Archive: Precious Extract

The customer entered the pet store looking for bird to take home. There before him perched two parrots. They were identical in size and color, yet one bird had a list price of $75 while the other boasted a $150 tag. Looking to the proprietor, the buyer said: “What makes the parrot in this cage double the price of the other?” “Very simple,” retorted the store owner. “The $150 bird knows what he’s talking about!”

To make a positive impact in our culture we need to be folks who know what we’re talking about. The question is “how.” Paul declares in II Timothy 3:16 that the Bible is alive and useful. In it God reveals himself and teaches us his standard. The Bible shows us how we fall short, sets us on the mark again, and trains us for everyday living. Why? “… so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (verse 17).

We are people of God who want to be about the work of being in the world but not of it. That requires discernment. Samuel Johnson is credited with saying that expert discernment is “the power to tell the good from the bad, and the genuine from the counterfeit; and to prefer the good and genuine to the bad and the counterfeit.”

Discernment is scary. It forces a choice; and options require a standard. I submit that the only true truth can come from Jesus—the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6). What is good, therefore, is what God says is good. Doesn’t it make sense, then, that the book he wrote should be the gauge for discernment in living?

Jeremiah 15:19 says “If you return, then I will restore you; before me you will stand. And, if you extract the precious from the worthless, you will become my spokesman.” Discernment is precious extract; more special than the extract that makes our holiday cookies taste great. The verse goes on to say: “They for their part, may turn to you; but as for you, you must not turn to them.” It’s imperative that God’s people do not turn to the world for the standard of discernment, but to God and his Word.

In his book, A Call To Discernment, Jay Adams sees the Word of God like a screen. That mesh allows fresh air in and keeps insects out. The Bible, too, is a grid—the standard by which all else can be judged. The United Methodist Book of Discipline agrees. While reason, tradition, and experience are helpful, Scripture is primary.

What, then, should be our relationship with the Word? Each verse of Scripture prompts the gamut of responses—from contempt to control—of our behavior. It has been said that “men don’t usually reject the Bible because it contradicts itself, but because it contradicts them.” Romans 2:13 says, “… it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law …”

For instance, suppose I have a neighbor who strews his garbage on my front lawn every collection day. God’s Word tells me to love my neighbor, but I’d like to throw the trash back at him. Conflict occurs. Will I be in contempt of the lifegiving Word? I can study about blessing those who persecute me in Sunday school, but will I let it control me on Monday as I face coffee grounds and banana peels on my grass? If I am truly commissioned by the Word, then, not only will I clean up the trash, but I’ll bake a cake to share with those next door.

If we desire to be used of God in our land, we will need to be people of the Word—proficient in extracting the precious from the worthless. FBI agents are trained in just such a manner. To detect counterfeit bills they study not the imitation but real currency. Being so accustomed to the true version, phony bills are easily spotted. To be like the sons of Issachar, “… men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do …” (I Chronicles 12:32), we will need to be discerning. We need to use the roadmap God gives us for the journey. We must not only get a grip on the Bible, but allow it to get a grip on us.

We would do well to heed Moses’ challenge in Deuteronomy 32:46-47. “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life.”

This is your life! What will you do with it?