2006-02-26 Communion Dedication – Baldwin Christian Church
Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
As the Apostle Paul awaited execution, knowing his time was short, he gave us some final warnings. Second Timothy chapter three begins, “…in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be…”, and then he goes on to list 19 different kinds of wickedness men shall manifest in the end times. After he runs through all 19 kinds, he says “…from such turn away”, or in other words, stay away from people like that! The very first kind of wickedness in the list, the very first quality of men that will cause these last days to be perilous, is “men shall be lovers of their own selves”.
2 Timothy 3:1-2 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves…
In this country, a need has arisen for a new word, one that can accurately describe our new favorite national pastime. No word for it exists in the English language, so we had to borrow the word from Germany, and it is, “schadenfreude” (shod-en-froy-da). It is a compound of “schaden”, which means damage, or harm, and the word “freude”, which means joy. “Schadenfreude” is the entertainment we receive by watching the harm that comes to others. It used to be something we kept inside of us, but now we cannot get enough of seeing other people get what they deserve, or seeing other people suffering through bad luck. We used to laugh at cartoon characters like Wile E. Coyote as he fell off the cliff, or giggle at the clown antics of The Three Stooges, but in these times, entire media empires are built on our lust for schadenfreude. We have become so desensitized and addicted to it, that the news and tabloid media actually hire people with cameras whose only job is to follow famous people around, hoping to snap a picture of a celebrity in an embarrassing situation, trying to expose every weakness, hoping to make an open display of how the mighty have fallen. Soap operas have existed for decades on this same principle (that we are fascinated by other people’s troubles), and in the last twenty years, daytime TV talk shows, and reality TV shows have elevated schadenfreude to a new level of creepiness by actually paying people for allowing their real-life downfalls to be played-out in front of a studio audience. Because people laugh, and can’t seem to get enough of it, the networks will pay you big bucks for your home movie of Dad accidentally getting hit in the wrong place. Racing fans talk more about the crash than the race. Court TV – enough said.
Before you get too mad at me, I should get to the point and confess that I now understand that I began to manifest this sort of behavior at a very young age. The first memory that popped into my head was a magazine I loved as a kid, called “Crash and Burn”. The entire magazine was devoted to action photos of motocross racers who were right in the middle of crashing. Sure, the magazine was designed for people who like to get a laugh from the misfortune of others, but I took it a step further by drawing little cartoon balloons on each picture, and writing in some smart-aleck caption about what I thought the rider would be saying to himself as he sailed over the handlebars.
It gets worse. My Mom was an artist, and my job was to help set up her booth at the art shows. Sometime about mid-morning, after I had already walked all around the entire show three or four times, I would nonchalantly camp out near a “stumbling-place”. It might be an extension cord laid across the path, the curled-up edge of a rug, or my favorite at the outdoor shows, the little dip in the ground that lay concealed in the grass. Bored out of my mind, with nothing else to do but wait all day until we could pack-up and go home, I would find a place to sit down and watch people trip. For shame!
I look back at that now, and I know that I can’t completely blame my behavior on boredom, because that would be a cop-out. It was downright cruel of me, and I was completely in violation of my Ezekiel 33 watchman duty. I loved the entertainment more than I loved those folks who tripped, or else I would have found a way to warn them of the danger. If not for being so in love with my own self, maybe the light would’ve come on in my head sooner. Where was I being led by my love of seeing others crash and burn? By taking pleasure in the damage that was happening to others, was I piling up a measure of harm for my own future? I cannot say, but I can certainly say, “…all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23), and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8), and “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom 8:1).
I’m convinced that boredom does play a part in developing schadenfreude. The more bored we are, the more time we have to fall in love with ourselves, and judging other people becomes a pastime. It is easy to judge others, but it is hard to judge ourselves. However, the Bible tells us that we should not sit at this, the Lord’s Table, unless we are doing just that, examining ourselves in light of Christ’s sacrifice.
Romans 14:10-13 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? (why do you look down on them?) for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
When I walk after the flesh, I look past the log in my eye, but I clearly see the faults and downfalls of others. I enjoy seeing other people’s problems because they distract me from seeing my own problems, and I feel better about myself because I can say, “At least it wasn’t me”, or “At least I haven’t done that”. When I walk after the Spirit, I keep my flesh under submission (1 Cor 9:27), and when I see the downfall of others, the entertainment value is replaced by a sense of, “there but for the grace of God go I”. It frees me up to ask, “Father, how can I become a beacon of Your light toward that person during their time of darkness?” When I walk according to the Spirit, even the growth rings of that log in my eye should come into focus, and I should begin to see that “the goodness of God is leading me to repentance” (Rom 2:3-4). When I walk according to the Spirit, I should begin to realize that Satan himself also enjoys watching the downfall of others, so I should be wondering why I enjoy it, too. That’s his realm, his dominion, and I follow him whenever I laugh at someone else’s misfortune.
We are so quick to decide what we believe is true, so quick to judge, and so fascinated with watching the unfolding demise of others (schadenfreude). Jesus died that we might be interested in a different pastime, a narrower path, something better to be fascinated with, something better to relish, and we can find it in His Holy Word.
Hebrews 11:24-25 By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
If Moses had decided to stay in Pharaoh’s house, where would we be now? He chose to join in the suffering.
Hebrews 13:3 Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; [and] them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
In other words, when you see someone suffer adversity, temper the entertainment value with how that would feel if it happened to you. If you laugh at someone’s demise, admit it, you have judged that person.
1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
1 Corinthians 12:26 And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus was not amused by the suffering of others. Jesus saw the joy that would come from His own suffering, and He endured the cross. Let’s examine ourselves and honor Him at this time.