The Most Common Commandment
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“The Most Common Commandment” by C. David McKirachan
The Most Common Commandment
by C. David McKirachan
Luke 12:32-40
When we think of commandments, we fall into the assumption that it has to do with a behavior, something we should or shouldn’t do. Law. I’m not enough of a Bible geek to count or to let some machine do it for me, but ‘Be not afraid’ and its corollary ‘Be not anxious’ show up a lot more often than any other demand, law, or injunction. At least they seem to.
Not the kind of law that’s high on the DA’s list of punishable by …. It’s kind of hard to dig up forensic evidence about it. But it seems to be intrinsic — central to the relationship between the deity and people. And when we consider the motives of how we get into trouble with each other, it’s kind of central to our mistreatment of each other.
If we are to be more than intelligent savages, operating on the basic assumption of might makes right and getting even, lex talionis, we have to move away from fear and the anxiety of loss. We have to make friends with the world and its inhabitants.
If we are to treat the environment with a wisdom that allows real stewardship, we have to consider the pain we can cause if we don’t. Such consideration demands a non-anxious approach to living, which demands a lack of fear. If we are to love one another, to develop a lifestyle built on compassion and empathy, we have to leave fear behind. If we are to have faith that God is something other than an over bearing spirit that has little concern for us, we have to be willing to accept God’s love that has this habit of curing fear.
So, word count or not, this fear business seems rather central to the commandment business.
I was talking to a cashier at the grocery store the other day who told me that she has a hard time with anxiety. Her husband came back from a tour in Afghanistan without a foot, shrapnel in his back, and periodic flashes of PTSD. He was riding in the back seat of a friend’s car when they were hit by a truck and flipped five times. He told her she has a problem with anxiety. She asked him why he’s not anxious. He told her that he’s been near death a few times and realized that he’s not afraid of dying. So, he decided he’s got better things to do than be afraid all the time.
She asked me if he was nuts or she was anxious. I asked her if she was happy. She said sometimes. I asked her when. She told me when she was with her husband and her kid. “Are you afraid then?” She stood there with her mouth open. It seemed pretty basic.
Maybe that’s the problem. It’s so basic that we want to build a whole system around it because we’re afraid. We’re afraid that others won’t be nice. The answer to that is, of course they won’t. We’re afraid that if we don’t make piles of our stuff, and have the right to defend our piles, there won’t be any tomorrow. Maybe we’ll have to have faith about that. You get the drift.
Life is not necessarily kind or easy and people aren’t either, but that’s no reason to waste our lives being afraid or anxious.
During a benediction, I announced to a congregation that I was anxious. That I struggled with having faith in a loving God. But I was working at it. One guy told me that was the most courageous thing he’d ever heard.
I guess we’re afraid of different things and courageous about different things. That’s why we need to be bonded together as a family.
Be not afraid. If we can pull that off once in a while, we’re doing okay.
*****************************************
StoryShare, August 11, 2019, issue.
Copyright 2019 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
“The Most Common Commandment” by C. David McKirachan
The Most Common Commandment
by C. David McKirachan
Luke 12:32-40
When we think of commandments, we fall into the assumption that it has to do with a behavior, something we should or shouldn’t do. Law. I’m not enough of a Bible geek to count or to let some machine do it for me, but ‘Be not afraid’ and its corollary ‘Be not anxious’ show up a lot more often than any other demand, law, or injunction. At least they seem to.
Not the kind of law that’s high on the DA’s list of punishable by …. It’s kind of hard to dig up forensic evidence about it. But it seems to be intrinsic — central to the relationship between the deity and people. And when we consider the motives of how we get into trouble with each other, it’s kind of central to our mistreatment of each other.
If we are to be more than intelligent savages, operating on the basic assumption of might makes right and getting even, lex talionis, we have to move away from fear and the anxiety of loss. We have to make friends with the world and its inhabitants.
If we are to treat the environment with a wisdom that allows real stewardship, we have to consider the pain we can cause if we don’t. Such consideration demands a non-anxious approach to living, which demands a lack of fear. If we are to love one another, to develop a lifestyle built on compassion and empathy, we have to leave fear behind. If we are to have faith that God is something other than an over bearing spirit that has little concern for us, we have to be willing to accept God’s love that has this habit of curing fear.
So, word count or not, this fear business seems rather central to the commandment business.
I was talking to a cashier at the grocery store the other day who told me that she has a hard time with anxiety. Her husband came back from a tour in Afghanistan without a foot, shrapnel in his back, and periodic flashes of PTSD. He was riding in the back seat of a friend’s car when they were hit by a truck and flipped five times. He told her she has a problem with anxiety. She asked him why he’s not anxious. He told her that he’s been near death a few times and realized that he’s not afraid of dying. So, he decided he’s got better things to do than be afraid all the time.
She asked me if he was nuts or she was anxious. I asked her if she was happy. She said sometimes. I asked her when. She told me when she was with her husband and her kid. “Are you afraid then?” She stood there with her mouth open. It seemed pretty basic.
Maybe that’s the problem. It’s so basic that we want to build a whole system around it because we’re afraid. We’re afraid that others won’t be nice. The answer to that is, of course they won’t. We’re afraid that if we don’t make piles of our stuff, and have the right to defend our piles, there won’t be any tomorrow. Maybe we’ll have to have faith about that. You get the drift.
Life is not necessarily kind or easy and people aren’t either, but that’s no reason to waste our lives being afraid or anxious.
During a benediction, I announced to a congregation that I was anxious. That I struggled with having faith in a loving God. But I was working at it. One guy told me that was the most courageous thing he’d ever heard.
I guess we’re afraid of different things and courageous about different things. That’s why we need to be bonded together as a family.
Be not afraid. If we can pull that off once in a while, we’re doing okay.
*****************************************
StoryShare, August 11, 2019, issue.
Copyright 2019 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to the StoryShare service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons, in worship and classroom settings, in brief devotions, in radio spots, and as newsletter fillers. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to permissions@csspub.com or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
