s all said and done, who do you remember? The speaker.
So it can be tempting for me to feel “special”, when in fact, the speaker probably does less than all the others involved. Actually, without all the “unseen” servants, the speaker would be ineffectual. The service would be pretty chaotic and you could never center yourself to listen to the message. When I keep in mind all those who work to make this happen, it’s easy to understand my place among them, and it isn’t “over” them. Paul’s words are not just for preachers, but for everyone. No matter what your place is, remember that you are not better than anyone else. Sure you may have skills or gifts and be better at “something” than someone else, but they have their own gifts and skills that make them better at something else. But even then, we like to think OUR gift is more important than theirs. But like I said, the custodian cleans our sanctuary. Is my preaching MORE important? I could say “yes”, but if this sanctuary were covered in dust and spider webs, perhaps have mice roaming around, would you even pay attention to what I’m saying, or would you be watching out for spiders and rodents? Every gift is of equal importance, no matter how the world might rank them. And THAT refers back to not conforming to the world’s standards.
It may sound like I’m switching gears at this point, but bear with me and you’ll see how all this comes together.
In the Galatians passage for today, the author tells us that “the desires of the flesh are directly opposed to the desires of the Spirit.” He says the reason for this opposition is “to prevent you from doing what you want”. Talk about your wet blanket statements! How would that go over as a marketing tool for Christianity? “Become a Christian. It will prevent you from doing what you want to do.” Do I have any takers?
I pray for God to lead me to the scriptures He wants me to preach on. When I read this, I thought, “seriously? This is the message I’m supposed to deliver?” So, I’ve been pondering on what the author is getting at. The obvious message didn’t seem to click for me, because I don’t believe God doesn’t want us to enjoy ourselves, sometimes. The Bible talks about joy in spite of suffering, but this isn’t about suffering. This is about “choosing” between the Spirit’s desires and the flesh’s desires.
The author lists the “works” of the flesh, “fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.”
Then he lists the “fruit” of the Spirit, starting with the statement, “By contrast”. So this is how they are different, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”
As I looked at the list of the “works of the flesh”, I thought, I don’t desire those things anyway, I do struggle with a couple of them, but I don’t desire them, so how does that “keep me from doing what I want?” And as for the “fruits of the Spirit”, of course I want those things, so again, “how does it keep me from doing what I want?”
Since I thought I only have a problem with a couple items on the “flesh list”, I thought perhaps I should go deeper into those few things and see what’s really there. So as I went through this exercise, I thought envy was the best example for me.
When someone has something that I don’t have and I want it, that’s called “envy”. So I am envious of someone and something. I don’t like feeling envious, but I do. I think about how unfair it is that I can’t have it, or because it’s so expensive or whatever, my mind is filled with thoughts about what I don’t have. So my mind is focused on a “thing” and obtaining that “thing”. If I am focused on what I don’t have, how can I be thankful for what I do have? How can I be generous when I know that takes away from saving up for that “thing”? How can I love someone I am envious of?
The idea that you can’t do what you want is not a problem. The problem is that what you want robs you of the things that make life good. The flesh’s desires control you and what you do. The Spirit is in opposition because it frees you to enjoy what God has in store for you. Envy makes you want more and more “stuff”. The more you have, the more you want. Someone will always have more than you, so if you are envious, you will never be satisfied and, like a drug, will be control you and you will become a slave to your fleshly desires. What you want to do in the flesh, leads to destruction. To live by the spirit is to live freely. You can still have nice things, or situations, but as long as you continue seeking the desires of the Spirit, you will not be controlled by the flesh, and therefore open to the joy God offers.
The desires of the flesh keep you from “real” joy that can only be found in God. When the author uses the term “what YOU want”, he does not mean a simple “that would be nice to have”, but an “I gotta have it”. Those who live a promiscuous life often report how lonely they are. But they use sex as the tool to obtain companionship, which in turn leads to more loneliness, because it is connecting only on a physical level. They desire a TRUE deep human connection only to receive a shallow one that quickly disappears. They live by their fleshly desire, not the Spirit’s desires.
So how does all this go together?
Living by the fleshly desires is how the world lives. We can see it more and more in our advertising. As an example, “buy this product and you will get this result.” All advertising feeds into our fleshly desires. Our television shows feed our fleshly desires. Everything we read about seems to be geared against the fruits of the spirit.
Look down the list:
“Love” vs “lust”
“Joy” vs “momentary happiness”
“Peace” vs “constant need of more things”
“Patience” vs “instant gratification”
“Kindness” vs “getting rid of those different from us”
“Generosity” vs “keeping it all for ourselves”
“Faithfulness” vs “anything goes”
“Gentleness” vs “force”
“Self-control” vs “do what makes you happy”
The only way to combat the world and the desires of the flesh is to be transformed through the renewing of our minds. We need to get into the presence of God and let God show us a new way. We need to become a “peculiar” people once again. If we are “peculiar”, others will notice us and take note. If we are able to blend into the world, because we aren’t that different FROM the world, I have to ask, have we conformed to the world? Are we actually living out the Christian life God desires for us? Being “peculiar” can be hard. But the other option is to never experience God’s joy and peace, or any of the other fruits of the Spirit. So you get to make a choice on how you want to live your life.
