Whitefield on spiritual progress

Some thoughts on spiritual progress derived from George Whitefield’s practices to encourage spiritual progress: 

* Engaging in regular Scripture reading

• recognize Scripture as God’s revelation of Jesus Christ
• approach with faith and humility
• apply the Scripture to your heart and life
• pray over the words and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit

* Consistent private personal prayer

* Frequent meditation on Scripture

* Observation of God’s providence (externally) and recognition of the Spirit’s guidance (internally)

* Making full use of God’s ordinances (and other practices, such as singing, fasting, etc.)

* Fellowshipping with other Christians who are walking with God, both congregationally and personally

The Old Jerusalem Way

If our travels ‘Back to the Bible’ were a road, I would call it the “Old Jerusalem Way.”

In my 40-year journey on the “Old Jerusalem Way,” I have sometimes walked with other travelers and had sweet fellowship for a while – only to find that we merely happened upon the same spot on the same road at the same time, and were actually headed in different directions.

Catholicity and Separation

I just read an article in which a conservative Calvinistic Southern Baptist trashed separatism and promoted catholicity. He reserved special attention for the “fundamentalist” brand of separatism. The author is not someone who moved from Fundamentalism to Liberalism, but rather someone who has moved from Fundamentalism to a Reformed position.

He makes some good points. Fundamentalism can exalt carnality, pride, and an “us four, no more” attitude. Their gospel is not broad enough or deep enough to save and sanctify anyone who does not dot their i’s and cross their t’s. Division over extremely exacting eschatological theories becomes the norm.

There is a right sort of “catholicity”[i] that chronologically sees across time and generations, knowing we belong to the same church institution as and adhere to the same gospel preached by the apostles.  It geographically reaches across continents, nations, and communities.[ii] It linguistically embraces different tongues and peoples. “…I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

Unfortunately, this sort of “catholicity” often embraces “Catholicism” as representative of the “true church” up until the time of the Protestant Reformation. It flies in the face of a New Testament Christianity that separated itself from infidelity, heresy, and immorality (e.g., 2 Corinthians 6:17; Titus 3:10; Ephesians 5:1-4). It distinguishes itself from and denies the poor and afflicted faithful martyrs of Jesus (e.g., Revelation 2:10, 13; 17:6). It recognizes the unorthodox majority and rejects the orthodox remnant.[iii] 

There is a right sort of “fundamentalism” that loves, seeks for, and adheres to the fundamental principles of the Bible, and the Christian religion based on it. It rejects compromise of those principles, while enthusiastically and evangelistically sowing those principles in the field of the world.

Unfortunately, strains of fundamentalism promote individuality to the detriment of the corporate nature of gathered believers (Romans 15:5-7; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27), as well as the fellowship of the churches (1 Corinthians 7:17; 14:33). It minimizes the priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:5-9; Revelation 1:5-6).[iv] It elevates private interpretations as the norm to determine orthodoxy, fellowship, and separation (Mark 7:9; 2 Peter 1:20). It becomes a haven for little dictators.[v] 

Where does the middle way begin? Perhaps: The Bible as the sole rule of faith and practice. Autonomous churches that are guided by this belief about the Bible. A gospel that is to be preached to every creature. And strong doses of humility.

Both “Big F” Fundamentalism and “Big C” Catholicism miss the mark, in different directions. Let us take up our Bibles and learn the Bible way of the unity of the faith and separation unto the gospel of God.

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[i] Recognizing that the words “catholic” and “catholicity” have a broader more generic meaning, I nevertheless generally avoid them as more likely to help rather than hurt the recognition of the Roman Catholic Church.

[ii] Human beings and local churches are limited by geography, but connect with other congregations across the globe through fellowship of the word and Spirit.
[iii] I am unable to read the Bible, see the New Testament church there, research church history, and then pretend that the only church that existed for 15 centuries was Roman Catholic! I have sadly heard too many Reformed brethren say so. Away with such.

[iv] “A keen awareness of where the church has always stood” is needed, if we also have the biblical insight to understand what the church is, biblically.
[v] On the other hand, Roman Catholicism and Greek Orthodoxy (and at least some species of Reformed churches) are havens for big dictators!

Building the house of God in troublesome times

Ezra 5:2 - Then rose up Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and began to build the house of God which is at Jerusalem: and with them were the prophets of God helping them.

Building the house of God arises from God’s revelation, 5:1.
  a. Haggai 1:1 

  b. Zechariah 1:1

Building the house of God requires leadership and cooperation, 5:1-2.
  a. Men of God rise up and encourage God’s people to work. Haggai 1:4-5, 7; 2 Timothy 4:2
  b. Leaders stand with God’s men (e.g. Zerubbabel, governor; Jeshua, priest) 5:2
  c. Workers started and did not cease, 5:5

Building the house of God incites opposition, 4:1-2, 5; 5:3.

  a. Zechariah 3:1

Building the house of God emphasizes the servant nature of the workers. Phil. 2:5ff.; Matt. 20:25-28; John 15:5; Zech. 4:6.
  a. Names are unimportant, 5:4, 10-11; Gen. 24:2, 9-10, et al.

Building the house of God exhibits the sovereignty of God, 5:12-13; 6:14, 22; Zechariah 4:6. God uses the wicked, indifferent, and others as:
  a. instruments of judgment, 5:12
  b. resources of blessing, 5:13-14

1 Timothy 3:15 - but if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

Matthew 16:18 - And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

1 Corinthians 3:9 - For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.

Young and old earth creationism

Awhile back I read a proposal that young earth versus old earth creationim should be an issue over which we should separate (in the senses of both church membership and interchurch fellowship). I can agree, with caveats. Foremost in my mind is the question of what constitutes a young-earth view and an old-earth view of the creation. Obviously, evolution and theistic evolution are old old earth! However, by young earth do we mean one must hold creation very close in the vicinity of just over 6000 years ago? For example, below I notice two persons (one living and one dead) who propose a view of the earth created some 13,000 to 15,000 years ago. They seem to build the case on an interpretation of the Bible, without reference to scientific explanations of the age of the earth. Those calculations are over twice the age of standard young earth interpretation. On the other hand, this view is still a very young earth in comparison to the billions of years proposed by the theories of evolution and theistic evolution.

Baptist missionary to China T. P. Crawford wrote a curious book titled The Patriarchal Dynasties from Adam to Abraham, shown to cover 10,500 years, and the highest human life only 187 (Richmond, VA: Josiah Ryland & Co., 1877). In it he proposed the idea that the long years of time recorded of various antediluvians were the length of their patriarchal dynasties rather than the years of their physical life. Below from page 7, showing in 1876 he thought the age of the earth was 14,376 years old.

From Adam to the flood,                                             7,737 years.

" the flood to the birth of Abraham,                            2,763    "

            10,500

" the birth of Abraham to Christ,                                            2,000

            12,500  

" Christ to the present time,                                                    1,876

Making a sum total of                                                             14,376

I found this intriguing especially because I had run across such an idea probably 15 or 20 years ago on the Mountain Retreat website, an article by Tony Warren titled “The Biblical Timeline of Creation.” 

“The key to understanding the truth which is locked in the genealogies of scripture is in comprehending the differences in how God, rather than man, recorded the passing of time…they are meant to be understood as ‘Patriarchal References’ in God’s system of documenting time. In other words, God is using certain genealogical names as Patriarchs to date the world in those early years. Each Patriarch or father reference, is a family name representing a chunk or epoch of time.” 

Warren’s assessment is a little “younger” than Crawford’s – by 1488 years – as Warren dates 13,008 years from creation to the time of his writing in 1996. It is beyond my purpose to figure out where these diverge. Unless I missed it, Warren does not credit anyone else with the idea. I would doubt he knew about Crawford’s book. Nevertheless, by T. P. Crawford shows the idea preceded Warren by at least 120 years.

An approach to resolve the young-earth old-earth “gap” is the Gap Theory (aka Gap Creationism and Ruin-Reconstruction Theory), popularized by the Scofield Reference Bible. This theory holds that Genesis 1:1 refers to the original creation, but the fall of Satan formed a cataclysmic event that ruined it. Thus, the 24-hour days of creation recorded in the rest of the chapter are days of “re-creation” or “restoration,” rather than the beginning of a creation. In effect, this allows one to hold to “creation” in six literal 24-hour days while at the same time embracing an old earth of billions of years. Scofield’s original notes make this clear, but some of that clarity has been revised out of later editions.

“…three creative acts of God are recorded in this chapter…The first creative act [v. 1] refers to the dateless past, and gives scope for the geologic ages…Neither here [v. 3] nor in verses 14-18 is an original creative act implied…Relegate fossils to the primitive creation, and no conflict of science with the Genesis cosmogony remains.” (C. I. Scofield, Scofield Reference Bible, 1917, pp. 3-4.)

The Gap Theory entered into the mainstream of conservative biblical theology in response to the attacks of science, falsely so-called. The timeline of the appearance of this theory, as well as its use, define it as a scientific view looking for scripture to support it. It becomes a dumping ground for whatever “science” the theory holder cannot fit into his or her understanding of the Bible. When I was young, I knew a lot of the older generation Christians who had picked up the gap theory from their Scofield Bibles. Most of the regular church folks had not thought too much about it, had not teased out it, and accepted it as reasonable (because Scofield had included it in his Bible notes, and maybe also because they felt it answered some questions they did not know how to answer). However, once it is teased out, it creates more biblical and scientific problems than it solves. It is unsound, biblically. For example, advanced versions add pre-Adamic man before Adam (who the Bible says is the first man), and death before the fall (which the Bible says is the cause of death).

The Gap Theory is an old earth creation view that holds a “young earth” view from Genesis 1:3 forward. It distorts a normal reading of Genesis chapter 1. There are those who hold the Gap Theory unadvisedly (without due scrutiny), and those who hold it adamantly (as an integral part of their view of the Bible and creation).

The Patriarchal Dynasties Theory is still a young earth creation view though seeing the earth as slightly older than the predominant young earth view. It does not try to subsume the billions of years of evolutionary theory into its system. It does, however, adapt an unusual reading of the ages of the antediluvian patriarchs as not being particular father/son relationships. It does not, in my opinion, actually address the six 24-hour days of creation differently. It differs chronologically in interpreting the early years of the history of man.

All that said, I come back to the issue of separating, both in church membership and church-to-church fellowship. Views in the evolutionary realm are unquestionably unacceptable. In other cases, approach this carefully and individually. Take each case on its merits. What does the individual hold and what is he promoting? What does the church teach about the Bible, the creation, and what are they trying to promote? What will be results of fellowshipping or disfellowshipping?

Think on these things

How is this pandemic affecting our thinking? How might it permanently change us if we don’t set our minds to return to regular civility after this is all over? The covid scare and its “cures” have caused us to see those who come near us as sort of “enemy combatants” – those who might maim or kill us. We must keep a safe distance. No handshakes and no hugs. Maybe we look away, or maybe we stare.

When we first started back with in-person church, it seemed so foreign and strange to keep a distance, not shake hands, and not share in our normal one anothering. Now I am beginning to get used to it. But I don’t want to get used to it! May we never be used to it.

The masks may keep us from trading droplets, but they also hide our expressions. They cover the sympathizing smiles we might be willing to share with our covid co-complainants. For those with some hearing loss, it stifles communication, dulling the voice. I am seldom able to understand what someone with a mask is saying without asking them over several times. (I probably rely more on unconscious lip reading than I realize.) What about those who understand only by lip reading? The masks remove their ability to “hear,” and pretty much leaves them out in the cold.

This is not a commentary on the utility and effectiveness of masks and social distancing. I am not giving any advice on that. However, we who care need to be aware of how this pandemic affects and changes our thinking. We need to compensate when we can. In addition, when this is over and we are not wearing masks and social distancing, let’s not continue to act as if we are – with the mentality of keeping everyone at arm’s length. Let’s make a concerted effort to return to our fellowship of humanity and good old friendliness & hospitality.

My 2 cents, in days of great inflation.

With whom did Jesus eat?

Several weeks ago at church meeting we were talking about Jesus being the friend of sinners, and that He ate with “publicans and sinners”. I commented that He also ate with Pharisees, and I could see lights going on in some of the heads – they had not thought of that angle before. We must be careful, lest we be like radio teacher Steve Brown, who acknowledged, “One of my great sins in being Pharisaical about Pharisees!”

To remember only that Jesus ate with publicans and sinners is to miss an historical and theological truth of the Bible. With whom did Jesus eat? Jesus ate with publicans and sinners. He ate with Pharisees. He ate with His disciples. He even ate with (and fed) a mixed multitude of people who had gathered to see and hear Him. Jake Grogan says cutely that Jesus ate with sinners, snobs and saints. That’s a pretty good way to remember it – as long as we remember that both the snobs and saints are sinners also!

More has been written on the subject of Jesus's eating habits than one might suppose. Jeremy Sweets provides a nice brief chart of Meals in Luke’s Gospel. One author titled his book Eating Your Way Through Luke’s Gospel. Others have gone so far to say that "Jesus ate his way through [all four of] the gospels.

Let's notice a few with whom Jesus ate (and drank).

He ate with Pharisees.
Simon: Luke 7:37 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment
A chief (unnamed) Pharisee: Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. (check Luke 11:45 and 12:1).

He ate with “publicans and sinners”.
Levi (Matthew): Luke 5:29-30 And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners?
Zaccheus: Luke 19:2,5,7 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich...And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house...And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

He ate with His disciples.
In the fields: Luke 6:1 And it came to pass on the second sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands.
The Passover supper: Luke 22:11 And ye shall say unto the goodman of the house, The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?
Cleopas and another disciple: Luke 24:30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.

He ate with a (mixed) multitude.
Feeding over 5000: Luke 9:13-17 But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.

Some other Lucan references to eating:
Luke 11:37 And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat.
Luke 14:15 And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
Luke 15:2 And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

If Jesus’s eating habits were important enough for God to inspire them into the eternal record, they must be important enough that we are supposed from learn from them. Well, what should we learn?

Let’s notice a few possibilities.

Jesus didn’t eat “at the devil’s table.”
Luke 4:2-4 Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered. And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. After Jesus had fasted forty days in the wilderness and was hungry, the devil appeared with an “offer of bread” – particularly that Jesus satisfy his hunger by turning stones into bread. Rather than eat according to the devil’s direction, we learn from Jesus the wonderful truth of the priority of God’s word and God’s will over the physical and circumstantial. Situations such as sitting down at supper with an unbelieving neighbor are not “eating at the devil’s table,” but we need to learn what is and when to avoid it (Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:21).

Jesus is a friend of sinners.
Luke 7:34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! Though Jesus didn’t eat “at the devil’s table,” he is “a friend of sinners.” Since Jesus is a friend of sinners, we ought to learn from that to be welcoming to those who “aren’t like us”. Jesus sat down with both some immoral sinners and intolerant scribes – those who likely aren’t our first choices for “communitas.” In Jesus ate his way through the gospels, Mark Glanville writes, “We learn from Jesus fellowship meals that our tables should be places of radical welcome, especially for those who feel lonely and on the outside. This is the shape of the Kingdom of God!” What shape does your table take?

Jesus used meals as occasions of instruction.
Throughout the gospels, Jesus’s meals (and examples of food and drink) serve as occasions for teaching. For examples: after his fasting, at his temptation of Jesus teaches about the true bread (Luke 4:1-4); when his disciples pluck grain on the Sabbath, Jesus teaches his Lordship over the Sabbath (Luke 6:1-5); when sending the seventy, he teaches the laborer is worthy of his hire, and to eat what is set before them (Luke 10:1-9); with a story of three loaves, he teaches the importance of importunate prayer (Luke 11:1-13); with the example of feasting in the parable of the prodigal son and his elder brother, he teaches the joy over one sinner that repents (Luke 15:11-32); in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, he shows that faring sumptuously and begging bread are not indicators of one’s spiritual condition (Luke 16:19-31). Some mistake Jesus’s actions as an example to use meals as a pretense to evangelism, while caring little or nothing for the person or persons with whom he ate. Such is far from our Lord’s actions. Jesus did not feign feasting to cover a bare evangelistic outreach. For example, in the Gospel of Luke chapter 11:37ff. Jesus accepted an invitation of a Pharisee and spent much of his time upbraiding the Pharisees and lawyers. Jesus’s overall sharing of meals was ostensibly incidental while yet exquisitely determinate.

Jesus used meals as occasions of fellowship.
Luke 10:38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. All meals are a form of fellowship, but meals with his disciples were a family fellowship. There are times to withdraw from the world for the singular casual and peaceful fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ – when we gather together around the word of God, around his praises, around his Spirit, and, yes, around his table.

Conclusion
Jesus did not overlook, whitewash, or excuse sin, but He did not kowtow to either the culture or the religion of the day. He conversed with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:27). Jesus forgave an immoral woman who washed His feet (Luke 7:47-50). He healed a Syrophenician woman’s daughter (Mark 7:26-30). He touched the untouchable (Luke 5:13). He entered the tax gatherer Zacchaeus’s house (Luke 19:5). But, in including these “outcasts,” Jesus did not cast out the “included.” He conversed with the Pharisee teacher Nicodemus who came to Him by night (John 3:1ff) and went to eat at Simon the Pharisee’s house (Luke 7:36). He pitied the importunate young rich ruler (Mark 10:17-22), healed the daughter of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:22-42) and wept over Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37). There was room in Jesus’s love for all who came to Him (There’s room in God’s eternal love to save thy precious soul; Room in the Spirit’s grace above, to heal and make thee whole. Anon.)

Jesus defied the social and religious establishment. This was not defiance for the sake of defiance, but the defiance of obedience – the obedience to God rather than men, the exaltation of truth above tradition, the being about his Father’s business rather than just being. He ate with saints and sinners, Pharisees and publicans, according to the purpose of his coming, as well as the purpose of eating. Jesus is better than any of us have imagined. He is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). He feeds the hungry and sits down at the table of the undeserving. He invites himself and accepts invitations. Perhaps one day you may hear “...make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.”

Breaking bread

Below is a list of New Testament verses I found with the combination of break/broken/etc. and bread. I have listed them as (1) those that most would agree are the Lord's Supper, (2) those that most would agree are eating, and (3) those that are disputed/not agreed upon. (Of course nothing is always agreed upon by Baptists! Yet.)

Lord's Supper
Matt. 26:26 - And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.
Mark 14:22 - And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.
Luke 22:19 - And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
1 Cor. 10:16 - The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
1 Cor. 11:23,24 - For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Eating bread
Luke 24:30 And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
Luke 24:35 - And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread.
Acts 27:35 - And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.

Disputed
Acts 2:42 - And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 2:46 - And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Acts 20:7 - And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Acts 20:11 - When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.

One Anothering

The New Testament picture of Jesus Christ's disciples is not that of reclusive individuals withdrawn from society, but of those who are in the world but not of it. Some have emphasized going into all the world to the extreme of forgetting "one another" while going. Someone coined the phrase "one-anothering" to describe the care, fellowship and interconnectedness of the people called Christ's little flock. I recently read an online article entitled "Being the Church...Not Just Going to Church". In a day when programs, parties, games and gimics launch an all-out assault to get people to "go to church", maybe we need to remember to "be the church". May God grant some of the "one another" passages call us to this remembrance.

Wash the feet of one another
John 13:14 - If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
Love one another
John 15:17 - These things I command you, that ye love one another.
Receive one another
Romans 15:7 - Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Greet one another
II Corinthians 13:12 - Greet one another with an holy kiss.
Serve one another
Galatians 5:13 - For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Submit to one another
Ephesians 5:21 - Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Bear the burdens of one another
Galatians 6:2 - Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Forbear and forgive one another
Colossians 3:13 - Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Comfort one another
I Thessalonians 4:18 - Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
Exhort one another
Hebrews 10:25 - Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
Confess to and pray for one another
James 5:16 - Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.

"We share our mutual woes,
Our mutual burdens bear;
And often for each other flows,
A sympathizing tear." - John Fawcett