Personal Object Lessons - Questions and Queries

“Ask and it shall be given you;” Matthew 7 v 7

My life is full of questions. I always seem to be trying to find out ‘Why?’ In this respect I have continued to be like a small child who constantly asks why in order to understand the world around them.

Children invariably go to their parents, or care-givers, for their answers. Usually they get what they are seeking. The child learns step by step and the emerging world becomes less daunting to them. As I have grown up I, like most people, believe that I have outgrown my parents’ knowledge. I stopped going to them for answers in my early teenage years. Many queries remained unasked and therefore unanswered for many years after that.

What I have found is that it is usual to seek answers from a source that you trust. From a source that you believe can provide the answer you are searching for.

I still have an enquiring mind and I like to read so I have managed to find out some answers to a few burning questions that had remained with me for years. However, there are some areas that stump me and it’s at times like this that I may turn to the Bible. Matthew  7 v 7 says “Ask and it shall be given you”. I wondered if this was accurate for all things that I could desire so I read further. In John 14 v 13 it states, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do”, that sounds just perfect, but this is not a formula for selfish requests, the verse continues in this way, “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

Therefore the request to God has a precondition, they will be granted as long as the Father is glorified by fulfilling the request. I wanted to know how I could know if God would be glorified by what I was asking.

As with many questions, one generates another. I have frequently found myself to be in a spiral of queries and not able to see the way out of them all. Again, I reach for the wisdom of trusted friends or the guidance to be found in the Bible. I reason that if I don’t get the full answer from one place then at least I will have gained some light and be able to look in another place for the rest.

This is what the Bible has to say about asking for things, “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” Mark 11 v 24. Therefore in exercising faith my desire and belief are fulfilled. There is an additional verse in 1 John 3 v 22 that explains why the requests are granted; it’s about obedience to the commandments of God. “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.”

It appears that all our questions will be answered if we act in accordance with God’s commands.

The obvious next question for me is “What are God’s commandments?” As I said, one question often leads to another. I always gain insight from my search, but sometimes I end up with many more questions than answers. So I go back to the beginning and ask all over again.

In this way, I think that I never grow up; I remain child-like as I constantly seek guidance and direction from God. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

©MHMorgan 2011

Personal Object Lessons - Lying

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” Ex 20 v 16

This Bible verse is about sociology.

Lying signifies a breakdown in a relationship. Speaking things which are not true is about breaching the circle of society; it is about the relationship of trust being destroyed. When we lie we damage the inter-responsibility that people have towards each other. I think the same is true when we keep silent about injustice against innocent people: this includes ourselves. Too often we fall back on the words of Cain to absolve ourselves from any guilt, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Gen 4 v 9. Suddenly it is somebody else’s problem, not ours.

However we choose to look at any given situation we do have some responsibility for each other. God has created the human intellect and He knows that we will learn and discover new things about ourselves and the world. The facts that we learn may be uncomfortable but they are still facts. When faced with new discoveries – about ourselves or others – many people choose to present these facts in a different way; they choose to lie. When Cain killed Abel he knew that he had sinned because God had told him “if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door.” Gen 4 v 7

Quite clearly it is our individual responsibility to do well, to speak the truth. Lies create more divisions in relationships and break down unity. When we do not have unity we fear the judgement of others. Our individual position as a valuable member of society is no longer assured because we all know that not all manifestations of witnesses will be true ones.

In courts of law there is a requirement to swear or attest that all evidence will be the whole truth. Regardless of this obligation there are still instances where people have been known to be false witnesses. These are actions that will cause injury to others; this may be physical, psychological or social injury. It is all about corrupting the truth to misrepresent, depreciate, and destroy the character and life of others. Lying always hurts somebody.

We are admonished in Luke 6 v 31 “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” And also in Matt 7 v 12 we have the instruction: “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” The reverse is also true: we need to treat ourselves with the same high regard that we should treat others.

Therefore we should not lie about ourselves either.

The repression of truth is lying and it too often leads to injury to oneself and others. We are repeatedly cautioned to be a faithful witness. Solomon, in Proverbs 14 v 5 states “A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.”

In Revelation 21 v 8 we are told that “... all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” I’m quite certain that there will not be any liars in heaven. It is up to us, individually, to know the truth and be a true witness to it.

Sociology is a study of how we experience life and how society is organised. It is my belief that if each person refuses to lie firstly to themselves and then to others, that we will have a much better and healthier society. It is my belief that God wants us to care and respect ourselves and also to extend those same attributes of kindness to everyone we meet. Lying is not about taking care of anybody. Lying is always destructive. The truth is healing.

©MHMorgan 2011

Personal Object Lessons - Brothers

Brothers – just who is my family?


“A new commandment I give unto you. That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” John 13 v 34


From the beginning of recorded time there has been the eternal question about individual responsibility for another person’s life. Cain asked “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Gen 4 v 9) Cain already knew what had happened to his brother Abel because he was the one who had caused his brother’s death.
God responded, patiently, “… the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” (Gen 4 v 10) After a short time in paradise, this episode of inhumanity has been repeated and reflected in different ways throughout the history of our planet. Each day, without fail, there is some dreadful action that deteriorates the life of another human being. Each time any one is treated with inequality the whole family, all of humanity, suffers in some way.
We are personally admonished to never tire in doing good things (2 Thess 3 v13), and to those that do not join in the efforts to unite humanity we must not alienate them but “admonish … as a brother.” (2 Thess 3 v 15). Our relationships must stay strong as we look out for each other and help each other to achieve the best possible situation in life.
We have been given a new commandment: “That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.” (John 13 v 34). These words need serious contemplation, and after each of us have thought it through we need to practically apply the action of love as Jesus has shown and directed. We are to do as He did. (cf John 15 v 12, 17; Matt 7 v12)
The question may still be asked “But just who is my brother, sister, family?” The Jews referred to all men as ‘brethren’. This includes strangers and neighbours. The story of the Good Samaritan addresses this query extremely well ( Luke 10 v 29-37). Matthew 22 v 39 also reminds us that we are to “love thy neighbour as thyself.” The care we should have for ourselves is the same care we must extend to our neighbour.
Christ Jesus Himself is referred to as a ‘brother’ to all He saves (Rom 8 v 29) (cf Matt 12 v 46-50). In times when adversity strikes our lives we rely on our family, on our brethren (Prov 17 v 17). With Jesus as a brother we can be assured that we will safe and loved.
In the simplest of terms we can acknowledge that as we have all descended from a common ancestor then we are all brothers. We are from the same root, we are part of the same living tree: humanity. Therefore, if one person suffers, we all suffer as a consequence.
So the question ‘Who am I responsible to today as my brother, sister, or my family?” can be answered very easily: any man, every man.

©MHMorgan 2008