More Than Entertainment

I am currently preaching through the book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament.  And this week is chapter 3.  It is comprised of 32 verses listing out all the ‘contractors’ who completed sections of the walls around Jerusalem.  It doesn’t contain the intrigue of broken relationships, like the book of Genesis.  None of the drama of the life of David like 2 Samuel.  Not even the shocking teaching of Jesus from the gospel.  It’s a list of names tied to sections of the walls that they rebuilt.  Most of them are difficult to pronounce, many of them never mentioned again in Scripture.

Sections of Scripture like this can completely derail the best intentions of “reading through the Bible in a year”.  And at one level I would go on the record as identifying that sections like this can be repetitive, uninteresting, and even boring.  I’m okay saying this, while declaring that I also believe that Nehemiah 3 is also God’s Word and therefore valuable.

How can I say it is boring AND contend that it is God’s Word!?  I will say this because I believe that God is not primarily concerned to entertain us, but instead, He is primarily concerned to make us Holy.  Scripture wasn’t written to entertain me.  It was written to TAME me.

My attention span needs to be tamed.  My self-centeredness needs to be tamed.  My constant desire for familiar and fun needs to be subdued!  God is faithful to address all of me.  And he is fine giving me my medicine, even when it doesn’t taste good.

When I slow down, and I consider this list of names, I will begin to imagine lives of people who lived as slaves in Persia.  Who lived under threat of their national identity being snuffed out.  I consider a covenant from God to the Jews saying that He would restore them if they would turn back to Him.

And here in Nehemiah 3, God records their names and their works.  He shows the impressive undertaking of real people who offer me nothing but an example of their willingness to labor as an act of worship to the Holy One.  In this list, I am reminded that I am connected to a long line of people in relationship to God.  I am reminded that God loves people enough to mention them by name.  And I am reminded that I am NOT at the center of it all.

I think Christianity in the West has taken a steep dive down into pragmatic therapeutic deism.

Pragmatic, meaning we are looking for what works.  Churches preach on 7 steps to being a better father, or 18 ways to be a listener, or 13 steps up the ladder of leadership.  We have looked for what works and then tried to package that up in teaching materials.

Therapeutic, meaning that we are looking for what heals. This means that most all of our messaging comes in the form of what HELPS us.  This of course is the opposite of what the gospel says.  Therapy is all about ‘how can I fix this’?  The gospel is “YOU can’t . . . See: JESUS!”  So much messaging of the church in the West amounts to nothing more than ‘here are some pragmatic steps, to fixing your life.’

Deism, because we don’t really need God for pragmatic therapy.  Churches will devolve into self-improvement clubs, without a commitment to the hard parts of Scripture.  God is there.  He is active in our world.  And faith in Him and His work is the central message of the whole Bible.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that it’s okay if you’re bored from time to time as you read Scripture.  Keep at it.  It is there to change you.  It is there to sharpen you.  It is there with His agenda.  It’s okay if you don’t walk away with 3 steps for improving your life.  Maybe it is enough to walk away in awe that God cares about real people, with their real sins, real fears, and real concerns.  He names names.  He credits a bunch of people for faithfully rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem.  And even if it is a longer list than you wanted . . . It’s okay.  He’s not ready to change it to our preferences . . . Ever.