Gregory Scott Blog

What we can Learn about Work from the Apostle Paul

The Apostle Paul gave instructions to Christians on how to do their jobs.

His instructions to servants in Colossians in 3:23 and Ephesians 6:7 apply not just to servants but to all types of work and both include the instruction to do one’s job for the Lord and not for men.

It is, of course, one thing to talk about workplace principles and another to actually apply them. Those who merely talk about them are called consultants. Those who apply them are called successful. Paul did not only talk the talk; he walked the walk.

When Paul wrote to the Galatian church, he was concerned they were being taken in by false religious leaders who were preaching a different gospel to them. In appealing to the Galatians, Paul revealed how he performed his job:

What was Wrong about Bishop Mariann Budde’s Sermon to President Trump

If you have been following this blog for any time at all, you know I am no fan of Donald Trump. There is not much anyone could say to him that would make me feel compelled to call them out

That is, until Mariann Edgar Budde’s sermon earlier this week at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. If you haven’t heard, Budde is an Episcopal Bishop, and she used the service to appeal directly to Trump, who was sitting on the front row.

Budde told Trump people were scared because of his inaugural address and that “[t]here are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families — some who fear for their lives.”

She could have also said there were heterosexual republican adults who fear the next four years, but she didn’t say that. I suspect she didn’t say that because what she was doing was something political parading as something spiritual.

But let’s give her the benefit of the doubt and set allegations of political bias aside for the moment. There more serious problem from a Kingdom perspective is that Budde was not doing her job faithfully (2 Chronicles 19:9) or sincerely (Colossians 3:22). She was Kapernicking.

How to Deal with Imposter Syndrome

I was in my first year of law school, and all the first year students were required to participate in the moot court competition.

Moot court is where you are given a fake case to argue against a real law student in front of a panel of fake judges made up of real attorneys . During the argument, the judges interrupt you, challenge your reasoning, and try to trip you up. You have to think on your feet and speak persuasively. The thought of having to participate in moot court created real stress for me.

I never thought I was quick on my feet, and am not naturally a good speaker. I wasn’t sure I belonged in law school. Today they call this imposter syndrome. We called it insecurity, or by its more benign tag: a lack of confidence.

Whatever you call it, it drove me to my knees there in my dormitory room, and I prayed, “Lord, you know I am not naturally a good speaker, and I am really scared about doing this.” As I prayed for the Lord’s help, I saw in my spirit, “Exodus 4:10.”

I had no idea what Exodus 4:10 said; I just saw “Exodus 4:10.” So, I grabbed my Bible and when turned it to Exodus 4:10, I couldn’t believe what it said:

Book Review: The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self

So, I’m a little late to the party on this one, but better late than never.

In the book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self (2020), Carl Trueman follows the intellectual bread crumbs that lead from the Enlightenment to modern expressive individualism.

When you are done reading the book you will understand how a millennial can say with a straight face, “I’m a woman trapped in a man’s body.”

Trueman starts with the premise that man identifies himself in the context of what is most important to him. Therefore, western man’s journey over the past two millennia is described as a transformation from political man (Greeks) to religious man (Middle Ages) to economic man (Enlightenment) to the modern psychological man.

In other words, whereas in The Middle Ages, a person’s identity was defined in the context of his religion, modern man’s identity has become defined by his psychology, and because psychology through Freud became sexual, identity is now defined in the context of sexuality.

What the Bible Says about New Years’ Day

The Lord gave Moses very specific instructions about what the people were to do on what would become New Years’ Day of the Jewish civil calendar (the first day of the seventh month of the Jewish religious calendar):

“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. ‘You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord.’ ”

Leviticus 23:24–25 (NASB)

These instructions can be summarized as follows: rest, remembrance, repentance, and worship.