Reply To Jeff Kingry

By John McCort

Normally I have been slightly uneasy with responding to an article written by another brother in Christ. This response, counter-response cycle can degenerate into endless wranglings (ad infinitum et nauseam). I feel compelled, though, to respond to what I consider to be an unfair attack Brother Kingry has leveled at preachers who engage in private business enterprises. Brother Kingry wrote an article entitled, “The Rich Life Is Not Slender Now.” It appeared in the August 2, 1979 issue of Truth Magazine.

Let me first say that I agree with some of the basic premises of Brother Kingry’s article. I wholeheartedly believe that covetousness and materialism present a clear and present danger to the church. Preachers who engage in private business enterprise need to be cautious about the inherent dangers in these enterprises as would any other Christian. I would also agree that some have abused these private enterprises. I have been offended by some of the rude tactics that some brethren have used to peddle their wares. I maintain, though, that brethren have the right to engage in these enterprises and that many engage in these enterprises without becoming materialistic. Brother Kingry dealt with an abuse of the system but in doing so leveled a blanket condemnation of the system and those engaged in the system.

Let me also say that I have no vested interests to protect. I am not an Amway Salesman. I am not presently engaged in any business endeavor and I do not plan on going into a private business anytime in the near future. Thus, I am not writing this article because Jeff happened to tamper with my goose that laid the golden egg. This is not a case where the hit dog yelled. I do feel, though, that Brother Kingry has been unfair, unkind, and even vicious in his attack on preaching brethren who make tents on the side.

Brother Kingry began his article with a disclaimer. “It seems as though some articles I write, though obviously directed;’at the abuse of a system, are invariably taken as a blanket disavowal of the proper use of a thing . . . . I am not opposed to free enterprise or to selling a product for a profit, or even a preacher working for a living for a short while to supplement his support.” Even though Jeff made this disclaimer he ended up leveling a blanket condemnation of those involved specifically in selling Slender Now and Amway. He reminded me of brethren who say, “Now I am not gossiping about . . .” and then go on ahead and gossip about them.

Brother Kingry made an attack on those involved in the direct distributor system that Amway and Slender Now are based on. He said, “Every person signed up to sell the product becomes a source of income for the one who signs him up. A set percentage of whatever he sells goes to the one who introduced him. A refined system of parasitism that feeds on greed. ” The system, according to Jeff, is parasitism and, thus, everyone involved in a system is a parasite who feeds on a system of greed. This is a blanket condemnation, Jeff’s disclaimer not withstanding!

Brother Kingry had some hard things to say about preachers who were no longer receiving their financial support from brethren because their enterprises were profitable enough to support them. He said, “In their deceived blinding greed I have heard direct distributors explain how their Amway business enabled them more opportunities to preach the gospel than they ever had as preachers. They even believed it, they had repeated it so long as justification for leaving the fields of the Lord to plow their own fields with dollars.” These men, according to Jeff, were deceived, blinded with greed, and had left the Lord’s fields. I know of several men who have financed their own missionary tours with money earned from private business enterprises. Jeff discussed a man in Tampa, Florida who labored for free with a congregation. Had that man left the Lord’s fields? It is up to Brother Kingry to prove that it is sinful for a man to support his own preaching efforts instead of receiving full support from the brethren. (Furthermore, I do not know that it is Jeff’s place to judge the affairs of a congregation in Tampa, Florida when he is in Akron, Ohio. Jeff has only presented one side of the picture.)

Jeff made a broad denunciation of those who drove Cadillacs with money earned from Slender Now sales. He also criticized those who promoted their products at the Florida College Lectures. He said, “At the Florida College Lectureship a few years ago, the Slender Now Cadillacs were in plentiful and ostentatious show. As the week progressed, so did those who made their rounds promoting their respective products.” Again, a blanket condemnation is made of those who drove Cadillacs and promoted their products.

Jeff made another blanket denunciation when he said, “These salesmen are like those described by the apostle Paul, ‘He is proud knowing nothing . . . they have erred from the faith . . . .” He made a blanket statement about those who labored in the Lord’s vineyard for free. He stated, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers . . . Satan’s ministers; whose end will be according to their works (2 Cor. 11:8, 15).” He further stated, “Paul’s work of sacrifice, laboring with his own hands in honest work to further the gospel ‘taking nothing of the Gentiles because of His name’s sake’ (3 John 6-9) is the exact opposite of those who come to ‘labor’ with a church for `free’ that they might take their money in a way other than directly out of the treasury.”

Brother Kingry was not only guilty of making unkind blanket statements but he also stated several principles which I think are in error. He made the statement, “I don’t know that I want to be or should be independent of my brethren.” What is wrong with achieving a certain degree of financial independence so that brethren can divert their resources into other needy areas? One brother financed his own needs for about one year in the Philippines from money earned in private enterprise. It was money that he would have had to have raised from the brethren. Was it wrong for Alexander Campbell to have been financially independent enough not to take wages from the brethren? Was Campbell covetous? Many of the old pioneer preachers provided much of their own support and still preached full-time.

I have known of several gospel preachers who have been destitute in their declining years because they never had enough resources to provide for their needs in retirement. I have known of many faithful men who needed to retire due to failing health and have been unable to do so because of financial considerations.

Many preachers would not be able to educate their children if it were not for working wives or private businesses. Many preachers have lived all of their lives in homes provided by the brethren. When they reach retirement the brethren own the homes and the preachers are left destitute. Some preachers choose to let their wives work to supplement their incomes for education and retirement purposes. Are those men with working wives covetous and carnally minded because they have achieved a certain degree of financial independence? The worthy woman of Proverbs 31 is pictured as being a business woman as was Lydia in Acts 16. Would it have been wrong for them to have been preachers’ wives if it afforded them financial independence from brethren?

Jeff seems to have the attitude that unless a man is fully supported by brethren and has no outside financial considerations he is less than a full-time gospel preacher. The issue is this: Can a man have outside business enterprises and still preach the gospel without covetousness? One editor recently said to me, “What I do with my free time is my business. I don’t play golf or fish in my spare time. I edit a paper.” I don’t necessarily think that all gospel preachers must be employed on a full-time basis. If a brother decides to cut back on his preaching load and make tents then that is his business. Thanks be to God that we have some men who are willing to work at secular jobs and go to some small, isolated churches which cannot afford to hire a man on a full time basis.

Is it wrong to earn a living from private business enterprises which cater mainly to brethren? If it is then our editor is making merchandise of the brethren. His salary is derived from the sale of books and periodicals which are sold almost exclusively to brethren. Some brethren live solely off of royalties from the sale of books sold to brethren. Amway and Slender Now salesmen are not the only ones who fish in that pond. I understand that Brother Kingry himself has recently entered a publishing venture to produce a product to be sold almost exclusively to Christians. “For wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself” (Rom 2:1). I wonder which pond Jeff plans to fish in??? Some insurance salesmen cater almost exclusively to brethren but I do not think they are making merchandise of them. According to Brother Kingry’s position Paul could not have sold one of his tents to the brethren because he would have been making merchandise of the brethren.

Thanks be to God for brethren who have been prudent enough in business to accumulate a little money. To whom do we turn when a building needs erected or bonds need to be purchased, or when the church needs bailed out of a financial bind? To whom do we turn in extreme cases of benevolence? We turn to brethren who have resources and are willing to use them in the Lord’s service.

Money is not the root of all evil. It is the love of money. It is the covetous attitude which people have toward money. Job was not evil because he was wealthy and neither was Abraham. Only those who are wealthy and are not willing to use their wealth in God’s service are sinful.

Preachers are sometimes put in difficult financial positions due to the fact that brethren provide them with very few fringe benefits. The brethren have pension plans, group health insurance, etc. and homes which build equity. Sometimes preachers are not paid enough to do their work and provide these benefits for themselves. They must supplement their incomes. Are brethren covetous just because they have comfortable pensions rewarded by their employers for long and faithful service? I think not.

Brother Kingry has established an arbitrary financial mold which preachers and brethren must fit into. Brother Kingry seems to think that he is not wealthy or covetous but that nearly everyone who sells a little soap out of his basement has fallen into the clutches of materialism and greed. Why didn’t Brother Kingry charge that these who wear beautiful, three-piece vested suits are materially minded? Could it be because that would have indicted Brother Kingry? Wealth is a very relative, subjective thing. I am sure that the Filipino brethren would consider you to be a very wealthy man, Brother Kingry. Even the poorest of American preachers would be considered somewhat materialistic by the indigent Filipino preachers. On the other hand, the wages that most preachers earn, even when those wages are supplemented by selling a little soap, are very meager in comparison to what the average Teamster trucker makes. The President of General Motors recently reported that the average worker now earns $16 an hour when fringe benefits are included in the wage. The average government worker in Washington D.C. makes far more than I could ever hope to make. But I do not believe that all government workers and truck drivers are necessarily covetous because they make more money than I.

Brother Kingry, you have arbitrarily established your level of prosperity as the standard of financial orthodoxy which you have no right to do. You have no right to judge the motives or intentions of brethren in Christ who choose to supplement their incomes. Brother Kingry predicted that he would get in trouble with some for writing that article. I can only speak for myself. I highly resent the kind of caustic and judgmental journalism which flows from Brother Kingry’s pen. In the last several years other writers have begun to engage in this kind of hypercritical journalism and I think it is ungodly. I hope it can be kept to a minimum.

Another Point Of View

P.O. Box 26

Milton, Vermont 05468

Sept. 13, 1979

Truth Magazine

Mike Willis–Editor

3579 Ruthridge Ct.

Dayton, Oh. 45432

Dear brother Mike,

I am writing about a recent article written by brother Jeff Kingry regarding the subject of materialism and Amway. I thought his article was excellent and I hope it shook a good number of trees. There are other things that parallel the Amway disease, such as this motor vehicle product. I have had poor experiences with brethren peddling that product. I received a long distance phone call from a respected preacher acquaintance – asking me to become a distributor and purchase not just a little bit to sell, but a case! Why am I subjected to such pressurized sales situations? Because I am a Christian and he has taken the relationship and abused it. If I say no, how does that look (here I am a young preacher and

an older respected preacher called long distance, at considerable expense, to pressure me into buying into the program – under him, of course). This is not right. He should not be making merchandise of the contacts he makes because of his station in the Lord’s body. He is supported to preach the gospel, not make a business opportunity out of his brethren. I do not believe that this is very expedient . . . .

I remain sincerely and brotherly yours,

K.E. Clayton

Ken Weliever

723 15th Avenue

W. Palmetto, Florida 33561

August 2, 1979

Mr. Mike Willis

3579 Ruthridge Court

Dayton, Ohio 45432

Dear Mike:

I am writing to call to your attention an article by Jeff Kingry which appeared in the August 2, 1979, issue of Truth Magazine, which I believe to be filled with inaccuracies, untruths and misrepresentations. I have written Jeff a personal letter regarding this matter, of which I am enclosing a copy to you. Since it points out the areas of disagreement, I will not go into them again with you.

However, I would ask your help in encouraging Jeff to correct this matter not only before God . . . . as well as many other business associates but to the readers of Truth Magazine, too.

Mike, I realize that you cannot check out every article that is submitted to you for publication, and would not expect you to do so. But as the editor you bear some responsibility in the choosing of what material to publish. It is my opinion that such an article has no place in Truth Magazine in the first place! Jeff would have done better to have pointed out the supposed sins of his preacher friends on the spot instead of waiting 18 months and printing such in a brotherhood paper.

Furthermore, if you or Jeff feel a certain business is operating unethically or making misleading claims, it would be more appropriate to report such to the Better Business Bureau or the Federal Trade Commission. Believe me, they are well staffed to investigate the “seamy side of the `get it quick’ way to riches.”

I don’t deny the right of my brethren to go into business to sell religious papers, books, operate schools or any other venture that is right and lawful. I would appreciate it if they would accord me the same right without casting reflection, making misrepresentations, or spreading innuendoes about our operation and activities.

Thank you in advance for any help you can render’ in clearing up this matter.

Brotherly,

Ken Weliever

1021 Welford Dr.

Xenia, Ohio 45385

20 Aug. 1979

Mr. Mike Willis, Editor of Truth Magazine

3579 Ruthridge Court

Dayton, Ohio 45432

Dear Mike,

Rarely do I write a journal editor in hopes of communicating to him and the readers my concern over an incident, article, or trend. My judgment is fallible and I wish to dictate to no one, but this letter registers a distress that has deepened in my mind over a period of several years. Numerous brethren (not limited to preachers) have commented about sharing this unhappy concern. The proverb about flies in the ointment assumes the good of ointment but also the sad effect of the flies. A frequent Truth Magazine writer, Brother Jeffery Kingry of Akron, Ohio, writes much that is good, but flies in the ointment are having a hurtful effect.

While warning brethren not to combine economic and political commentary with the gospel, the writer persists in offering the same. His valid warning is contradicted in practice when he initiates social, economic, and political debate-in religious journalism. Thus, he initiated a discussion which led him to charge his respondent with right-wing fascism, hardness of heart, unrighteous decrees, and despite for the poor! Rather than apologizing for introducing such unsuitable material or for intemperance in pressing it, Jeff left you as the Editor to apologize for both (Truth Magazine 15 Sept. 1977, pp. 571-73; 2 Mar. 1978, pp. 153-54; 22 June 1978, pp. 410-12; 7 Sept. 1978, pp. 570, 572). Instead of learning from this mistake and in spite of disclaiming economic debate, he continues to insert such matter, as in his simplistic analysis of free enterprise economics as nothing but systematic greed (28 June 1979, pp. 428-30). He does not even guard himself by referring to abuses but attacks “the system” as a flower child or Marxist professor might do. Rather than join the debate, I plead for a cessation of such flies in the gospel ointment. My family has sent Truth Magazine to 20-25 other families each year, and sacrificed to do so (just ask the Bookstore how far behind we stay on the bill). We are doing them a service only when spiritual edification is provided, not trendy economic and political analyses.

A pattern of self-contradiction appears again in an article which decries “a rising propensity to see problems and their solutions as `brotherhood wide”‘ and which pleads for problems “bigger than me or the local church where I work” to be left alone to God’s providence (25 May, 1978, pp. 341-42). Instead of clearly defining some abuse he may have had in mind, the author leaves me dizzy. He is not teaching a local assembly about problems and solutions in its midst, but addresses what he conceives as a brotherhood-wide problem and its solution. He speaks not in a local pulpit but in a paper which circulates among brethren far and wide to stimulate study on matters both immediate and long-term, both local and general. The author thus paints himself as part of a propensity which he decries. The contradiction is blatant, the article too confused to edify.

Jeff’s article on “Intellectualism” points up the clarity and simplicity of gospel preaching and warns against preachers mimicking scholars in the age of “expert knowledge” by producing “Intensive College-Level” materials beyond the average Christian’s grasp (22 March 1979, pp. 200-202). Yet, in six issues of Vanguard (25 May – 10 Aug. 1978) on “The Subliminal Phenomena,” Jeff winds through a plethora of research public and secret – on such things as behavioral psychology’ physiological mechanisms, irradiation parameters, electromagnet stimulus, supraliminal presentations, electrically stimulated phosphenes, psycho-civilized society, alpha-rhythm frequency, visceral response, electro-encephalograph, galvanic skin response, psychoanalytic psychology, pathology-intensifying effects, and psycho neural pathways. Whew! This purports to show that Satan can tempt us through such things as “a subliminal variation in color shade” which cannot be discovered except by “knowledgeable” experts but which is readily picked up by the brain of the average person without his knowledge. The message is then transferred from the unconscious cognitive function of the brain to “our intuitive, irrational, and purely emotional side” leading us to sin without ever realizing why. “Insidiously, however, the more subliminal, or deeply buried a stimulus, the greater is its behaviourable effect.” The subliminal does not lead us to sin so long as our “conscious part” maintains control, but “the subliminal message” can “enter cur subconscious” and “assail our conscious.” These articles are supposed to make us aware of Satan’s devices “to pull us away from the Lord.” The discussion gives a pound of confusion for every ounce of clarity. Not having the time, energy, or inclination to plow through the 40 pieces of technical research material cited, I am still ignorant of this device of Satan. Brethren who have commented to me on the articles are in the same boat. There seems to be a conspiracy on the part of preachers to keep brethren ignorant of this device -why else do we hear no gospel sermons on Satan’s Use of subliminal-Psychoneural-Irradiation-Electromagnetic Phosphenes or Alpha-Rhythm Frequencies in Psycho-Civilized Society for Pathology-Intensifying Effects?

It is frustrating to read generalizations which are hopelessly broad and reckless, impugning the motives of a host of Christ’s servants on the basis of highly subjective personal judgment. Jeff opines that “the vast majority of the brethren . . . . covet the approval” of certain exalted brethren “amongst us” (Truth Mag. 23 Aug. 1979, p. 534). No amount of explaining, fuming, or whimpering can hide the unmitigated gall of such a judgment! No one but the Lord even knows “the vast majority of the brethren” and has access to the information Jeff reports. The report is specious and the charge impudent. A fly in the ointment. Another time we are told that church bulletins, subscription journals, correspondence Bible courses, fair booths, radio programs, and the like reflect the “increasing unwillingness” of brethren “to meet and talk to people” (Associate Editorial, Sentry Magazine, 28 Feb. 1978, p. 5). For any instance of alleged abuse where Jeff wants to name and charge a brother with using these methods to escape contact with people, I can easily produce dozens of brethren who faithfully use such mediums to establish contact with people. But Jeff says the motive of escape is unwitting; how then shall we apply that judgment to his persistent efforts to establish his own subscription journal or a church bulletin with an instant and large national mailing list? He would loathe to be judged by his own pronouncements.

The rich and his friends may have reacted to “The Rich Life” as Jeff expected (Truth Magazine, 2 Aug. 1979, pp. 487-89), but they are not the only ones. I speak not as a rich person, a seller, a distributor, or a promoter, but as a reader and for other readers like myself. As part of a continuing pattern, this article caused me to think back on several others and thus prompted my letter. The abuses decried have been justly attacked by writers such as Irvin Himmel and David Tant without pretending to have surveyed “hundreds of brethren” and convicted them of greed, parasitism, and sordid schemes to take advantage of other brethren without serving them. A handful – several – too many – but hundreds? How many hundreds and how was the figure derived? Jeff pretends to know a preacher who seriously says that one product is better than the gospel itself. The preacher is a coward who was awed by Jeff’s circumspection in the face of avarice. “The blasphemy and sickness of it was too evident except to the most corrupt.” What is evident to me, even without knowing what gospel preacher, is that Jeff has caricatured a conversation without naming the preacher because the man would blister Jeff’s britches for misrepresentation. I speak with confidence after having read so many of these illustrations in Jeff’s articles that they just do not have the ring of accuracy; they are too pat and invariably make a hero of one person. Abuses in selling can be opposed in no uncertain terms without these vilifications, potshots, and character assassinations. A fly in the ointment.

Why not a private letter to the party? (1) A general not personal and (2) public not private matter is being dealt with, and (3) public and private efforts made by others in a responsible fashion have not produced apology, correction, or a change of direction. We have no ill will for one who is a congenial acquaintance and who produces much good ointment. We are simply frustrated at the flies in the ointment and have finally chosen this means to register the frustration widely felt. Jeff’s effectiveness will be enhanced not hurt if someone by some means can convince him of the presence of, harm done by, and duty to remove these flies from his ointment. Since he was on the Truth Magazine staff for a time and has continued to write for it, perhaps he will consider a letter to its editor speaking for frustrated readers.

Yours for service to Christ.

Ron Halbrook

Copy to Jeff Kingry: RH

Truth Magazine XXIII: 42, pp. 678-679
October 25, 1979

Response to “The Rich Life Is Not ‘Slender Now'”

By Mike Willis

Editor’s Note

I have received several comments regarding Jeff Kingry’s article “The Rich Life Is Not Slender Now” (August 2, 1979). I am publishing some of these comments, along with John McCort’s review of Jeff’s article, to give our readers some idea of what others are saying about the article. From the number of comments and the reputations of those who are objecting to the article, I think that one can see that merely dismissing these criticisms as “the hit dog howled,” “I have been misunderstood,” or some other similar rationalization will not deal with the problem.

Jeff’s article contained some excellent food for thought with reference to every man’s fight against materialism. It also sounded some legitimate dangers faced by any gospel preacher who decides to become involved in selling any product. Too, it frankly condemned some abuses of which some selling brethren have been guilty which many of us have felt for years.

I have received enough complimentary comments orally regarding the article to know that: (1) some preachers are abusing a right to engage in selling either through allowing their local work to suffer because of their involvement or using their relationship as a preacher to make sales contracts; (2) selling brethren have been guilty of using their hospitality as a guise for making a sales pitch on a sufficient number of occasions that a number are complaining about it. Knowing that this was so, I felt that there was enough worthwhile material in Jeff’s initial article to print it. Though I would edit it more carefully had I the opportunity to run the article again, 1 still think that the primary thesis of Jeff’s manuscript is correct. The things complimented in the letters quoted by Jeff are not the matters to which objection is made.

There were some specific objections to the article which I think need to be mentioned in addition to those mentioned by letters printed below and John McCort’s review of the article. I want to mention these as follows:

(l) Unjustified criticism of a legitimate business operation. Jeff described the selling of Amway as on “the seamy side of the ‘get it quick’ way to riches.” Furthermore, he called the profit making system used by them and several other firms “a refined system of parasitism.” Both of these comments leave somewhat to be desired, so far as I am concerned. As an editor, I should not have allowed these statements to be printed. Those agencies of our government which investigate dishonest business practices have found nothing wrong with this method of sales. Frankly, some money-making systems will be attractive to one man and unattractive to another; I would appreciate both sides keeping their comments regarding these matters to themselves. Truth Magazine is not a forum to discuss business enterprises. In my opinion, Jeff made a blanket indictment of every salesman of these products in making these statements.

(2) References to those wearing “Free”pins. Little did I know, that only 3-5 gospel preachers among us wear “Free” pins; otherwise, Jeff’s reference to his conversation with two of them would never have been printed. 1 need to also mention that these two preachers’ remembrance of that conversation is significantly different from that related by Brother Kingry. In Brother Kingry’s first intended response to criticism to his article, he said that what he had written was a caricature (“the deliberately distorted picturing or imitation of a person, literary style, etc. by exaggerating features or mannerisms for satirical effect,” Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary). He should not have written in such a way as to leave the impression that he was reporting facts when he was caricaturing; if he was reporting facts, he would have done better to report only such facts as he could document. Yet, Jeff neither corrected this matter nor proved it.

(3) Motive judging. Jeff frankly engaged in some motive judging in the article as, for example, when he mentioned a particular preacher who moved to a church to work without income but moved to work with that group of people in order to sell his goods. I do not know how Jeff could prove that point. Other statements in this article judge motives in a similar way, as Brother McCort ably demonstrates, and make blanket condemnations of preachers who sell products to supplement their income, in spite of Jeff’s denial of making blanket condemnations. Yet, Jeff did not admit being guilty of anything or make correction of them. Instead, he said, “I do not believe that I have written anything that deserves the response you are reading.” Noticeably none of the letters quoted by Jeff defended these abuses.

A Style Of Writing

All of these comments raise a serious problem with regard to a certain style of writing which has become more acceptable among some brethren in recent years than I care to admit. That style of writing is this: to draw a man’s picture so clearly that anyone vaguely familiar with the circumstances surrounding the incident knows who is being talked about, but, to fail to specify who is intended. This is somewhat like drawing a picture of a cat but not writing c-a-t underneath it. Everyone who knows what a cat is knows what has been drawn. This leaves the injured party little recourse. If he replies to the article, he is told “the hit dog howled” or “I did not necessarily have you in mind but if the shoe fits, wear it.” If he does not respond, those who know the situation think he does not respond because of the weakness of his case. Furthermore, it leaves the editor in somewhat of a predicament for editing these articles. He knows nothing, on some occasions, of the particular incidents referred to and, therefore, cannot tell how accurately the writer has related his information. He has no means of checking it out. Hence, he must decide to publish it or not publish it solely on the writer’s reputation. After several such denials of one’s stories by several different parties, an editor soon becomes suspicious of every story written by the writer. When that happens, his material can have little value to the paper.

For these reasons, I would prefer that our writers refrain from writing innuendos. If you have a charge to make against a brother, name the brother and the incident which you have in mind and document your charges. This specifies who is intended by your article and allows the indicted party an opportunity to respond to your charges. This appears to me to be a more honorable method of handling controversy than writing veiled potshots at one another.

Jeff’s reply to these reviews of his article is entitled “I Don’t Want To Do This.” I am sure that this expresses his motives. I am also aware that the same title could be appended to the review by John McCort and the letter to the editor by Ron Halbrook. (I might also add that the title could appropriately describe the “Editor’s Note.”) Yet, the same kind of conviction which prompted Jeff to write his initial article prompted their replies. When one writes for public consumption, he must be prepared to have his writings reviewed. Hence, in keeping with the open forum style of Truth Magazine, the following reactions to Brother Kingry’s article are published. I hope that having to face these public reactions to this article will help Jeff to be more responsible in his articles which appear in his new paper Horizons.

Truth Magazine XXIII: 43, p. 676
October 25, 1979

If Thy Right Hand Offend Thee

By Mike Willis

No person in his right mind will knowingly harm his body. Yet, there comes a time when a person will consent to allowing a physician to amputate certain parts of his body. We each recognize the principle of sacrificing the lesser good for the sake of the larger good. When a person’s diseased members of his body endangers the rest of the body’s life, the individual will consent to having it removed.

Jesus referred to this principle in His instructions in Mark 9:43-48. Here is His statement:

And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.

Here Jesus placed in contrast the higher good, entrance into life, with the lower good, life in this world with both of one’s members. Let us examine this statement rather carefully.

Literal Interpretation Is Nonsensical

Though I have never met anyone who seriously interpreted this passage literally, to do so would be nonsensical. If one physical hand causes a man to sin and is cut off, the other one would be left to ensnare the individual. The same is true with regard to both the eye and the foot. Hence, to interpret this passage literally is to misunderstand it.

This form of overstatement is intended to emphasize the truth that is taught. The point being emphasized is that there is nothing in this life below that is worth separating us from God and the reward of everlasting life. The eternal damnation in hell is the punishment of sin; there is no sin on earth which can give sufficient pleasure to make it worthwhile to live forever in hell in order to enjoy it now.

Lessons To Be Learned From This Passage

1. There is a heaven and a hell. Those who depreciate the Bible, making it the product of mere man rather than a divinely imparted revelation to man, do not believe in a heaven or a hell. Several sects in denominationalism teach that, though there is an everlasting life, there is not a place of everlasting punishment. Contrary to the teaching of both, Jesus revealed that there is both a heaven and a hell.

Paul believed in the resurrection of both the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15). He revealed that the “righteous judgment of God . . . will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile” (Rom. 2:5-8). This is but the reflection of what Jesus taught in this passage.

There is an eternal life (Mk. 9:43, 45). It is also referred to as the kingdom of God (Mk. 9:47). (This reference to eternal life as the kingdom of God springs from the fact that the kingdom of the Lord is a kingdom which cannot be moved [Heb. 12:28]; it shall ultimately be delivered to God to dwell with Him forever [1 Cor. 15:24].) This life is described as everlasting or eternal (Matt. 25:46). This is the blessed hope of the Christian.

The place of eternal punishment is called hell (gehenna). To show the eternal nature of the punishment, Jesus used two metaphors – where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. The word Gehenna was used to describe the dump outside of Jerusalem. There putrefying bodies of animals were disposed of; the worms could eat the flesh from the bones as it decayed. Too, trash of whatever sort was burned in that valley. The idea of an unquenchable fire and undying worms was a metaphor of eternal punishment. Hence, notice that there is a hell, that it is a place of punishment, and that the punishment is everlasting in duration. Despite the fact that modern theologians have rejected the idea of an eternal punishment and a pie-in-the-sky-in-the-sweet-bye-and-bye,” Jesus still ‘taught that both lie ahead for mankind. You will just have to judge who knows the most about the future, Jesus the Son of God or modern theologians.

2. There is nothing in this life worth the loss of salvation. When Jesus speaks of one’s body (whether his hand, foot, or eye) causing one to offend, he was speaking of one’s body involving him in a sin. Sin, by its nature, separates a person from God (Isa. 59:1-2); it brings, as its punishment, eternal damnation (Rom. 6:23). Hence, Jesus’ point is that anything which will separate us from God and our hope of eternal life is not worth what it costs us.

This lesson is a hard lesson for Christians to learn. We seem to think too much of this world; we forget that everything in it and all of the pleasures which it can offer us are temporal. The pleasures of sin are passing away (Heb. 11:24-25; 1 Jn. 2:15-17). Whatever enjoyment sin can give me, at the best will last only a short time. This fact should never be forgotten.

Christian friend, are you willing to spend an eternity in undescribable pain for the small amount of pleasure which sin can give you? Are a few moments of temporal pleasure which you might enjoy while engaged in an act of immorality with some ungodly man or women worth an eternity in hell? Are the things which you buy for yourself with the money which you should be giving to God giving you a sufficient among of pleasure to be worth spending an eternity in hell in order to obtain them? Is the television show or other recreational activity which you participate in rather than attending worship services giving you so much pleasure that it will be worth the eternity in hell which it is going to cost you?

We both know the answer to these questions. There is nothing in this life able to give us enough satisfaction to make it worthwhile to spend an eternity in hell and to miss heaven in order to enjoy it. Hence, the price of sin is exceedingly high! Satan can give the Christian no bargain when he offers him some temporal pleasure in exchange for his soul.

3. Sin is horrible and has eternal damnation as its punishment. This text surely shows us how horrible sin really is. Jesus proposed that it would be better to lose part of one’s own body rather than to be guilty of sin which would lead to eternal damnation. I can hardly picture such a statement having been said if what some of my brethren are writing is true.

My brethren are telling me that the perfect obedience of Jesus Christ is transferred to the believer so that God sees the perfect obedience of Christ rather than the individual’s sins. If that is so, why is sin so bad? These petty offenses do not separate the man from God; they do not lead to everlasting fire. Rather, God just closes His eyes to these sins. If one accepts this point of view, he will have trouble explaining why Jesus would suggest such radical treatment to prevent being guilty of sin!

The truth of the matter is that every sin which a man commits separates him from God and endangers his soul. Sin, by its very nature, is such that it always separates a man from God (Isa. 59:1-2); the penalty for sin is always death (Rom. 6:23). Hence, man must do everything which he can to avoid being guilty of sin. That is why Jesus used this statement to emphasize our need to avoid being guilty of sin!

Conclusion

Realizing that these things are true – that there is a heaven and a hell, that there is nothing in this life worth the loss of one’s personal salvation, and that sin is horrible and has eternal damnation as its punishment – how then should we live? Obviously, we should consider the higher good as more important than the lower good. Our eternal salvation must take precedence over everything else in life. Anything which gets in the way of our obtaining eternal life must be put out of our way regardless of how much it pains us in this life.

Truth Magazine XXIII: 42, pp. 675-676
October 25, 1979

That’s A Good Question

By Larry Ray Hafley

Question:

From Ohio: “What are some passages provided by God to strengthen the inner man so that the reckless, offensive conduct of someone else will not embitter and destroy my own soul?”

Reply: Numerous passages can be cited. My favorite one in this connection is 1 Peter 2:20-24:

For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: By whose stripes ye were healed.

Paul faced anguish of spirit because of “reckless, offensive conduct,” but he did not permit it to embitter him. “When we are slandered, we try to conciliate” (1 Cor. 4:13-NASB). “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world . . . . Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil . . . . At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me . . . . And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom” (2 Tim. 4:10, 14, 16-18). “If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities” (2 Cor. 11:30). “Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong” (2 Cor. 12:10).

Kindred Scriptures offer solace and strength. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience” (Jas. 1:2, 3). “And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope” (Rom. 5:3-5). “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name” (Acts 5:41).

Three Things To Do

When one is mistreated, there are three things that will help to dispel malice. Also, these three items have no defense; there is no way for your enemies to forbid them.

(1) Love: God loved us when we were without hope and undeserving. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” So, too, we must love those who abuse us. “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you” (Matt. 5:44). “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:20, 21). An opponent cannot keep you from loving him.

(2) Prayer: Pray for those who snidely or maliciously malign you – “Pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” (Matt. 5:44). An enemy might not let you feed him, but he cannot prevent you from praying for him.

(3) Silence: An abusive heart desires a response. Any kind will do. He is ready to pounce on it and use it against you. Often, therefore, it is best to be like the Lord and say nothing (Matt. 27:12-14). “I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me” (Psa. 39:1). Those who are dedicated to degradation and deprecation can “answer” any reply, but they are frustrated by silence. A wicked man will wrest your best words in the worst way, but he cannot grapple with silence.

Psalm 64

Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: Both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded. So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: All that see them shall flee away. And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing. The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

Truth Magazine XXIII: 42, p. 674
October 25, 1979