Halloween That Changed the World

 It was Halloween, October 31, 1517.  A little-known monk left the monastery in Wittenberg, Germany and walked, almost unnoticed, the few blocks to a church at the end of the street.  He nailed a handwritten document to the wooden door for all to see.  Like a single flaming match dropped into the dry straw of a forest, Martin Luther’s 95 theses ignited a conflagration that engulfed all of Europe and continues to this day.

 Many believe that this was the event that catapulted Europe out of the Dark Ages. Historians point to tiny Wittenberg as the cradle where the modern Western world was born.

 I visited Wittenberg a decade ago.  The ancient village is surrounded by modern development.  But the old streets have been preserved, much as they were over 500 years ago.   I sat in the courtyard outside the monastery where Martin Luther studied the book of Romans and wrestled with the words, “The just shall live by faith.”  (Romans 1:17).  I walked from the monastery to the church, the same path Luther took.

 Luther was a young priest, only 34 years old, assigned to an obscure village.  He was devoted to the Roman Catholic Church.  But when Johann Tetzel came to town promising parishioners that their deceased family members would be released from Purgatory if they would make a contribution to the church, he could not contain himself. Tetzel’s efforts had been wildly successful in raising money. But, to Luther, it was wildly heretical.

 It was a paradigm shift, 14 centuries after Jesus was born. The manuscripts recorded in the first century by those who saw Jesus, who listened to his words, who watched Him crucified and witnesses His resurrection had been buried beneath religious tradition and ritual.

 His discovery changed everything.  Heaven, the one thing he desired most, could not be earned by good works and penance, nor by contributions to the church.  It could not be bestowed by the words of any man, priest or pope.  Heaven was a free gift to anyone willing to repent of their sins and place their faith in Jesus Christ.

 Heaven could not be earned by our efforts or bought with our money.  The Bible was clear. Peter had stated it to Simon, a Samaritan magician who wanted to buy the gift of the Holy Spirit, “May your silver perish with you because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money.” (Acts 8:20).

 From the first century until now it has always been the same, for rich or poor, for people of every nationality, language or ethnicity, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;  for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13).

Transfer of Power

 The presidential election is only days away, and we are nervous.  The January 6 event four years ago has eroded confidence in our electoral process and the peaceful transfer of power. We long for a better day and a better way.

 In 1992, President George Herbert Walker Bush lost a tough election to Bill Clinton.  Two years earlier, President Bush led the nation through Operation Desert Storm after building a coalition of global powers to stop Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Poised on Iraq’s border he refused to push further, knowing invasion of Iraq would destabilize the balance of Arab powers in the Middle East.  He paid a political price.

 The 1992 campaign was hard-fought.  His opportunity to serve a second term was lost to the young Arkansas Governor, Bill Clinton.  When he walked out of the Oval Office on January 20, 1993, he left a hand-written letter on the President’s desk addressed to his successor.  This is what he wrote:

 “Dear Bill,         

    When I walked into this office just now, I felt the same sense of wonder and respect that I felt four years ago.  I know you will feel that, too.   I wish you great happiness here.  I never felt the loneliness some Presidents have described.  There will be very tough times, made even more difficult by criticism you may not think is fair. I’m not a very good one to give advice; but just don’t let the critics discourage you or push you off course.

   You will be our President when you read this note. I wish you well.  I wish your family well.   Your success now is our country’s success.  I am rooting hard for you.

Good luck,

George/”

 It is refreshing to remember that we have had statesmen serve in our nation’s highest office.  Bush’s letter to Clinton embodies the American values I learned as a boy, beginning with the legends of George Washington who refused to be called “Your Highness,” “Your Excellency” or “Your Majesty” and chose the simple title, “Mr. President.”

 Bush’s letter echoes the words of another letter penned two thousand years ago by the Apostle Paul:

 “ Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

 This year’s election has been filled with venom and vitriol, not just between the candidates, but between private citizens with opposing views.  Strangers stare at one another with suspicion across great chasms of distrust.

 We will find our way forward when we demonstrate in our homes, our streets and our highest offices the greatness of character that overcomes anger, resentment, retaliation, prejudice and fear. Like George H. W. Bush in 1993, we need to rise to a higher plane of character and conduct. In all places and in all things, we need to apply the exhortations of 1 Corinthians 13.

Leadership and Character

 The political cauldron is boiling.  Presidential and congressional candidates are in full campaign mode. Each candidate tries to persuade us they can guide us through the threatening storms of war, social unrest, climate crises and economic recovery.  Some cite their business success and financial achievements. Others tout their political experience.  But the most important element for effective leadership might be the most difficult to discern.  In his book, Return on Character:  The Real Reason Leaders and Their Companies Win, Fred Kiel concluded that the most important trait for successful leadership is character.

 According to the Harvard Business Review, “In this groundbreaking book, respected leadership researcher, adviser, and author Fred Kiel offers that evidence-solid data that demonstrates the connection between character, leadership excellence, and organizational results.”

 Kiel identifies four basic traits that set effective leaders apart:  integrity, responsibility, forgiveness and compassion.  Leaders with character tell the truth and own up to their mistakes.  Most importantly, they care about people.

 By contrast, those with weak character demonstrate a negative view of human nature. Their behavior is fear based.  “They assume that they know better than anybody else what people should be doing.”  They are judgmental, quick to place blame on others.

 The positive and negative traits identified by Fred Kiel are consistent with the Bible.  Among the negative “deeds of the flesh,” the Bible lists “enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions.”  The positive fruits of the Spirit are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” (Galatians 5:19-23).   

 In 1908, Leo Tolstoy identified Abraham Lincoln’s greatness when he wrote, “Why was Lincoln so great that he over-shadows all other national heroes?  He really was not a great general like Napoleon or Wahington; he was not such a skillful statesman as Gladstone or Frederick the Great; but his supremacy expresses itself altogether in his peculiar moral power and in the greatness of his character.”

 King David had his flaws. His shortcomings are clearly laid out in Scripture. But He remains one of the great leaders of history. The Bible says of David, “He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them. (Psalm 78:70-72).

 The way forward will ultimately be determined by the character of our leaders, our nation and ourselves.  The Scripture says, “We know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts” (Romans 5:3-5).

Bill Tinsley's novel, We Beheld His Glory is FREE as an eBook on Amazon October 15-16.  Join the 12 on their journey with Jesus. 

Menagerie

 Life’s priorities change when you get old. I called my 81-year-old brother who has been homebound for 5 years as a double-amputee diabetic.  He asked me to hold on a minute.  The stray dog that wandered over to their house was hungry and needed to be fed.  And the stray cat that his wife hauled to the vet where she spent $200 to have its ear infection treated was also there.  The cat, which they call Catter, always wants to watch the dog eat.  And, of course, afterward, the cat wants to be fed.  And the birds!  The birds are emptying the bird feeder every other day.  “It’s like Grand Central Station,” he said.  So, I hung on until they cared for their menagerie.

 I informed him that they aren’t the only ones who feel the pressure.  I told him I have started feeding the  rabbits that live under our deck. I even had to rescue a bunny that fell into our window well. So, now I chop up a carrot, peel off a leaf or two of lettuce and leave it on the deck for them.  And, then there are the birds, the squirrels and the mice. We have a bird feeder out back that I have been able to hang from a limb so the squirrels can’t get it, and another outside our kitchen window I built for my wife on Mother’s Day.  I mounted it on a pole which I greased to dissuade the squirrels. Those critters can empty a bird feeder before you know it.  And the mice. When I went to retrieve the sack of bird seed from our shed it had a hole in the bottom where the mice have been gorging themselves in secluded safety.

 When we were working and raising children, we did well to feed the family cat.  We didn’t have time to notice these wild and roaming creatures.  I assume they would get along just fine without us.  But it brings us pleasure to help them out with a few scraps, some bird seed and a little attention here and there.

 Since we moved to Colorado, we have made an annual pilgrimage to Estes Park to view the elk in the fall.  They come ambling out of the woods into scattered clearings, the bull elk’s bugle call echoing through the canyons.  They make themselves at home, not just in the open spaces, but on the golf course and in the streets.  One bull elk walked into a store and sniffed the merchandise.  Once we were delayed while the local police directed traffic through a herd that blocked the road.

 It is humbling to realize that we are but one species of God’s marvelous creation.  These animals, and millions more, have occupied this earth and survived for eons.

 According to Genesis, God takes pleasure in all of his creation and allows us to have a part in it.   “Then God said, ‘Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the heavens.”  … God made the animals of the earth according to their kind, and the livestock according to their kind, and everything that crawls on the ground according to its kind; and God saw that it was good,” (Genesis 1:20-25).

Liberty and Justice

 Every time we voice our pledge to the flag, we are reminded of our American commitment: “one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.”  Justice is important.  We cannot have liberty without justice.

I once stood beside the execution table in the death chamber at Huntsville, Texas. The sense of the place was haunting.  Many have gone to their deaths in that room guilty of the crimes for which they were convicted.  Others, it appears, were innocent. John Grisham’s novel, “The Confession,” underscores the difficulties.  Although a work of fiction, his story of a young black man wrongly convicted in Texas and executed in Huntsville is chilling.  It is reminiscent of scenes from Steven King’s novel, The Green Mile. 

 Last Tuesday, September 25, the state of Missouri executed Marcellus Williams even though the victim’s family and the jury that convicted him opposed the execution. The prosecutor’s office that convicted and sentenced him also admitted they were wrong. 

 The best-known person ever condemned and executed for crimes he did not commit was Jesus.  He was wrongly accused before the courts of his day and appeared before the Roman governor, Pilate, who, after yielding to social and political pressure, sentenced him to die.  He was then tortured and crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem according to Roman law.

 I still believe we have the best judicial system on earth.  But no system can rise above the people involved in it, including lawyers, judges, juries, officers and those called upon for testimony.  As believers who worship the One who suffered the world’s greatest injustice we need constantly to commit ourselves to truth, honesty, integrity and ethics that preserve the freedoms we hold so precious.

 Justice, of course, extends beyond the courtroom.  We establish or erode a just society every day by the way we live, by being truthful and honest in all our dealings.  My middle son once stood in line for more than half an hour to return a few dollars to a department store that the clerk had mistakenly given him in change.  When he finally reached the counter, the workers in the service department were dumbfounded.  No one had ever stood in line to return money.  Their system wasn’t set up to handle it. An older man standing in line behind him and watching, stopped him.  “Young man. If you ever need a job, you call me.”

 Every lie, every slander, every dishonest deed destroys a nation. Every truth, every encouragement, every honest action, builds up a people.  Deuteronomy 16: 20 says, “Follow justice and justice alone, so that you may live and possess the land the Lord your God is giving you.”  Micah 6:8 states, “What does the Lord require of you?  To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”