30 March 2024
Our authors start the chapter off with the story of the Little Red Hen who couldn't get help with planting, growing, weeding, harvesting and grinding wheat into flour, but got lots of volunteers to eat the bread. They go on to mention other myths and sayings that establish what are regarded as virtues in America. We try to read them back into the Bible.
We like to think of Jesus like the movies and animations: All His teeth nice and white, long flowing hair and blue eyes, plus slender, tall and manly by our standards. All of it is quite unlikely. Given what we know about the history of His times, His teeth were brownish, maybe some missing, shorter hair and a scrubby beard. He was likely not much over 5'6", probably starting to get a bit of pot belly and not that muscular. And nobody cared, because most men His age looked like that.
The moment you start to think about these things, it should be obvious that biblical virtues are quite different from ours. We struggle with charity, getting it wrong all the way around. We have no internal guidance or planning for what and how we will give, except that most churches somehow manage to cooperate with or mimic secular government agencies regarding the processing of those who ask -- a hateful and demeaning process, for sure.
Paul adhered to a common pattern of his day, in which philosophers would discuss virtues in lists of five, with one summarizing the rest. In Colossians 3:5, "idolatry"; sums up the short list he offers. He does it again a few verses later. It was just a custom; it's easy to get lost in the terms as somehow critical, or the numbering was important. The main point is not the list he makes or how he suggests they pursue it, as if this list is all important as a matter of doctrine. Rather, it probably reflected things that this particular church struggled with.
Silly American Christians tend to organize the lists with hierarchies, as if the list goes from bad to worse or something like that. We rank the vices, something Paul didn't do. Is pride as bad as adultery? Some sins will get a pastor or church staffer fired, but others won't.
The other silly thing is that we emphasize the vices and not the virtues. Notice how Paul refers to putting off (doffing) vices and putting on (donning) virtues like clothing. It was another common custom in his day to talk that way. In that same chapter of Colossians, he lists five virtues and then throws in this strong statement about forgiveness. It's not enough to avoid vices.
We have this odd American habit of mind that virtues are not cultivated, but that they must be spontaneous or natural. Otherwise, we think of them as insincere or artificial. That is simply backwards from Scripture. Look at Psalm 101. It describes a lifelong commitment to doing what makes God smile.
This document is public domain; spread the message.