Hebrews 13:1-8
Things I Should Have Learned in Kindergarten
Robert Fulghum wrote a popular book a while back entitled, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.” I thought of that title when I read today’s scripture. It seems like a list of very important but mostly common sense lessons we should have learned a long time ago. Why this potpourri of advice? Well, it appears in the very last part of the letter to the Hebrews, so maybe the writer had this sense of urgency, like he was running out of time to add some final, very practical advice. And out of that practical advice our lives can be enriched today. So think about these lessons that maybe we should have learned back in kindergarten, but could probably use a refresher on from time to time. Lesson #1,
1. Treat others as you would like to be treated (vv. 1-3)
I’ve summed up the first three verses with the Golden Rule. By the way, you know how some people say all world religions are pretty much the same? That’s not really true. But one universal across all world religions is some version of the Golden Rule. However, the unique thing about Jesus’ Golden Rule is the positive twist to it. Other religions say, “Don’t mistreat people because you don’t want them to mistreat you!” Jesus flips to the positive side and says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you” (Luke 6:31).
The Golden Rule plays out in two or three ways here. Verse 1 reminds us of our family connection: we are to love each other as brothers and sisters, because we are in Christ.
Verse 2 says you better be nice to strangers, because you never know if you’re actually serving an angel in the process. That would be Abraham’s story, if you want to look it up (Genesis 18). Or Gideon’s (Judges 6) or Manoah’s (Judges 13). The broad application is ... you never know the far-reaching results of a seemingly small act of kindness. I think part of heaven will be learning about all of these times when we inadvertently touched someone’s life and perhaps made an eternal difference.
Imagine the original audience for this letter: They were hiding from persecution. So you never knew if the next stranger you helped might turn you in as a Christian. It reminds me of families ratting on other families for helping Jews in World War II Germany.
Verse 3 challenges us to have some true empathy for those who are in prison or are being mistreated. If we can imagine what it would be like for us to be behind bars or mistreated, then we can better remember and care for those who are.
Treat others as you would like to be treated. That’s a great kindergarten lesson! And #2,
2. Protect marriage (v. 4)
Verse 4 reads, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.” I was deeply moved this week by a videotaped message to the United Methodist Church by Bishop Richard Wilke. He was pleading with his denomination to stay together over the issue of homosexuality. What moved me was his argument for not singling out one sexual sin, but helping people repent from all kinds of sexual immorality outside of the committed relationship of marriage.
I like verse 4 because it tells us how to guard against sexual immorality: keep the marriage bed pure. We don’t need to wear blinders over our eyes and white knuckle it against all the lists of sexual don’ts. We simply need to honor marriage. As the “NIV Reformation Study Bible” puts it, “The antidote to immorality is not ascetic self-denial, but a proper appreciation of the honor God has bestowed on the marriage relationship.” Just as the feds study real dollar bills to identify the forgery, when we honor marriage, we recognize all the cheap substitutes. #3,
3. Put God before gold (v. 5)
This is how I summarize verse 5, which reads, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” That last phrase, a quote from Deuteronomy 31:6, contains two double negatives in the Greek. Literally, it could translate, “There is absolutely no way whatsoever that I will ever, ever leave you.” If you have God, you have everything you need. God will meet your need, not your greed. Remember the 23rd psalm? “The Lord is my shepherd...I shall not want.” There is nothing wrong with money, but there is something very wrong with the “love of money.” Love people; use things. Don’t use people and love things.
The antidote to greed is contentment. In 1 Timothy 6:6-8 Paul gives the young minister Timothy some sage advice. He writes, “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
Put God before gold. And #4,
4. Honor leaders who honor God (v. 7)
Some leaders are hard to honor, but certainly honor those who honor God. Follow their example. Verse 7 reads, “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” These are leaders who speak the word of God and live the word of God. They walk the talk. They put feet to their faith. You can imitate someone like that. It’s like the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
Later in the chapter, the writer of Hebrews will return to this subject, as he writes in Hebrews 13:17: “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you.” As you bless your leaders in ministry, your leaders bless you. When Chaplain Kathy preached for me here a couple of weeks ago, she told me, “I can see why you like it there. Those folks are so affirming!” And you are. Keep it up!
And last and certainly not least,
5. Let Jesus be your rock (v. 8)
Verse 8 reminds us, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” I love that verse! Jesus is unchangeable. Theologians call him “immutable.” Everything else can be up in the air, but Jesus can be your rock. Jesus can be your anchor, to borrow from the Navy. For you Army and Marine types, Jesus can be your true north azimuth. Everything else can feel like shifting sand, and he can get you through it. He can get you to the other side. He can help you out of the pit, out of the valley and to the other side.
In fact, Jesus can help you do all the other four things we talked about today. He can help you love your brother or sister. He can help you care for those in prison and those mistreated. He can help you honor your marriage and the marriages around you. He can help you to stay content, and put God above gold. He can help you follow your leaders as they follow God. Jesus is your rock.
Remember how verse 5 said, “God will never forsake us?” That’s Jesus. He said the same thing: “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Charles Stanley writes, “As you walk through the valley of the unknown, you will find the footprints of Jesus both in front of you and beside you.” When life throws you a curve ball, Jesus knows it’s coming. He can be your rock. Allow him to bring about all these other things in your life. Let’s go to him now in prayer:
Jesus, thank you for this listing of practical lessons we should have gotten a long time ago. Thank you for reminders in your Word of what is really important: loving people, lifting up marriage, staying content, following godly leaders, and keeping you first. Help us to love you with all we have, knowing that you are our rock. Amen.
Hebrews 13:1-8
1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
6 So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”
7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
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For welcome time (Labor Day weekend):
My wife came home from work yesterday and was raging about her boss. She said to me, "I'm never going to work for that man again!".
I asked her, "Why, what did he say to you?"
She said, "You're fired."
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Excerpts from job evaluations:
(1) "Since my last report, this employee has reached rock bottom.....and has started to dig."
(2) "His people would follow him anywhere, ....... but only out of morbid curiosity."
(3) "This employee is really not so much of a 'has-been', but more of a definite 'won't be'."
(4) "Works well when under constant supervision and cornered like a rat in a trap."
(5) "When she opens her mouth, it seems that it is only to change feet."
(6) "He sets low personal standards and then consistently fails to achieve them. "
