Murphy’s Laws

Sometimes it seems that “Murphy” is allowed to run the affairs of our life. You’ve heard about Murphy’s laws?

Some of Murphy’ general laws:

• Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.
• If anything simply cannot go wrong, it will anyway.
• If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
• If there is the possibility of several things going wrong, the one that will cause the most damage will be the one to go wrong.
• Nothing is as easy as it looks and everything takes longer than you think.

Some of his more specific laws:

• You will remember you forgot to take out the trash when the garage truck is driveways past.
• The chance of a piece of bread falling with the buttered side down is directly proportional to the cost of the carpet.
• The other line always moves faster.
• No matter how long or hard you shop for an item, after you’ve bought it, it will be on sale somewhere cheaper.
• When a broken appliance is demonstrated for the repairman, it will work perfectly. Or the repairman will never have seen a model quite like yours before.

He has special laws for moms like:

• If you wear black, they will have runny noses.
• If you wear white, they will have muddy hands.
• If you change their diaper, they will immediately fill a new one.
• If you mop the floor, they will spill something.
• If you put on fresh socks, you will immediately step in whatever spilled.

He has special laws for dads like:

• Any tool dropped while repairing a car will roll underneath to the exact center.
• A shortcut is the longest distance between two points.

Well, obviously Murphy is not always in charge. I think he makes his rounds, there are days when he’s running things, and then there are days when you get a rest, but then he always comes back around.

The Lord’s Murphylike Laws

Murphy’s laws came to mind this week as I was studying because I noticed in Scripture some similar laws, ironic laws like Murphy’s, laws where the opposite result of what you are seeking is what you get. But they are laws of the Lord who is over all, all the time, so these are laws that will ultimately hold true for everyone everywhere.

Here’s one of these Murphylike laws the Lord spoke repeatedly when He was walking on earth. He would say, “The first shall be last and the last first.” Another very similar one, “The greatest among you shall be your servant.” Here’s another,  “Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matthew 23:11-12). And then there’s this one, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it” (Luke 9:24).

In other words, you will get the opposite of what you are seeking in this life.  If in this life, you are seeking to be first, to be at the top of everything, to have wealth, power, and status, that’s a sure way to not have it ultimately. The way to be first and greatest, with wealth, power, and status is to not seek it, but rather to stoop to the level of servant. The best way to take care of yourself is to care less about yourself and more about the Lord and other people. The unselfish people, those who live to make it better for others, ultimately receive what the selfish people are striving for. To have, give away. To go up, go down. To be at the front, go to the back. To get the best seat, take the worst seat. To take care of yourself, forget about yourself. And turning it around: to destroy yourself, just think more about yourself. To get the worst seat, take the best seat. To be at the back, put yourself at the front. To be at the bottom, put yourself at the top. To lose what you have, keep a tight hold on it. Ironic, murphylike, but they are laws of the king of the universe that will hold true for every one of us.

It took the apostle Peter a while to get the idea. He used to argue with the other disciples about which of them was the greatest, who deserves the top spots in the kingdom. He thought, like the world, that the way to be ahead of everyone else was to push others out of your way and put yourself forward, and the way to put yourself at the top was to pull people down and step on them. But after Jesus put Himself below everyone, after Jesus put Himself on a cross to serve the needs of sinners, and then was raised, exalted, and enthroned as king of all creation, Peter caught on to the Murphylike laws of God; the way up is down. The way to the front is back. The way to have is to give. The way to greatness is service.

Peter elaborates on this idea in our text.

I Peter 3:8-12, let me read it to you, “To sum up, all of you be of the same mind, sympathetic, brotherly [having brotherly love], kindhearted, and humble in spirit [humble-minded]; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For, “THE ONE WHO DESIRES TO LOVE LIFE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, MUST KEEP HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT. HE MUST TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; HE MUST SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE TOWARD THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ATTEND TO THEIR PRAYER, BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL.”

To love life and see good days, is what everybody is after, isn’t it? We all want to be able to say, “Oh, I love my life,” and, “Man, that was a good day, as was yesterday. And tomorrow is looking like it will be a good day too. In fact the forecast is “good day” everyday from here on out.” That’s the gist of what the world is after, to love life and see good days.

But the text says the way the world seeks to attain it is the sure way to not get it. For example, I want to read to you a couple sections from an article from Forbes magazine entitled, “Lying is Good for You.” One section describes the prevalence of lying, saying, “We lie all the time. In 2002, Robert Feldman, a psychology professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, conducted a study in which he secretly videotaped students’ conversations with strangers. After the fact, he had the students examine the videotapes and identify the untruths. On average, they claim to have told three lies per ten minutes of conversation. And that number is likely far too low… we’re likely to under report the number of lies we tell (we lie about lying, that is)… In fact, we lie so readily that the dishonesty becomes automatic. Most of the time, we’re not even aware of the lies we tell, explains David Smith, director of the New England Institute at the University of New England and author of Why We Lie.”

Another piece of the article spoke to why we lie, saying, “Simply put, we lie because it works. When we do it well, we get what we want. We lie to avoid awkwardness or punishment. We lie to maintain relationships and please others. And, of course, most of all we lie to please ourselves. Whether we’re embellishing our credentials or strengthening our stories, we often tell untruths to make ourselves appear and feel better.”

So people lie because they want to see good days, they want a good quality life and lying seems useful to get it. Complete honesty looks like a disadvantage. But it’s the Lord’s Muphylike law: “The one who desires to love life and see good days, must keep his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit.” Why? Because God runs things in this universe. God pays attention to every human being on His earth and deals with each one according to their choices. “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Another thing the world does for better days is insist on their rights and what’s fair for them. The world talks like this:

“It’s not my turn. I cleaned up last time.”

Or, “Why would I do that for you? What’s in it for me?”

Or, “You’re going to pay for that thing you broke at my house.”

Or, “It was your dog, so you’re going to come over and clean it up.”

Or, “I’m not helping him. He was a jerk to me.”

Or, “I earn the money around here, so I’m not doing anything when I come home.”

It seems like insisting on everything being fair and right for us is a step toward good days, that it will make our life better. That’s why we do it. But it’s another of the Lord’s Murphylike laws: “The one who desires to love life and see good days… must seek peace and pursue it.” Have you ever thought about how you seek peace and pursue it when someone has wronged you or you have a disagreement with someone or when things aren’t fair for you? I think the answer is very simple, but we don’t like it. Paul put it this way in I Corinthians 6:7, “Be wronged. Be defrauded.” Jesus said, “Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours do not demand it back” (Luke 6:29-30). He said, “Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two” (Matthew 5:41). We are way too concerned about our rights and what’s fair for us, myself included. It’s bothered me that my shop is still full of the possessions of the people who sold me the place. Their stuff was supposed to be gone a month ago. But they had some unexpected delays. I could raise a fuss. I could demand they get their stuff out and put it in a storage unit. But you know what I think Jesus would say to me, though I really don’t like it? “Whoever uses your shop for 3 months, offer it to him for 3 more.” Ugh! I don’t wanna. I want space. I want my shop. Being gracious like that just doesn’t seem like it would lead to good days. Jesus explained, “Love [even] your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

So we probably get the idea, the principle. Now let’s notice…

The description Peter gives of how we are to honor God, bless others, and come to love life and see good days

The first description is the summary. It’s the heading that includes all the rest. If it’s translated literally, it is, “all of you be of the same mind.” The idea is not to have the same opinion about everything. And it’s not to have the same view on all theological matters. That’s never going to happen between (about) any three people.

Peter explains the mind we are all to have. It’s a sympathetic mind, brotherly loving, compassionate, humble mind. It’s the unselfish, loving, servant mind of Christ.

Philippians 2 explains it this way, “… if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, [Is there anyone who really encourages others, who comforts people in love, who is affectionate and compassionate? Then] make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this mind in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also [because He had this humble unselfish mind that served God and others to the point of death on a cross], God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed… work out [or literally, “achieve” or “attain”] your salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” He’s saying, continue to develop and exhibit the humble unselfish servant mind of Jesus. And you’re not left to do it alone. God is at work in you to help you. But with His help you develop that mind to the end of your days and then, as God did for Jesus, He will highly exalt you.

What is that mind we are to share more specifically? Peter says it’s…

Sympathetic

In greek, sumpatheis. Sum means with or together. Pathes is to feel or experience. It is to feel with others. It’s the Romans 12:15 idea, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” Think that much about what the people around you are going through. Care that much about other people. Secondly the mind of Christ we are to share is literally…

Loving of Brethen

In greek, philadelphoi. Having family-like affection for the brethren. Think about how you care for your family… enough to call and check on them, enough to be there when they need a hand moving or to watch the kids or a ride somewhere, and you don’t want to be paid in return. You just want to help them. Then Peter describes the mind of Christ we are to share as…

Kindhearted

… in my version. Or you might have tenderhearted or compassionate. The Greek term literally means having good bowels. That’s right, good intestines. But it didn’t mean you could handle anything at the Mexican restaurant. They used the term to refer to being compassionate, because when you really feel for somebody you feel it in your gut. Like a couple weeks ago when I was in a rollover accident with my boys (in a Costco shopping cart). When we fell, I looked over from the ground at how the cart landed on Joel’s leg and I could see how it was bent like it wasn’t supposed to bend; I got this sick feeling inside. Not because it was gross. I can handle the sight of broken bones and gore just fine. But it was my little boy’s leg! I felt in my gut for him. So we have these good bowels toward our own kids. But Christ had good bowels toward those who were someone else’s little boy or girl. He was stirred inside at the sight of people suffering and people in need, moved enough to do what He could for them. Then Peter describes this mind we are to share as…

Humble

Which is sometimes misunderstood as having low self-esteem, or thinking that you’re not very smart or talented, or that you’re not worth much. That’s not what it means. Jesus was humble, but Jesus knew He wasn’t stupid or incapable or worthless. Humility is not to think of yourself as less than you are, it’s more to not think less about yourself. It’s Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” Humble-minded is to see others as very important, valuable, and to be others-centered, not self-centered.

Then Peter says this humble unselfish mind of Christ in action looks like this: You do not return evil for evil or insult for insult. You leave all settling the scores to God, who said He would handle it. You don’t ever try to get even with people. And not just that, but you give a blessing instead. The Lord said, if they hate you, think of some kind thing you could do for them and go do that for them. Go shovel their drive way. Go bring them a coffee. If they curse you, if they wish bad things on you, wish goods on them. If they persecute you, pray for them, not that God will zap them, but pray for their health and welfare and their salvation. If they take your coat, track them down and say, “Hey, I didn’t know you needed clothes. I want you to have my shirt too. Next time just ask.”

That’s so weird. That’s so not the way of the world around us. That just doesn’t seem like it would take us to loving our life and good days. That seems like a way to lose a bunch of stuff and be taken advantage of, does it not?… But, do you believe Jesus is Lord? Do you believe Jesus is in control? Do you believe Jesus said, “the first will be last, the last first,” “the greatest among you shall be your servant,” “He who exalts himself will be humbled; he who humbles himself will be exalted,” “you want to save your life, give it away”? Do you believe Jesus is trustworthy? Then you believe this weird, selfless, always honest, serving path is the path to life we will love and good days, and you’re following Him down that path.

Do you trust Jesus? This is the test. How much we live this way shows how much we trust Him.

-James Williams