Watch Your Mouth: Cynicism/Faith
January 19, 2025Pastor Travis Deatherage presented today's message, "Watch Your Mouth: Cynicism/Faith." A video of today's message is here on YouTube.
I had heard earlier in the week that "cynicism" was the topic of today's message; so I looked it up. Most definitions that identified the recipient(s) of cynicism, that is, what people were likely to be cynical about, was other individuals, groups, or even society at large. They did not mention being cynical about God. A cynic showed distrust of human nature and motives, and believed that human conduct was mainly motivated by self-interest. Even Cynic (with a capital C) was more about indifference to life and did not have anything to do with God. It was the regular people that were fraught with "errors of their ways."
The problem was... I agree with that assessment of humankind to some degree. Even the Bible says man is "evil from his youth" (Genesis 8:21). And from there on the Bible contains plenty of stories of just how bad mankind can be both individually and as groups. It's that freewill thing that is taken advantage of in spades by so many - then and now.
So I was worried. Worried that I had this cynicism issue and couldn't imagine a way out of it. Fortunately, the message was entirely about being cynical about God. Basically, not having faith in God. Now there's a problem I can relate to but can also imagine ways to get better at it, as Travis goes on to point out in his message.
The tangent I'd like to take today is about "Jacob's Ladder" (Genesis 28) which Travis mentioned. Dennis Prager spends a fair amount of time on this topic in his Rational Bible: Genesis (pp. 331-338) developing Travis' points even further.
The first interesting point Prager makes is that angels were going up and down the stairway/ladder, not down and up. This suggests that angels don't live in heaven. Adding to that notion is that the Hebrew word for angel, malach (מֲלְאָךְ) means "messenger." A message from God is brought by an "angel."
Prager also points out that most translations say "God was standing at the top" of the stairway/ladder. An alternate translation is "God stood beside him" (Jacob). This suggests God was close to Jacob, not far away.
Prager suggests there are several possibilities in life about how one might perceive God (p. 332) and thereby develop faith:
- Directly and unmistakably
- Clearly perceive His presence
- Recognize God has acted in our life
- We believe but are not sure God has acted in our life
- God has acted in our life but we are unaware
- We believe God has acted in some peoples' lives but don't know about our own
- We believe God knows us but doesn't necessarily intervene in our own life
Our Family Dinner Topic Board. We start this topic next weekend.
Bonus
Psalm 23 (more)
Last week we noted that Psalm 23 actually opens with "A Poem set to Music by David" or simply "A Melody to David." Let's continue...
The idea of God shepherding us was first introduced in Genesis 48:15 where Jacob blesses his sons. But Jacob does not use "The Eternal" (Jehovah) there as David uses in Psalm 23. Jacob uses "Elohim." Elohim is not the shepherd; he is doing the shepherding. As in Psalm 23, in the Genesis verse the word "shepherd" is not a noun, it's a verb.
In preparation for next week's continuation of Psalm 23, read Psalm 80. It opens with the shepherd reference, and once again shepherd is not a noun but rather a verb.
Credit: David Nekrutman, The Isaiah Projects (article).
Bonus2
Peaceful Transition of Power
The recent Presidential Inauguration reminded us of the importance of peaceful transitions. That, along with the fact that the transition takes place in the People's House, the Capitol Building, and not in a presidential palace or a king's castle, suggests how these types of transitions should be.
Think of all the transitions we have in life. Childhood to adulthood. Single to married. Having children. Sending those children off into the world. Bedtime is a transition where the day winds down, maybe some parent/child moments take place, and everyone goes to sleep hopefully thinking of the wonders of tomorrow. Transitions are crossing bridges. One's own death is a big transition for the person as well as all friends and family. Making transitions peaceful is important.
The passing of the baton in a race is a great metaphor for the many transitions in life. The giver and the taker may share only running in common, but that commonality dwarfs all other issues there may be at that moment. It's a form of keeping your eye on the ball.
The Bible gives us examples of Transition of Power.
If you didn't get a chance to watch the Swearing-in Ceremony with all the pomp, circumstance, and speeches - you should track down a recording and watch it. I had never watched that event before. It was inspiring.
And TimberCreek's namesake was referenced in Rabbi Ari Berman's closing prayer after the swearing-in. He spoke of Jeremiah's blessing, "like a tree planted by water" (Jeremiah 17:8). Here is the Rabbi's prayer (on YouTube). Just so you know, that's not the verse Timbercreek chose to reference, but rather a very similar message in Psalm 1:3. See the essay here for October 8, 2023: "Ephesians #5 "Grow Your Roots."
Totally aside, my favorite part of the Inauguration Day events was the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Regiment's (The Old Guard) Fife and Drum Corps presentation during First Honors. Here's a YouTube video (starting at 4:56). While you're at it, enjoy what follows immediately, the national anthem played by the U.S Army Band "Pershing's Own."
Bonus3
"Everybody can be great..." MLK, Jr.
"Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love." said Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This quote came just a couple months before he was killed. Here are the words around it:
"If you want to be important, wonderful. If you want to be recognized, wonderful. If you want to be great, wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness. By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don't have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don't have to know Einstein's theory of relativity to serve. You don't have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant." From an MLK sermon delivered at the Ebenezer Baptist Church titled, "The Drum Major Instinct" (the desire to be out front, quest for recognition).
And while you're serving, share a bit of the Gospel simply by being the person God wants you to be; it's the best advertisement for God. Don't know how God wants you to be? It's all in the Torah and elaborated on throughout the rest of the Bible.
Here are some Biblical examples of serving: 11 Inspiring Examples of Acts of Service in the Bible.