Todays article is written by Ben Pechek
The Didache is an early Christian document believed to have been written by the apostles. Though it didn’t make it to the cannon, it’s still a worthworth while read. In particular, I found the first paragraph interesting.
There are two ways, one of life and one of death, but a great difference between the two ways. The way of life, then, is this: First, you shall love God who made you; second, love your neighbor as yourself, and do not do to another what you would not want done to you. And of these sayings the teaching is this: Bless those who curse you, and pray for your enemies, and fast for those who persecute you. For what reward is there for loving those who love you? Do not the Gentiles do the same? But love those who hate you, and you shall not have an enemy. Abstain from fleshly and worldly lusts. If someone strikes your right cheek, turn to him the other also, and you shall be perfect. If someone impresses you for one mile, go with him two. If someone takes your cloak, give him also your coat. If someone takes from you what is yours, ask it not back, for indeed you are not able. Give to every one who asks you, and ask it not back; for the Father wills that to all should be given of our own blessings (free gifts). Happy is he who gives according to the commandment, for he is guiltless. Woe to him who receives; for if one receives who has need, he is guiltless; but he who receives not having need shall pay the penalty, why he received and for what. And coming into confinement, he shall be examined concerning the things which he has done, and he shall not escape from there until he pays back the last penny. And also concerning this, it has been said, Let your alms sweat in your hands, until you know to whom you should give.
You can see this is based on scripture.
Pro 8:36 But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.
Pro 12:28 – In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.
2 Co 7:10 – For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
1 Jo 3:14 – We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
But for me at least the Didache provided a different way of thinking about it. Instead of looking at these verses in the context of looking inward, at what we personally love, it provides a way of looking at all of society. It divides society in two. You have people who are on the death tract, and people on the life tract. And the people on team death, have totally different rules and ways of keeping score than the people on team life.
For team death the goal is all focused inward. It’s about making things as great for yourself as possible. It’s about getting money, fame, power, admiration, and being the envy of those around you. If you play for team death, and you play well, you will receive these rewards. At least for a time.
Team life on the other hand keeps score in a very different way. You don’t put yourself at the center. You put God, and others at the center. We don’t look at the desirable things death has to offer as antithetical to our way of life. All things being equal, it’s better to be rich than poor, admired than hated, powerful than powerless. But these things don’t measure our success. Because we value others, our success is measured in service. Are we serving God, are we serving our neighbor? And we don’t serve because we get something back. We serve because we love. And our reward isn’t money or power or fame. It’s peace, joy, and contentment. And as we see from the testimony of the martyrs, this can’t be taken from us, not even by violent death.
Thinking about it this way was useful for me, because while I knew better than to try and use the rules of death over the rules of life, I realized that I still on occasion used deaths scoreboard. To be completely open about some of my insecurities, I tend to view myself as taller, smarter, and braver than most people around me. And yet if I look at my peers from high school and college, in terms of money at least many of them have surpassed me. I’d tell myself I’d had different priorities. I’m a contrarian. I didn’t want to work for big corporations. I wanted freedom! But at the end of the day it’d all sound like rationalizations, as it’s hard to match the freedom of a big fat savings account.
But meditating on the the opening paragraph of the Didache has healed that (mostly…). Envy and insecurity are only things that can happen in the rules and score board for team death. It’s only by focusing on yourself and putting yourself at the center where those things can happen. Put God at the center, and those things won’t even make sense.
If you have a prayer request, praise report, wish to write an article, or have anything else you’d like put into the church newsletter, send it to me so I can put it in.
Thanks
Ben Pechek
bpechek@yahoo.com