written by Stephan Joubert
“You made my day,” the petrol attendant told me the other day. A wide smile spanned his face. I was stunned. “What did I do?” I asked very surprised. “You called me sir!” he answered. Then he told me how many people treated him with disrespect and even shouted at him. He wanted to know why I called him “sir”. All that I could think of was that God’s Word teaches me to treat other people with respect, and that I tried to live exactly like that. And then I told him that.
When driving away from that filling station, I realized anew how easy it really is to do small things in the name of the Lord… like treating others with respect. How sad that I don’t succeed in constantly walking the extra mile for everyone who crosses my path. Just as sad that when I shared this story somewhere, someone immediately told me that I surely don’t live in the true South Africa. “Beggars, petrol attendants, and the unemployed are only interested in stealing and plundering,” he added. Then he concluded with: “Actually everyone does that these days.”
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written by Stephan Joubert
King Hezekiah got a second chance. When the prophet Isaiah gave him the bad news that he would soon die (Isaiah 38), he fell down and begged with God for mercy. God heard his cry for help. Right there, the king got a handful of extra life at the end of his life — a full 15 years. Instead of allowing God’s mercy to make him humble, he later openly bragged about his riches and power to a foreign delegation. He even took this delegation on a sight-seeing tour, showing off his weapons and the riches of his palace to make them understand just how large and glorious his kingdom was.
Hezekiah’s arrogant behavior upset the Lord to the extent that He announced that his rule would come to an end, and that his sons would not rule in his place. Then followed Hezekiah’s shocking reaction: “As long as it doesn’t happen in my lifetime.” Talk about selfishness! When others are suffering, then it’s their problem, just as long as I can live in the sunshine! Please don’t be like Hezekiah. Make more than sufficient room for others, even for the generation that follows you. Don’t always want the best part for yourself. Don’t live arrogantly. Everything you have and everything you are is finally a gift of grace from the hand of the Living God. Give Him alone the honor for this, and live humbly.
written by Stephan Joubert
“We must be witnesses for the Lord.” How many times have you heard that? Indeed, but for some people it means that they have the right to give a monologue about their faith whenever it suits them. But what if such “testimonies” mostly do more harm than good? Can believers continually get away with excuses that one has to suffer for the Lord when others take them on about their rude and insensitive “testimonies”? If, on one side, it is true that we have to give testimony of our faith, then it is also true on the other side that we have to give testimony of all the wrong ways in which we are witnesses to the Lord. Jesus taught us to be careful and wise. We don’t automatically occupy the moral high-ground in every conversation. We need to earn the right to be heard through our discerning way of life before God and others.
written by Stephan Joubert
Some have it… others don’t. I’m speaking about spiritual finesse. In the Proverbs it’s called wisdom. Wisdom, the type that starts with reverence for God according to Proverbs 1:7, touches your daily life dramatically. That’s why this kind of wisdom is to know when to say your say, and when to keep your mouth shut. It’s to never storm blindly into any situation with an artificial quick-fix for every possible problem. Wisdom makes you daring to do God’s will, but also careful for the traps of folly.
Spiritual finesse is to know the difference between wisdom and folly and to apply that knowledge. Where do you find this type of finesse? Well, please listen afresh to the Proverbs where it’s taught that it all starts with a life of dedication to God. Wisdom is equal to full-time, day in and night out respect for the Lord. This type of wisdom is the reason why you can’t help but treat other people constantly with great respect. Respect for God continually flows over into respect for other people. Such a life filled to the brim with spiritual finesse causes you to read the “Handle with care!” sticker on others every time… and to respect it!
written by Stephan Joubert
Did you know that more people die annually across the globe as a result of coconuts falling on their heads, than of shark attacks? Really! The shark-researcher, George Burgess, found that around 150 people die annually as a result of coconuts falling on their heads. That’s 15 times more than all the people who die annually due to shark attacks. People get anxiety attacks when watching movies like Jaws, and sit frozen in front of National Geographic’s shark programs, but no-one would take a movie like Killer Coconut Tree seriously.
It’s funny how faulty perceptions can be formed and how easily we drink them in like lemonade on a hot day. That’s why we should be careful not to be taken on tow by the media, text messages, emails, and even some religious folk. The Proverbs teach us to continuously think about life, and to be careful. We’re not allowed to storm blindly into any situation, or believe every new rumor that’s making the rounds. Listen again, don’t believe every carrier of damning news. Don’t lend your ears to people who say: “Have you heard what this or that church leader has done this time?” or similar stories.
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written by Stephan Joubert
John the baptizer’s words to the soldiers, tax collectors and poor — who came and asked him what they should do to live in the right relationship with God — touches my heart (Luke 3). No, he doesn’t offer them some quick escape-route to heaven. Neither does he offer them a safe, bomb-shelter to protect from life’s assaults. On the contrary. John brought heaven down to earth by telling the poor that he who has two sets of clothing should give one away to people who have less than him. Soldiers needed to learn to be happy with their pay, and tax collectors needed to stop making unfair profits.
John doesn’t teach people that suffer to passively sit and wait for help from elsewhere. Even the poorest has something to share. It’s a good biblical principle that we often overlook. Just ask the poor widow who gives her last couple of cents to God in Luke 21. That’s faith. At that very moment she became the latest spiritual millionaire. Our faith shines the brightest through what we give away. Even the poorest among us can share something of themselves with others.
written by Stephan Joubert
Sometimes I’m left dumbfounded at people’s lack of sensitivity. Not long ago, someone told me about a colleague who’s brother died at a young age. Then, someone too-holy-for-words sent him a text message with the words of Proverbs 10:27 that says “the years of the wicked are cut short.” Proverbs does indeed say that, but it’s not directly applicable, one for one, to every and each person who dies prematurely. Similarly, not every person who attains a ripe old age is enjoying God’s favor (as some incorrect readers of the Ten Commandments might deduce!). We don’t have any right to summarily condemn people that die young.
Indeed, the Proverbs were written to teach people how to discern between wisdom and folly. Proverbs definitely wasn’t meant for spiritual bullies who want to increase people’s pain and suffering further through unthoughtful text messages. Also not for people that say they need an answer for every crisis or heartache. Let’s learn to handle God’s Word with care. Let’s serve rather than injure each other with our knowledge.
