Human Interest

As I think should be obvious, I've become more and more aware of late of the very real, very down-to-earth, very biblical description of the basic problem of sin: putting Man's interests before God's interests. The verse that first got my attention on this was Mark 8:33, so it was interesting to me that our sermon last Sunday also came from Mark 8. And there was more good stuff in there.

The chapter begins with the feeding of the 4,000 (Mark 8:1-9) followed with the bizarre demand from the Pharisees for a sign (Mark 8:10-12) (as if feeding 4,000 people with seven loaves and a few small fish wasn't sign enough?). Jesus and His disciples set off in their boat, then, but the disciples failed to visit the supermarket and only brought one loaf of bread. Jesus calls on them to change their focus. "Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod" (Mark 8:15). The lack of bread was a legitimate concern, but Jesus wanted to use the legitimate concern for a more important point. What was this "leaven"? Well, the Pharisees demanded a sign and Herod and the Sadducees (Matt 16:6) were really keen on signs, so apparently it was this demand for a real demonstration of the supernatural. "You know," this leaven says, "if you would show me a real miracle, I'd believe." Jesus's reply was, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah" (Matt 16:4). And we all know what the sign of Jonah was, right? (Hint: 3 days and nights in the belly of the whale.)

Now, pause for a moment. Remember where I started -- the mind set on the interests of Man rather than the interests of God. Where, then, are we going from here?

Well, clearly, the disciples didn't get it. "He's concerned about leaven because we don't have enough bread." Completely missing the point. Frankly sounding a bit exasperated, Jesus walks them through the feeding of the 5,000 and the feeding of the 4,000 and asks, "Do you not yet understand?" (Mark 8:16-21). Jesus then heals the blind man (Mark 8:22-26) (as if to say, "He sees; do you yet?") and then we get to the passage I've been mulling over for several months now, ending with "He rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's'" (Mark 8:33). Isn't that where we've been all chapter long? The people wanted to be fed (Man's interest) and the Pharisees wanted a sign (Man's interest) and the disciples were concerned about bread (Man's interest) and the blind man wanted to be healed (Man's interest) and Peter didn't want Jesus to die (Man's interest).

So I thought I'd read on ... you know, the rest of the context. Do you know what follows?

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:34-38).

Well, now, that puts a little different spin on some very well-known verses, doesn't it? Jesus isn't talking in a vacuum here. He isn't just offering some juicy insights. He is speaking with a point. What point? He is trying to draw a line between God's interests and Man's interests. It is in Man's interests to not deny himself, to save his life, to gain the world, to get along with the world around him. These are matters of Man's interests. And Jesus is drawing a sharp dividing line here. God's interests are radically different. How do these looks through the lens of God's interests? Self-denial, taking up a cross, following Christ, losing your life for Christ's sake, not being ashamed of Christ. These are all things that are clearly in God's interests but not, on the surface, Man's interests.

One last observation. If indeed the repeated theme in this chapter is "God's interests rather than Man's", you might have seen a repeated indication of God's interest. You'll find it in the Matt 16:6 version of Mark 8:12 and in the bread dialog compared with Jesus's New Covenant with the bread representing His body and in the things Jesus was saying that upset Peter -- His impending death -- and even in His statement regarding denying yourself and taking up ... what? ... your cross. The Cross is a repeated theme in this passage. And that is a key interest of God.

It is the way of sinful humans to focus on Man's interests over God's interests. This standard operating principle puts us in direct conflict with God. Maybe it's demanding a sign like the Pharisees rather than believing. Maybe it's focusing on immediate needs like the disciples did with the bread rather than on the One who can supply them. Maybe it's even cloaked in concern for Christ's interests like Peter was when he urged Christ not to speak of dying after He told Peter it was the plan. Repeatedly in life we will find that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the result is death (Prov 14:12). And the way that is right just doesn't always look so right, does it? So we have to decide. Will we be wise and pay attention to God's interests, or will we be "wise" and pay heed to the interests of Man? The latter is deemed "hardhearted". The former begins with the Cross.

God's Interests

He rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's" (Mark 8:33).

I am becoming more and more convinced that this is the primary failure of all humans everywhere and, as such, the primary approach of Satan. Think about it. What is the most common complaint about God? "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Never, "What does God think of it?" Israel, after being freed from slavery in Egypt, complained that God was leading them into difficult circumstances. Never, "What is God doing?" I recently had an exchange with someone about how God tells us to do things He knows we can't accomplish. "Why would He do that?" was the sentiment. "Doesn't seem fair!" That, of course, is the complaint of someone focusing on the interests of Man, not God. If you look around you, I think you'll start to see it everywhere.

Jesus went on to talk about this further.

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it" (Mark 8:34-35).

Now that's a little tough in the standard human thinking. "Deny himself"? "Lose his life"? "Take up his cross"? "How is any of that reasonable? I thought Jesus loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life." And then, sadly, you find that it's a running theme in Scripture.

"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:26).

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves (Phil 2:3).

Lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit (Eph 4:22).

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self ... (2 Tim 3:1-2).

Turns out that the Bible is opposed to placing our minds on the interests of Man over the interests of God. Go figure! And yet, I venture to guess that we do it every day.

Contrasting Interests

Given that Satan encourages people toward "not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" (Mark 8:33), think for a moment about the large ramifications of such a thought process. If I am going to avoid Satan's ploy and set my mind on God's interests, not Man's, how would that look?

Consider, for a moment, the mundane. Remembering that "from Him (God) and through Him and to Him are all things" (Rom 11:36), how would we think about ... sex? You see, in our normal mode of operation (you know, the sinful one, the one focused on Man's interests, not God's, the flesh), we would say that sex is for our enjoyment ... and, oh yeah, sometimes for procreation ... but today preferably not very often. Can you see how at the outset that is premised upon "Man's interests"? It doesn't even begin to ask, "What is God's interest in the matter?"

Or, who is it that asks, in his or her search for that "significant other" who will be "my life partner", "Will he/she provide me the best opportunities to accomplish what God has in mind?" Wow! No way! We want to know if we're compatible, if he or she makes me happy, if we feel warmly toward each other, if we have "chemistry" (whatever that means). God's interests in this have very little to do with our thinking.

I begin to wonder. In what possible aspect of life do we ask, "What is God's interest in this?" Our job selection? Not very often. Our choice of friends? Not normally. Where we live? How we relate to our spouses? Our children? Our families? Our neighbors? What we wear? ("Oh, Stan, now you're just being silly." Oh, yeah? If it is true that whatever we do is supposed to be to the glory of God, then why is what we wear excluded?) After awhile this list seems to pile up until it seems as if we who are followers of Christ and lovers of God are actually not very concerned about God's interests in our everyday lives. Well, maybe you are; I'm just facing a cold, stark realization in my own life.

And I don't think any of this is trivial. There's that clear command that I just referenced, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31). There is Jesus's instruction to "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Matt 5:16). There is the counter statement that our primary sin problem is that we "fall short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). As it turns out, God's Word repeatedly, over and over, time and time again without fail makes everything a matter of God's glory. God wouldn't forsake Israel "for His great name's sake" (1 Sam 12:22). "He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake" (Psa 23:3). He leads and guides us for His name's sake (Psa 31:3). He makes atonement for our sins for His name's sake (Psa 79:9). He preserves us for His name's sake (Psa 143:11). We are forgiven for His name's sake (1 John 2:12). "He predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved" (Eph 1:5-6). Are you noticing a trend? Everything is about God, and everything that is about God is about God's glory.

So, let's feed that back into our everyday considerations. We ask, "Who should I marry?" when we should ask, "Who should I marry to bring God glory?" We ask, "Where should I work?" when we should ask, "What job will bring God the most glory?" We ask "What would I like to watch on TV today?" when we should ask, "Is there anything on TV that I should watch that will bring glory to God?" We are fairly sure that sex is for our own enjoyment and fulfillment when we should be examining, "What in this act brings God glory?" Even in our highest moments we are asking the wrong question. Many of us go to church without considering "Is my involvement perfunctory, or is it bringing God the most glory?" We might read our Bibles and pray, but too often it is because we ought, not because it brings God glory.

Imagine, then, a life lived with God's interests rather than Man's in mind. Sure, we'd be asking different questions and operating on different motivations than now. That should be abundantly clear. But we'd also be seeing our lives in a different light. No longer is what I put on to go to work in the morning mundane; now it is an act of worship! No longer am I trying to love my wife because I ought; it is an act of worship! I'm not working anymore to make ends meet; I'm working to glorify God! So while my motivations change, so do my perceptions. Everything is less about me, to be sure, but it is also true that everything done to the glory of God is far more signficant!

I think if we're truthful, we don't do this well. We naturally tend toward the "not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man" mindset. We, consequently, tend to have skewed motivations and misplaced choices. And we tend to have gray lives. Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when He said, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). And perhaps this is the aim of Paul when he tells us "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2). Perhaps this is something to which we need to apply some serious consideration. God's interests, or Man's? Remember, the source of a focus on Man's is not God. It's Satan.