Meditation November 2020 – Vanity of the Mind – Crippler of Legacy
In describing the influence that Jeroboam had upon the people of Israel, II Kings 17:15 uses one significant key word – vanity.
And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them.
In Ephesians 4:17, Paul directed the believers that they not walk in the vanity of their minds as the gentiles did. Of course, it is easy to immediately define vanity as “emptiness” and go on – totally missing what this verse really has to say. To really catch on to what Paul was trying to communicate, we need to review the book of Ecclesiastes where Solomon defined exactly what vanity entails. In verse 1:14, he concluded that all the works or accomplishments that have been done under the sun are vanity. In verse 2:1, he summarized pleasure and entertainment as vanity. In verse 2:11, he concluded that all forms of employment are nothing more than vanity. Intelligence and education find their way to the vanity list in verse 2:15. Verse 2:17 embraced all of life as vanity. Being in a position of management or authority is also vanity according to verse 2:19. Being in a position to leave behind a legacy or inheritance is also vanity according to 2:21. Verse 2:23 adds diligence and a strong work ethic to the list. Living a moral life falls into the vanity category in verse 2:26. Being human as opposed to simply being a product of evolution still leaves us in the vanity category according to verse 3:19. Verse 4:4 tells us that “keeping up with the Joneses” is also vanity. Struggling to make it “up the corporate ladder” falls in the vanity category in verse 4:7. Actually making it to that lonely place “at the top” is also vanity according to verse 4:8. Verse 4:16 describes even the “Rocky syndrome” of the underdog making unexpected achievements as vanity.
Even with all the aspects that we’ve already mentioned, we are still far from finished with Solomon’s list of vanities. Verse 5:10 pulls fiscal security into the discussion of vanity. Verse 6:2 amplifies this truth by adding that – even when it is obvious that wealth is a blessing from God – it can be fleeting and, therefore, vanity. Even long life and a prominent family do not ensure that one’s life doesn’t end as vanity according to verse 6:4. Verse 6:9 adds desire to the vanity list. Verse 7:6 adds a fool’s comments. The inequities between good men and evil men fall on the vanity list in verse 7:15. Verse 8:10 tells us that the things that are forgotten as soon as our obituaries are written are nothing but vanity. The fact that just men seem to get the rewards of the unjust and vice versa is obviously vanity according to verse 8:14. Verse 9:9 says that even a happy home can belie the underlying vanity of the relationship. Verse 11:8 adds that even a long life can be only a camouflage for vanity under the surface. Youthfulness makes the list in verse 11:10. And the concluding summation that everything is vanity is found in verse 12:8.
That leaves us with essentially “no stone unturned.” Business, industry, finance, education, politics, religion, entertainment, family – every area of human interest and endeavor – are included as being vanity. Thus, it becomes obvious that the Apostle Paul wasn’t saying that the gentiles didn’t have anything in their brains; rather, he was trying to tell us that the things that they occupied their minds with had no substance. Even if their plans and schemes moved nations, transferred fortunes, and changed the course of history, they were still vanity in God’s sight. Jeroboam actually had the building of a strong nation on his mind when he set up the shrines in Bethel and Gad; however, those grand plans drew him away from his acknowledgment of God – producing inside him a vain mind, empty of any substantial knowledge. Through the legacy of idolatry that he perpetrated on the succeeding generations, he enslaved them in this same vanity.
In that nothing is left off of the vanity list, we must question what it is that must be planted so that our minds as believers will not be focused on such vanity? Paul answered this question by sharing his own testimony, “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” (Philippians 3:3-8)
In this passage, Paul gave us a pretty impressive list of accomplishments and pedigrees that would certainly qualify as the “stuff” of success in almost every dimension of life. Yet, he said that all these things were essentially dung – vanity, if you prefer a little more polite description – to him. The one thing that he said was worthy of his consideration was “the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” The truth is that the New Testament abounds with confirmations of the fact that the knowledge of God is the essence of the Christian life. (Romans 1:28, 10:2, 11:33; I Corinthians 15:34; II Corinthians 2:14, 4:6, 10:5; Ephesians 1:17, 3:4, 3:8, 3:19, 4:13; Colossians 1:10, 3:10; II Peter 1:2, 1:3, 1:8, 2:20, 3:18)
It is the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that must be planted in us to take the place of the vanity that will otherwise fill the thoughts of our minds and hearts. (Ephesians 3:17; Colossians 1:23, 2:7) But does this mean that we must always go about thinking about God and Jesus like monks cloistered away from the rest of the world in a monastery somewhere? No – a thousand times no! We must find a place of balance where we can continue to live in and have an influence upon all the dimensions of society – yet not be sucked into the vacuum of their emptiness. (John 17:15) The key is to realize that Christ is the true essence of every aspect of life – business, industry, finance, education, politics, religion, entertainment, family, and every other element of life. (I Corinthians 8:6, Ephesians 1:10, Colossians 3:11) The exquisite “Christ hymn” of Colossians 1:14-20 expresses this truth with such grandeur:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
Knowing Christ involves much more than mental assent to the truths that we know about Him. Knowing goes far beyond simply hoping or wishing that God is on our side; it involves an unquestionable assurance that comes from actually experiencing the reality of His life in us and our life in Him. Let’s look at another passage that demonstrates the all-important role of our knowledge of Christ,
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. (II Corinthians 10:3-5)
For many years, I interpreted this passage to mean that God had given us spiritual weapons to pull down the strongholds established in our lives by thoughts that exalted themselves against the knowledge that God existed – ideas like atheism that says there is no God, or Hinduism that says that Vishnu, Krishna, Ganesh, or any one of the other millions of their deities is God, or Buddhism that claims Gautama to be divine, or even New Age that tells us that we all are gods. However, the Ford “Better Idea” light bulb came on one day when I realized that the serpent in the Garden of Eden did not challenge God’s existence; he simply coerced Eve to accept an inferior view of Him. Before the conversation with the devil in snakeskin, Eve knew God as totally benevolent; after allowing the insinuations of the enemy to infiltrate her thinking, she began to suspect that God had a hidden agenda. She allowed a thought that exalted itself against the true knowledge of God to take a toehold in her mind. Before the conversation was over, it had established a stronghold in her heart, and she was ready to betray Him.
The same is true with each of us, if we allow thoughts that are contrary to the biblical revelation that God is our healer, our provider, our righteousness, our victory banner, and our all-in-all to take root in our minds, we will soon believe that distortion and lose our faith and our relationship with Him. Psalm 78:41 says that the people of Israel “limited the Holy One of Israel” by not remembering how He had delivered them from Egypt. They allowed thoughts that minimized their God to dominate their minds. If we want to think about God properly, we must always be careful to magnify (Psalm 69:30) rather than to minimize Him and His love for His children. Allow me to define “magnify.” When we put a specimen under a microscope or examine it with a magnifying glass, we don’t actually change its size; all we do is alter our ability to see it. Magnifying has nothing to do with the reality; it only has to do with correcting our inability to see what already exists. Therefore, when we magnify the Lord, all we are doing is adjusting our view of God.
The Holy Spirit helped me adjust my focus one day when He prompted me to realize that I still harbored thoughts that exalted themselves against God. He questioned me as to what I knew about God. I responded by reciting the redemptive names of God. The Holy Spirit then replied that any time I thought that my healing was in the medicine cabinet I was actually entertaining a thought that was exalting itself against what I knew about Jehovah Rapha and that every time I thought that my provision was in asking my boss for a raise I was again entertaining thoughts that exalted themselves against the true knowledge of Jehovah Jireh – and so on. We can go through all the redemptive names and qualities of God to learn what we should be thinking about God. Any time we allow thoughts contrary to these truths into our hearts, we have permitted the enemy to use his deceit to begin a stronghold in our minds. Of course, we all know that God exists, but we fail to attain the true knowledge of who God is and what He does.
Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Romans 12:2)
The Apostle Peter opened his second epistle with a dramatic contrast – offering us two radically different options: the knowledge of God or lust, “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” (II Peter 1:2-4)
If we choose to pursue the knowledge of God, we are promised an end result of becoming partakers of the divine nature. In other words, the very DNA of God will be evident in our lives. If we choose to pursue lust, it will end in corruption (putrefied ruination). Interestingly, the apostle adds the special Greek prefix epi to both “knowledge” and “lust” making both words intensive so that they should be read “all-encompassing knowledge” and “all-encompassing lust.” Think about how your epidermis, or skin, covers your whole body. In the same way that no part of your body is left without a covering of skin (epidermis), no part of our lives should be left without a covering of the knowledge of God (epignosis). Just as we are vulnerable to infection if the epidermis is punctured or cut, our spiritual lives are endangered if we are not blanketed with the knowledge of God. The apostle leaves us with no middle ground – either we whole-heartedly seek God, or we will be overwhelmingly swallowed up with lust, greed, and an ever-spiraling desire for more and more material possessions.
An insightful glimpse into this scenario of never-ending escalation of self-centeredness came when a reporter asked a billionaire how much would be enough. With a little twinkle in his eye, the financier responded, “Just a little more.” In similar fashion, we as Christians must become possessed with an insatiable desire for the knowledge of God rather than a self-centered desire for the things of this world. In the immediately following verses, Peter admonishes the believers to diligently pursue maturity by adding layer upon layer to their spiritual lives, ending with a warning that to fail to do so would result in becoming barren and unfruitful in the knowledge of Christ. Paul presented the identical options in Galatians 6:7-8 when he said that we will reap everlasting life if we sow to the spirit, but corruption if we sow to the flesh.
This all-encompassing knowledge of God is more about how we think about God, not what we think about Him. The issue is not just a matter of knowing that He is all-powerful, but of understanding that He is using this unlimited power to bring blessing and benefit into our lives. We know that God is omniscient – all knowing. However, we can apply that knowledge about His omniscience in different ways. We can assume that, since He is all knowing, He knows about all our failures. In this case, we will live our lives in condemnation and defeat. On the other hand, we can apply our knowledge about God’s omniscience with an awareness that He knows the intents of our hearts and understands that they are much more noble than the outward failures He has seen. With this in mind, we live victoriously and free of self-condemnation. The key is in how we think about what we know.
Proverbs 23:7 proclaims, “As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Notice that Solomon uses the word “as” indicating that it is how we think – not what we think – that determines who we will be. If what we think about is the determining factor, all American boys would become convertible sports cars by the time they are sixteen; by the time they are twenty-one they would all have turned into girls; and they would all become a million dollar bills by age thirty. In raising my sons, I was keenly aware that my role as their father was to guide them in how to think. Thinking about cars would never make them actually become automobiles, but the way they thought about cars would determine the kind of drivers they would become. I knew that I needed to focus on helping them think of cars as something other than toys, status symbols, and weapons – otherwise, it would be dangerous to be on the road at the same time with them. Thinking about girls would never make them actually become women, but the way they thought about girls would determine the kind of husbands they would become. I knew that I needed to focus on helping them think of girls as something other than sex objects or ego enhancers – otherwise, they would become abusive husbands with no hope of happy, stable marriages. Thinking about money would never make them actually become dollar bills, but the way they thought about money would determine the kind of spenders and investors they would become. I knew that I needed to focus on helping them think of money as a tool to accomplish their goals and as seed for sowing into the future – otherwise, they would be facing a future characterized by unhealthy greed and debilitating debt.
The way we think about God will radically determine the way we live our lives. When I was working in a campus ministry in the 1970s, I traveled – almost like a circuit-riding preacher – from campus to campus, leading Bible study groups. In one of the groups I visited every couple of weeks, there was a young man who was confined to a wheelchair. When I challenged him to believe God for his healing, he said that he felt that God had put him in the wheelchair to keep him humble. I responded, “Keeping us humble is the work of the Holy Spirit, not a wheelchair.” That idea was too radical for him to take, so I admonished him to think and pray about it until my next visit. By the time I returned, he had taken the time to reconsider his view of God and now believed that God was a healer, not one who made His subjects sick. When I prayed for him, strength instantly came into his legs, and he was able to abandon the wheelchair altogether! He had been more crippled in his mind than in his legs!
This student’s physical healing can serve as an illustration of the crippling effect that vanity – a mind empty of the true knowledge of God – can become a crippling force in our own lives and the legacy that we are to leave.