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Now available! |
- Want to know more?
- Struggling for survival?
How to Survive in the Pharisee Church is in three parts. The first part is a humorous look at some of my
own catastrophic failures (and occasional successes) in getting to know the God of the Bible. In the
second part I've talked about my even more catastrophic failures to integrate myself into being a
functioning member of the church community. In the third part I look in a more general way at the whole
issue of pharisaism in the church - what it is, what bible says about in, how it works, and how to combat
its influence in our own lives.
- So laugh with me, cry with me, share my joys and sorrows on the greatest pilgrimage of all. You can
start with this extract, from Chapter 25, 'Listening to Donkeys'. It's called THE BALAAM PRINCIPLE
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Read another chapter? We have a contract with God, each of us. It's been spelt out for us clearly and unequivocally. We need to know what that contract says. Our obligations. God's obligations. What it gives us and what it doesn't give us. It's key! Chapter 18 spells it out. It's called Our Contract with God. Follow this link to find out >>>. |
And if you are reading the book, and you're interested in see some of the people and places mentioned, to give it a bit of extra life, just click here on "Scenes from the book" for a very incomplete collection of photographs to complement the text. |
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The Balaam Principle
following the road of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved the wages of doing wrong, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. |
and his donkey. In the story, God places an invisible angel with drawn sword across Balaam’s path to prevent the prophet and his donkey from making a journey that God has forbidden. Three times the donkey refuses to cross the angel, and in so doing, three times saves the unwitting prophet from certain death. Finally, God opens the mouth of the donkey to speak in human language. Balaam’s eyes are opened to see the angel and the nature of the imminent danger, and Balaam is forced to bow to God’s rebuke from the mouth of his own animal. There’s a serious lesson for us in this story, which is that God can speak through anyone. Balaam was a spiritual leader of high repute. He had a high opinion of himself and of his own spiritual gifts, and as a prophet he naturally expected to be God’s spokesman to others. God decided differently. In terms of absolute spiritual gifting and depth of knowledge, Balaam was clearly way ahead of the donkey. But God, who is no respecter of persons, was not impressed by Balaam’s office and didn't see him as deserving of special treatment. To bring him down to earth and deflate his foolish pride, God looked around for the most menial, insignificant messenger he could find, and he chose the donkey. God is not limited to using those with greater knowledge, experience, and status to teach those with less. He can, and often does, reverse the roles. For those who identify with the self-styled spiritual leader Balaam, the message is: Listen to everyone, no matter how menial or inexperienced they may seem to you. You never know who might be the next donkey in your life, sent by God as a bearer of wisdom to keep you on track. For those who identify more with the donkey, the message is: You may lack experience, wisdom, or natural talent, but it doesn’t matter. God can still use you as his chosen instrument to speak his word to those older and more experienced. Be ready for it, and don’t be surprised or resist it if it happens. It may even involve wisdom beyond your natural capabilities. Balaam knew a lot more about angels than the donkey, who probably knew nothing at all; but that didn’t stop God from providing the donkey with a single, blinding flash of supernatural wisdom to set his master straight. We may feel, like the donkey, that we are condemned to be instruments in the execution of other people’s plans and agendas forever. This is not at all what God wants for us. If that’s how we see it, we need a thorough reordering of our own self- image as well as of our God-image. This can take time and patience. As we navigate this process, it can be useful to remind ourselves occasionally of the story of Balaam. There’s a final lesson, or warning, here. When we critically appraise the leaders in our churches, we need to ask ourselves the question, “Where do they stand on the Balaam scale?” A true spiritual leader will always have an eye open for the donkey in his life. He won’t limit God, and he will always keep himself open to hear the opinions of those younger and less experienced than himself. He should be happy to have God rebuke or correct him through such a one. Many leaders will not pass this test. These are men in whom the character of God is improperly formed. Their sensibility of their own status makes them incapable of seeing a donkey as anything other than a convenient means of transport. We need to be wary of such men. It doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily in the wrong place or position—God has room for imperfect men at every level. It does, however, mean that many of their responses will be determined by fleshly rather than spiritual considerations, and so we need to treat them with caution. Hierarchy is deeply ingrained in the church, and we will probably be taught that God wants it that way. We may be told that it’s wrong to question, to express opinions, or to follow God’s leading in our lives without approval from above. It’s lucky that Balaam’s donkey didn’t think that way and didn’t feel the need to ask Balaam’s permission before opening his mouth—otherwise history might have turned out differently. The story of Balaam and his donkey is a warning against excessive pride and willfulness, and a warning against excessive or inappropriate humility. We should never put a limit on what God can do through us—to do so is to insult him. I may have a low opinion of myself, but I can hardly go any lower than Balaam’s donkey, and I should never use my own human limitations as an excuse for limiting what God can do through me. |
Download as a free PDF File >>>> Download FREE E-book >>> Following the bankruptcy of my first publisher, "How to Survive in the Pharisee Church" is no longer being sold online in its printed form (though I have copies and am happy to send you one if you contact me privately). In the meantime, while I am negotiating with another publisher to re-release the printed book, I am happy to offer it as a free PDF download. This is derived from the publisher's final proof, and is identical in every way apart from not having a cover. This offer may be temporary, so better to take it now! On the same basis I am now able to offer the e-book as a free download, since the first publisher's rights have lapsed. Again, I don't know how long this offer will last, so best take it now if you are interested. This will work on Kindle and (I think) on all major e-book players |