Shallow Things

Oswald Chambers

12/1/2002

Question: What are the “shallow things” Chambers refers to below, and am I not to be passionately guarding against the flesh...?

“Beware of allowing yourself to think that the shallow concerns of life are not ordained of God: they are as much of God as the profound. It is not your devotion to God that makes you refuse to be shallow, but your wish to impress other people with the fact that you are spiritual. Be careful of the production of contempt in yourself, it always comes along this line, and causes you to go about as a walking rebuke to other people because they are more shallow than you are. Beware of posing as profound person; God became a baby.

“To be shallow is not a sign of being wicked, nor is shallowness a sign that there are no deeps; the ocean has a shore. The shallow amenities of life, eating and drinking, walking and talking, are all ordained by God. These are the things in which our Lord lived. He lived in them as the Son of God, and He said that “the disciple is not above the Master.”

“Our safeguard is in the shallow things. We have to live the surface common-sense life in a common-sense way; when the deeper things come, God gives them to us apart from the shallow concerns. We are so abominably serious, so desperately interested in our own characters, that we refuse to behave like Christians in the shallow concerns of life. Determinedly take no one seriously but God, and the first person you find you have to leave severely alone as being the greatest fraud you have ever known, is yourself.”

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FIRST of all, remember that Ozzie was but a clergyman himself. His whole life. A hireling and part of a machine. That’s just the history of it, and he “didn’t know any better” (though the Scriptures don’t support the concept of some of what he did, and in fact, oppose it). OF COURSE he has a lot of good things to say, and I’m grateful for those things he COULD see. But, do you REALLY want to be just like Oswald when you grow up? NOT A CHANCE would I ever want to be a part of his world again. (“Been there, done that” as have you.) He lived in a pathetic and weak and leaven-filled world, and knew it, but did not know what to DO about it....

Now, as for Oswald’s POINT. Follow closely now! : )

1) Is it possible to “worship nature” rather than just to enjoy a sunset or a crashing seashore, and find God in it? Ohhh yes. MANY have worshipped nature, and are DRIVEN to have “family vacations” to this place or that, and “family” and “nature” or “fun” are the REAL gods being worshipped—even though they would SAY, “Isn’t God wonderful?!”

2) On the other hand, it is VERY possible to see God and worship God while AT the shore or sunset. It CAN be a true Gift! And for those who never have eyes to See such things, it is a sad, empty, lonely, worship-less world. We MUST see the “trivial” things in order to be astounded at God. It is the place He has given us for now, and He has surrounded us with Himself, for those who have eyes to See!

3) Now........ on the third hand, this is what OZZIE spoke of: How “spiritual” is it to say, “Hey, I don’t care about sunsets and shorelines! I have GAWD!” “I don’t need to mow the lawn or pay my mortgage payment on time—I have GAWD. Those things are just worldly.” “I don’t need to be at work on time. Only shallow people are concerned for such shallow issues. I was praying to GAWD for world peace.” That is absurdly hyper-spiritual, and shameful. Just pitiful. THAT is what Ozzie was addressing.

4) JUST as evil as that... is claiming that JESUS and the APOSTLES were all in favor of celebrating Christmas and holidays. That is twisted and dishonest, and an evil attempt to drag Jesus and the Apostles into fleshly unBiblical human practices and traditions. We KNOW EXACTLY what Jesus thinks about those things. Anyone who tries to justify their actions with make-believe Scripture has “issues,” I’m afraid.........

Is “the violent take it by force” too “serious”? How about, “No, you may NOT go bury your father.” Is that too serious, too? Cultural christianity and Jesus’ life that got Him murdered in three years... are NOT the same thing at all. THAT is the context of “NO MAN IS GREATER THAN HIS TEACHER. If they hated Me, they WILL hate you also.”

Love,