Bonhoeffer Learning to love stories that inadvertently teach biblical wisdom is a pet project of mine. Here’s a great one!
With a great deal of flattery, the hedonistic philosopher Aristippus won a very comfortable position at the court of Dionysius who was the tyrant of Syracuse in southern Italy. One day Aristippus was visiting with fellow-philosopher Diogenes who was preparing a meager meal of lentils, and Aristippus offered some “helpful” advice: “If you would only learn to compliment Dionysius, you wouldn’t have to live on lentils.”
“And if you would only learn to live on lentils, you wouldn’t have to flatter Dionysius,” replied his principled friend.
Dr. Greg Dixon tells the story of a grand preacher who listened as Greg presented a biblical truth concerning state and church. When Dr. Dixon finished, the man, a good man who loves God, stated, “I know what you are saying is true, but if I take that position, I will lose everything I have gained.”
The time is fast approaching when the church which has become overweight with the “comforts” of modern American life will have to relearn the value of eating lentils with Dionysius.
One problem serious Christians face is that of playing as though we are in a political war of sorts and the growing philosophy of politics is compromise. The body of Christians at large has compromised on the truth of the home as the modern home only slightly resembles the biblical model. The biblical place of the wife and mother has been denigrated to that of little more than a chattel slave. The puritan work ethic, firmly grounded in biblical teaching is slandered on every hand. The muffled reason often parroted is the old political standby, “Well, you know you have to go along to get along.” A “going along” church would not have turned the world upside down in the first few centuries and wish as intensely as we will for the power of the early church, our wishy washy form of Christ following is writhing in the throes of failure.
The fact is, you and I can do little about the overwhelming drift of the whole, but we can and must decide to be the person the Lord is calling to stand in the gap within our realm of influence as championed by Ezekiel with his word from the Lord,
"So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30.
Many of the readers of this twice weekly will shrug while saying, “Larry is showing his age” while others will get a little ticked at the truth, and hopefully, some, perhaps you, will say “Enough, I am going to simply be what God I should be.” That will be the move that changes your world and the closeness of your walk with Jesus Christ.
Copyright © 2015 Larry Lilly
For Christmas IT help click Oral Deckard
With a great deal of flattery, the hedonistic philosopher Aristippus won a very comfortable position at the court of Dionysius who was the tyrant of Syracuse in southern Italy. One day Aristippus was visiting with fellow-philosopher Diogenes who was preparing a meager meal of lentils, and Aristippus offered some “helpful” advice: “If you would only learn to compliment Dionysius, you wouldn’t have to live on lentils.”
“And if you would only learn to live on lentils, you wouldn’t have to flatter Dionysius,” replied his principled friend.
Dr. Greg Dixon tells the story of a grand preacher who listened as Greg presented a biblical truth concerning state and church. When Dr. Dixon finished, the man, a good man who loves God, stated, “I know what you are saying is true, but if I take that position, I will lose everything I have gained.”
The time is fast approaching when the church which has become overweight with the “comforts” of modern American life will have to relearn the value of eating lentils with Dionysius.
One problem serious Christians face is that of playing as though we are in a political war of sorts and the growing philosophy of politics is compromise. The body of Christians at large has compromised on the truth of the home as the modern home only slightly resembles the biblical model. The biblical place of the wife and mother has been denigrated to that of little more than a chattel slave. The puritan work ethic, firmly grounded in biblical teaching is slandered on every hand. The muffled reason often parroted is the old political standby, “Well, you know you have to go along to get along.” A “going along” church would not have turned the world upside down in the first few centuries and wish as intensely as we will for the power of the early church, our wishy washy form of Christ following is writhing in the throes of failure.
The fact is, you and I can do little about the overwhelming drift of the whole, but we can and must decide to be the person the Lord is calling to stand in the gap within our realm of influence as championed by Ezekiel with his word from the Lord,
"So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one.” Ezekiel 22:30.
Many of the readers of this twice weekly will shrug while saying, “Larry is showing his age” while others will get a little ticked at the truth, and hopefully, some, perhaps you, will say “Enough, I am going to simply be what God I should be.” That will be the move that changes your world and the closeness of your walk with Jesus Christ.
Copyright © 2015 Larry Lilly
For Christmas IT help click Oral Deckard
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