Letter From God

A friend showed me this last night and I thought the overall message was phenomenal:

“Give Me Your Burdens and I Will…” Add to Them?”

“The only time Jesus ever got mad was when he went to church.”

This is something a friend of mine said to me recently. This friend and I both know the New Testament reasonably well, so we debated the merits of the statement. It’s true: the only time in any Biblical account that shows Jesus actually (and deliberately) losing His temper was when He went to the Temple, saw the people – His people – getting fleeced, went out, braided a whip, returned, and demolished the place.

So now I don’t feel too terrible about my own aversion to Church (and most of the people therein). My pal Fishermage has an interesting blog up here on Lamentations. It discusses the unrealistic burden that many in the church put on people – burdens that God does not put on people. Listen, God’s not going to send you to hell if you don’t give the Church ten percent of your income. He’s not going to send you to hell if you smoke or drink. He’s not going to send you to hell if you’d rather watch Star Wars or play World of Warcraft than go to church every time the doors are open. You know, he’s not even going to send you to hell if you have murdered a dozen people (crazy little clause in the Bible about only one sin being unforgivable in God’s eyes and not even the brutal rape of a teenager, heinous act, mass murder, or horrible murder of a small child is that sin).

As human beings, we are terribly judgmental. We suppose that we have the right to force people to adopt our values – whatever those values may be (a quick scan of a recent post on this blog on Atheism is a perfect example of humanity – including myself at some points – at our judgmental worst). But God (and by God, I include Jesus), who alone has the right to act as our Judge, does not do so. Instead, He looks for every reason, every excuse not to pronounce judgment on us, to the point that He declares that there is nothing (except for blaspheming the Holy Spirit – and if you don’t know what that means, then you are probably quite innocent of it) that we can possibly do that would be unforgivable in His eyes.

So, while the church is telling you that you’re going to hell for…um…being human, just remember that God is telling you quite the opposite. God is telling you that there is not a single “righteous” person on the earth, that we were created the way we are and that He knows we’re going to screw up – and He’s perfectly okay with that. What He’s not okay with is us putting unrealistic expectations or burdens that no man can possibly carry on one another – that kinda pisses Him off a little.

The Man of Peace?

The name of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner is interesting. It means (in order) “blessed, handsome, crooked.”

He’s been called a man of peace before, but the awarding of a prize which has previously been awarded to such historic notables as Nelson Mandela (1993), The Dalai Lama (1989), Elie Wiesel (1986), Mother Theresa (1979), Martin Luther King Jr. (1964) and Anwar al-Saddat and Menachim Begin (1978) to a man who has, quite literally, done little to engender peace is a bit astonishing to me.

President Obama has worked very hard to cultivate an image of being a man of peace without actually doing anything to bring that image to reality. In point of fact, the President is, as was pointed out to me yesterday, baala al-salaam (spelling may be incorrect because prior to yesterday, I had never heard the term): without peace.

I’ll not put on a tinfoil hat here and speculate regarding eschatology. Instead, I will point out fact.

The President has not yet fulfilled his promises to end two wars in which this country – rightly or wrongly – is engaged.

The President has done little (unless empty words count) to prevent madmen from gaining access to nuclear weaponry. He has further done absolutely nothing (again, unless empty words count) to prevent a potential attack on either United States soil or the soil of our Pacific Rim allies by a madman who is known to have access to nuclear weapons technology.

The President has done little, if anything, to put a stop to abuses of both power and human rights and dignity in Africa – though he alone, due to his heritage and the tribal nature of many African nations, is uniquely suited to do so.

The President has done little, if anything, to put a stop to piracy in the African peninsula: though, again, he alone among all world leaders, is uniquely suited to do so.

The President has extended the hand of United States friendship to men like Mr. Chavez of Venezuela…yet denied that hand of friendship to some of our staunchest allies, choosing instead to scold Israel as a parent would an errant child. The President would do well to remember that Israel has, in the past, been one of our strongest allies: throwing a trusted ally under the bus for political gain is always a mistake…and one that nearly always comes back to bite the people of the United States in the ass later.

The President made a promise during his campaign to close Guantanamo bay. This has not been done, and “Gitmo” remains a black stain on our nation and those who serve her because of the actions of a few dishonorable men and women who are not soldiers (and who never were soldiers, judging by their actions), but were still permitted to wear this nation’s uniform…and who, by so doing, tarnished the sacrifices of the many lives lost in service to this country.

Let’s not even begin to discuss the lack of peace engendered by President Obama’s domestic policy. Suffice to say that a man (or men) calling the President on blatant falsehoods is treated almost as a crime. Our President – a Constitutional scholar and, one must assume by his Constitutional interests, an historical scholar – demands an apology from a man who, really, has not only done nothing wrong, but whose ‘outburst’ is completely in line with the rich history of our nation. Our President, the Constitutional scholar, denied a citizen of this nation his Constitutional right to freedom of speech (and, apparently, freedom of opinion as well).

President Obama, the blessed, handsome, crooked man of peace? Baala al-salaam.

When You are Free…

This past weekend, I attended a church service in another state.  What I saw at that service made me remember why it was that I stopped attending regular corporate worship services.  It also both made me angry and made me feel some compassion/pity for those locked into going to a service every time the church doors are open.

For twenty minutes before they took the offering, some random individual rambled on and on about boats.  I have no idea really what boats have to do with the offering, but the man’s rambling amused me because it made me think of this song. I found this entertaining and started looking around to see who had their “flippy-floppies,” so it wasn’t a total loss.

Once the offering had been taken – by placing buckets on the altar and everyone running up to the altar to drop their cash in, so that everybody could see something that, truly, is between the individual and God – another man got up and spent another twenty minutes praying over the offering and many other things that, frankly, made so little sense that I tuned the prayer out. There was nothing direct and to the point about the prayer and, to be honest, I have no earthly idea what, if anything, the person praying was asking God to do.

Then the pastor got up. This is a man whom I like and respect. Sadly, he wasn’t preaching that morning. He said a couple of really great things that I would have liked to have heard a lot more about…but I suppose it is something that I will learn another time.

Next, a wonderful classical musician gave a performance that was all too brief. What I was able to hear of her violin playing was breathtakingly beautiful. It is easy to see why this woman was recently nominated for a Dove award for best Instrumental Album of 2009. Unfortunately, the volume on the accompanying soundtrack was so loud that it drowned out most of her beautiful playing of one of my favorite songs ever. I would very much like, I think, to hear this lady play without all the distraction. She is very talented and obviously loves what she does. Still, not a total loss because what I was able to hear was remarkable.

Then the preacher got up… /facepalm. I’m a direct and to the point kind of a girl, and this guy took more than an hour to say what I could have said clearly in a couple of sentences: taking on false responsibility is a common habit that we, as Christians, need to break out of. When you are free, you can do what you want without condemnation.

Frankly, a brilliant sermon. The man stated that we are not responsible for the actions of others (well, duh!) and that when we choose to walk in freedom, we do not take on those false responsibilities of “well, if I don’t attend every service every time the doors are open, the most horrible things imaginable will happen.”

…and the entire building was silent and had a look of blank ignorance on their faces, as if this man were speaking a foreign language.

This man said something that is, quite possibly, the most profound thing I have ever heard come out of a preacher’s mouth: When you are free, you can do what you want and nobody in the room understood what he was saying! By all appearances, the statement sailed over the heads of most of the people in the room without so much as a second thought. How disappointing. How sad that Christians, as a rule, are so chained by appearances, man-made rules, and false responsibility that a room full of them couldn’t grasp the enormity of that simple little statement: When you are free, you can do what you want.

There is great freedom in Christ…so why are so many “little Christs” missing it?

Today, try walking in freedom. Do what you want, even if it’s only one thing for one minute. Let me know how it feels…and I dare you to tell me that after even the tiniest taste of that freedom, you can go back to a cage.

Atheism

*note: due to the amount of hateful invective being spewed by many people, I have disabled comments. The Germans have a wonderful saying that, loosely translated, means: “If what you see offends you, don’t look!” There are many people on the internet who could – and probably should – apply that piece of European wisdom to their lives.

Eavesdropping on History 1

Below is a slightly modified version of a post I made on my old blog in May of ‘08.  I think it bears repeating, since it’s a kind of a continuation of the unintended theme I have going here at the moment. ;P

A little over a year ago, I read a blog post about eavesdropping. In a nutshell, the writer reminded me that when we read Paul’s writings, we are reading letters that were not written to us; they were written to other people in another period in history – a period that in no way resembles our own.

Still, we apply the teachings in Paul’s letters to other people quite literally to our own lives, don’t we? Personally, not being a first-century type of a girl, I see nothing wrong with makeup or with the plaiting (that’s braiding for those who may not be aware) of hair. My hair being halfway down my back, you can pretty well bet I braid it on occasion – especially when it’s hot outside (which it pretty much always is here in Texas). I’ve even been known to wear a short (as in about two inches above the knee) skirt on occasion because I’m told I have nice legs. I’m pretty positive I am not going to hell for wearing makeup, braiding my hair, or wearing a short skirt every once in a while, even if Paul said (in the first frakkin’ century!) that women shouldn’t do that.

So why do we go about and act (or listen to those who would tell us) that Paul’s letters are clearly written directly to us?! That is, in my opinion, positively idiotic, particularly when we open any Bible and read, at the beginning of each letter, exactly who Paul was addressing! Not only that, we have approximate dates for when each letter was written! I don’t know about any of you, but I was definitely not alive in AD 54…unless I’m like some weird, freaky science-fiction thing that somehow got transported 2,000 years into Earth’s future. That’d be kinda cool (especially if I had, like, a lightsaber or something!), but I rate the likelihood of that being the story of my life right up there with people opening ice cream stands in Hell.

So, why do I say all this? Because I believe that a teacher bears a greater responsibility to ensure that what they are teaching is absolutely correct – and it literally drives me absolutely bonkers when a teacher teaches something that is so wrong that I can barely contain myself when I hear it.  Ephesians chapter 6 is a good example of this.

Pretty much anyone who has ever heard this passage taught has heard the (what I believe to be) B.S. teaching: the Roman shoes, with their spikes, so you can stomp all over the enemy. The Roman breastplate, so highly polished that it blinds the enemy, the Roman shield, which covered from neck to thigh (actually, that was the Greeks…some Romans did carry that large shield, but most carried the smaller round variety)…excuse me while I go put on my hip waders and get an industrial-sized can of air freshener to clear the smell of fecal matter from the room.

It makes a great sermon, because it charges people up, gets ‘em rarin’ to go, makes ‘em feel good, yee-haw. And that’s what church is for, right? Firing people up, making ‘em excited about God, woot! Sorry, I think I may have just puked in my mouth a little bit right there – I’m afraid that I believe that living a life in relationship with God is more important than sitting in a pew and asking someone else to get me excited about God.

But let me ask you this…Where in all of Ephesians does Paul start talking about Romans? Especially look in the context of 6:10. Maybe I’m reading the wrong translation, so I’ll go get my Greek one. Nope, not there, either. What is Paul talking about throughout nearly the entire letter, though? Relationship. How we are to treat one another. Servanthood. Hmmm….that’s interesting.

Another interesting little factoid is that one of the largest gladiatorial arenas in the Roman Empire in the mid-first century was located in Ephesus.  The History Channel produced an amazingly good documentary on this about five years ago for their “Rome Week” event.  Well, that knowledge does kind of change one’s outlook and point of view on this passage a bit now, doesn’t it? By AD 54 the games were incredibly popular – Ephesus’ arena was one of the largest and was frequently used – and the people there would have been very familiar with how gladiators went into battle.

This brings up another point: what Roman soldier, what soldier at any point in the history of humankind, has ever had to be told to put on every piece of armor at their disposal? Speaking as a retired soldier, I can tell you: none. Not one. Going anywhere near a battlefield, whether for practice or for real, without all your armor, pretty much guarantees disciplinary action. Ask the soldier headed for Iraq who forgot to pack his Kevlar. Ask the soldier in my basic training unit who lost her bayonet. Ask me: I left my gear in the back of my secured military vehicle overnight in a secured motorpool once and paid dearly for it. Gladiators, on the other hand, contrary to Ridley Scott’s incredibly compelling film, considered it more honorable and more of a test of their skill and abilities as combatants (one-on-one, not mass battle re-enactments) to enter the arena with as little armor as possible.

Another point concerning Roman soldiers and gladiators: Roman soldiers either were Roman citizens or were completing a tour of duty (usually 20 years) that would allow them to become Roman citizens. They were not servants; they gave orders. Gladiators, on the other hand, were not only servants, they were slaves, trained to fight. The most skilled or brave of them, or those the Emperor chose to honor could earn their freedom by fighting for it in such a manner that impressed the Emperor. Otherwise, slaves they remained (well-treated and well-trained slaves – gladiators standard of living was well above what one would expect for a slave because their masters needed them to be in top physical condition to win fights so that they could bring in a hefty income for their masters.  Gladiators, again in contrast to Mr. Scott’s film, rarely, if ever, wanted for anything).  There were many cases of men who would willingly give up their status, their freedom, and all that they had in order to become gladiators. They would take on the status of a slave for the hope of future glory.

So, why the history lesson?

Well, first of all, when we read Ephesians in its entirely, we see that Paul is addressing specific issues in how people should relate to one another and behave towards one another. We can surmise (though we can never know) that the Ephesians wrote to him asking about certain, specific problems in the way relationships were going on, and that he was responding to each point that they raised. Then we get to Ephesians 6:10:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (NKJV)

Finally, be constantly strengthened in the Lord and in the active efficacy of the might that is inherent in Him.  Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God to the end that you will be able to hold your ground against the stratagems of the devil, because our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the principalities, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against spirit forces of perniciousness in the heavenly places.  On this account, take to yourself, at once and once for all, the complete armor of God in order that you may be able to resist in the day, the pernicious day, and having achieved all things, to stand.  Stand therefore, having girded your loins in the sphere of truth, and having clothed yourself with the breastplate of righteousness, and having sandalled your feet with a firm foundation of the good news of peace; in addition to all these, taking to yourselves the shield of faith by means of which you will be able to quench all the fiery arrows of the pernicious one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God; through the instrumentality of every prayer and supplication for need, praying at every season by means of the Spirit, and maintaining a constant alertness in the same with every kind of unremitting care and supplication for all the saints, and on behalf of me, in order that there might be given me utterance in the opening of my mouth, in every fearless, confident freedom of speaking, to make known the mystery of the good news on behalf of which I am an ambassador in a chain, in orderthat in it I may speak with every fearless and confident freedom as it is necessary in the nature of the case for me to speak. (Wuest)

Now, many translations and many teachers will say that this word “finally” means “for the rest.” Indeed – with that I can agree. But I have heard it taught (in error, I strongly believe), that this word “finally” means “for the rest of you.” Huh? So it doesn’t apply to everyone else, only the people who aren’t parents or children or masters or slaves or otherwise addressed in some part of your letter? Well, that seems pretty stupid, doesn’t it?

Going back to what I spoke of in the beginning of this blog – that we are eavesdropping on a 2,000 year old letter that is in response to what those in Ephesus had written to Paul and asked him about (and we will never see that letter), I believe this could more accurately be translated “Regarding the rest of what you wrote to me about…”

I believe Paul was encouraging all the Ephesians to stand strong in things like strife, temptations, trials, because his very next statement is to tell the Ephesians that, unlike in the gladiatorial arena, we do not struggle against flesh and blood for our freedom, we “wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

I have studied and meditated this passage for more than 5 years now, and now more than ever, I am convinced that this passage refers not to behaving like Roman soldiers – strongarming and pushing our will on others, relying on the authority of “our position” to get things accomplished – but like gladiators…willingly taking on the status and position of servanthood, putting on the whole armor of God – not just the parts we feel like putting on – as we fight against those powers, principalities, rulers of darkness in this present age and spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places for our future glory.

Shout It From the Rooftops! …NOT!

I found the reference I made in my last post about not letting your left hand know what your right hand is doing.  It is in Matthew ch. 6:

Moreover, be holding your mind on the matter of not practicing your correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting before men in order to be attentively viewed by them as a spectacular performer.  Otherwise, a reward you do not have in the presence of your Father in heaven.  Therefore, whenever you are practicing the virtues of mercy or beneficence, do not sound a trumpet before you as the actors on the stage of life do in the synagogues and in the streets in order that they may be held in honor by men.  Assuredly, I am saying to you, they have their reward and receipt for the same in full.  But while you are practicing the virtues of mercy or beneficence, do not allow your left hand to know what your right hand is doing, in order that your mercy or beneficence may be in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

And whenever you are praying you shall not be as the actors on the stage of life, because they are fond of praying in the synagogues and while standing on the corners of avenues in order that they may be seen by men.  Assuredly, I am saying to you, They have their reward and the receipt for the same in full.  But, as for you, whenever you are praying, enter into your secret and well-guarded place, and having closed your door, pray to your Father in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.  Moreover, when praying, do not repeat the same thing over and over as the pagans do, for they think that they will be heard because of their multiplicity of words.  Therefore, do not be like them, for your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him for them. (Matthew 6:1-8, Wuest)

It seems to me that Jesus is saying here to not only not let our right hands know what our left hands are doing when we give, but also to do much the same when we pray:  to not announce it, but to go into a secret and well-protected place (could this be a reference to the heart, perhaps?), close the door and talk to Him in a private conversation which both He and we hold in the strictest confidence (by our words, though not necessarily by our actions and the changes such a relationship with God must necessarily produce).

Not all of us do this.  In fact, what comes to mind for me as I read the above passage is the story of Haman and Mordecai in the book of Esther:  when asked what should be done for the man the King wishes to honor, Haman asked, “who would the King wish to honor more than me?” and listed for his friends and family the many ways in which he’d been promoted in the kingdom, the many things he had done for the kingdom and the fact that the Queen invited him – and him alone – to a banquet…which he presumed was another way in which the King sought to honor him and his contributions.

It is interesting to me how we, as Christians, tend to behave.  I commonly hear things like “oh, I’m on a three-seven-fourteen-forty-ninety nine thousand-day fast.”  “I pray every day from this time to that time.” “I pray ‘x’ number hours per day.”  “I do ‘x’ number hours volunteer work.” “I gave this much to charity.” “I did this, that, and the other and never asked a single thing in return.”

Haman much?  Granted, we have all been there and done that at least once (and probably far more than once).  Granted, we have all presumed, when an honor is to be bestowed, that we are the ones going to be honored…and we’ve probably all been a little jealous or a lot embarrassed when it turned out that the honor was going to another instead.  Generally (I hope!), most of us grow through that pride and ego eventually.

But Jesus tells us not to recount the many things we’ve done, the amount we have given, the number of hours we prayed today, the number of chapters we’ve read today.  Jesus tells us that all of these things should be done in secret…and that which is done in secret is generally not mentioned in public.  For instance, there is absolutely nothing wrong, sinful, bad – pick your favorite adjective – about the intimate relations between a husband and wife, whether those relations be conversation, physical intimacy, or what have you.  Still, I don’t see very many husbands and wives running out to tell the world the contents of a private marital conversation, nor do I see very many married couples run out the door and tell the world they just had sex.  Those things, while natural and good between a married couple, are intimate and personal.  I suppose my question, then, is this:  If we are the Bride of Christ, isn’t running out the door and telling everyone we meet about our prayer life – also a very personal and intimate thing, according to the words of Jesus – more or less akin to our running out the door and telling the world about personal and intimate things that take place within our marriages?  Isn’t it a bit like gossiping to a friend about what another friend has told us in the strictest confidence?

When Mordecai told Xerxes about the plot against the King’s life, he did not announce it in the gate or in the city square.  Mordecai quietly and privately went to Queen Esther, his cousin, and told her what he had learned.  Queen Esther then went to her husband, King Xerxes, and revealed the plot to him – and told King Xerxes that it was Mordecai who had revealed the assassination plot.  She did not take credit, nor did Mordecai stand in the gate and call after King Xerxes day after day about how he had saved the King’s life.  In fact, it was never mentioned again – it was only later that King Xerxes was reminded of this thing that Mordecai had done for him, and the reminder came through the writings of the Persian scribes, not from Esther or Mordecai.

So why do we constantly remind God and one another of who we are, what we have done, what God has done for us?  Certainly, testifying to the goodness of God is important – even God tells us to put Him in remembrace of what he has done for us.  But I cannot find anything in the Bible or in the words of Jesus that tells me to magnify and glorify myself.  I cannot find anything that tells me to go out and to discuss what I said to God and what He said to me in my time of prayer today.  I cannot find anything that tells me to put another in remembrance of what I have done for them.

It was King Xerxes who honored Mordecai, not Queen Esther and certainly not Mordecai himself.  In the same way that Mordecai acted righteously in secret and was rewarded openly, so Jesus is telling us that we will be rewarded openly for our actions which we take in secret (such as prayer, meditation, fasting).

Three separate times, Jesus talks about the man who exalts himself.  I will give one as an example:

“And He was giving an illustration to those who had been invited, while He was concentrating on how they were choosing out for themselves the chief places at the table, saying to them, Whenever you are invited by a certain individual to a wedding, do not begin to take the chief place at the table, lest a more honorable one than you has been invited by him, and having come, he who invited you and him will say to you, Give this man a place, and then you begin with shame to take the last place.  But whenever you are invited, proceeding, take the last place in order that he who has invited you say to you, Friend, come up higher.  Then there shall be honor conferred upon you before all who are at the table with you; because everyone who exalts himself shall be reduced to a rank below those who are honored, and he who places himself in a lower rank in life, shall be elevated to a place where he is honored.”

As for our friend Haman, he and all his family were hanged on a gallows – publicly.  The very gallows he had built upon which he intended to hang Mordecai, in fact.

Personally, I’d rather sit back and allow God to bestow honor upon me, if He so desires, rather than take that honor for myself when it does not belong to me…and be stripped of all honor and even my life for my presumptive arrogance.

A Little Pencil

Mother Theresa once said, “No one thinks of the pencil when reading a letter.  They think of the heart of the letter-writer.  That’s what I want to be – a little pencil in God’s hand.” (paraphrased because I can’t find the precise quote)

So what happens when the spiritual gifts we have been given become our validation in life?  If our validation comes from the idea that we are an apostle, a prophet, a teacher, a helper rather than the fact that we are and that we are a child of the Most High, are we then a pencil, a tool in the hand of God…or are we exercising our gifts in an effort to “play God” so that we will be recognized as one who has been greatly gifted by God?

Recognition is wonderful and it is important to us as human beings.  For instance, if I make a good meal that tastes really good and I have spent all day cooking that meal, a little recognition/validation, while not necessary, is nice.  It is not necessary that I receive validation for cooking the meal because what I have done, I have done for the joy of doing it and for the joy of being a blessing to someone else, but it does make me feel good when someone says, “wow, that was a great dinner! Thank you!”

Living a life of faith, to me, also means that I do not point out to others every single meal that I have ever cooked and gotten accolades for.  Nor does it mean, to me, that I should cook those meals specifically to be told how gifted a cook I am.  I was reading last night something that pulled me up (because I have been on a bit of a selfishness kick for the past week or so):

Therefore I deemed it necessary to exhort the brethren that they should go before you and make ready your liberal gift which was previously promised, that this might be ready beforehand, thus as a matter of generosity and not as a gift which a covetous spirit would withhold but gives grudgingly under pressure.  But [although I am not pressing you to give] this [is true] – he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows in a beneficent, generous spirit, with a view to the blessing of the recipient, shall also reap blessings given in a beneficent, generous manner.  Let each one give according as he has purposed in his heart, not out of an annoyed and troubled heart, nor because of necessity, for God loves a cheerful, ready giver.  Moreover, God is powerful to make every grace superabound to you in order that, having always an all-sufficiency in all things, you may superabound to every good work, even as it stands written, He [the liberal person] scattered abroad, he gave to those who are poor, his righteousness abides forever.   (My note – the term “liberal” here is not a political term, but a term which refers to generosity of spirit in giving.) [2 Cor 9, Wuest]

He who gives in a generous spirit, with his eye towards the blessing of the recipient. What this says to me is that, when I give – whether it be money, time, hospitality, you name it – it is God’s will that I do so generously, looking not at how I will be blessed, but looking at how the other person will be blessed.  There is another verse, also in the New Testament, where Jesus says something along the lines of ‘when you give, let your giving be done in secret…do not let the right hand know what the left hand is doing.’ (paraphrased).  This means that when I give, I do so without shouting my good deed from the rooftops.  It means that, no matter how many wonderful dinners I have cooked, I do not keep a running tally and remind everyone that I have ever cooked for how many times I have cooked for them and what I served them.

When my eye is towards the blessing of the recipient, it is hard to be selfish; it is hard to be anything more than a pencil in God’s hand.  When, however, my eye is towards my own gain – whether that be in praise, validation, to lift myself in the esteem of others or of God – then I am not being a pencil, I am trying to write the letter.

When I am a pencil, the spotlight is off me and it is on God – people reading the letter (my actions) look towards God, understanding that it is He and not I who is giving.  When I try to be more than a little pencil through which the mercy, grace, and love of God are expressed, I create a dependence on me (rather than on God).  And that, to my mind, is taking the place of God in the life of another.  We all know what happened to the last guy who tried to usurp God’s place, so I think I’ll continue striving to be a little pencil.

Love and Arrogance

I do not understand something.

I know people, Christians even, who act as the first man in the following:

Two men went up to the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, and the other, a man of a different character, a tax collector.  The Pharisee, having assumed a stance,  was uttering these things in prayer to himself:  O God I am constantly grateful to you that I am not even as the rest of mankind, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this fellow, the tax collector.  I fast twice a week.  I pay a tenth of all my income whatever it might be.  But the tax collector having come to stand at a distance, was unwilling even to lift his eyes up to heaven but kept on beating his breast, saying, O God, justify me the sinner upon the basis of an expiatory sacrifice which satisfies the demands of divine justice and makes possible the just bestowal of righteousness on the basis of justice satisfied. (Luke 18, Wuest)

How is it that we who are saved by grace seemingly forget that it is by grace alone that we have been saved and brought “out of Egypt” as it were and we become arrogant people who claim humility and righteousness, but who, in the words of Mr. Wuest’s translation of Luke 18, “utterly despise the rest of mankind?”  We claim to love as Jesus loves and to accept one another for who we are, but we are deceived:  we think we are the only ones who hear from God, the only ones in a deep and intimate enough relationship with Him to know His will and His thoughts.

This is the worst kind of arrogance because it is based in self-deception: we say we love, but we do not.  And I believe it is John who says that “he who does not love his brother who he can see, how can he love God, whom he cannot see?” (paraphrased)

Why am I ranting on about love and arrogance?

Recently, I was accused of “cursing” my brother (another Christian).  The basis of the accusation was that I gave my opinion: I told my brother that I suspected they would become offended by what I was about to say.  My brother’s reply?  “Why do you always curse me like that?”  My brother then went on to state that they had been told by a mentor that they were the most teachable person the mentor had ever met; humble, pliable, always willing to receive a rebuke and apply the wisdom of the rebuke.

So, what do you suppose happened when I revealed that it was my perception that this certain brother would become offended by what I had to say?  My brother did not seem to accept my perception of them (which was based on past experience).  My brother seemed to grow slightly offended that I would have such a perception of them, though I cannot state this as being absolute fact because I am not a mind reader.

True humility, to me, is hearing that my brother’s (and thus, probably much of the world’s) perception of me is that I am unapproachable and taking that rebuke and doing everything in my power to allow God to change me so that I am approachable.  If my brother comes to me and, between me and him, tells me that it is his perception that I will become offended easily by what he perceives to be truth and I accuse him of cursing me, then I am not behaving in a humble way, nor am I accepting of the strong rebuke my brother’s words truly are.  If, as a “little Christ,” I am behaving in a manner that turns people off from both Jesus and me, then I must re-examine my behavior and change it – quickly!  As followers of Jesus, we are to point others toward Him, not send them running the opposite direction!

I am not saying to revert to a legalism wherein I am always walking on eggshells and my actions are governed by the fear that I might offend someone simply by being who I am – who God created me to be.  This, to me, is not love.  Love, to me, is to be honest always.  Love, to me, means to carry myself in such a way that both my brothers in Christ and the rest of the world may approach me on any matter at any time and receive a measured, honest response.

Love, to me, means that I can be counted on to always be who I am, no matter who is listening or watching.  Love, to me, means that I have no masks and I do not pretend to be something or someone I am not, no matter what company I am in.  Love, to me, is not growing offended at honest rebuke, but changing the behavior so that there is no cause to rebuke me in that area again…but, to me, love is also not telling folks how humble and open to rebuke I am as a justification for ignoring a rebuke.   That, to me, is self-deceived arrogance, and in my opinion, it has no place in the body of Christ.

Shatterpoint

“I sometimes can see the weak places in an opponent—shatterpoints where the unbreakable can be broken. They can occur in individuals…and in events.“

Shatterpoint is a technique used by Jedi in George Lucas’ Star Wars universe.  In a nutshell, the few Jedi who can employ this technique can see the very molecules a material is made of.  Using the shatterpoint technique, the Jedi can then see where an object is weak and, striking it at its weakest point, destroy it with a single blow.  The interesting thing is that the shatterpoint technique is often used to destroy, say, an armor chestplate or even a wall – but without causing any pain, injury, or other damage to any person near that wall or wearing that armor chestplate.

As people, we are taught to be unbreakable, strong, unyielding.  But, spiritually speaking, the unbreakable must be broken if we are to move on with God and continue to grow.  That is what shatterpoint represents to me:  the point where our pride gives way to humility; the place where we are strong enough to see and accept our weakness and allow God to build us back up in His image.  Most of the time, that is what you will be reading about here:  my journey as I discover the shatterpoints in myself.  Other times, you may be reading something completely random that struck my fancy.  Either way, welcome to my world.  Hope you enjoy your stay.