WEBVTT - Wired for Goodness 0:00:00.070 --> 0:00:03.450 Good morning and welcome. We are continuing our series of 0:00:03.510 --> 0:00:07.540 discussions around the idea of being wired. That means that 0:00:07.710 --> 0:00:11.220 you were wired with some kind of personality, some kind 0:00:11.260 --> 0:00:15.520 of tendencies, preferences. We're not all just blank slates. If 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:19.220 you've had more than one child, you recognize that from 0:00:19.239 --> 0:00:22.480 the same family come very different personalities and they come 0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:26.250 equipped That said, we also are shaped by our experiences, 0:00:26.370 --> 0:00:29.450 by the nurture, the way we are raised, the things 0:00:29.490 --> 0:00:32.650 that happen within the context. So somewhere there's this balance 0:00:32.770 --> 0:00:36.130 between how we're made, how we're wired, what our tendencies are, 0:00:36.450 --> 0:00:40.130 and how we grow and mature, how we challenge ourselves 0:00:40.190 --> 0:00:44.870 in that process. Essentially, that is a conversation that takes 0:00:44.950 --> 0:00:48.199 place in the book of Romans. Now, Paul is writing 0:00:48.229 --> 0:00:50.400 to a group of people who have been deeply divided. 0:00:50.580 --> 0:00:53.500 The church in Rome is We're not sure of its origins, 0:00:53.540 --> 0:00:54.860 but we know that it was a church that was 0:00:54.900 --> 0:01:00.260 made up of both Jews and Romans, and that during 0:01:00.280 --> 0:01:03.830 the early part of the church's life, Claudius expelled the 0:01:03.870 --> 0:01:06.950 Jews from Rome, and they were expelled for five years. 0:01:06.990 --> 0:01:09.570 So for five years, this church was made up only 0:01:09.970 --> 0:01:13.369 of the Roman citizens. And so when the Jews returned, 0:01:13.709 --> 0:01:16.429 the nature of the church had changed, and there was conflict. 0:01:16.450 --> 0:01:19.360 There was some disagreement about the church. So Paul writes 0:01:19.390 --> 0:01:22.640 this letter, to tell them how to get along, which 0:01:22.680 --> 0:01:25.860 seems to be a pretty important topic in our culture today. 0:01:26.459 --> 0:01:29.150 We seem to need a little help about how to 0:01:29.209 --> 0:01:33.290 get along. Maybe it's not a surprising piece of information 0:01:33.350 --> 0:01:36.330 to you, but we are living today in one of 0:01:36.370 --> 0:01:40.810 the angriest cultures to ever exist on the planet. And 0:01:41.250 --> 0:01:43.270 There's a couple of reasons we can say that. I mean, 0:01:43.290 --> 0:01:46.720 that's not just an observation. That's not just an anecdotal thing. 0:01:46.780 --> 0:01:51.170 That's a scientific reality. Surveys and research tells us that 0:01:51.410 --> 0:01:56.340 people today are significantly angry. In fact, a recent study 0:01:56.580 --> 0:01:59.040 found that nine out of 10 people in the United 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:02.770 States are very angry about something all the time. It 0:02:02.780 --> 0:02:04.810 might be a single event. It might be politics. It 0:02:04.850 --> 0:02:08.290 might be a cultural thing. But if you ask nine 0:02:08.370 --> 0:02:10.490 out of 10 people in America, are you angry and 0:02:10.530 --> 0:02:13.290 what are you angry about? They will have something they 0:02:13.350 --> 0:02:18.340 are angry about. Conversely, the same research project did a 0:02:18.700 --> 0:02:22.410 survey asking a second question, and that is how many 0:02:22.810 --> 0:02:25.930 Americans have an event or something in their mind that 0:02:26.010 --> 0:02:30.310 makes them proud today? And sadly, very few, about four 0:02:30.380 --> 0:02:33.220 out of 10, said they had something in mind that 0:02:33.280 --> 0:02:36.840 made them proud. And so those kind of statistics, those 0:02:36.919 --> 0:02:40.720 kinds of studies, basically it means that twice as many 0:02:40.760 --> 0:02:43.709 people are angry as proud. And that's how it feels. 0:02:44.050 --> 0:02:47.530 It feels that the vast majority of people are very angry. 0:02:47.889 --> 0:02:50.970 And I don't think that we're the first culture on 0:02:50.990 --> 0:02:54.940 the planet, the first group in the United States that 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:57.579 has had seasons of great anger. If you go back 0:02:57.660 --> 0:03:01.440 to the crazy civil unrest of the 1960s, I'm sure 0:03:01.460 --> 0:03:03.460 you can go even further back. But there is a 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:07.970 lot of history. However, it does feel like this is 0:03:08.030 --> 0:03:10.970 a little bit of a unique kind of anger in 0:03:11.030 --> 0:03:13.010 our history. And I think there's a couple of reasons 0:03:13.070 --> 0:03:18.230 for that. One is because social media has allowed us 0:03:18.330 --> 0:03:21.410 to be involved in everyone's anger all the time. Maybe 0:03:21.470 --> 0:03:25.230 in past times, there were pockets of anger that sort 0:03:25.290 --> 0:03:28.750 of harbored itself. But now we are exposed constantly. If 0:03:28.790 --> 0:03:31.470 you're active on social media, even if you're just active 0:03:31.530 --> 0:03:35.240 on traditional media, the anger of the world is on display. 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:39.500 The content of news stations today are much more oriented 0:03:39.620 --> 0:03:42.980 to what's wrong, what's broken, who's to blame than just 0:03:43.020 --> 0:03:46.710 simply reporting facts and telling stories that are happening in 0:03:46.750 --> 0:03:49.450 the news. And so we're very angry. But the second 0:03:49.490 --> 0:03:52.910 thing that makes this unique is we've doubled down. This 0:03:53.030 --> 0:03:57.510 culture justifies its anger. It's decided that this is the 0:03:57.590 --> 0:04:02.940 appropriate way to feel and act and speak because people 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:06.700 deserve it, because this is what it's all about. And 0:04:06.740 --> 0:04:09.540 it doesn't matter which talking heads that you listen to, 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:13.430 if it's politicians, if it's reporters, if it's entertainers. if 0:04:13.470 --> 0:04:17.210 it's athletes, even clergy have gotten involved in this. Here's 0:04:17.270 --> 0:04:21.029 who's to blame. Here's the threat to our way of life, 0:04:21.130 --> 0:04:25.200 to our well-being. And so it is okay for me 0:04:25.339 --> 0:04:28.140 to be angry, and it's okay for me to say 0:04:28.300 --> 0:04:33.340 anything I want, to slander anyone I want. It wasn't 0:04:33.360 --> 0:04:37.210 that long ago that if you got into some public 0:04:37.270 --> 0:04:41.450 forum and you used profanity to You'd be segregated. You 0:04:41.490 --> 0:04:44.810 would not be allowed to continue. Today, if you use 0:04:44.850 --> 0:04:50.310 a profanity lace tirade against someone, you know, dehumanizing them, 0:04:50.330 --> 0:04:54.500 then it's OK. In fact, you'll probably be at least 0:04:54.620 --> 0:04:58.159 one segment of society's favorite person for telling the truth, 0:04:58.300 --> 0:05:02.020 for giving people what they deserve. And that's unique. We've 0:05:02.060 --> 0:05:06.340 not really had a culture in recent history that justified 0:05:06.460 --> 0:05:11.160 such bad behavior and corrosive language and slanderous language. But 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:14.380 we're doing it now. The thing that's fascinating about that 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:16.580 to me is we're not just angry and we're not 0:05:16.620 --> 0:05:20.670 just speaking in slanderous ways and caustic ways to each other. 0:05:20.690 --> 0:05:24.770 And that's at every level. It happens again. Anyone who 0:05:24.990 --> 0:05:28.580 has a microphone, anyone who's a talking head, You can 0:05:28.720 --> 0:05:32.159 generally hear that kind of stuff being said all the 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:35.670 way up to the political leaders of our country. They 0:05:35.890 --> 0:05:39.510 justify what not very long ago would have been shameful 0:05:39.589 --> 0:05:43.349 kinds of attacks on others, steering away from policy and 0:05:43.450 --> 0:05:47.590 fact and into assassination of personal character and even just 0:05:47.670 --> 0:05:50.740 petty name calling and that kind of thing. So why 0:05:50.779 --> 0:05:53.690 do we have this? Why is it going on? like that. 0:05:53.770 --> 0:05:56.330 The fascinating thing is, as we all well know, the 0:05:56.370 --> 0:06:00.820 country's divided about 50-50. About 50% of people think it's 0:06:00.860 --> 0:06:04.159 a progressive mindset, a liberal mindset that's ruining the world. 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.660 About 50% think it's the conservative mindset that's ruining the world. 0:06:08.140 --> 0:06:10.539 But what do these two groups have in common? Well, 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:12.900 what they have in common is they're both fighting for justice. 0:06:13.620 --> 0:06:16.810 They both believe that their cause is the just one. 0:06:17.190 --> 0:06:21.409 Their perspective, their side of it is the right one. 0:06:21.950 --> 0:06:24.760 And so they fight tooth and nail to preserve what 0:06:24.800 --> 0:06:27.880 they believe to be just and fair and right and 0:06:27.920 --> 0:06:29.600 the best way and the best way to run a 0:06:29.640 --> 0:06:31.500 country and the best way to run politics, the best 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.690 way to run social programs, the best way to treat people. 0:06:35.670 --> 0:06:37.750 One kind of stands on law and order, the other 0:06:37.810 --> 0:06:41.339 on compassion, although they trade those places in different spots 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:45.210 along the political spectrum. And so it's a weird way 0:06:45.270 --> 0:06:48.050 in which how can everybody be seeking justice? Justice is 0:06:48.190 --> 0:06:51.250 multiple things. It's one thing. Justice is justice. Either it's 0:06:51.310 --> 0:06:53.290 right and it's fair and it's just or it's not. 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:59.419 And so somehow we have two diametrically opposed groups who 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:03.400 each claim the moral high ground of justice. How is 0:07:03.420 --> 0:07:07.220 that possible? Well, sadly, just to be frank, how it's 0:07:07.260 --> 0:07:11.840 possible is ignorance. Most people are very angry, justifying their anger. 0:07:12.440 --> 0:07:14.980 saying whatever they want in whatever corrosive way they want, 0:07:15.020 --> 0:07:17.560 but they don't know what they're talking about. They haven't 0:07:17.660 --> 0:07:21.420 done the research. And if I just said to you, 0:07:21.580 --> 0:07:24.200 forget everything that's happened up to this moment, and if 0:07:24.260 --> 0:07:27.520 I said today, whatever comes across your path that makes 0:07:27.540 --> 0:07:32.400 you angry, slow down, do the research, get informed, and 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:34.840 then see where you are. How long do you think 0:07:34.860 --> 0:07:37.110 you could keep up? I think the issues come at 0:07:37.170 --> 0:07:39.890 us so fast and so furious that we really don't 0:07:39.950 --> 0:07:42.530 have time to exactly educate. We're not even sure where 0:07:42.550 --> 0:07:46.000 to go to educate ourselves in an unbiased way. So 0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:50.730 where would you go? It's very difficult. Here's a fascinating thing. 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.440 We still have political think tanks. We still have cultural 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:56.750 think tanks who are trying to solve different problems in 0:07:56.790 --> 0:07:59.910 our culture. These think tanks generally will be made up 0:07:59.970 --> 0:08:04.970 of multiple perspectives. And as these groups dig deep into 0:08:04.990 --> 0:08:08.730 the actual issues and the facts, they may not agree 0:08:08.830 --> 0:08:11.350 on what the solutions are, but what you find is 0:08:11.410 --> 0:08:13.870 a deep respect for one another. They may be able 0:08:13.890 --> 0:08:15.670 to say, I don't agree with you, but I can 0:08:15.730 --> 0:08:18.420 see why you take your point of view differently. The 0:08:18.460 --> 0:08:22.020 more deeply I become informed, the more respect I have 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:26.510 for people with opposing views, because those opposing views make sense, 0:08:27.310 --> 0:08:30.170 even if they're not my views. But in our culture, 0:08:30.210 --> 0:08:32.449 we speak into lots of things with a great deal 0:08:32.490 --> 0:08:34.390 of ignorance. And part of the reason for that is 0:08:34.510 --> 0:08:38.439 because it's hard to find unbiased material. Our social media 0:08:38.480 --> 0:08:41.219 feed is an algorithm to keep us engaged. It's not 0:08:41.260 --> 0:08:44.439 supposed to inform us. It's supposed to engage us. And 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:48.700 because it engages us, it feeds us. The algorithm tells 0:08:49.059 --> 0:08:52.400 the engagement policy how to inform us. And so it 0:08:52.460 --> 0:08:55.190 gives us the same thing, a confirmation bias of what 0:08:55.230 --> 0:08:57.690 we already think. Every story we see confirms what we 0:08:57.750 --> 0:09:01.189 already thought, that we're right, they're wrong, that this is justice. 0:09:01.670 --> 0:09:05.110 It's not diving into the facts. But even more, it's 0:09:05.170 --> 0:09:09.140 not just social media. It's now news outlets. Today, you 0:09:09.179 --> 0:09:11.320 can go down the list. You know which news outlet 0:09:11.420 --> 0:09:14.080 is going to appeal to which demographic in our culture 0:09:14.120 --> 0:09:16.000 and in our society. You can name them in your head. 0:09:16.260 --> 0:09:20.360 It's so blatant. It's so obvious that we know before 0:09:20.380 --> 0:09:22.360 we ever turn the TV on what we're going to hear. 0:09:22.960 --> 0:09:26.090 And it's not information that we're getting. We're getting opinion, 0:09:26.450 --> 0:09:28.869 a lot of opinion. In fact, the information seems to 0:09:28.910 --> 0:09:32.429 be heavily shaded depending on which outlet you're listening to 0:09:32.710 --> 0:09:36.689 and how your social media feed works. So that's something 0:09:36.710 --> 0:09:39.130 for us to think about. That's a big deal. An 0:09:39.370 --> 0:09:43.100 angry society justifying their behavior, continuing to get more and 0:09:43.140 --> 0:09:48.420 more caustic, more and more hateful, more and more uncivilized 0:09:48.820 --> 0:09:51.439 in the way we speak to one another. And in 0:09:51.620 --> 0:09:55.949 that effort, all in the name of justice. We'll pick 0:09:55.970 --> 0:09:59.569 this up right after this break. Welcome back. You're listening 0:09:59.590 --> 0:10:04.220 to Healing. Conversations on KABC 790. I'm Dave Roberts. And 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:07.819 so here we have angry people justifying their anger all 0:10:07.860 --> 0:10:10.500 in the name of justice when most of us don't 0:10:10.800 --> 0:10:14.579 know exactly what we're talking about. But this whole process 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:18.160 goes one more step. In our culture today, it's not 0:10:18.200 --> 0:10:21.719 just anger, it's not just a lack of being well-informed, 0:10:21.840 --> 0:10:25.380 and it's not just a justification of our anger and 0:10:25.500 --> 0:10:30.829 our uncivilized behavior. We are also seeking revenge. I'm not 0:10:30.900 --> 0:10:34.090 sure in the history of my life that I have 0:10:34.190 --> 0:10:39.010 ever heard such things spoken out loud, things we wish 0:10:39.070 --> 0:10:43.210 would happen to politicians, things we wish would happen to celebrities, 0:10:43.530 --> 0:10:48.840 spoken out loud. We've published information about law enforcement officials 0:10:48.900 --> 0:10:51.180 and about people in the government and about people in 0:10:51.200 --> 0:10:54.380 the judicial system, inviting people to go to their homes 0:10:54.660 --> 0:10:58.500 and seek revenge. A revenge based on a false sense 0:10:58.540 --> 0:11:02.820 of justice, based on a lack of information, based on 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:08.480 a feeling of anger. That's a very disturbing reality. And 0:11:08.500 --> 0:11:11.819 I think the big thing for this conversation, for me 0:11:11.980 --> 0:11:16.620 as the pastor of a church, is that people who 0:11:16.740 --> 0:11:23.449 call themselves Christians are supposed to act differently in the culture. 0:11:24.410 --> 0:11:28.390 That in fact, what Paul is writing about in this 0:11:28.470 --> 0:11:32.860 book of Romans is that we are not to conform 0:11:32.910 --> 0:11:35.040 to the pattern of this world, but we're to be 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:41.120 transformed by the renewing of our minds. Followers of Jesus Christ, 0:11:41.960 --> 0:11:45.960 are supposed to be the salt of the earth and 0:11:46.000 --> 0:11:49.480 the light of the world. In fact, what Jesus says is, 0:11:49.880 --> 0:11:52.420 you're the light of the world. You're like a city 0:11:53.100 --> 0:11:56.459 set on a hill that cannot be hidden. In other words, 0:11:56.780 --> 0:12:00.400 Christians are invited to be people who practice goodness in 0:12:00.500 --> 0:12:03.829 such a way that they become alive in the middle 0:12:03.870 --> 0:12:06.650 of the darkness. Paul then says, the only way you 0:12:06.670 --> 0:12:09.310 can really lose your light is if you decide to 0:12:09.350 --> 0:12:12.080 come off the hilltop and down into the valley and 0:12:12.140 --> 0:12:15.420 conform to the same kind of chaos. And so where 0:12:15.540 --> 0:12:19.380 are we in that? That's what Paul is writing about. 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:21.700 In fact, let me just ramp in, and this is 0:12:21.760 --> 0:12:24.280 kind of a long reading, but this is his entire 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:27.660 argument in Romans 12. And he's not only going to 0:12:27.740 --> 0:12:33.240 talk about this idea of not conforming, of being rewired, 0:12:33.300 --> 0:12:37.819 of having your thought process work differently than the norm 0:12:37.880 --> 0:12:42.170 in the culture. more mature, a little deeper, more humble, 0:12:42.790 --> 0:12:45.150 more kind. He's also going to give a list of 0:12:45.190 --> 0:12:47.849 some things that are very specific as a result of 0:12:47.910 --> 0:12:51.030 this rewiring. This is what it will look like, he says. 0:12:51.550 --> 0:12:54.630 So here's the whole passage beginning at verse 1 of 0:12:54.690 --> 0:12:57.970 chapter 12 of the book of Romans. Therefore, I urge you, 0:12:57.990 --> 0:13:01.589 brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer 0:13:01.630 --> 0:13:05.150 your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:09.109 That's your true and proper worship. Do not conform to 0:13:09.150 --> 0:13:11.730 the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the 0:13:11.770 --> 0:13:12.910 renewing of your mind. 0:13:13.610 --> 0:13:14.630 Then you'll be able. 0:13:14.490 --> 0:13:19.490 To test and approve what God's will is, his good 0:13:19.550 --> 0:13:23.910 and pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me, 0:13:24.190 --> 0:13:27.350 I say to every one of you, do not think 0:13:27.390 --> 0:13:31.270 of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think 0:13:31.309 --> 0:13:35.069 of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith 0:13:35.150 --> 0:13:39.030 God has given you. For just as each of us 0:13:39.070 --> 0:13:41.739 has one body with many members, and these members don't 0:13:41.800 --> 0:13:44.699 all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, 0:13:45.340 --> 0:13:48.699 form one body. And each member belongs to all the others. 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:51.640 We have different gifts according to the grace given to 0:13:51.740 --> 0:13:55.090 each of us. If your gift is prophesying, prophesy and 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:57.150 court us with your faith. If it's serving, then serve. 0:13:57.170 --> 0:13:59.930 If it's teaching, then teach. If it's to encourage, give encouragement. 0:13:59.950 --> 0:14:02.290 If it's giving, then give generously. If it's to lead, 0:14:02.350 --> 0:14:06.370 do it diligently. If it's to show mercy, do it cheerfully. 0:14:07.110 --> 0:14:13.030 Love must be sincere. Hate what's evil. Cling to what's good. 0:14:13.920 --> 0:14:18.219 Be devoted to one another. Honor one another above yourselves. 0:14:19.580 --> 0:14:23.740 Never be lacking in zeal. Keep your spiritual fervor serving 0:14:23.860 --> 0:14:27.980 the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful 0:14:28.080 --> 0:14:31.270 in prayer. Share with the Lord's people who are in need. 0:14:31.330 --> 0:14:35.910 Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do 0:14:35.950 --> 0:14:39.590 not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Mourn with those 0:14:39.610 --> 0:14:42.930 who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Don't be proud. 0:14:43.450 --> 0:14:45.950 Be willing to associate with people of low position. Don't 0:14:45.990 --> 0:14:50.609 be conceited. Don't repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful 0:14:50.650 --> 0:14:53.850 to do what is right in the eyes of everyone, 0:14:54.290 --> 0:14:56.910 if it's possible. As far as it depends on you, 0:14:56.970 --> 0:15:01.359 live at peace with everyone. Don't take revenge on Leave 0:15:01.400 --> 0:15:04.420 room for God's wrath. It's written. It is mine to avenge. 0:15:04.660 --> 0:15:07.000 I will repay, says the Lord. On the contrary, if 0:15:07.020 --> 0:15:09.230 your enemy's hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him 0:15:09.260 --> 0:15:12.160 something to drink. In doing this, you'll heap burning coals 0:15:12.270 --> 0:15:15.670 on his head. Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome 0:15:15.910 --> 0:15:17.390 evil with good. 0:15:18.430 --> 0:15:19.370 Powerful words. 0:15:20.410 --> 0:15:24.060 Paul, in the middle of this chaotic time, a time 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:26.400 when the church itself in Rome is fighting with one 0:15:26.440 --> 0:15:31.130 another along cultural lines, Roman pagan culture, the Jews and 0:15:31.170 --> 0:15:35.630 their Jewish culture, but also along the lines of politics, 0:15:36.070 --> 0:15:41.970 Roman leadership, the traditions that the Jewish people have abided by, 0:15:42.310 --> 0:15:45.240 who don't really honor the government of Rome, the Romans 0:15:45.260 --> 0:15:50.080 who find great pride in the government. It's not very unfamiliar. 0:15:50.120 --> 0:15:53.940 It seems very much like our current culture in many ways. 0:15:54.660 --> 0:15:58.090 And so he writes this very powerful idea. There are 0:15:58.130 --> 0:16:02.770 two things that underlie his ethical call. And we're going 0:16:02.790 --> 0:16:04.850 to break these down in a minute. But before we 0:16:04.870 --> 0:16:07.970 do that, two things underlie. Number one, he quotes from 0:16:07.990 --> 0:16:11.230 Deuteronomy and he says, vengeance belongs to God. He's basically 0:16:11.270 --> 0:16:16.530 saying this. The only one really qualified to judge... and 0:16:16.670 --> 0:16:20.930 therefore do the right thing to practice justice in the 0:16:20.990 --> 0:16:23.910 world is God. It's the only one that can do that. 0:16:24.170 --> 0:16:27.080 And God will take care of justice. Justice belongs to God. 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:30.840 The rest of us are a little short-sighted. And so 0:16:30.860 --> 0:16:32.980 if we stop and said, it's not my job to 0:16:33.020 --> 0:16:35.740 give everybody what they deserve to pay back. And he's 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.700 going to get specific now. Don't pay back evil for evil, 0:16:38.740 --> 0:16:42.390 but pay back good for evil. We're not supposed to 0:16:42.430 --> 0:16:45.050 be in a vengeance business. And that doesn't mean in 0:16:45.110 --> 0:16:50.340 some big scope. We're constantly punishing people. We're constantly taking 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:54.120 it out on them, not talking to them, breaking relationship 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:58.980 with people over politics, over cultural questions, over persuasions when 0:16:59.020 --> 0:17:02.350 we don't fully understand what we're talking about. And so 0:17:02.370 --> 0:17:04.330 he says, let the vengeance belong to God. Then the 0:17:04.369 --> 0:17:06.920 second thing that he wants to push is that he 0:17:07.180 --> 0:17:10.200 speaks of Proverbs 25 when he says, if your enemy's hungry, 0:17:10.260 --> 0:17:12.320 feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink. 0:17:12.380 --> 0:17:14.360 In doing this, you keep burning coals on his head. 0:17:14.540 --> 0:17:17.119 That's not a passive aggressive way of hurting somebody, of 0:17:17.180 --> 0:17:20.320 getting vengeance. What he's actually saying is that doing the 0:17:20.359 --> 0:17:24.090 right thing and doing good and being kind actually makes 0:17:24.150 --> 0:17:27.910 people really uncomfortable to the point of actual change. That 0:17:28.050 --> 0:17:33.600 goodness actually creates results. I think we've lost that idea. 0:17:34.380 --> 0:17:38.470 We've lost the idea that being humble and being a 0:17:38.570 --> 0:17:42.410 servant and returning good for evil and turning the other 0:17:42.430 --> 0:17:44.950 cheek and going the extra mile is actually a very 0:17:45.410 --> 0:17:50.060 powerful way to change the culture. And so everything he's 0:17:50.080 --> 0:17:52.580 going to say from here on out is going to 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.520 be based around these two ideas, that vengeance belongs to 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:59.359 God and that goodness is far more powerful than far 0:17:59.420 --> 0:18:04.150 more effective to heal brokenness than most of us imagine, 0:18:04.230 --> 0:18:07.969 particularly in this culture. But we are not conforming to 0:18:07.990 --> 0:18:11.520 the pattern of this world. We're being transformed by the 0:18:11.560 --> 0:18:16.379 renewing of our minds. So we are wired for goodness. 0:18:17.510 --> 0:18:19.689 What he talks about in here is a group of 0:18:19.730 --> 0:18:23.870 people who have decided that God has some answers, that 0:18:23.930 --> 0:18:27.850 God knows what's best, that even pray daily, your kingdom come, 0:18:27.890 --> 0:18:30.129 your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 0:18:30.170 --> 0:18:32.800 We want the best of the best. We want real justice. 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:36.080 We want real grace. We want real compassion. We want 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:39.480 the real thing. And we believe you have it in 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:43.520 your infinite wisdom. So how do we change the world? 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:46.720 How do we not conform and do something well? Well, 0:18:47.150 --> 0:18:51.419 He starts off by saying this, love must be sincere. 0:18:52.500 --> 0:18:54.740 What a great way to start. You can't pretend to 0:18:54.780 --> 0:18:56.900 like people. You can't pretend to care. You can't pretend. 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:59.780 In fact, he's going to say, you know, you should 0:18:59.820 --> 0:19:03.139 do good in the sight of everyone. Even though just 0:19:03.180 --> 0:19:05.500 like our bodies has a lot of members, there's a 0:19:05.540 --> 0:19:08.400 lot of people in the world and we need them 0:19:08.619 --> 0:19:10.540 and we need the different perspectives in order to be 0:19:10.560 --> 0:19:15.320 a healthy, whole society culture. And we have to sincerely 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:19.770 love people, really love them. We don't talk disparagingly about them. 0:19:19.830 --> 0:19:24.230 We don't berate them. We're not caustic. We build up. 0:19:24.310 --> 0:19:29.310 We don't tear down. Love has to be sincere. Number two, 0:19:29.330 --> 0:19:34.130 he says, never lack zeal. That's a weird one. Not 0:19:34.170 --> 0:19:36.879 sure we're up to speed on what zeal is all about. 0:19:37.540 --> 0:19:40.500 Zeal is energy. What is the energy coming out of 0:19:40.560 --> 0:19:47.120 your mouth, body, demeanor, tone? We're struggling as a culture 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:50.140 with this idea of zeal. What oozes out of most 0:19:50.160 --> 0:19:58.180 people's pores these days is depression, sadness, fear, anger, doom, uncertainty, insecurity. 0:19:59.090 --> 0:20:02.230 Something ought to click in us that causes us to 0:20:02.270 --> 0:20:07.469 have a different kind of substance oozing out. We're going 0:20:07.490 --> 0:20:09.740 to pick that up right after this break. Welcome back. 0:20:09.859 --> 0:20:14.200 You're listening to Healing Conversations on KABC 790. I'm Dave Roberts. 0:20:14.800 --> 0:20:18.140 We're never to lack zeal, love sincerely, can't pretend, can't 0:20:18.180 --> 0:20:20.570 fake it. People know. They know if you're just doing 0:20:20.609 --> 0:20:24.869 a sales job. But genuinely look for things within the 0:20:24.950 --> 0:20:27.490 context of the people with whom we're sharing the world, 0:20:27.650 --> 0:20:31.910 sharing life, to love, to appreciate. And don't lack zeal. 0:20:32.300 --> 0:20:34.280 That every day that we walk around with this doom 0:20:34.340 --> 0:20:38.859 and gloom, Something is diminished in the world. Joy is 0:20:38.900 --> 0:20:40.740 diminished in the world. He's going to say later on 0:20:41.030 --> 0:20:43.270 that we are to rejoice with those who rejoice. We're 0:20:43.290 --> 0:20:45.770 to mourn with those who mourn. That this idea of 0:20:45.850 --> 0:20:49.850 zeal is being in touch. And then he says, you know, 0:20:50.210 --> 0:20:52.530 that energy, because what we see in the world is 0:20:52.570 --> 0:20:55.770 we have hope that God's in control and that he's 0:20:55.830 --> 0:20:58.170 busy redeeming things. And even though it might not seem 0:20:58.230 --> 0:21:00.870 great now and things seem really tough, now he makes 0:21:00.910 --> 0:21:03.730 a list. We're joyful in hope. We have hope. And 0:21:03.750 --> 0:21:06.859 we're joyful in that hope. It's not the same demeanor 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:11.230 as everybody else. And we're patient in affliction. There are 0:21:11.250 --> 0:21:12.969 things in our lives we don't like. We don't want them. 0:21:13.450 --> 0:21:16.710 But instead of moaning and groaning and complaining and being 0:21:16.750 --> 0:21:20.399 depressed and sad and wasting the precious days of our 0:21:20.440 --> 0:21:25.050 lives that are so limited, we're patient. We're patient and 0:21:25.109 --> 0:21:27.550 waiting for things to resolve and get better. And then 0:21:27.570 --> 0:21:30.400 we're faithful in prayer, which kind of underwrites the whole thing. 0:21:30.480 --> 0:21:33.159 One of the reasons we can have a demeanor of 0:21:33.600 --> 0:21:36.300 positive and not doom and gloom is because we're one 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:38.120 of the reasons we can be joyful and hope because 0:21:38.140 --> 0:21:40.619 we're patient and faithful in prayer. We can be patient 0:21:40.660 --> 0:21:42.980 in affliction because we're faithful in prayer. We're not helpless. 0:21:43.480 --> 0:21:45.760 We're praying and asking God to intervene, to help, to 0:21:45.800 --> 0:21:50.560 give us strength. So we are to never lack zeal. 0:21:51.300 --> 0:21:54.359 Just walk around and notice people. There's a lot of 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:57.220 people in the world today whose heads are down, whose 0:21:57.280 --> 0:21:59.540 hearts are down, whose minds are down, who are sad 0:21:59.580 --> 0:22:03.660 and anxious and depressed and not criticizing, rightly so. There's 0:22:03.700 --> 0:22:05.659 a lot of things going on in the world that 0:22:05.680 --> 0:22:09.689 can make you feel that way. Do not conform to 0:22:09.710 --> 0:22:13.130 the pattern of this world, but be transformed. Do something different. 0:22:13.609 --> 0:22:16.230 Don't be the same as. You are the light of 0:22:16.270 --> 0:22:19.050 the world. You are the salt of the earth. And 0:22:19.070 --> 0:22:23.649 then he says, share with God's family. Practice hospitality, he says. 0:22:24.670 --> 0:22:28.970 We are to be hospitable people. I'm astonished at how 0:22:29.130 --> 0:22:34.260 lazy we have become as a culture about practicing hospitality. 0:22:34.619 --> 0:22:36.960 I get invited to things a lot, and I will 0:22:36.980 --> 0:22:38.660 be honest, sometimes I'm like, I don't want to do that. 0:22:38.859 --> 0:22:40.640 That's just too much work. I want to stay home. 0:22:40.660 --> 0:22:43.899 I don't want to do anything. Hospitality is hard work. 0:22:44.119 --> 0:22:46.060 You got to put yourself out there. You got to 0:22:46.200 --> 0:22:49.879 get up. You got to go. You got to interact. 0:22:50.250 --> 0:22:52.629 You got to smile. You got to make conversation. You 0:22:52.650 --> 0:22:54.929 got to learn about people. But if we're going to 0:22:54.970 --> 0:22:57.450 rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn, 0:22:57.650 --> 0:22:58.970 how in the world can we do that if we 0:22:59.010 --> 0:23:01.369 don't know them, if we're not in some kind of 0:23:01.430 --> 0:23:04.929 relationship with them? And listen, this is not all theoretical 0:23:05.010 --> 0:23:08.630 stuff here. There are families being torn apart by this 0:23:09.390 --> 0:23:13.980 anger and the justification of anger, believing that we're seeking 0:23:14.119 --> 0:23:17.659 justice and I can't be in relationship with my parents 0:23:17.680 --> 0:23:19.520 because they don't get it. Or I can't be in 0:23:19.580 --> 0:23:21.639 relation with my sibling. Or I can't be in relation 0:23:21.660 --> 0:23:24.909 with my kids. It's tearing our families apart. And it's 0:23:24.950 --> 0:23:29.430 tearing our culture apart. And so we're going to love sincerely. 0:23:29.950 --> 0:23:32.390