Running with the Wolves. Simon McLeay. It can be fun to hang out with the bad boys, run with the wolves, swim with the sharks, hang with the party girls. Let’s not deny that there’s a bit of a rush in hanging out with the sharp traders. I used to have some cousins that it was fun to hang out with who lived a lot closer to the edge than I did. But boy, you can get burn. Today I want to talk about how Jesus could run with the wolves but didn’t become one of them and how we can learn to venture out from our circle of safety and influence the wolves without being consumed by them. I want you to think who are the wolves in your life, I don’t mean the really bad news people, just the ones who run fast, who push the limits and live on the edge. Is it the really competitive sellers, the insiders at the apartments, the cool kids at school? Let’s look at our text. Matthew the tax-collector is traditionally the author of this gospel. One of the early Bishops reported that Matthew gathered the saying of Jesus in Hebrew and then translated them into Greek, that would give an early dating to Matthew; however, when you look at the text Matthew appears to have had Mark as a source and probably wrote originally in Greek, which would give a later dating. The gospel is actually anonymous, but certainly early and credible, and quite possibly authored by this Matthew. Matthew was a tax-collector, now that sounds bad enough on its own. But let me explain how tax worked then. You worked for the Romans. Bad. You bought tax allotments, I guess a bit like duty stickers/scrolls, and you bought them ahead of time and then you sold them on to people who needed duty stickers. Farmers and merchants etc. In some ways you were a futures trader. This is a tax system basically opposite to our current system. The emperor got his money in advance; as a middle man you fronted up with the readies and you bought the right to sell tax. And of course you made some money on the way, your $10 worth of tax sticker you sold for $20 or more. So when I use the analogy of running with the wolves of wall street, there is an equivalence. He was like a power retailer, buying in bulk and then selling on. And you have to have a margin to make the business work, but people resent you for the margin. Jesus walks along and called Matthew to follow him. This would have been astounding to Matthew, blown him away, and he goes “yes”. In some ways it was a once in a life time chance to change. And Matthew grabs it. Then he asks Jesus to dinner with his mates and Jesus goes to the meal and hangs out with a lot of other tax-collectors. He eats with them and drinks with them. I’m sure that he was talking about the Kingdom of God. But he was seen to hang out with them. And in those days just like today who you allow yourself to be seen with can be important. And the Pharisees saw this and were not happy and said so to Jesus disciples. In fact, they asked about this. So these are solid religious people, who want to take their faith seriously asking. What is your teacher doing? Why does your teacher eat with tax- collectors and sinners? Taxes went to Rome and in fact the tax collectors often got mixed up with money changing and were seem as polluting people ritual purity. Bad people on two counts. So let’s go into the Pharisees argument, because it’s not unreasonable, what has light to do with darkness, or bad company corrupts good character. These are good points. The people you hang around with will often influence you. If you hang around with people that wear Harry Potter branded clothing eventually you might buy some. If you hang around with whiskey drinkers eventually you will come to try Glenfiddich. If you hang around with people who are interested in marine engineering, you will become interested yourself. Part of God’s purpose with Israel was that they were meant to be a holy nation. They were meant to be separate and different and distinctive. And with the ritual purity laws there was a cost to hang out with the tax-collectors. I want to make the point that in their world and our world; the idea of don’t hang out with the dodgy people is a reasonable concern. The Pharisees saw this as not the sort of behaviour of a religious teacher. Tax collectors could come and listen to Jesus teach, tick. Maybe someone like Matthew could change if he disavowed his old life, but going and eating with the unclean – that was too far. Jesus response was “I have come for those who are broken and in need of a doctor. And I will go to them where they are”. And then He is direct to the Pharisees, learn mercy. Now I also want to point out three things that Jesus did that protected him in his Mission! 1. He spent considerable time in prayer with the father. The major influence in his life was not the tax-collectors but he cultivated the inner life we were talking about a few weeks ago. He spent lots of time in prayer 2. The tax-collectors were not Jesus’ only peer group. He spent lots of time with the disciples and good company 3. He didn’t go drinking to meet his own needs, he went to share the Kingdom. He might have hung out with drunks but there is no suggestion he was drunk himself. I remember Malcolm talking about Jesus being so pure that he changed the places that he went. He wasn’t contaminated but instead would contaminate with the kingdom of God. So what’s the analogies with us. Well let’s start with the young, I headed to Dunedin when I was 17, and I remember going to keg parties in Castle street. I wasn’t a big drinker but I did want to be with the crowds not just in a Christian huddle. Jesus does encourage us to leave our safe circle and venture out. For you it might be going to a teen party in Tauranga, for some it is going out with your work mates; drinks on a Friday night, I think my scariest memory was going on a bus tour with my mum and dad when I was 15, dad had retired and he went on a retirement trip; some of you are doing it yourselves, and the bus was full of people in their 70s getting drunk. It was a lesson for me that put me off. How do we run safely with the wolves/ Or how do we coach our family? Well one option is the OJ option, I’ve had several Salvation army friends who as part of their work did pubs on a Friday night. Now as part of their vows they are teetotal and so they would wear their uniform and obviously drink OJ. That’s hard option for a teenager, but it is an option, to run with the wolves but not to drink the cool aid. Again like Jesus pray about your intentions, have another group of peers who are positive and then ask who’s needs you are meeting. If you are going to the keg party for your own kicks you will be at more risk of getting it wrong than if you are going for the sake of others. I remember later in my time at Uni going to some parties to watch out for people. Maybe I would have a drink, but only one or two; I was watching out for my friends because there were some predatory males back then the same as today, and of course I would watch out for alcohol poisoning as well. But what about commerce, what about hanging out with the high speed gang, the big sellers, running with the wolves, swimming with the sharks in your industry? I remember doing a business course at one stage and learning about there are times and situations where mercenary can be an aim for the team culture. There are times to drive sales. Love it or hate in Capitalism is the system that drives our economy and puts food on most of our tables. You will know better than I what the wolves in your industry look like. And like Jesus there may be time as to sit at the table with them. How do you mange that? I want to do a plug for business ethics here, where you are optimising returns for the shareholder, value for the customer and consideration for staff. And I would argue that over the long term you have to do all three, with honesty. Like I said a few weeks ago. There is nothing wrong with playing hard ball, honestly. But if you neglect your staff, that will come back to bite; if you short-change your customers there will come a tipping point where they will leave in droves, and no business exists just to keep the staff happy, shareholder deserve a decent return. My third example comes from Aims Games this week and pushy parents, the sort of parents that push the Serena Williams and Tiger Woods of our world, the Lydia Kos and others. Not bad parents, but incredibly driven for their children. I know with all 3 of our kids having been to Aims over the years, sometimes the focused coach can be a good thing. The games are great, but sometimes you can see parents who just get over the top. Parents who start to have that predatory feel about them. Parents who are out to leverage their children’s careers. Future traders. And those parents can be the ones on the side line pushing too hard, criticising the other team, or pressuring their children. As a Christian parent is it OK to run with the wolves, swim with the sharks? First of all, it’s great to want the best for our kids, at whatever age or stage they are at. There are two dangers, one is to over expect for our children, the other is to under expect. But is OK to have coffee with the lawnmower mums and the pushy father’s. Well I think it can be. I think interacting with the pack can be really healthy if you know what you are doing, if you know the boundaries and know how to show them. Again a threefold approach, spend time with the Father in prayer, He is interested in your child and their friends doing well, but He wants character development as well as sporting prowess. Hang with your Christian friends as well. And be careful that you join the wolf pack to influence and not to be influenced. To say ‘let’s play hard within the rules, let’s take it to the line but not go over’. Don’t you wish Steve Smith’s dad had pushed hard to win, but never to cheat. Don’t you wish Serena William’s mum had just spent a little more time on respecting the ref. In my own case I distinctly remember being on the soccer side line with Alan Hood as he quietly moved among the Dad’s encouraging us to only shout encouragement, and let the coach do the coaching. Alan moved among the wolves as an influencer. Well three examples, drinking with the lads or lasses, business with the high achievers and parenting with the lawn mower parents, those who try to cut a path ahead for their children. Let’s go back to Jesus, Jesus wants us to follow him, he wants us to be in the world but not of it, he wants us to run with the wolves if we can influence them for the better and turn them to him, but not if they will turn us away from him. I want to finish with a chance for you to commit your life to Christ.