Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? – 2 Corinthians 11:28-29

Today’s Scripture Reading (December 26, 2014): 2 Corinthians 11

“Basically, they took 19^th century technology and put it in a box.” The statement was recently made as a description of the traditional lie detector. The famous lie detector, still used in a variety of security areas, is really just a piece of antiquated technology that has been upgraded to look like something more modern than it really is. And contrary to popular belief, a lie detector has no idea about whether you are lying or not. In fact, a lie detector doesn’t even measure the telling of things that are not true. The lie detector is really an anxiety detector. And the truth is that sometimes you are anxious when you lie, but not always. And sometimes you are even anxious when you are telling the truth. And none of this is exactly new. A 1983 report prepared for Congress (The Saxe Report) banned the use of lie detectors by private companies in their hiring process because of questions regarding the device’s legitimacy. And in 1998, a Supreme Court ruled that polygraphic evidence could not be used in federal courts because "there is simply no consensus that polygraph evidence is reliable." They were right.

Lie detectors simply do not work – at least not at the task of telling whether or not a person is lying. They are very good at discovering whether or not you are anxious. And according to this passage, Paul would have set one off. This passage is basically a description of the things in his life that make him anxious. And his list would make any of us anxious. But after finishing his list he makes this comment – “Besides everything else” or maybe “Above everything else” I am concerned and anxious over my churches. I am happy when they are happy. I weep when they cry. I even feel like I can experience the effects of their sin.

This is the experience of, I hope, of most church leaders. But one trusted mentor said that when people leave my office, I need to be able to take everything that they have laid on my shoulders, and place it back on theirs. I understand the advice, but I have always struggled at executing it. And apparently I am in good company – Paul seemed to have struggled at the same task.

But maybe we are supposed to struggle with it. I am not saying that we are God or that we should have a God complex, but the basis of our faith is that God came down and met us in the midst of our problems. And the act of God coming down should be the model of the church. We can do amazing things when we are willing to actually feel the pain of those around us. For me, I know that I too am happy when those I minister to are happy, and when they are in trouble, even when that trouble is of their own making, I physically feel their pain. I don’t necessarily like it, but I am not sure that I would want it to be any other way.

So bring on the lie detector. But if the questions involve the people that I minister too, like Paul, I am unlikely to pass.   

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Corinthians 12 & 13