Extremes of Moralism and Permissiveness

Scripture Focus: Ecclesiastes 7.16-20
16 Do not be overrighteous, 
neither be overwise— 
why destroy yourself? 
17 Do not be overwicked, 
and do not be a fool— 
why die before your time? 
18 It is good to grasp the one 
and not let go of the other. 
Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes. 
19 Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful 
than ten rulers in a city. 
20 Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, 
no one who does what is right and never sins. 

“Darling, I don’t know why
I go to extremes
Too high or too low
There ain’t no in-betweens” — Billy Joel, “I Go to Extremes”

Reflection: Extremes of Moralism and Permissiveness
By John Tillman

Don’t be overrighteous? Don’t be overwicked? Is the teacher saying righteousness is overrated or a little wickedness is acceptable?

During seminary, I worked at a tuxedo warehouse, driving delivery vehicles packed with rental tuxedos to dozens of bridal shops across Tarrant County and beyond. I also put orders together, pressed them, repaired them, and sewed the hems of coats and pants to each customer’s measurements.

I learned that pressing a coat lapel with too much heat and pressure or pressing on a flat instead of a curved surface creases the lapel rather than allowing it to roll naturally. The look of a coat can be permanently damaged if the lapel is improperly creased.

I also spot-treated items that came back stained. Stains were common. People are generally not thoughtful or careful with rented clothing. Before sending items to the cleaners, we treated stains using harsh chemicals, high-pressure water, steam, scrapers, and brushes. More than once, determined to scrape out a stain, I scraped too hard and damaged the fabric.

The teacher recognized that perfect righteousness and perfect avoidance of wickedness were both impossible. He described the human pursuit of sinlessness as a self-destructive act. There is a level of religious fervor and moral strictness that destroys our souls rather than saves them. Works righteousness leads to damnation, not salvation.

Jesus takes sin seriously and so should we. It is unloving to allow ourselves or others to continue in sin. All sin damages the self and others. We should metaphorically cut off our hands and pluck out our eyes to avoid it, but more care should be taken when we turn to others.

When I have a splinter, I aggressively cut into my finger to get it out because I can feel if I am cutting too deep. When tending someone else’s splinter, I am gentle. Let us be cautious and sensitive. Judgmental legalism looks like holiness and righteousness but is its own form of wickedness and foolishness.

Heat and pressure, used properly, help clean and maintain clothing, but too much of either ruins rather than repairs. With too much self-righteous pressure and moralizing heat, we can ruin rather than repair those we wish to reform, including ourselves. Remember that pressing souls into shape and scraping away the stain of sin is the Holy Spirit’s job, not ours.

Avoid the extremes of moralism and permissiveness. They are both damaging.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
God is King of all the earth; sing praises with all your skill. God reigns over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne. — Psalm 47.7-8

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.


​Today’s Readings
Ecclesiastes 7 (Listen 3:37)
Psalm 58-59 (Listen 3:32)

Read more about Enter While You Can
Self-righteousness isn’t exclusive to the religious. Our culture strongly believes that humans are innately good, innately “righteous.”

Read more about Pause To Read
What can we learn from Jesus’ hotheaded disciples? Find out in our latest podcast episode. Don’t miss it.

Wisdom in Houses of Mourning—Readers’ Choice

Selected by reader, Barbara
The April 20th, post on the subject of suffering during this time and during life in general was particularly helpful not only because as seniors we suddenly became isolated even from family but because we were also in the process of grief over a grandchild who died before Christmas. 2 Timothy 3:12 declares that all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will suffer. We have felt “persecution“ through some ordinary circumstances or more dramatic ones throughout. We can do all things as unto the Lord.

Originally published, April 20, 2020, based on readings from Ecclesiastes 7 & 2 Timothy 3.

Scripture Focus: Ecclesiastes 7.2-4
It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.
Frustration is better than laughter,
    because a sad face is good for the heart.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

Proverbs 4.7
Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Hebrews 12.1-2
…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…

Reflection: Wisdom in Houses of Mourning—Readers’ Choice
By John Tillman

What happens when a society addicted to activity, distraction, and consumption has every activity canceled, normal distractions displaced, and consumption disrupted? We mourn.

Solomon tells us that there is more wisdom to be gained in a house of mourning than one of celebrating. In some ways, the homes in which we are sheltering have become houses of mourning. We are certainly mourning the frenetic fantasy of fruitfulness that our former schedules gave us. Our economies, both global and personal, were accelerated and everything else was trimmed out so that we could push harder for greater gain. But were we really gaining in the ways that are important? Did we trim out the wrong things? What can we learn from this unexpected experience of mourning? 

Paul writes that we should throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us to run after Jesus, fixing our eyes on him. But in our previous life, pre-COVID-19, did we ever throw off anything to get closer to Jesus? Did we ever lay aside even one entanglement to grow deeper in faith? Did we fix our eyes more intently on Jesus than on our devices, work tasks, and investment portfolios? Did we strip even one thing out of our lives because it interfered with reading the Bible? Did we cancel even one activity in order to make more time to pray?

For the majority of us, the answers to these questions are probably “no.” Many of us may need to confess that what we tossed aside was Jesus, and the entanglement we escaped was the cords of loving-kindness that God sought to guide us by. We limited Jesus, the Bible, and prayer, to “when we have time” as if time was the issue and not our heart.

What if we learned from what we have lost how valuable what we still have is?
What if we, relieved of the burden of physically running from activity to activity, learned to run after Jesus spiritually?
What if we learned to make time with the most important things the most important time in our day?

I think personally we would be blown away by the tangible presence and power of God in our lives.
I think it would be a revelation.
And I think culturally the world would be blown away by the shockingly beautiful things God would call the church to do in the world.
I think it would be a revolution. 

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading
“And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the laborers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to his harvest.’” — Matthew 9.36-37– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Jeremiah 33 (Listen – 4:46)
Psalms 3-4 (Listen – 1:56)

Read more about Convicted by Job’s Righteousness :: A Guided Prayer 
We pray for your forgiveness, Lord, but more than that, we pray that you would change the hearts of the oppressors, and may you begin in our hearts.

What post helped you understand prayer?https://forms.gle/DsYWbj45y9fCDLzi7

Wisdom in Houses of Mourning

Scripture Focus: Ecclesiastes 7.2-4
It is better to go to a house of mourning
    than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
    the living should take this to heart.
Frustration is better than laughter,
    because a sad face is good for the heart.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
    but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

Proverbs 4.7
Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Hebrews 12.1-2
…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus…

Reflection: Wisdom in Houses of Mourning
By John Tillman

What happens when a society addicted to activity, distraction, and consumption has every activity canceled, normal distractions displaced, and consumption disrupted? We mourn.

Solomon tells us that there is more wisdom to be gained in a house of mourning than one of celebrating. In some ways, the homes in which we are sheltering have become houses of mourning. We are certainly mourning the frenetic fantasy of fruitfulness that our former schedules gave us. Our economies, both global and personal, were accelerated and everything else was trimmed out so that we could push harder for greater gain. But were we really gaining in the ways that are important? Did we trim out the wrong things? What can we learn from this unexpected experience of mourning? 

Paul writes that we should throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us to run after Jesus, fixing our eyes on him. But in our previous life, pre-COVID-19, did we ever throw off anything to get closer to Jesus? Did we ever lay aside even one entanglement to grow deeper in faith? Did we fix our eyes more intently on Jesus than on our devices, work tasks, and investment portfolios? Did we strip even one thing out of our lives because it interfered with reading the Bible? Did we cancel even one activity in order to make more time to pray?

For the majority of us, the answers to these questions are probably “no.” Many of us may need to confess that what we tossed aside was Jesus, and the entanglement we escaped was the cords of loving-kindness that God sought to guide us by. We limited Jesus, the Bible, and prayer, to “when we have time” as if time was the issue and not our heart.

What if we learned from what we have lost how valuable what we still have is?
What if we, relieved of the burden of physically running from activity to activity, learned to run after Jesus spiritually?
What if we learned to make time with the most important things the most important time in our day?

I think personally we would be blown away by the tangible presence and power of God in our lives.
I think it would be a revelation.
And I think culturally the world would be blown away by the shockingly beautiful things God would call the church to do in the world.
I think it would be a revolution. 

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Those who sowed with tears will reap with songs of joy. 
Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves. — Psalm 126.6-7

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Ecclesiastes 7 (Listen – 3:37) 
2 Timothy 3 (Listen -2:21)

Read more about Prayer Amidst Evil :: Guided Prayer 
The inevitable next tragedy will come. Whether it is the result of unthinking violence, tragic accident, or premeditated and targeted hatred, we turn to God in prayer…

Read more about Fasting from the Feast
Our culture has steadily, for decades, been encouraging us to abstain from spiritual disciplines in favor of activities that we are led to believe are more profitable.