There is a need for enterprising Christians to create clothing that is both biblically modest and elegant.  Christ is Lord of our lives and our wardrobes, so let us joyfully submit to that lordship.  We belong to Christ as His precious Bride, which our clothing should reflect.

For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.2 Corinthians 5:2-4, ESV
We recently examined our identity in Christ through the examples of Job’s wife, the woman who anointed Jesus, and the bride of Psalm 45 adorned with modest yet elegant clothing that reflects her status. Since she represents the Church, her modesty indicts the immodesty so prevalent in our churches. Under the influence of feminism, liberal mainline Protestant churches, most evangelical churches, and even some “Reformed” churches have become very effeminate and created idols in that effeminate image. They cater to womenand echo the culture’s glorification of women and subsequent demonization of men, quick to call out sins prevalent among men—like aggression and lust—but not sins more prevalent among women—like gossip, disrespect, quarreling, and dressing immodestly.  Men and women can commit all of these sins but are prone to some more than others, which is certainly true of immodesty.  This post will examine what Scripture—not culture—says about modesty so that we can all bring our wardrobes under the lordship of Christ.
My Body, My Choice?
As a single man, I approach this topic with the same trepidation as other topics primarily affecting women, like the roles of wives and submission in marriage.  Nevertheless, Scripture actually has much to say about modest apparel—more than most American churches do.  One reason churches don’t address it is that we have been so thoroughly infected by our culture that modesty elicits a visceral reaction.  People counter any attempt to place biblical boundaries on clothing by calling it legalistic and essentially saying with abortion supporters “my body, my choice”.  How can I make that parallel since abortion is about another person’s body whereas clothing is only about our own bodies?  Scripture clearly teaches that our bodies do not belong only to us.  In marriage, both spouses’ bodies belong to each other (1 Corinthians 7:3-4), but all of us belong to someone else: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  We emphasize our adoption as children of God—and rightly so, for it is glorious—but we often neglect the fact that Scripture also refers to us as slaves: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16).  Every person is a slave to sin or of God.  As Christians, we were set free from slavery to sin in order to be not only children of God but also slaves of righteousness.  Jesus Christ is not only our Savior but also our Lord, so we are to do everything for His glory (Colossians 3:17), which includes what we wear.  Therefore, it is just as absurd to say “my body, my choice” with clothing as with abortion.
Biblical Theology of Clothing
Clothing is a central issue in Scripture.  Before the Fall, Adam and Eve did not require clothing (Genesis 2:25), but immediately afterward they were keenly aware of their need to cover themselves and their shame—and nakedness has been shameful ever since.  Thus clothing was mankind’s first invention (Genesis 3:7).  God judged their hastily-created clothing inadequate, so He made garments that adequately covered them at the cost of another creature’s life (Genesis 3:21).  Thus it is also shameful to be inadequately clothed, which is especially evident in the prophets who link even partial nakedness to judgment (eg. Isaiah 47:2).  Jesus Christ as the perfect sacrifice took on shame hanging naked on the cross just as Adam and Eve were naked and ashamed in the Garden.  The risen and reigning Christ is no longer naked but fully and elegantly clothed—and the Holy Spirit conforms us that image.  Thus we see the glorified saints in heaven fully clothed (Revelation 7:9.13-14), so we too will not be unclothed but further clothed in glory (2 Corinthians 5:2-4).  In our lives we must therefore not only put off sin but put on righteousness (Romans 13:12, Ephesians 4:22-23, Colossians 3:9- 10).  Christ has removed our sin and covered us with His righteousness, but that does not change the fact that we have sinned, meaning even in eternity we will require clothing.  Therefore, any desire to cover less skin is regressive and contrary to sanctification.  The necessity of clothing also makes it absurd for a Christian to use clothing pridefully to display wealth, status, or prestige.  A. W. Pink observed:
If we duly considered the proper and principal end of apparel, we should rather be humbled and abased when we put it on, than pleased with our gaudy attire. Clothing for the body is to cover the shame of nakedness that sin brought upon us….Raiment, then, is a covering of our shame, the ensign of our sin, and we have no better reason to be proud of our apparel than the criminal has of his handcuffs or the lunatic of his straitjacket; for as they are badges of wrongdoing or insanity, so apparel is but the badge of our sin.  Arthur W. Pink, “A Crying Sin of Our Age” in Free Grace Broadcaster Issue 216: Modest Apparel, Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library: 2010: 8.
Modesty Defined
Therefore, Scripture commands modest attire for all, but particularly women: “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Peter 3:3-4) and “likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works” (1 Timothy 2:9-10).  At this point, some will argue that these passages are prohibiting ostentatious displays of wealth and have nothing to do with how much of the body is covered.  But the historical context does not support that view:
This instructed Christian women not to imitate the outrageous dress and hairstyles that were commonplace among the Roman nobility…the unofficial uniform for Roman court women, a uniform that was distinctive and attention grabbing. At the same time, these Roman courtesans were notoriously immoral when it came to sexual matters. These women did not dress properly, modestly, and discreetly.Robert G. Spinney, “Thinking Like a Christian About Modest Apparel” excerpt from Dressed to Kill, Tulip Books: 2007 in Free Grace Broadcaster Issue 216: Modest Apparel, Pensacola, FL: Chapel Library: 2010: 3.
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We consider our past not as our present identity but as a means of celebrating what Christ has done in and for us, a means of understanding ourselves to aid in our sanctification, and a reminder to keep our focus on Christ not ourselves. 

Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father’s house, and the king will desire your beauty. Since he is your lord, bow to him. The people of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts, the richest of the people. All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her. With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king. In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever. – Psalm 45:10-17, ESV

We have been examining the theme of identity in Christ and how that affects our judgment.  Job’s wife showed us that we should look for patterns of faithfulness rather than fixating on failures.  The woman who anointed Jesusshowed us that the identity of a saint as forgiven by Christ far supersedes even the most checkered past, so we should look for the fruit of genuine faith and repentance: love for Christ and the saints.  But perhaps the strongest statement in Scripture exhorting us to focus on our identity in Christ was said nearly a millennium before Christ came: the bride in Psalm 45. We like her are called to forget the past, submit to the lordship of Christ, and focus on the future to build His Kingdom.
An Ancient Royal Wedding
Psalm 45 was written by the sons of Korah to celebrate a royal wedding: “My heart overflows with a pleasing theme; I address my verses to the king; my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe” (Psalm 45:1).  That king was most likely Solomon.[1]  The psalmist praises the king before addressing the bride: a foreign princess, perhaps Pharoah’s daughter.[2]  He then describes the wedding procession and ends by addressing the king again focusing on future generations.  So while this psalm is poetic, it describes a wedding of real people that actually occurred.[3]
What does this have to do with us?  First, every marriage reflects Christ and the Church (Ephesians 5:31-32).  Second, the psalmist alludes to the eternality of the kingdom, thus referencing the Davidic covenant ultimately fulfilled by Christ.  Third and most important, this psalm ultimately refers to Christ because Hebrews says so when quoting it: “But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions” (Hebrews 1:8-9 citing Psalm 45:6-7).  So while the bridegroom in the psalm was likely Solomon, he foreshadowed the ultimate Bridegroom: Jesus Christ.  And since Christ has only one Bride, Solomon’s bride foreshadows the Church.[4]
Portrait of the Bridegroom
With this perspective, look at the description of the king: “You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever” (Psalms 45:2).  Jesus was without any majesty or beauty and marred beyond recognition during His suffering (Isaiah 52:14, 53:2), but afterward He was exalted, which is how He is described here.  Next, the psalmist exhorts the king: “Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your splendor and majesty! In your majesty ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness; let your right hand teach you awesome deeds! Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies; the peoples fall under you” (Psalms 45:3-5).  To many modern Christians this would seem unfitting for Jesus or a wedding, but we see similar statements in other psalms (eg. Psalm 2, 110), and the Wedding Supper of the Lamb is closely connected to Christ’s conquest (Revelation 19).  As we have previously seen, the harmless and effeminate “boyfriend Jesus” worshipped in many churches is a false god with little resemblance to the mighty conquering King seen here. The psalmist then describes the king’s righteous reign, with His scepter of uprightness, love of righteousness, and hatred of wickedness, which can only be perfectly said of Christ.  And just like Psalm 110, the psalmist calls the king God but then speaks of God: “Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions” (Psalm 45:7b).
The focus then shifts to wedding preparation, starting with the king’s robe that is so saturated with expensive perfume that it might as well be made of it.[5]  This fits his extravagant ivory palace filled with music.  The entire atmosphere looks, sounds, and smells beautiful and opulent.  The king’s abundance is also seen in the court: “daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor; at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir” (Psalm 45:9).  In this way he does not foreshadow Christ.  With any exegesis, we must understand the audience.  The psalmist describes this king as gloriously as possible for his ancient near-eastern audience, which included the splendor of his harem (Ecclesiastes 2:8)—despite the fact that God explicitly commanded Israel’s kings to refrain from this (Deuteronomy 17:17).  When discussing the Law, we noted how polygamy was a gross distortion of God’s design that was allowed but regulated until Christ made it obsolete.  Solomon exercised no restraint in sexual self-indulgence, which was ultimately his downfall (1 Kings 11).  Contrary to this, Christ has only one Bride and commands that every leader in His Church to likewise be “husband of one wife” (1 Timothy 3:2,12, Titus 1:6).  So while the psalmist was describing this wedding as gloriously as possible, we have the advantage of looking beyond it to a Bridegroom infinitely better than Solomon.
The Exhortation: Forget, Submit, Focus on the Future
The focus then shifts to the bride.  Here, the psalmist essentially speaks like a father giving one last piece of advice, starting with a threefold preamble: “Hear, O daughter and consider, and incline your ear” (Psalm 45:10a).  This repetition means that what will follow is infinitely important.  He tells her to forget her heritage (Psalm 45:10b) and bow to her husband as lord (Psalm 45:11b).  This complements Genesis 2:24 which calls on the husband to leave his parents to be united to his wife.[6]  Here, the bride is leaving her parents to be united to her husband.  This is the Gospel: Jesus Christ left the Father to earth and win His Bride (the Church).  He then ascended back to heaven to prepare a place for His Bride, whom He calls to leave Her sinful past in order to be united to Him.  Therefore we must heed these instructions and their accompanying blessings just like this bride.
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It was in this moment of intense agony—the worst of her life—that she, being mystified at her husband’s composure, told him to curse God and die.  This was clearly the darkest day of her life.  Therefore, her words came out of intense grief.  Such struggles with God amidst intense grief are natural and to be expected, but becomes sinful when it turns into accusations against God. In exhorting Job to curse God, she was telling him to complain of God not to God, so her expression of grief crossed the line into sin.  

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
-Job 2:9-10, ESV

Why do bad things happen to good people?  That question has been asked since time immemorial and is so central to our understanding of the world that an entire book of the Bible explores it: Job.  In wrestling with this question, Job stands alone as his friends accuse rather than comfort him.  Even his wife turns against him…or does she?  All we see from her is this short statement: “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die” (Job 2:9), which has caused many Christians to view her in a negative light.  This post will examine what that statement, Job’s response, and the context really say about her, which will give us all great reason to hope.
Satan’s 4D Chess?
Why did Job’s wife tell him to curse God?  Some claim it was because she was crucial to Satan’s strategy against Job: “Previously he had pursued his aim by battering Job, but now he insinuates a question into his mind and follows it up by a proposed action—all put into the mouth of Job’s wife!”.[1]  While it is quite possible that Satan tempted her to make this statement, some have taken this to mean that Satan had kept her alive for the purpose of tormenting Job—as if she was a wicked nag who would cause Job more pain alive than dead.  In this view, she is nothing more than a pawn in Satan’s game of 4D chess, but from context it is clear that nothing could be further from the truth.  The first two chapters of Job do not depict Satan as a master strategist playing 4D chess.  Instead, he is revealed to be short-sighted, arrogant, and self-centered.  Since we have previously seen that arrogant self-centeredness is the enemy of God’s people, it should not surprise us to find these traits exemplified by the Enemy himself—and that is exactly what we see in Job.  The only one in Job with a grand strategy is God.  It was God who drew Satan’s attention to Job and then by praising him essentially used Satan’s arrogance to goad him into making a bold claim that Job would curse God if he saw calamity.  When God gave Satan permission to take away all Job had, He was essentially saying “I’ll take that bet”.  At this point, a wise person would see this as a trap—or at the very least a foolish bet—and backtrack.  But since the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10), it should be unsurprising that Satan who does not fear God in a way that would lead to wisdom would arrogantly and foolishly stick to a plan doomed to failure.  When that inevitable failure came, Satan repeated the error by again making another bold statement against Job that elicited the same response from God—and the same failure when Job was afflicted with sores.  God proved Himself true and omnipotent while Satan only proved to be a fool blinded by arrogance who had no choice but to fulfill God’s Will.  His game could barely qualify as checkers, much less 4D chess.  Satan may be incredibly intelligent and cunning, but he had no grand strategy for Job.  Therefore it is preposterous to think that Satan had the wherewithal to keep Job’s wife alive for the purpose of tormenting him.  The most we can say is that in his shortsightedness, Satan tempted Job’s wife as a target of opportunity, but that is a far cry from her being part of some grand plan of his.  We can therefore rule out any thought that Job’s wife remained alive to add to his suffering, as that would be unsupported by the text.
Describing Job’s Wife Biblically
What then can we say about Job’s wife?  All we have is that single statement from her, but there is much we can deduce from the rest of the text.  First, Job is described as blameless, upright, and having an appropriate fear of God (Job 1:1).  He also had seven righteous sons who were old enough to live on their own and three daughters who were mature enough to feast with them (Job 1:2,4-5).  It is illogical to think that those ten righteous children were not born and raised by a righteous mother—and equally illogical to think that righteous Job would have married an unrighteous woman.  Furthermore, at the end of the book we see Job blessed with seven more sons and three more daughters (Job 42:13).  There is no indication that his wife died or left him, so we must assume that she bore and raised them as well.  Therefore, from the text we can easily deduce that Job’s wife was righteous just as he was.
What then do we make of her comment?  How could a righteous woman exhort her husband to curse God and die?  The answer is that we are seeing a righteous woman in her darkest moment.  Everything that was Job’s was also hers, so she had just become destitute as he had.  More importantly, she had lost all ten of her children just as he had.  The pain of losing even one child is unparalleled, so the pain of losing ten at once would be unimaginable.  Additionally, we have previously seen that a godly wife’s primary focus is on the home and that the greatest impact most people will have on the Kingdom is their children.  This means that her life’s work for at least two decades was all gone in an instant.  Additionally, she had to watch the man she loved, whom she had been with through thick and thin, suffering while she was powerless to intervene.  Therefore, it is no stretch of the imagination to say that Job’s wife was suffering just as much as he was.
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Our culture calls many things “hate speech”, but Scripture clearly defines it as any speech which denigrates people’s nature as God’s image-bearers and any speech—or silence—that promotes sinful and destructive behavior.  In order to love our neighbors as ourselves, we must pray for them, acknowledge their personhood, and lovingly seek their good by confronting sin when necessary.  The world will call us hateful for this, but this is what Scripture calls love—and that’s all that matters.

You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
-Leviticus 19:17-18, ESV

In our day many apply the term “hate speech” quite liberally.  The Left often uses it for any view that makes them feel uncomfortable.  Balking at this, the Right often responds by denying the entire concept of “hate speech”.  But Scripture must define our terms, so we cannot call everything “hate speech” like the Left, but we also cannot deny its existence like the Right.  This post will examine how Scripture defines hate speech.
Denigrating God’s Image
While we may debate what constitutes hate speech, it is clear from Scripture that hateful speech is sinful—and that God takes it very seriously.  The tongue is a restless evil full of deadly poison (James 3:8), so we are foolish to underestimate its destructive power: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:21).  We will be either justified or condemned by our words (Matthew 12:37).  Thus, Scripture is clear how we must speak: “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear….Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving” (Ephesians 4:29, 5:4) and “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person” (Colossians 4:6).  Therefore, we are sinning whenever our words are corrupting or foolish; not helpful for building others up, gracious, beneficial, or fitting to the occasion.  But sinful speech is not necessarily hateful speech.  Jesus links speech to hate in the Sermon on the Mount:

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
-Matthew 5:21-22, ESV

Here, “you fool” was a serious insult that went beyond mere foolishness to denote worthlessness.[1]  While Scripture sometimes calls people worthless, we dare not use such language since we do not know the eternal state of people’s souls.  Such language denigrates people by referring to them as something lower than people made in God’s image.  It is the most common manifestation of the anger of man that does not produce the righteousness of God (James 1:20): “Terms of abuse are not a heightened form of anger; they are its most obvious and common expression”.[2]  That is why Jesus equates such speech with murder:

Jesus establishes a new divine law when He…proclaims in threefold repetition that the term of abuse which is regarded as harmless though spoken in ill-humour is an offence worthy of death….This paradox of unparalleled sharpness is designed to bring home to the hearers the terrible seriousness of sins of the tongue in God’s eyes and hence to save them from having on their consciences the everyday ill feelings towards their brothers which might appear innocuous but in fact poison relationships.
-Joachim Jeremias, “Ῥακά,” ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans: 1964: 975–976.

Therefore, hate speech according to Scripture would be any speech that does not recognize another person as a person created in the image of God.  Obviously, things like racial slurs fit into that category, but so do misogynistic or misandristic terms that view women and men respectively as inferior. Since our culture despises marriage, some culturally acceptable terms for spouses would be hate speech according to Scripture, such as a husband referring to his wife as his “ball and chain”.  Our culture’s disdain for children also means that several terms for them are actually hate speech, like “rug rats”.  For the same reason, I refrain from saying “unborn” or “preborn” in favor of “children in the womb” to avoid diminishing their humanity.
Biblically, hate speech also includes viewing a person’s identity as part of a certain demographic or lifestyle as more important than his or her personhood.  The primary and most important identity of any person is as a person—a man or woman made in the image of God.  Second is identity in relation to God.  We are all sinners by nature and either separated from God because of our sin or reconciled to God by being in union with Jesus Christ through faith.  Then—and only then—come other factors, starting with our unchangeable identity as male or female.  We err when we allow any other factor of our identity to supersede this hierarchy.  Any factor can supplant this identity in our minds, but this erroneous prioritization is especially prevalent in the alphabet abomination where sexual orientation is the locus of identity.  They are not gays, lesbians, homosexuals, or anything else but people who practice homosexuality (1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Timothy 1:10).  While our sin nature is an important part of our identity, we must not make our particular sins to be so central to our identity that they supplant our humanity or relationship with God.  All of these are hate speech by the biblical definition.
It is equally important to note what is not hate speech according to Scripture.  While any term that emphasizes demographics or particular sin over personhood and relationship with God is hate speech, that does not mean that all strong or less-than-complimentary language is hate speech.  Scripture is full of sharp word that our culture would consider hateful.  Proverbs and Ecclesiastes frequently refer to people as fools, and God Himself often mocks the folly of sinful people.  For example, we have previously seen how God calls the complacent women of Samaria “cows” (Amos 4:1).   Jesus continues this practice by calling the religious leaders blind guides, blind fools, and sons of vipers (Matthew 23).
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Ultimately, this oracle of King Lemuel’s mother could be summed up as three warnings against the improper use of authority.  I have previously covered the topic of authority in some detail, describing how God gives us authority for the purpose of obeying Him and caring for the people He has entrusted to us.  Therefore, if we disobey Him we are acting outside of our authority.  This oracle tells us we must use our God-given authority to ensure justice and righteousness rather than abusing it on personal pleasures.  We must approach our responsibilities with sobriety, not allowing any substances or distractions to compromise our ability to make wise decisions that benefit those God has placed in our care.  Finally, we must overcome any temptation to ethical compromise that gratifies our own desire.

The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him: What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb? What are you doing, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. 6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress; let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
-Proverbs 31:1-9, ESV

When looking for leadership lessons in Scripture, I doubt Proverbs 31 would come to mind for most people.  Most Christians associate Proverbs 31 with one thing: its description of the excellent wife.  I did refer to that description in my leadership paper when discussing what the Bible teaches about women in leadership in the workplace, but aside from that its application to leaders in general is not immediately clear. In truth, the description of the excellent wife is the second of two sections of Proverbs 31.  The often-overlooked first nine verses of Proverbs 31 are an oracle about how to approach the responsibilities of kingship, but it can be applied to any type of leadership.  In addition to political leaders (Romans 13), God has appointed husbands to lead their homes and fathers assisted by mothers to lead their children (Ephesians 5:22-6:4), pastors to lead local churches assisted by deacons (1 Timothy 3, 1 Peter 5), and supervisors to lead in the workplace (Ephesians 6:5-9).  But since leadership is really about influence, everyone can lead in informal ways, which means that Scripture’s exhortations for leaders are applicable to all of us.  Therefore, leaders in all walks of life would be wise to heed the warnings of this three-thousand-year-old oracle. 
Before we can apply this oracle to leaders in general, we need to understand its context.  Proverbs 31:1 describes this as the oracle of a certain King Lemuel that was taught to him by his mother.  There is debate over who this Lemuel was.  Some think it was another name for Solomon while others believe he was a foreign king.  Regardless, it is clearly something that this king was taught this oracle by his wise mother to help him remember the most important aspects of being a king.  As such, she likely taught it to him from a young age, and the fact that it is recorded in Scripture as his words rather than hers shows that he remembered it well, so her lesson was effective.  Earlier in Proverbs, Solomon exhorts his son to not forsake his mother’s teaching (Proverbs 1:8, 6:20), and this son clearly did that by learning this oracle well enough to remember it and seeing it as important enough to pass on to others.  And since the Holy Spirit inspired this like all others passages of Scripture, we know that it was recorded for our instruction (Romans 15:4), so this oracle is just as much for us as it was for this mysterious king.
A Call to Caution
The oracle begins with a single phrase repeated three times in verse 2: “what are you doing?”.  Before looking at this phrase, it is important to note that each time it appears in verse 2, it is followed by a statement of affection from this mother to her son.  Thus, it comes from a place of great love care from a mother who wants what is best for her son, which motivates her to warn him of potential pitfalls of kingship, so she repeats the phrase “what are you doing?”.  This phrase is used by Moses’ father-in-law Jethro before the latter offered his wise and necessary advice (Exodus 18:14).  It would also be used later by God to question why Elijah had fled to Horeb (1 Kings 19:9,13) and by Nehemiah when rebuking the returned exiles (Nehemiah 13:17).  When we combine this with the statement that no one can ask that question of God (Ecclesiastes 8:4), it is clear that this statement is a precursor to correcting bad or unwise behavior.  Undoubtedly every mother has said this phrase countless times when her children are deviating from wise behavior.  The exhortation is for the child to pause and consider his or her actions, so that is what this mother is telling her royal son: stop and consider your actions. 
This is important for all people but especially for leaders.  The more powerful and influential leaders are, the more likely their words and actions are to have unintended consequences.  An off-handed comment can be taken as direction that the leader never intended, resulting in wasteful effort by subordinates trying to do what they think the leader wants.  Regardless of the level of leadership, every leader makes decisions that affect other people.  Growing up, my pastor would frequently say that there are only three things that are eternal: God, His Word, and people.  Leadership roles are temporary, but every leader is entrusted by God for a time with caring for people who He made in His image.  Therefore, it is of utmost importance for leaders to stop and consider the affects their decisions might have on those people God has entrusted to their care.  Scripture is clear that leaders will have to give an account to God for how they cared for the people God entrusted to them (Ephesians 6:9).  But the more important application for leaders is to stop and think of the ethical implications of their actions, which is what the rest of the oracle is about.  Leadership is about making decisions, which puts leaders into a position where opportunities for ethical compromise will arise, which leads to the first specific exhortation of this oracle.
Do Not Give Your Strength to Women
This mother’s first exhortation is for her son to avoid giving his strength to women (verse 3).  She even goes so far as to say that this is what destroys (literally “wipes out”) kings.
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True Christian contentment, being dependent on God and thus independent of circumstances, is achievable for any Christian in any situation.  It is not freedom from desire or ignorance of circumstances, but is instead an inner peace empowered by Christ with the foundation of trust in the sovereignty and goodness of God.  Therefore, we must strive for true Christian contentment. 

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
–Philippians 4:11-13, ESV

What is the secret to facing any situation in life?  In ancient times, philosophers would try to find it through reason and contemplation, while others would go on pilgrimages to consult with oracles in order to find it.  We could even consider Ecclesiastes to be Solomon’s search for this secret.  But the Apostle Paul stated with confidence that he had found it (Philippians 4:11-13).  Then, with little elaboration, he simply moves on from the topic.  He says that he learned how to be content in any situation (verse 11), whether he had much or little (verse 12).  That is astounding for a man who was often beaten and imprisoned, stoned and left for dead once, shipwrecked multiple times, often hungry and thirsty, and almost constantly in danger from all manner of threats, even describing himself as ever near death (2 Corinthians 11:23-28).  How could he be content in all of that?  To understand how Paul could be content in such hardship, we need to understand what contentment really means.  If we can truly grasp Christian contentment and then achieve it, we like Paul will be able to face any situation.  In doing so, we will find that true contentment is a rare treasure for which all Christians should stive.
What Contentment Is and Isn’t
What does it mean to be content?  The Greek term Paul uses for contentment was borrowed from Greek philosophers who used it to denote complete self-sufficiency.  They thought that if someone had all he needed and relied on no one else, he would be content.  However, the Christian is not to be self-sufficient but completely dependent on God.  That is the definition of faith.  True saving faith goes beyond mere intellectual ascent (see James 2:14-26) and instead places complete trust in Christ such that if He does not uphold His promises, we are doomed to eternal ruin (see Romans 4 and Hebrews 11).  Thus, faith is completely dependent on God and not on ourselves.  Therefore, contentment to a Christian cannot be a worldly self-sufficiency that is dependent on no one else.  Some may think contentment means to be free of want or desire.  However, this cannot be the case since God Himself is perfectly self-sufficient and thus perfectly content yet is referred to throughout Scripture as having various (and often intense) desires (eg. Hosea 6:6, Matthew 9:13, John 17:24).  Therefore, desires and contentment must be able to coexist.  Paul exhibits this by relaying his own intense desires (eg. Romans 10:1, 1 Thessalonians 2:17, 1 Timothy 2:8).  Earlier in the same letter, Paul shares his intense yearning for fellowship with the saints (Philippians 1:8).  He also shares his desire to be finished with his work on earth and go to heaven to be with Christ (Philippians 1:23).  He also talks of striving hard towards a goal (Philippians 3:12-14), but all the while he constantly speaks in the letter about his joy and rejoicing.  Paul uses similar language throughout 2 Corinthians as well.  This means that desires are not incompatible with true contentment.
So what is contentment for the Christian?  Perhaps Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs defined it best in 1648 in The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.   This is a wonderful book that I would recommend to every Christian.  All of my references to Burroughs throughout this post are from that book.  Here is how Burroughs defines contentment: “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition”.[1]  First, it is important to note that Christian contentment is an inward disposition that is independent of external circumstances.  Second, this type of contentment is a gracious gift of God that is impossible to achieve without God granting it to us, which I will explain a bit later.  Finally, contentment comes from both submitting to God’s Will and delighting in it, not only because He is the sovereign King over all creation but also because He is a loving Father who always does what is ultimately best for His children.  This means that this type of contentment looks beyond self and ultimately relies on God, inextricably linking it to both faith and humility.  This is the mysterious contentment that Paul both discovered and displayed.  Burroughs goes on to point out that this type of contentment does not exclude complaining to God amidst difficult situations even as we trust His sovereignty and goodness in them (as is often seen in the Psalms).  He also points out that being content does not preclude the Christian from seeking ways out of present circumstances or seeking legal recourse when appropriate.  One example of this is when Paul used the privileges of his Roman citizenship to avoid a beating (Acts 22).  The key here is that no matter what action we take in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, inner peace that trusts in both the sovereignty and goodness of God is the mark of true Christian contentment.  In Philippians, Paul claims to have that contentment.
I Can Do All Things?
The reason that Paul gives is one of the most well-known and misused verses in the entire Bible: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  It is often used by Christians facing any number of challenging situations as a rallying cry to overcome them.  But that is not at all what Paul is saying, so this has led to a common satirical paraphrase among Reformed Christians: “I can do all things through a verse taken out of context”.  To understand what Paul means, we need to do what we must do with every verse in Scripture: read it in its proper context (as I discussed in an earlier post on how to properly study the Bible).  In contrast to most of Paul’s letters, Philippians is overwhelmingly positive.  I have already noted how “joy” and “rejoice” appear frequently throughout the letter.  This is mainly because Paul was not writing this letter to correct a particular issue in the church (like 1 Corinthians or Galatians) or to instruct people in the Gospel (like Romans or Ephesians).  Instead, Philippians is a thank you note.  When Paul was a prisoner in Rome and in need of provisions, the Philippian church donated to meet his need, sending Epaphroditus to Rome with their gift.  Paul wrote Philippians in response, thanking them for their gift and encouraging them both about his own welfare and what their gift demonstrated about their progress in godliness.  He explains how his imprisonment had actually served to advance the Gospel (1:12-18).  Later, he gives a glorious description of the humility and subsequent exaltation of Jesus amidst exhortations for the Philippians to follow Christ’s example of humility in hope of future exaltation (2:1-18).  He doesn’t get around to thanking them for their gift until halfway through the last chapter, first rejoicing in how the Philippians’ gift demonstrated their concern for him (4:10), while reminding them that regardless of whether they had given it to him he would have been content because of the strength Christ provides (4:11-13).  He then recognizes their pattern of generosity toward him (4:14-15), emphasizing how their gift is a sacrifice to God and that God will supply all of their needs too (4:17-19) before ending the letter with a benediction (4:20) and final greetings (4:21-23).  Therefore, the context of Philippians 4:13 is all about Paul’s situation of need that was then abundantly met by the gift of the Philippians.  It has nothing to do with being able to overcome any challenge, but instead has everything to do with the ability to face any situation with the strength that Christ provides.  This is an important distinction.  Paul is not talking about overcoming all situations he faces, but being content in all situations he faces.  Therefore, Paul is talking about how Christ has empowered him to be content, so therein we can find the way that we too can be content as Paul was.
How Christ Strengthens Us to be Content
The promise of Philippians 4:13 is that Christ will empower us to be content in any circumstance, not that He will empower us to overcome any circumstance.  He does this in several ways.
God’s Sovereignty Over All
First, He empowers us to be content through His sovereignty.  Jesus Christ rules the entire universe (Matthew 28:18) so comprehensively that not one subatomic particle can defy Him, since it is only by His power that they even exist (Hebrews 1:3).  Humans and demons can sin against Him, but even that sin cannot prevent Him from fulfilling His purpose (see Romans 9 and Job).  As the second person of the Trinity, He possesses all of the attributes of God, including omniscience (knowing everything) and omnipotence (having power over everything).  And having power over everything, He perfectly orchestrates everything to advance His purpose, which is known as His Providence.  The sovereignty of God is an invincible fortress.  All those in Christ are in that fortress and can therefore say with the psalmists “what can man do to me?” (Psalm 56:4,11, 118:6).  Therefore, Christian contentment begins by resting in the sovereignty of God over all things.
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God has chosen to build His Kingdom slowly and gradually through families, so we need to lift our eyes above our current circumstances to perceive both the global and multigenerational scope of God’s work.  This will not only redirect our focus to the Gospel and its application to our families but also greatly encourage us as we look past our own dire circumstances to what God has been working on since giving Adam and Eve the Cultural Mandate.  God is building His Church, and He will be successful, so let’s throw ourselves into that work that He has invited us into.

The LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, “Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”
-Genesis 13:14-17, ESV

When I visited Prague years ago, I was struck by the abundance of beautiful old churches throughout the city—beautiful and empty.  At the time I visited, 80% of Czechs were atheist or agnostic.  It was sadly ironic that a place so central to the pre-Reformation would now be so devoid of the truth of the Gospel, that the church flanking a large statue of Jan Hus and the cathedral entombing the devout King Wenceslas had essentially been reduced to museums.  I couldn’t help but think of a line from Nietzsche’s “The Parable of the Madman”: “What after all are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchers of God?”.[1]  That problem is not exclusive to Europe.  During my commute, I drive by some lovely old New England churches, each marked as a tomb by such headstones as a Pride flag, Black Lives Matter banner, or some other indicator if inclusivity.  Churches in America and Europe are dying, particularly the mainline denominations.  Despite this (and in some ways because of it), we should not lose hope but should follow God’s direction to Abram in Genesis 13 and lift up our eyes.  In doing so, we can avoid discouragement by looking above our own circumstances to see how God works both globally and generationally as well as how that applies to our lives today.
Look Up Across the Land
We can draw parallels between our own context and Abraham’s.  In Genesis 12, God first made a promise to Abraham (Abram at the time) in the land of Haran.  From Genesis 11 and 12, we see that after his brother Haran died, Abraham looked after Haran’s son Lot, so when God first speaks to Abraham, Lot was essentially part of his family:

Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
-Genesis 12:1-3, ESV

Here, God promises to give Abraham a heritage, land, descendants, and immense blessing.  So Abraham and his nephew Lot journey from Haran to Canaan, but by Genesis 13, this promise seems further away.  The limited land they occupied could not support them both, so they separated.  Lot chose what was appealing by earthly wisdom but detrimental spiritually: the fertile yet evil land of Sodom.  Thus, Abram’s family was getting smaller, not larger.  It was in this context that God essentially repeated His promise.  In Genesis 13:14-17, God tells Abram to look all around him because He would give him all of the land he could see.  As Christendom seems to be failing in the West, it is tempting for us to conclude that the Kingdom of God is in retreat rather than advancing.  But if we lift up our eyes and look past the West, we would see that nothing could be further from the truth.  Far from a retreat, Christianity is not only advancing but exploding in Africa and Asia.  F. Lionel Young III recently observed how the increasingly global and ethnically diverse nature of the Church today is so profound that it is making us rethink our paradigm of the “global north” as the spiritual haves and the “global south” as the spiritual have-nots.  In fact, Dr. Gina A. Zurlo observed that in 2020: “A typical Christian today is a non-white woman living in the global South, with lower-than-average levels of societal safety and proper health care. This represents a vastly different typical Christian than that of 100 years ago, who was likely a white, affluent European”.  Two thousand years ago, Jesus gave His disciples a mission to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Matthew 28:19-20).  In that time, Christianity has expanded from 120 people in Jerusalem to the largest religion in the world.  While there have been ups and downs, the Church has been growing and advancing steadily since then, so we have no reason to believe that trend that has lasted two millennia will reverse now.
But even in the West, there is reason for hope.  When we look at the decline of many churches, particularly in mainline denominations, it is right to observe like Nietzsche that the empty churches are tombs and sepulchers, but we must disagree that God is entombed there.  Instead, these empty churches are tombs of a dead religion, a false god that bears little resemblance to the God of the Bible.  By replacing the Gospel with a watered-down version that elevated social change and the values of society above Christ, they lost their first love, so as He did with Ephesus, God has removed their lampstand (Revelation 2:4-5).  Many evangelical churches have also replaced the true Gospel with a false one, emphasizing emotional experiences and watering down the Gospel to make it relevant and palatable for the culture.  The result is a fake man-centered gospel that portrays God as weak and harmless, completely neglecting His sovereignty, justice, and righteousness.  In conforming the church to the culture, they have given up their distinction and thus competitive advantage.
Businesses do the same thing when they abandon their competitive edge to chase the latest fad, as Blackberry did when faced with competition from the iPhone.  As a result, the phone that at one time ruled the business world is no more, replaced by an app on business and government iPhones.[2]  Any business must persistently focus on what sets them apart from their competition, which Jim Collins referred to as “the hedgehog principle” in Good to Great.[3]  Business failure comes when that distinction is abandoned to chase after “shiny objects”.  For the Church, the Gospel is what sets us apart, so sacrificing the Gospel to chase after fads can only be detrimental.  The World will always outdo the Church in concerts, motivational speeches, political action, and everything else but the Gospel just Blackberry could never make a better iPhone than the iPhone.  Only the Gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16), so the Church must focus on the Gospel.
Fortunately, while churches that have abandoned the Gospel to go after the fads of culture are predictably failing, there is steady growth in churches that have maintained their focus on the Gospel.  I have noticed in my lifetime a significant increase in Reformed theology, hunger for depth of Scriptural understanding, and a seriousness to obey Scripture that I did not see in childhood.  This is very positive, verifying that what lies entombed in dying churches is not the true Gospel, which is alive and well, even in the West.  So when we lift up our eyes and look at the growth of true Christianity in the world around us, we have ample reason to hope as Abraham did.
Look Up to Future Generations
Along with the promise of land in Genesis 13:14-17, God also told Abram that He would give him enumerable descendants.  Like the promise of land, this too seemed fleeting.  It was something like two decades between the promise of Genesis 13 and the birth of Isaac in Genesis 21.
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If the ceremonial and civil/judicial laws are no longer binding, why are there so many in Scripture?  Paul makes clear that the entire Old Testament was written for our benefit (Romans 15:4).  In truth, these laws are useful to Christians because there are uses of the law other than obedience.  The Law restrains sin and promotes righteousness, brings about conviction of sin by showing us we cannot meet its requirements, and informs the way Christians are to live.[3]  This means that when we read the ceremonial and civil laws, we must see them as more than laws.  The entirety of the Law exists to teach us who God is and who we are as well as point us to Christ. 

And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good?
-Deuteronomy 10:12-13, ESV

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
-2 Timothy 3:14-17, ESV

Recently, I read through the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible) in my morning quiet times.  This is the part of the Bible where reading plans often die.  While there are many fascinating stories throughout Genesis and the first half of Exodus, the majority of the rest of the Pentateuch lays out the Mosaic Law.  Following the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, the rest of Exodus contains various laws that begin to establish the Jewish religious and civil code along with very specific instructions on how the Tabernacle and everything in it is to be made.  Leviticus then lays out the rest of the Jewish religious law.  Numbers gives the rest of the Jewish legal code amid various stories of Israel’s journey to the Promised Land. Deuteronomy retells the Law to a new generation as they prepare for their conquest of the land. If we are honest, we must admit that these laws can get a little bit tedious and not a little bit uncomfortable, leading us to all but avoid them. Even if we don’t avoid them, what do we do with them?
Of the numerous laws found in the Pentateuch, there are many that even the most devout Christians do not follow.  We eat bacon, wear blended fabrics, and lend money at interest.  We don’t observe the Passover, execute rebellious children, or sacrifice animals.  Yet we will point to parts of the Mosaic Law to argue against abortion, homosexuality, transgenderism, extramarital sex, and various other topics, as I did in a previous post.  Are we arbitrarily picking and choosing which parts of the God’s Law we follow, as is so often charged against us?
The Types of Laws
Clearly, there are some Old Testament laws that we follow and others that we do not.  But we are by no means arbitrary in how we determine which laws to follow.  Many Christians use the New Testament as the standard for identifying which laws are still binding.  They hold that if an Old Testament law is repeated in the New Testament, that means that it is still binding, while the laws that are not repeated are not binding on Christians.  While it is certainly true that the laws repeated in the New Testament are still binding, we cannot immediately conclude that a law is not binding just because it is not repeated in the New Testament.  Instead, we identify which laws are still binding by which type of laws we are dealing with.  As I discussed in a previous post, there are three types of laws: moral, ceremonial, and civil/judicial. [1]
Moral laws are rooted in God’s unchanging nature and are thus binding on all people worldwide and across all of time.  All of the Ten Commandments are part of the moral law, as well as commands accompanied by statements like “I am the LORD” or that reference the prohibited activity as an abomination.  These moral laws are often not only repeated in the New Testament but actually expanded.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus extends the prohibition against murder to include hate and adultery to include lust, thus making the standard to which Christians are held even more stringent than the Mosaic Law.  This means that even some things that were allowed under the Mosaic Law are not allowed for Christians (more on that later).  Regardless, any moral law is still in effect regardless of whether it is repeated in the New Testament or not.  Therefore, prohibitions against abortion (a form of murder), homosexuality, extramarital sex, and identifying as a gender clearly inconsistent with biology are part of the moral law and therefore just as binding on Christians today as they were on Jews over three thousands of years ago.
The ceremonial laws deal with the sacrifices, festivals, rituals, and cleanliness standards of the Jewish religion.  In addition to sacrifices and festivals, the restrictions on diet and clothing material are part of the ceremonial law.  The ceremonial law pointed to Christ and was thus fulfilled completely by His life, death, and resurrection such as to make them no longer binding on Christians.  Large sections of Romans, Ephesians, and Colossians as well as almost the entirety of Galatians and Hebrews are devoted to how Christ has fulfilled the ceremonial law: “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4).  As discussed in the last post, Jesus explicitly did away with both the dietary laws (Mark 7:19) and the separation between Jews and Gentiles (Matthew 28:19, Acts 10:28) that were major topics in the ceremonial law.  When Jesus died, the veil of the Temple was torn, signifying that the separation between God and His people had been removed by Christ’s perfect atonement, therefore eliminating the need for further sacrifices.  The Temple was ultimately destroyed in 70 A.D. in large part to show that the ceremonial law had been completely fulfilled by Christ and thus replaced by Him as the mediator between God and man.
Finally, civil laws apply the moral law to the specific context of theocratic Israel, so those specific laws have not been binding since Israel ceased to be a theocratic nation, even while the moral laws that undergird them are just as binding today as they were then.  The regulations on slavery, execution of rebellious children, and prohibition of charging interest (along with most of the other laws that we find uncomfortable) are all civil laws that are not binding on Christians.  These were specific to the context of ancient Israel and must be viewed with that context in mind.  Therefore, if Christians were to come to power in any nation today (much as the Puritans did for a short time in Mid-Seventeenth Century England), it would be improper for them to use the civil laws of the Mosaic Law as the law of the land.  Instead, they would be wise to examine how the civil laws of Israel applied the moral laws to Israel’s specific context and use that to inform how they might apply the moral laws to their own context.  Therefore, Christians are selective in obeying Old Testament laws, but not arbitrarily selective.  We follow moral laws (which are still applicable to everyone), do not follow ceremonial laws (which were completely fulfilled in Christ), and use the civil laws as an example of how to apply the moral laws to our specific context.
What of Difficult Laws?
Even if they are no longer binding, some of the civil laws have a tendency to make modern Western readers quite uncomfortable.  From our modern perspective, laws allowing slavery, forced marriage, and execution of rebellious children while banning interracial marriage certainly seem cruel and oppressive. This can lead us to question why a loving God would include them in His Law.  While it is impossible to fully know God’s reasoning for including such laws in Scripture—since the secret things belong to God (Deuteronomy 29:29)—there is still much that we can glean from Scripture to help us understand them.  These laws are difficult to understand, so it would be tempting to simply ignore them, but they are important to consider since these laws are often used by opponents of Christianity to make both the Bible and its divine Author seem cruel and oppressive.  This should not be surprising, as David says:

With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.  For you save a humble people, but the haughty eyes you bring down.
-Psalms 18:25-27, ESVnone

Peter would later say that wicked and unstable people twist such difficult passages to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16).  For them, these laws are convenient evidence with which to undermine the authority of Scripture and charge God with being cruel and vindictive.  More concerning is that these laws can cause genuine Christians to doubt the goodness of God.  To address this, we must view these laws in their original context.  When we do, even people with no expertise in ancient legal codes (like me) can see that these laws are not cruel and oppressive. Let’s look briefly at a few of them:

Slavery: The form of slavery allowed in the Mosaic Law is very different from the form of slavery practiced in the Americas.  It was heavily regulated, temporary, and ultimately a form of welfare (Exodus 21:1-27, Leviticus 25:39-40).  In fact, the slavery practiced in the Americas would have been slave trading, which was a capital offense in the Mosaic Law (Deuteronomy 24:7).

Executing Rebellious Sons: While we would consider it extreme to execute a rebellious child, we must remember that the ancient Near East had a much higher regard for elders in general and parents in particular than we do (to our detriment).  The Mosaic Law regarding rebellious sons in Deuteronomy 21:18-21 actually preserved the rights and dignity of the son by requiring parents to first exhaust all other forms of discipline and that the magistrates would have the final say whether execution was appropriate.

Interracial Marriage:  It is clear from context that the laws seeming to prohibit interracial marriage are not against mixing ethnicities but religions (Deuteronomy 7:3-4).

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All Christians are called to similarly engage with the fallen world into which God has placed us. That is how Christianity transforms culture: one interaction at a time. That influence is really what effective followership is about, and since leadership is influence, effective followership is simply leadership by another name. This means that as Christians, we are called to be effective followers both of Christ and of the secular authorities God has placed over us.

In previous posts about cultural issues in general and transgender pronouns in particular, I have addressed ways in which Christians can conscientiously object to policies that would cause them to sin.  This will undoubtedly lead to conflicts in the workplace between Christians objecting to these policies and their leaders who are charged with enforcing them, which brings up a leadership topic that is not often discussed but definitely important: followership.  Every leader is a follower, but not all followers are leaders, so it is just as important (if not more important) to know how to be a good follower as a good leader.
Followership
So what is a good follower?  We often associate good followership with blind obedience or unquestioning agreement, but these are actually not traits of effective followers.  Instead, Robert Kelley said that effective followers “think for themselves and carry out their duties and assignments with energy and assertiveness. Because they are risk takers, self-starters, and independent problem solvers, they get consistently high ratings from peers and many superiors….Effective followers are well-balanced and responsible adults who can succeed without strong leadership”.[1]  He goes on to describe the qualities of effective followers: self-management, commitment to the organization and to purposes outside of themselves, ever-increasing competence, effective focus of effort, courage, honesty, and credibility.[2]  For Christians, this aligns with commands for servants to respect their leaders while working heartily as ultimately working for God (Ephesians 6:5-8).  Its proactive nature and sense of greater underlying purpose also fit well with my definition of submission based on Philippians 2:3-4 from my leadership paper: “choosing to live sacrificially by putting the needs of others and their ultimate good ahead of ourselves motivated by a healthy fear of God and following the example of Christ”. This means that good followers develop a reputation of trustworthiness, diligence, and competence such that when they disagree with their leaders, those leaders are willing not only to listen to them but even take certain risks in order to accommodate them.  Therefore, Christian workers should endeavor to build just such a reputation before conscientiously objecting to policies.
With this reputation, a good follower can also strongly yet respectfully disagree with their leaders.  This needs to happen behind closed doors before a decision is made.  The follower makes the case to the leader why a different course of action would be better and the two can debate it.  Since these discussions can get passionate, the military term to describe them is “cussing and discussing”.  This term does not necessitate the use of foul language—which the Christian is forbidden from using (Ephesians 4:29)—but speaks to how a leader and follower can passionately disagree about what is best for the organization and debate the topic in a heated manner while still maintaining respect for each other.  At the end, the leader makes the decision then the two exit the room on the same page.  If the leader ends up still deciding to follow the course of action the follower opposed, a good follower will own that decision and work hard to make it successful.  Regardless of the outcome, the private nature of the discussion means that the two can disagree and resolve that disagreement without undermining the reputation of either in the eyes of others.   However, this only applies when the leader’s decision does not cause the Christian follower to do something unethical.  If a prospective leadership decision would cause a Christian to sin, the Christian follower must find a way to avoid sin while still obeying the leader.  It is to this challenge we now turn.
Daniel as an Effective Follower
A wonderful example of this is found throughout the life of the prophet Daniel.  Taken from Jerusalem as a teenager, he was forced to serve the kings of the Babylonian and Medo-Persian empires.  This he and his friends did with such distinction that they became trusted advisers and thus some of the most influential men in the world at the time.  Throughout this time, they also had to confront the most powerful men in the world at the time.  His friends had to confront Nebuchadnezzar’s self-absorbed idolatry by refusing to worship his statue (chapter 3).  Daniel then had to tell Nebuchadnezzar that he would be humiliated by God as a punishment for his pride and self-confidence (chapter 4).  He also had to declare impending doom to Belshazzar by interpreting the writing on the wall (chapter 5) before refusing to commit idolatry by praying to Darius (chapter 6).  In all of this, he had such a reputation for impeccable character that his enemies literally had to invent an unethical law in an attempt to bring him down.  This makes him perhaps the best merely human example of being above reproach that we see in Scripture.  All Christians should seek to emulate his example such that if our enemies want to dig up dirt on us, they will need to provide that dirt themselves.
Daniel and his friends developed this reputation from the beginning of their time in Babylon, giving us an excellent example of how to conscientiously object well with their refusal to eat the king’s food.  With all of the remarkable stories and prophecies recorded in Daniel, the story of the “Daniel diet” in Daniel 1:8-16 appears unremarkable, but this amazing event would set the tone for his entire seventy years of service while teaching us how to maintain obedience to God while serving our secular bosses well.  From Daniel 1:3-7, we learn that Daniel and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the Jewish youths taken from Jerusalem to Babylon to serve in the royal court.  This began with three years of indoctrination in the Babylonian language, literature, culture, practices, and religion to turn them from Jews to Babylonians ready for service.  Part of this process was changing their names from names that reflected their devotion to the God of Israel to names that honored the false gods of Babylon: Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.[3]  It also entailed a change from the diet required in the Law to eating food forbidden by the Law.  It was to this that Daniel objected, since obedience to the authorities over him in eating the food provided would have meant disobeying God.  So Daniel went to the chief of the eunuchs who was over him and asked not to eat the food and drink the wine provided but to keep a diet of vegetables and water that would obey the Law.  After Daniel and his friends successfully tested this diet for ten days, they were allowed to continue it indefinitely.  Thus, they successfully objected to a policy that would have forced them to sin without any negative impact on their careers.  We can take several lessons from this.
Lesson 1: Develop a Reputation for Trustworthiness and Excellence
Successful conscientious objection is greatly aided by a good reputation.  Daniel clearly established a reputation for both character and excellence early, which bought him an audience with the chief of the eunuchs.  There is no telling how many boys were part of this program, but it was likely enough that someone of less reputation would have been ignored or punished.  No doubt some level of attrition was expected in this program, meaning that without that reputation Daniel could have easily been removed.  It was at least partially due to his good reputation that the chief of the eunuchs was willing not only to listen to him but also to allow his alternate diet.  Daniel and his friends had clearly established a good reputation as both honorable and competent young men such that their removal would have been detrimental to the program, meaning the chief of the eunuchs had a vested interest in listening to them and even accommodating them.  When we conscientiously object, we should have established a reputation such that our leaders are willing to do what they can to accommodate us and even fight for us to their superiors if necessary.  Without such a reputation, it will be much easier for our leaders to either ignore us or fire us for our objections since they wouldn’t have a vested interest in keeping us.
Lesson 2: Choose Your Battles
Just as the boy who cried wolf was not taken seriously when the actual wolf arrived, so conscientiously objecting Christians will not be taken seriously if they develop a reputation of objecting to nearly everything.  It is easy to focus on what Daniel objected to while forgetting what he did not object to.  First and foremost, his name was changed from one honoring God to one honoring pagan gods, which he could have objected to on the basis of the probation of idolatry, but he did not.  Instead, it appears he found a workaround by using both his given and new names, as he is referred to several times in the book by both names together (Daniel 2:26, 4:8, 4:19, 5:12, 10:1).  He was thus able to use the new name while still ensuring it was clear that he retained his identity as a worshipper of the One True God.
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Why do the Gospels emphasize faith in so many of Christ’s miracles?  If all of His miracles were to prove His divinity and usher in His Kingdom, it naturally follows that the prominence of faith surrounding these miracles demonstrates its centrality in His Kingdom.  In this new Kingdom of God, faith would be the primary distinguishing factor of its citizens—not heredity, gender, social status, upbringing, good works, or any other human factor.  Faith is so important that it is impossible to please God without it (Hebrews 11:6) and any thought, motive, word, or deed that is not rooted in faith is actually sinful, no matter how good it may appear (Romans 14:23).

When we read of the various miracles in Scripture, the faith of the people involved is at the forefront of the narrative in many cases, which can lead us to think that not only miracles but all of the blessings of God are somehow dependent on the faith of the recipient.  This has led to some gross misapplications of these miracles to say that if we exhibit enough faith, God is somehow compelled to bless us.  The obvious counterpart to this would be to say that if God does not bless us, it can only be because we lack the appropriate level of faith.  This distortion is most clearly seen in the prosperity gospel that exhorts people to display their faith by “planting seeds” in the form of monetary donations, thus compelling God to bless them with health, wealth, and happiness.  However, it is not only the false teachers of the prosperity gospel that hold this view.  In a more subtle form, it dwells in many American Christians, particularly in how they approach suffering.  This view is so prevalent in large part because the miracles of Jesus seem to support it.  However, as we examine a few of His miracles, we will see folly of this view.
Faith as the Key (But Not Magical) Ingredient
Jesus healed many people, drove out many demons, and even raised three people from the dead.  These people were both male and female of various ages and from various ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.  But a common trait is seen in many of them: faith.  When He healed a woman while enroute to raise the daughter of Jairus, He told her that her faith had healed her (Matthew 9:22).  He said the same to blind Bartimaeus as He restored his sight (Mark 10:52) and to ten lepers as He healed them (Luke 17:19).  At other times, faith seemed to move Jesus to heal people, such as when the paralytic was lowered into the room through a hole in the roof that his faithful friends had made (Luke 5:20).  Similarly, Paul observed that the crippled man in Lystra “had the faith to be made well” before healing him (Acts 14:9).  These incidents seem to suggest that the faith of these people caused them to be healed, especially since Jesus told His disciples that if they prayed in faith, they would receive what they asked for (Matthew 21:22).  But is faith really the stimulus to which Jesus responded by healing these people?  Is it our faith that causes God to answer our prayers and work on our behalf?
To answer this, let’s look at a couple of Christ’s more spectacular healings.  Of all of the people Jesus healed, only three were healed without interacting with Him at all.  Interestingly, two of these three involved Gentiles.  A centurion’s slave, a Gentile woman’s daughter, and a Capernaum official’s son were all healed by Jesus without ever meeting Him.  We will look at the first two in some detail and contrast the third with the first to see the role faith played in these incidents.
The Centurion’s Faith
The first of these involved the Roman centurion in Capernaum.  Not long after the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus entered Capernaum and had a remarkable encounter with the centurion there that resulted in Jesus healing the centurion’s slave, recorded in Matthew 8:5-13 and Luke 7:1-10.  A centurion was an officer in charge of one hundred Roman soldiers.  At one point, I was an officer in charge of about one hundred enlisted personnel, so I can relate.  This particular centurion also has the distinction of causing Jesus to marvel at him.  When we consider that Jesus, being fully divine, was omniscient, it is remarkable that anything or anyone could cause Him to marvel, but one thing did: faith (both its abundance and its lack).  Jesus was astonished at the incredible faith of this centurion, but was equally astonished by the lack of faith in His own hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:6).  In contrast to Christ’s friends and relatives who should have known who He really was, this centurion had remarkable insight into His true identity that no one else had at the time.   But he was also remarkable in his character and reputation.  Despite being a Gentile in general and a Roman occupier in particular, he was highly regarded by the Jews in Capernaum.  Local Jewish leaders described him to Jesus as one who loved their nation and who had built their synagogue.  Therefore, when his slave was seriously ill, he did not hesitate to ask the local Jewish leaders to go to Jesus on his behalf and ask him to heal his slave, and those leaders emphatically and wholeheartedly fulfilled that request. They even went as far as to say that this centurion deserved Jesus to heal his slave because of his righteousness in their eyes.  You would he hard pressed to find a Roman official in all of Judea or Galilee at the time with such a reputation among the Jews.
But it was not this centurion’s upstanding reputation that amazed Jesus.  Instead it was his faith, both understanding who Jesus is and who he was.  This began with a proper understanding of who Jesus is.  While Jesus was on His way, the centurion sent friends to tell Jesus that he was unworthy of Jesus even coming into his house.  This stands in stark contrast to the Jews telling Jesus that he was worthy of not only a visit from Jesus but also a miracle.  He knew that regardless of how righteous and upstanding he was, he did not deserve for Jesus to do anything for him, especially not for Jesus to make Himself ceremonially unclean by entering a Gentile’s house.  So the centurion asks Jesus to heal his slave without entering the house but merely speaking the words.  This reveals his unparalleled understanding of who Jesus was.  The Jews debated over who Jesus was, with many seeing Him as some form of prophet.  As such, they would have had certain expectations as to what Jesus could and could not do as a prophet.  There were various stories of prophets healing people in the Old Testament, but in all of them the prophet was present with the person either before or during the healing.  Instead, this centurion realized that such proximity was not required because Jesus had authority, which is something he as a military officer understood well regardless of his knowledge of Israel’s past prophets.  To him, it was incredibly simple for Jesus to heal his slave.  He was used to both giving and receiving orders, knowing that the power of any order comes from the authority behind it rather than in the manner in which it is given.  He therefore heard about the previous miracles of Jesus and deduced that Jesus had authority to command nature just as he had authority to command his soldiers.  Therefore, Jesus didn’t need to by physically present to heal his slave but merely had to give the order and nature would obey just as his soldiers obeyed him.  When I was in charge of a hundred personnel, they obeyed my orders because I had the appropriate authority from my rank and position, just as I obeyed my commander I because he had been appointed over me and thus had the appropriate authority.  He could be on the other side of the country or the world, but if he gave me an order, it was just as valid as if he gave it to me personally.  That is how this centurion understood the authority of Jesus over nature. So to him, healing his slave was as simple as Jesus giving the order, regardless of His location.
Contrast this with the account of Jesus healing the official’s son in John 4:46-54, in which the official asked for Jesus to travel with him from Cana to Capernaum and heal his son there, leading Jesus to lament the general lack of faith of the Jews who required signs in order to believe.  Conversely, this centurion believed before witnessing a miracle, realizing that Jesus had authority over nature and was therefore divine.  Not even His disciples understood this yet, as evidenced by their bewilderment when He calmed the storm later in His ministry (Matthew 8:27, Luke 8:25).  That was something no prophet was able to do.  The closest was Elijah who prayed for a drought and then prayed for it to cease.
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