RIDIN' FOR THE BRAND


Matt 5:34-37
"But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is His
footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.  Nor shall you swear by your head, because
you cannot make one hair white or black.  But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is
more than these is from the evil one.”  (NKJ)

I’ve grown accustomed to receiving strange looks whenever I stand to deliver a message be it from the
pulpit or standing by a folding table.  Folks who have not previously listened to me speak generally will
spend the first few minutes attempting to figure out what I’m talking about or where I’m headed. The
easiest way to describe how I deliver a message is to have you to picture a wagon wheel. The hub of the
wheel where the axel fits is the Scripture. Everything begins and ends here. The spokes radiating outward
from the hub are the topics I will talk about and the rim of the wheel is the link tying it all together.

The Hub – God owns everything. We live in an economy and culture that teaches “You can be anything
you want to be.” Then they go on to explain that all it takes is hard work. Neat tricks for the ones giving all
this free advice. A definite win-win situation for them. If you do not accomplish all that you set out to
accomplish then you failed due to the lack of work. If you are successful it if because you followed their
advice.  Actually, unless they quit talking and decided to help, they had very little to do with your outcome.
The truth is what we accomplish depends upon a number of factors, not the least is hard work. How
much help you receive along the way and whether you have an advocate or not determines your
accomplishes as much, if not more, than hard work. The fundamental truth is that we do nothing and
possess no thing that belongs to us that didn’t come from God’s own hand. Everything that is or that ever
was belongs only to Him. We are just allowed to use it for a while, and then we are called to answer to
Him for what we did with it.

Sovereignty is a word you don’t hear much of these days. It is God’s sovereignty that we talking about
when we say He owns it all. We still like to believe we can do it all. Maybe that’s why we spend so much
time attempting to control another’s life and tell them what they ought to be doing. The truth is that our
answering to God for our use of His blessings is a solo experience. If I mess up on the trail I ride, there is
no way I can get you to answer for me. I will stand before God alone. At that point the only advocate I will
have is the one true advocate, Jesus Christ. Consider the following story. It is true. As we have a habit of
saying, only the names of been changed to protect the guilty.

“Shooter Up!” It was time to play the game. Cowboy Church was over, the safety meeting was completed
and we all had our posse assignments. We were off and running. It is always good to be looking forward
to that first scenario. The day is full of promise and I just know I will do great and wonderful things, like hit
what I’m shooting at. At least that is the thinking up to the point that the first shot is fired.

We were blessed with beautiful weather and everyone appeared optimistic. Most were friendly while
some were quietly studying the scenario and mentally preparing for the game; emphasis on the “most”.  
There is always one or two who …

It is truly amazing how much others have the ability to influence how much we enjoy what we do. I know
this is true in the game of cowboy shooting. If we manage to get assigned to a posse of friendly, helpful
folks, we are in for a good day. On the other hand, if there are those on the posse acting like Linus, you
know, dragging their thunderstorm behind them, the day will be a trial. We all know folks like this, the kind
who brighten the room by leaving it.

It seems the Lord knew exactly what the problem was when He taught us with the parable of the speck in
a brother’s eye. (Matt 7:3-5) Isn’t it amazing that in the midst of all the advances we have made, how the
problems of relationships remain the same. How much we enjoy a day of shooting depends more upon
the people on our posse that it does on the weather, the course of fire, or how well we do. We continue to
struggle with the problems Jesus taught about and gave us the answer for avoiding.

In the days of wood ships and iron men, kings went to great lengths to demonstrate their sovereignty
within their realm. The footstool is a good example of that effort. It was not as much for resting their feet
upon as it was to demonstrate ownership. Every time they ascended their throne in the presence of the
assembled court, they would pause and deliberately set their right foot upon the footstool before being
seated. The right foot signifying dominance and power and the footstool, sovereignty. He was in effect
making a statement to all assembled that they, and all they possessed, belonged to him. He was king
and his rule was absolute. Very few living within the realm would challenge the statement and everyone
understood the kings right to rule. An unsuccessful challenge brought dire consequences.  We don’t hear
much about God’s sovereignty these days.

It was not by accident that our Lord described heaven as God’s throne and the earth, His footstool. (Matt 5:
34,35) The absolute truth is that we are only stewards of what The Owner has allowed us to possess.
God alone is sovereign over all the earth and all that is within the earth.  Everything that He has created
belongs to Him. That includes our lives.  It is no accident that the Scripture teaches that each of us,
individually, will stand before Jesus. The father has declared that all judgment has been given over to
Him. (John 5:22) For some it will be a terrible experience and for others the receipt of crowns earned by
faith. This will be an individual experience.

Some folks forget the ‘individual’ part and spend the larger part of their association with others attempting
to dominate the other’s life. They choose to ignore the fact that God is sovereign, not them. A day in their
presence is a trial and today was one of those trials. Our scorekeeper was one of those ladies who felt it
was her obligation to tell everyone what they should do and how they should do it; a CONTROLLER, with
capital letters.

Now I attempt to live by one simple, basic rule; -- there is never an excuse for violating the rules of
common courtesy. Generally when I am in the company those with the compulsion to control, I simply
attempt to place as much distance between me and them as I can. I have one of those Class A
personalities with way too much confidence and I am an overachiever. I generally push myself to do more
in a given day than what I am capable of accomplishing. (OK, so I’m a work in progress.) She, on the
other hand, was one of those people who would not be ignored, you know the type. When you don’t do as
they direct, they assume you are hard of hearing and start shouting. The best word for the behavior is –
UGLY.

Now SASS sets the rules of the game and the rules establish the hierarchy. The cowboy or cowgirl with
the timer is the one in charge.  The scorekeeper is a long way down the list. God has called us into a
special relationship with Him. That relationship is first and how we act follows. The relationship is
singular and individual, that is, I answer for me. No one else answers for me. I will stand alone before my
Lord. Those who attempt to control another’s life either forget or simply do not care that God is sovereign.
Then I am reminded; “there ain’t no law against ugly.”

© Carl H. Lenz, 2007
There Ain't No Law Against Ugly