Investigating the Bible: The edited life

E.B. White’s short book, “The Elements of Style,” has elementary rules of composition to improve English usage; these are too often broken, yours truly included. Some violations are silly. White gave the example of the writer who neglected his rule to “Keep related words together”: “New York’s first commercial human-sperm bank opened Friday with semen samples from 18 men frozen in a stainless steel tank.” Those poor donors! Editing helps catch errors, just as honest self-examination improves a life. Many Pharisees and respected religious leaders in the New Testament lived unedited lives, harming others and themselves. Here’s a few of the actions they neglected.

Be generous. A Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner and “…he was astonished to see that he did not wash before dinner.” (Luke 11:38, English Standard Version used throughout). This wasn’t poor hygiene. Jewish traditional laws required ceremonial washing to remove exposure to sinners. Jesus noticed his surprise: “…Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools!” (Luke 11:39-40). Instead, Jesus told him to “give alms”, meaning be generous.

Oliver Goldsmith was a successful British novelist and playwright who died in 1774. Before that occupation, he was a physician. Once he cared for a patient who was very poor. He treated him and then put all the money he was carrying in a large pill box. He wrote this prescription on the label: “To be taken as the occasion requires.”

Put justice and love first. Jesus continued: “But woe to you Pharisees! You tithe mint and rue and herb, and neglect justice and the love of God.” (Luke 11:42). The religious leaders meticulously separated a tenth of their herbs and spices for the priest. Tithing rue was not even required. Jesus put love first and healed on the Sabbath, saying “Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” (Luke 14:5).

In Chicago, a friend of author Philip Yancey, met with a prostitute who was homeless, sick, and unable to buy food for her two-year old daughter. She admitted the evil things she did to make money, even involving her little girl, which required his mandatory reporting. The friend asked her if she had ever thought of going to church for help? She gave this shocked look. “Church! Why would I ever go there? I’m already feeling terrible about myself. They’d just make me feel worse.” The Bible offers hope: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9). Evangelist Vance Havner said, “The church is a hospital for sinners, and not a museum for saints.”

Be humble. Jesus said, “…Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces.” (Luke 11:43). They had hungry egos.

Johnny Cash was sixty-one years old, an addict, and in a hospital’s ICU for infections and complications from intestinal surgery. From his secret cocktail of drugs, he had terrifying hallucinations and screamed like a wild man. Those close to him finally had enough. Twenty-five family and friends gathered around his hospital bed and read to him letters of his lies and broken promises. The letters weren’t to hurt; they expressed love and deep concern. The letter of his 13-year-old son John, who read with tears, was the hardest. Young John remembered the night Cash came home drunk, stumbled into the room, and embarrassed him and his friends. Their messages worked. Cash wrote: “I had to humble myself before God.” He stayed sober the last 10 years of his life. Just before he died, he released a cover of the Depeche Mode song “Personal Jesus,” with these opening lyrics: “Your own personal Jesus. Someone to hear your prayers. Someone who cares.”

David Carlson Pastor (yes, that is his last name, not his profession) lives in Oregon and is a graduate of Bethel Theological Seminary in Minnesota (M.Div., M.Th.).