Flourishing in Babylon (Part 3)

Is your life a rat race?

According to Wikipedia, "rat race" is a metaphor referring to an endless, self-defeating, or pointless pursuit. The metaphor is often used to describe a lifestyle of incessant work and busyness to try and achieve something that is inherently unachievable. It's pressure-filled, busy, anxious, and ill-fitting. No one who is living a rat race would say they are living their best life.

But why is there a rat race at all? What empowers it? Why do we participate in it?

For the past two weeks we've been exploring Hebrews 13 and the idea in verse 14 that this world is not our permanent home. The world to which it refers is not the physical world, because this physical world is our permanent home (according to the end of Revelation).

The impermanent home is the kingdom of the world, often represented in Scripture as the city of Babylon. Our permanent home is the kingdom of God, represented in Revelation as the heavenly city of Jerusalem.  Followers of Jesus are "resident aliens" in Babylon, but we are citizens of the kingdom of God.

It is Babylon that gives the rat race its power. When we live by Babylon's values, we enter an endless, self-defeating, pointless pursuit (because it's pointless to pursue meaning and purpose in something that is fading away).

So with that in mind, we've been asking the question, "How do I flourish in Babylon?" I may be a citizen of the kingdom of God, but I'm living in the middle of Babylon's Empire. How can I live a flourishing life now, even if this city is not my permanent home? How can I bloom where I'm planted?

Last week we looked at three practices from the first half of Hebrews 13 that help us flourish: the practices of love and compassion, faithfulness, and contentment. This week we close off the series with the thee more practices to help us leave the rat race and move toward a more flourishing life.

If you want to flourish in Babylon...

4. PRACTICE HUMILITY

“Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith… 

Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit. Pray for us, for our conscience is clear and we want to live honorably in everything we do."

~ Hebrews 13:7, 17-18

In today’s church, when we hear of so much spiritual abuse happening among church leadership, this is a particularly difficult topic, so we need a healthy perspective.

The primary role of the leaders mentioned is to preach and teach the Word of God, but more importantly, their lives should reflect the Word that is taught. That's why we are to think of the good that comes from their lives. If verse 18 (the desire of the leader to have a clear conscience and live honourably) does not reflect the leader, we should definitely avoid verse 17 (follow their leadership).

This spiritual practice in our culture (at least in a church setting) is not about doing what someone tells us to do. It's about being willing to learn from good and wise people. Spiritual abusers demand we blindly obey. Good spiritual leaders do not. They teach, and we have the option to learn. 

Empire tells us to live by ego and pride. The author of Hebrews simply suggests that if we have a kind and godly leader (shown by the fruit of their lives), we learn from them.

Bottom line: if we want to flourish in Babylon, practice humility and allow ourselves to be taught and led by kind and godly leaders.

5. PRACTICE WORSHIP IN WORDS AND ACTIONS

“Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God."

~ Hebrews 13:15-16

The "sacrifice of praise" is a concept found repeatedly in the Psalms. In our context, it is not an offering of a sacrificial animal but the call to verbally worship God. It may seem like nothing, but it can truly be a sacrifice to do so. There are times in life when we don't want to surrender to God, or call him good, or proclaim his love. However (and I speak from experience), we can praise God even while we're in the midst of suffering, and when we do, that sacrifice of praise can transform our heart. 

Yet we don't stop with words. Hebrews reminds us doing good and sharing what we have are also called sacrifices that are pleasing to God. These things actually bring joy to God - they are "pleasing" to him, and this becomes our motivation to do them. We bring real joy to Jesus by doing good and sharing with those in need. It makes him happy.

Worship is not empty words. Nor is it "have to" obligatory actions. It’s authentic, faith-filled words and authentic, faith-filled actions, all of which bring joy to the One who rescued us from death.

Bottom line: if you want to flourish in Babylon, practice worship in words and action.

6. UNDERSTAND GRACE

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your strength comes from God’s grace, not from rules about food, which don’t help those who follow them...
 
Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come."

~ Hebrews 13:8-9, 12-14

The strange new ideas to which the author refers seem to be doctrines about foods (not first time we’ve seen this in the New Testament). 

Jesus said "My yoke is easy and my burden is light," but for some reason we like to complicate that simple statement by adding all our own rules about the proper way we need to practice our faith.

The author says these restrictive rules are completely useless to our spiritual development. Rather, a proper understanding of grace is what truly nourishes and strengthens our heart. More effort will not result in being more loved. It's not that effort is bad, but in order to flourish, the acceptance of grace must come before the giving of effort.

However, grace is costly. When the author mentions "going to him outside the camp" he speaks metaphorically of leaving behind the love of this world and desire for its approval, and instead embracing the reproach of Christ.

Living by God’s grace, knowing we do not need to prove ourselves to him or any other person, rather than living by Babylonian rat race values that wants us to keep proving our worth, costs us reputation in Babylon. It can cost us money. It can cost us promotions at work. It requires the sacrifice of the Babylonian lifestyle.

But it's the only way we will flourish.

Bottom line: if we want to flourish in Babylon, we must understand and embrace God’s grace as displayed in the Cross of Christ, even if it costs us Babylonian rewards.

PAUSE AND REFLECT

As mentioned in the last email, we were born and raised in Babylon. "Empire" lives within us, breeding desire and pushing us into the endless, self-defeating, pointless pursuit of vapour. And Empire will stay within us until we are given a new heart to replace Babylon's heart within us.

So let's end where we started with the first email. Ask yourself: how has Babylon captured my imagination? To which city is my heart oriented? The great city of Babylon, or the Holy City of God?

In Babylon, it takes courage to leave the rat race and live by different values as a resident alien. It takes courage to believe in and live for Jesus. Thankfully, when we realize we are not citizen of Babylon, we are more able to turn from Babylon and turn toward the love and grace of God.

Today, how might God be inviting you to embrace more humility and be more teachable? How might he be drawing you toward a more happy worship in words or actions? How is he painting a new picture of grace in your heart.

As you consider these practices that lead to a flourishing life in Babylon, I encourage you to take these final words of Hebrews 13 to heart:

20 Now may the God of peace—
    who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus,
the great Shepherd of the sheep,
    and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood—
21 may he equip you with all you need
    for doing his will.
May he produce in you,
    through the power of Jesus Christ,
every good thing that is pleasing to him.
    All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.