Agents of Flourishing

Human beings have been given a job to do. God delineates it as follows: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Theologians call this “the cultural mandate,” for it anticipates the ways in which humanity, endowed with the ability to carry out their task, will unleash the capacities of creation. They will build, organize, purpose and repurpose these capacities and what will result is what we call culture, “the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively” (New Oxford American Dictionary). It is our pursuit of culture making that marks us out as human, those made “in the image of God.”

But the commission is not a license to do with what one has at one’s disposal however one wishes. Just after the mandate is given there follows language that indicates God’s intention that the human maintain his creation as a place where life can flourish. This notion is supported by the description of Adam being placed in the Garden to “work it and keep it” (Cf. Genesis 2:15). That being said, history is replete with evidences of the abuse of our God-given abilities to harness creation’s potential demonstrating our post-fall inborn tendency to be more inhumane than humane.

In Christ, however, the potential to do what God intended is restored. Our selfish heart can be reformed into a servant’s heart allowing us to more readily create culture in redemptive ways. We can be agents of flourishing that benefits us, the other, and brings glory to God.

This has far-reaching consequences. Picture yourself sitting in the boardroom of some large multi-national corporation that is weighing the possibility of increasing its bottom line by exploiting the desperate need for employment in an “undeveloped” nation. Given the depressed nature of the country’s economy, the corporation can get away with offering less than they ought in wages while putting the work force at risk by not maintaining safe conditions. If you were the Christian on the board you’d need to speak up. That’s what the cultural mandate demands of us.

As this is “easier said than done,” our capacity to respond with courage in such ethically charged situations needs to be fed. This is why Paul instructs as he does when he says “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8). Having our own lives shaped by that which promotes flourishing will position us to humanely work and keep the garden, blessing us and those around us, while bringing glory to God. 

What, Me Worry?

“What, me worry?” Alfred E. Neuman, Mad Magazine

Alfred E. Neuman, the jug eared, tousle-headed, gap-toothed grinning icon that has graced the cover of Mad Magazine for decades, appears perpetually unperturbed by whatever is going on around him. His is an absurdly anxiety free existence. No matter what transpires, “What, me worry?”

Ah, if it were only so easy. In truth, only a fictitious character is capable of uttering such a statement. Real life is fraught with too many opportunities to fret. Whether close at hand or coming to us from thousands of miles away through various forms of media, an uncertain and threatening future looms, troubling our souls.

There’s no denying the many sources of uncertainty, but is there an alternative to worry? The Scriptures clearly teach that there is. Jesus acknowledges the reasons for why we might be troubled, but he urges us to look above the temporal circumstance to the One who dwells in eternity. This is not some “pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by” pitch on his part. On the contrary, he is asserting that we can have a bold assurance that our “heavenly Father,” the one who “clothes the grass of the field” in raiment more wonderful than anything Solomon wore, and feeds the birds of the air who “neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,” will take care of us, for we are “of more value” than the other beloved objects of his creation. (Cf. Matthew 6:25-34)

The apostle Paul similarly encourages confidence in the face of circumstances that give rise to worry. As Jesus assured that he would never leave or forsake us, and he fulfilled his promise by sending the Holy Spirit to communicate his love and care for us, the apostle, knowing that “the Lord is at hand,” instructs us to “not be anxious about anything.” Rather than worry, he teaches that we should pray: “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” What will result from this, he assures, is our worry being replaced with “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” that “will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:5-7).

On this side of life, I don’t think we’ll ever get to the place of blissful, unperturbed equanimity suggested by Mad Magazine’s front man. But we can pursue the promised peace that God offers by turning to him in prayer, “casting all [our] anxieties on him because he cares for [us]” (Cf. 1 Peter 5:7).

Productive Belonging

It must have been an awkward moment. The church had received a letter from Paul and had gathered to hear it read. They felt a close kinship with the apostle and were anxious to know how he was doing. They were already excited and glad to have their friend Epaphroditus back. Word had gotten to them that he had been gravely ill, almost to the point of death, so to have him back in their midst was both a relief and a joy. But what of Paul? What news, words of encouragement or instruction might he have included in the letter that Epaphorditus had brought with him? All were summoned, and up to this point they had been both encouraged and warned by his letter, all to their edification. But now a deafening silence has descended upon them. Two much respected women of their number, Euodia and Syntheche, had been singled out by Paul and not for praise. He had entreated them to reconcile, to “agree in the Lord,” and asked another in their church community to help them. How would these two respond?

Such opportunities are part of what is called sanctification, the process of transformation that God has entered us into, changing us from what were without Christ to what we are in Christ. Such occasions are given by God to test our faith, expose remaining sin, or learn what it means to love him and others with all of our being. The above incident, suggested by Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, illuminates the important role the church community plays in our sanctification. He knew the church and he knew the people involved. He was also well aware of the problems that could arise within a church when two respected members of its congregation were at odds with each other. So, he spoke up. And given the manner in which he did this, he placed the obligation for helping these two to reconcile upon everyone in the church.

God intends for us to work at the new self that we are in Christ and he has designed that this be done in community. The importance of being part of a particular church cannot, therefore, be overemphasized. It’s in community with other Christians where we learn to walk in the humility, unity, and love that God expects his gospel-birthed children to pursue. I’d like to think that the two women in Philippi seized the opportunity. I’d like to think the entire community was edified by their example. If they did, together they would have experienced the answer to Paul’s petition when he prayed that their love would “abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9-11).

Keeping Perspective

“For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8). Really? To know Christ, to follow him, does it really require that everything else in life be counted as worthless? It might seem that way if we isolate this declaration, not letting it speak within its context. It’s not the apostle’s intent to declare all human accomplishments to be no more than animal excrement (the more graphic meaning of the word translated ‘rubbish’). It’s only when such accomplishments are put forward as justification before God that he considered them as such. We are justified by “the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (v. 9). As such, Paul would not cling to any credentials that created a false sense of worthiness, despite the fact that he could claim some serious credentials (v. 4-6).

No, Paul’s intent was not to denigrate human achievement or deny the validity of hard work. His was a preemptive strike against a false gospel that he knew to be circulating among the churches; a gospel that said one must do something in order to be in right standing with God when the true gospel proclaims that it is all of grace and right standing is possessed by faith alone. That being said, his declaration does offer a helpful perspective as regards human achievement.

Human beings are capable of remarkable things. Made in the image of God and empowered to manage the affairs of his creation, men and women have harnessed the innate resources of the earth and put them to use. The results have been mixed, to be sure, as all of our efforts are tinged with the corruption of sin, but there is no denying that we are capable of extraordinary achievement. Think of it -- we put a man on the moon!

We need to put that accomplishment in perspective, however. When Neil Armstrong uttered his famous prophecy after putting the first human foot on the surface of the moon, it signaled the culmination of nearly a decade of human experimentation, innovation, funding and flying, a harnessing of resources with few precedents in the history of mankind. But if we measure the distance he traveled by the scale that distances in space are commonly measured, light years (the distance light travels in a year moving at 186,000 miles/second, the speed of light), he traveled about one second! All that effort for one second’s worth of space distance!!

There’s fruit to be gleaned from this. While we want to have dreams and work hard to achieve them, the gospel opens the vast reaches of eternity and puts our striving in proper perspective. Knowing Christ tells us that we must never forsake eternal reward for temporal gain for there isn’t any earthly achievement that rivals gaining Christ, not even stepping on to the moon.