Vince Deagler

hi out there.  it has been an interesting week.  i have officially entered the 21st century.  my blog is now linked to facebook.  the results have been cool in that i have had a number of very good conversations on some very relevant topics where i get to suggest how god’s truth intersects with real life.  that is exactly what i was hoping for, so thanks for your feedback.

this past sunday we started a new series called the biggest losers in our worship service.  in this series we will focus on really bad role models from the bible with the message don’t be this guy/gal.  it is amazing how many losers can be found in scripture.  this week we will focus on a guy named jephthah.  he was one of the judges in israel during one of the darkest periods in jewish history.  the ammonites had invaded israel’s territory, as they had done for the past 18 years (judges 10).  however, this invasion was different in that israel had turned to god in their oppression, and god was about to deliver them.  this is where jephthah emerges.  in judges 11:29 it says the spirit of god came upon him.  he went out and rallied an army, marched on the ammonites, and completely defeated them.  israel was free.  it was a great day.  so why is he the loser du jour???

after god had called and empowered him, after he had raised an army, he made a colossal mistake.  i call it a colossal mistake because it was totally unnecessary.  but also, jephthah was guilty of just not thinking.  in judges 11:30 it says he made a vow to the lord.  he said “if you give the ammonites into my hands” (god had already called him, empowered him, rallied the people around him, all for the purpose of defeating the ammonites.  he did not have to play lets make a deal with god.) “whatever comes out of the door of my house to meet me when i return in triumph from the ammonites will be the lord’s and i will sacrifice it as a burnt offering” (it’s a nice thought, but since you cannot control what or who might come out to meet you, this might not be the best idea jephthah ever came up with.)  this fact is confirmed when after the battle jephthah returns home and his daughter, an only child, comes out to meet him.  immediately, jephthah realized what he had done, how foolish his words were.  i’d say that qualifies him to be one of our biggest losers.

there is some debate as to whether he actually carried out this vow.  since the text doesn’t say, an argument can be made for both positions.  i’ll let you look into it and draw your own conclusion.  but here is what i do want to do.  have you ever found yourself wheeling and dealing with god like jephthah?  have you ever said anything you later regretted?  i have been guilty of both.  but since the point of looking at the biggest losers is to not be that guy, i want to learn from jephthah, i don’t want to repeat his mistakes, my mistakes.  so, how can i do that?

i think that starts with recognition.  recognizing my place in relation to god, recognizing its about him, his will, not me and mine should prevent me from wheeling and dealing.  as the old song says, our role is to trust and obey.  each day i should wake up, take god’s hand, and walk along confident in his leading.  but then there is that tendency to say things i later regret.  i am very good at justifying my words, rationalizing why it was appropriate at the time, why in some cases i have been known to make you feel guilty for even questioning whether i should have said what i said.  sooner or later i recognize the problem here, i just recognize it too late.

this is where i would encourage prayer.  jesus says without him we can do nothing.  i believe it.  as i bring this problem to him and ask for his strength to overcome it, i have found that he does exactly that.

but there is still that necessary life change.  try as i might, i still easily question god and say things i regret.  if i could fix this, i would have already.  trying is not the answer…but training is.  one of my favorite texts in scripture is how we are to speak the truth in love (eph. 4:15).  from the text i have learned to ask myself…that thing you are about to say…is it true, is it loving, is this the right time, are these the right words, would jesus say something like that.  jesus said our yes should mean yes and our no, no.  james said “we all stumble in many ways.  if anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check”.

everyone one of us has experienced speech that hurt us.  more than likely, everyone of us has spoken in a way to hurt someone else.  i have broken promises, i have spoken in uncaring, insensitive ways, i have ridiculed and belittled others with my words, i have spoken in anger to lash out and hurt, i have lied and distorted the truth to my advantage, i have gossiped, i have spoken stupidly, i have been jephthah.  i don’t want to be.  i am in training.  i think i’m getting better, but i still have a long way to go.  perhaps you do too.  maybe, we can both benefit from the story of jephthah, and take another step toward being that “perfect man or woman” james talked about.  that’s where i’m headed, imperfectly, but persistently.  why don’t you join me.  thanks for reading.  blessings.  vince