When A Good Man Dies

What would be the best word to describe my former dentist, Dr. Gil Sale, who died last week? Not only was he our family’s dentist – since 1976 until his retirement not quite two years ago – but he was a friend. Even though he grew up Methodist and remained a Methodist, he and his wife Margaret often attended First Christian Church when I was the preacher and after I left when Billy Rowe was the preacher. They were generous to First Christian and Dr. Sale often did things that enabled Billy and me to help out families in great need – especially at Christmas. 

Though the word southern gets batted around in a pejorative fashion a lot these days, those who think “backwards, simpleton, and “not with it” when they hear “southern” evidently never met Gil Sale. It is in that way that when I think about his life, I think southern is one of the right words. Kind and courteous, Gil Sale was a gentleman to the core. You never sat in his dental chairs without first answering questions about yourself, your family, and common friends. That curiosity was rooted in authentic concern for others. So, yes, Gil Sale was certainly a southern gentleman.

But to say the name Dr. Gil Sale and not say the word generous would be to completely ignore reality. I know personally of his generosity to me and my family – and to some of my best friends in ministry. I know about students from Atlanta Christian College/Point University for whom he generously provided dental care. I know about families whose children had Christmas gifts because of Gil Sale’s generosity. My guess is that we would find the number of people blessed in this life by his generosity stunning in its size.

I’m not sure how anyone else reading this feels about going to the dentist, but for me, I can think of a dozen other things I’d prefer to do. That’s why, when I think of Gil Sale as a dentist, among the first words that come to mind in calming. He just had a way of making you feel comfortable enough to be calm – no matter what procedure he was performing. You knew he would keep checking – “Still okay?” And you knew he would do everything possible to [a] not hurt you and [b] fix whatever the problem was. Dentist and calming may not be partner words in many contexts – but they were in Gil Sale’s office.

For me, it is hard to think Gil Sale without saying “Gil and Margaret.” Most often when I went to an appointment with Dr. Sale, my first encounter was with Margaret, a dental hygienist. I have no idea how many times she cleaned my teeth and often complimented me on my flossing! Together they created an atmosphere in that office that was comforting from the time you walked in the door until you left.

One more word – ultimately the most important one – when I think of Gil Sale I think Christian. Dr. Sale wasn’t one of those pompous, self-righteous people who like to beat you over the head with their Bible. He didn’t try to model some sort of fake spirituality that you could see through from a mile away. But he did model – in so many ways – what a life looks like when the Jesus Story has transformed it. When I think about some of the people I know that were patients of Dr. Sale, I think of one in particular who may have been the most contrary, difficult person I’ve ever known. He was that way at church, at work, among “friends.” Contrary is actually a polite word. I can only assume his core character came out when he was sitting in Dr. Sale’s chair. But it wasn’t unusual for Dr. Sale to ask, “How’s . . .?” and express great concern as serious illness began to impact our mutual “friend’s” life. To me, that speaks to the way Dr. Sale discovered what it means to say “I follow Jesus.” 

I once told Dr. Sale that I was pretty sure there would be no cavities in heaven – and God has a plan to make teeth more lasting in eternity. He laughed and said something like “Good, that means I won’t have to work when I get there.” For a guy who worked as a dentist well beyond when most of his profession retires, I’m not sure what Gil Sale plans to do in heaven. But I’m pretty sure if, when I get to the proverbial “pearly gates,” that I stop and listen, I’ll likely hear a deep, rich baritone voice laughing in the joy of whatever it is he’s doing up there!

Blessings to Margaret and her family. Thank God for the Dr. Sale kind of people with whom we cross paths in this life. I will – along with countless others – miss that great voice and even great person.

Praying . . . Even for Our Leaders

^“1 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all 

godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior…” -1 Timothy 2:1-3

Today, the United States will experience another “smooth transition of power” from one president to another. More often than not, it is from one party to another as is true this year. I have very good friends who think the new president will save western culture from destruction. I have other very good friends who believe he will push western culture over the cliff into the abyss of anarchy.  I’m not smart enough to know which of my friends will prove to be correct!

I am grateful, by the way, that I have friends on both sides of the question. That might mean I can influence both! None of those friends, by the way, knows who I voted for in November!

I am smart enough to know that through Paul, God asked me to use “petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving” for “kings and all those in authority.” At some level I wonder if Paul might be saying, “When you have kings who see life differently than you (as was the case with Nero, the Emperor when Peter wrote these words) your best option is to pray for them!” After all, God has a bit of a track record in using “non-believing” rulers to advance His will. Remember Cyrus? I’m pretty sure he wasn’t “Sammy Sunday School” and yet because of him, our forefathers returned to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile. 

Shortly after the beginning of the 2017, I saw a post on Facebook that caught my attention. It was written by a fine young man who serves in ministry. Here’s some of what he said: “I must confess that I did not pray for you while you were in office. . . I must also confess that I greatly appreciate the loving and healthy marriage that you and your wife displayed for our nation.”

Those words were directed, via Facebook, to President Obama. The writer acknowledges that Mr. Obama will never see them, but “I just felt I needed to say it anyway.” He closes his post by noting that this didn’t mean he agreed with Mr. Obama’s policies – just that the Bible admonishes us to pray for our leaders and he didn’t.

I private messaged this young man to commend him for what he wrote. 

More than a few people posted “thank you” sorts of statements, and also owned up to the fact that because they so seriously disagreed with President Obama’s politics, they also did not pray for him. They often committed to doing better.

One person, however, said this: “are we to pray for Satan in the flesh?” Nero was the Roman emperor when Paul wrote those words at the top of the page to Timothy. I’m pretty confident President Obama would have some serious catching up to do when it comes to comparing him to Nero. And the same would be true of Mr. Trump.

Here’s the deal. It doesn’t matter whether I voted for President Trump or not. God’s Word calls on me to pray for him. I should pray for him that his policies and actions would make it possible for us to live “peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” That’s the same way I prayed for President Obama, and other presidents before him. Prayer has no D or R after it!

To pray for “kings and all those in authority” is a good thing, so good that it “pleases God our Savior.”

I hope we all can commit ourselves to be more diligent when it comes to praying for “kings and those in authority.” As the Facebook author above noted – that doesn’t mean we condone their policies but that we are committed to obeying what God has asked us to do.

Perspective

If social media posts are reflective of where our culture is at the moment, few texts in all of Scripture would be better than the words of 1 Peter 3:13-22 to encourage us. Social media – and many main stream media talking heads – suggest that 2016 was about the worst year in the history of mankind and, depending on how you voted in November, 2017 will either be the ultimate cure-all year or a downhill slide into the abyss of what started in 2016.

The hyperbole with which so many describe our current culture may be guilty of overlooking some rather important historical moments. Was 2016 really more difficult than 1861-65 – the years of the Civil War? Or 1941-45 – the years of World War II? And that is just looking at two moments in our own history. What about the persecution early Christians faced just for following Jesus? Or Christians in many parts of the Middle East today whose lives are put at risk simply by being Christian.

The text I mentioned from 1 Peter 3 suggests that “even if you should suffer,” that doesn’t mean you aren’t “blessed.” And beyond that Peter urges his readers – who most likely had far more difficult lives than I do, “do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled.” For Peter, the presence of “troubled times” is a reason “to sanctify Christ in our hearts.”

For much of my life, I heard all sorts of apologetics people quote verse 15 in a way that defended their tendencies to believe that presenting a dozen or so reasons some part of the Bible was true was what Peter encouraged his readers to do. Whether or not that approach is healthy or not is not for me to say, but I’m pretty sure it isn’t what Peter was talking about.

When, in the midst of “intimidation and trouble” if I am living a “sanctifying Christ in my heart” kind of life, it likely will cause people to ask questions. Apparently I am supposed to be cowered by the “intimidation and trouble” that those who don’t know Christ might bring my way. When I don’t respond that way – “I sanctify Christ in my life” - that will generate confusion, perhaps even questions.

The “ingredient” in life that will be so counter-intuitive to the fact that I should be cowered by evil is one word: hope. Hope is such a vital word in our experience of faith. The challenge with the word is that in our daily languages we use that word so casually. Go and buy a lottery ticket, the clerk might say, “Hope you win.” Of course your chances of winning are pretty slim. Back in December, after the final exam in a class I taught at Point University, I had an email from a student who did very little work all semester, failed the course project and final exam, and clearly was going to fail. His email contained this phrase, “I hope I am going to pass your class.”

If that’s what Peter means by “hope” then we are, quite frankly, hopeless and all the doom and gloom of social media posts would be appropriate. But that isn’t hope, as Scripture describes it. Hope is “confident assurance” that God keeps His promises. That is so certain, that the Holy Spirit Himself was given to us as “guarantee.” (Ephesians 1:13,14) Solomon’s prayer of dedication for the Temple (1 Kings 8:22ff) is deeply rooted in the idea that God keeps His Word!

As Paul nears the end of his life, he is still talking about “faith, hope, and love.” In 2 Timothy 1:12 he defines hope like this: “for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” 

If Paul could say that in view of the circumstances of his own life at the moment – then I’m pretty certain that I ought to be saying the same!

So, at the beginning of a New Year – 2017 – that will have all sorts of challenges and moments of uncertainty, maybe Peter’s advice to early believers should be our resolutions. Let’s live in a way that causes non-believers to ask us “how do you do that?” Then, with gentleness and reverence, we can tell them about our hope in Christ.