What Is It This Time?

O n a hot southern night many years ago, we were visiting with a pastor in the parsonage’s living room while his wife finished preparing food for our after-service meal. That week, my wife and I were “holding a revival” at the church next door. Interrupting our conversation, the phone began to ring. He reached over and lifted the handset from the phone on the end table next to his chair. The handset now held to his ear, he an-swered, “Hello?” I could tell as soon as he had identified the caller’s voice: His whole countenance changed to a cloudy mixture of dread and disgust. He immediately responded, his voice dripping with disdain, to her greet-ing, “Sis. Smith (name changed), What is it this time?” What is it this time? It was evident that this church member was a serial caller and complainer. Each time she approached the pastor it was with some complaint, grievance or gripe followed with a demand or request that something be done. The pastor’s consternation was totally understandable. I am sure we are just as annoyingly flawed in some way when we approach God. Yet, He never with condescension and contempt replies, “What is it this time?” Recently, having been invited to teach on the General Epistles with little time to prepare, I was speaking mainly extemporaneously. I came to one word and found myself stuck on it, intriguing word that it is—Upbraid, which even looks and sounds anti-quated. Yet, it carries a wonderful message. The Apostle James said, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (1:5). Ask of God, and He gives! How? Liberally—and, without upbraiding! When we approach God with a request, He does not upbraid us. Huh? Upbraid? Word even looks weird. Braid? Immediately makes one think of hair and rugs. How does adding “up” change that? Simply put, James said, When we approach God with a request, He gives to us without reproaching us. Upbraid is, perhaps, easier illustrated than etymologically defined. Say you ask to borrow my vehicle—again; you have done so before. I could refuse, but I don’t. I take out of my pocket the key and begin the motion of handing it to you—begrudgingly. Just before I drop the key into your hand, I pull it back and begin to berate: “I’m going to loan you my vehicle again, but I shouldn’t. Last time I loaned it to you, you brought it back empty. You left your trash in it. You must have hit something; you brought it back with a scratch on the door. Not only that, you drove it through mud and left it caked with it. You are a terrible, irre-sponsible driver. And ungrateful at that. You take advantage of people who are kind to you. You don’t de-serve anyone loaning you his vehicle.” Then, I hand you the key. I gave, but I UPBRAIDED as I gave. Let’s suppose that everything I said about you and your actions were true. None would fault me for saying what I said to you. This God does not do: There is not a time that we come to request something from God that we come with a perfect past. We come flawed. We come having done wrong, messed up—even in things related to our request. He forgave us last time. We messed up again. We are asking forgiveness again. For the same thing. Yet, if we ask in faith, God gives (if it is a good thing), without upbraiding us. He doesn’t say, “Ok. I’m going to give this to you, but last time you blew even what I gave you. You were unfaithful to me. You developed a bad attitude. You’ve acted hateful to folks. You sinned against me. You don’t deserve my giving this to you. You are a terrible Christian.” None of that. (I’m not saying that God never chastens us nor that He never refuses us what we have asked for amiss.) “You need help with trials?” James says, “Ask God. He will give you what you need without upbraiding you.” Thus, to upbraid while giving is to reproach one for his faults and failures while giving. Not God. Though He has every reason too, when we again approach God in prayer, He doesn’t respond, “What is it this time?”

What Is It This Time?

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