Some years ago a Jeeves-like character on an advert stated; “One instinctively knows when something is right.” However, even when we know something is the right thing to do; do we always obey our conscience?
The Book of Numbers tells how when the Israelites entered the land of Moab to conquer it the King of Moab, Balak, decided the only thing he could do against such a large army was to ask a renowned Man of God (Balaam) to put a curse on them so he could overcome them in battle.
Balak sent some of his officials to Balaam with money to pay for a curse, but God had told Balaam not to go to the King because He had already blessed the people of Israel. At first Balaam obeyed saying no price could be paid for such a curse. King Balak then sent more important officials and this time Balaam decided to go against God’s wishes and go to the King.
Balaam set off on his trusted donkey, but before long an Angel appeared before Balaam to block his way. Balaam was unable to see the Angel, but his donkey could and he turned aside. Balaam became angry with his donkey and began to beat him and make him continue with the journey. The Angel appeared three times and each time the donkey turned aside and was beaten by Balaam. Eventually the Lord gave the donkey speech and he told Balaam what he thought about the beatings. At this point Balaam also saw the Angel and realised he had disobeyed God. It had taken a talking donkey to bring Balaam back to his senses.
God eventually allowed Balaam to continue on his way to see King Balak and of course the King then wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam told the King to make a sacrifice and he would see what God wanted him to do. God told Balaam not to curse the Israelites and so he would not. Of course this did not please Balak and he then made two more sacrifices and each time he asked Balaam to curse the Israelites. Even though Balak became very angry with Balaam he wouldn’t curse the Israelites. He said he could only bless the people God had blessed. Balak sent Balaam home without reward. Balaam said that he could only do what the Lord had told him to do and no money in the world could change this.
So Balaam had gone against his conscience and it took a talking donkey to bring him to his senses. I hope when we ‘Instinctively know something is right’ that we will do it and that God does not have to get a donkey to talk to us to bring us to our senses.
P.S. The Moabites were trampled underfoot and the Israelites were victorious, perhaps because one man eventually remained faithful to his conscience.
Ship of Fools - a decade charting the stormy seas of Christian unrest
The Daily Telegraph views it as a 'Christian Private Eye', the London Metro as 'brilliant' a compelling reminder not to judge committed believers by one standard.
Writing in The Times, Julie Burchill said: "If one must choose a modern symbol of what is so good about Britain I would choose this website."
Ship of Fools (www.shipoffools.com) celebrates 10 years online on April 1st 2008 - with more than 150,000 unique visitors a month currently accessing over 2.5 million pages. Iconoclastic and debunking, but also committed to the ultimate value of faith, the webzine attracts readers more interested in searching questions than simplistic answers.
Taking their cue from the holy fools of history, they're convinced that faith is such a serious business it cannot help but find the world a funny place. Covering everything from po-faced secularists to gung-ho fundamentalists, Ship of Fools is intrigued by the friction between popular culture and faith in today's world.
Regular columns -- Mystery Worshipper (where readers review church services), Gadgets for God, the Fruitcake Zone and Signs and Blunders -- are supplemented by weightier features on current affairs. Alongside these are thriving bulletin boards -- Heaven, Hell and Purgatory -- where more than 13,000 'shipmates' debate everything from sharia law to the status of Mormonism.
Recent projects included The Laugh Judgment where the borders between humour and offence were analysed at length. The vexed issue of blasphemy will come under heated discussion next month.
Editor Simon Jenkins, a freelance writer and editor, says: We are not a campaign but a 24/7 conversation open to people with little or no faith as well. Perhaps our fiercely-guarded independence ensures such a loyal following.
Born from a Ship of Fools experiment in online worship, St Pixels is now a stand-alone internet church with 2000 members, one in three of whom regard the church as their major or only contact with formal Christianity.
Chris' Marathon Run
Dear All,
By helping me you will be helping 5.2 million people in the UK.
My name is Christopher Mason and I am running the London Marathon on 13th April 2008.
Asthma is a very common disease and we all know people who suffer. My own brother was a serious asthmatic and died at the age of eleven. In my job I still meet children who are living with the constant fear of an asthma attack. Unfortunately, even with the modern medicines we have, one person dies every six hours from asthma related illness.
I have been training hard for months now, but before I cross the finishing line I need to reach my fund raising target of £1,500.
It is a lot of money to raise but I already have £500 from family and friends. At school we are having a number of asthma awareness events. My local churches are also involved.
So, this is the reason why I am writing to you. Please sponsor me and help Asthma UK continue to improve the lives of many people. Any donation would make a huge difference to my appeal and would help groundbreaking research to continue.
Sponsoring me is easy.
You can do it online at
www.justgiving.com/christophermason
Please tick the Gift Aid box too, then Asthma can claim back the tax paid. Alternatively you can send me a cheque made payable to Asthma UK.
Many thanks for your time.
Yours sincerely
Christopher Mason
Contacts: -
maria.s.carter@ntlworld.com or
gordon.j.carter@ntlworld.com