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All about Jesus or all about me

December 8, 2010

At Christmas time, we often hear reminders of focusing on the reason for the celebration. But that admonishment may be too vague. What is the reason for the celebration?

I’ll never forget the sign I saw in northern Indiana once, “Keep Christ in Xmas.” I don’t know if they were being cute or if they ran out of room. But I’d have preferred that they spell out what they were talking about.

I’m reading Walter Hilton right now. “The Ladder of Perfection.” Interestingly, the topic of the day was the seven deadly sins, first of which is pride. It is amazing how pride can get in our way. The way Hilton describes it, pride is thinking too much about me. I’ve heard people in the very way they describe events that it’s all about them. Listen. They’ll say, “they did it to me” or “she ignored me” or “the company did this to me” when, in reality, those other people probably didn’t really care about them.  Is your thinking about what you’ll give? What you’ll get? What you’ll do?

I’m reading more and more often about substituting service for giving and getting material gifts. Do it in the spirit of serving others. It’s not you, it’s them. Then, don’t boast about it.  Giving extra to missions it good. At this time of life, we are financially blessed. We can give to people around the world and spread much good. Make micro-loans through Kiva, or support Compassion International, World Vision or a local missionary who does good deeds to people and spreads the word of Jesus.

Make Christmas merry for others. And meditate on just what Jesus’ coming means for you.

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Advent or Christmas Season

December 1, 2010

Are you in the Advent season? Or are you in the Christmas season? Another way to look at this thought is–are you recreating the anticipation of Jesus’ birth that signals the advent of a new movement of God’s Spirit in the world, or are you caught up in nostalgia and gift-giving just to be giving gifts–or even in gift-getting, hoping to get lots of stuff.

It’s the time of year for pastors and teachers to talk about remembering Christ. But a Sunday sermon or lesson is not enough. Then we go out and immediately become inundated with advertising seeking emotional levers in our souls to get us to buy more stuff.

What began as a simple way to remember how visitors left gifts for Jesus has become an all-out effort fraught with worry and anxiety. Part of the trouble is–at least in American society–we all have lots of stuff. What we should be doing is throwing stuff out and simplifying and uncluttering our lives. Instead, we’re asking for more stuff. Heck, even I got more stuff. I’m the owner of a new Apple iPad–my early Christmas present. I’ll use it as a tool for work, but still, I could just use what I already have.

Medieval English mystic Walter Hilton said, “For no man can be spiritually healed unless he wants and desires to be spiritually healthy.” The attributes of focus and placing attention on the right things have become my themes lately (will be tomorrow’s subject when I meet with my new boss at the magazine). Hilton states a psychological truth. You have to want to be healed before you can be–at least regarding spiritual things, and as we now know, addictions as well.

Get yourself a little reminder to keep with you that you can touch and see to remind you that you desire to put your attention on the coming of Jesus in your life and push the gift-giving frenzy back to its proper place. Do something for someone or some group. Give service, honor Jesus. Simplify. You’ll have a more enjoyable December.

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Are You Acting The Part of a Spiritual Person

November 17, 2010

Humans are great actors. Most won’t make it in Hollywood. But most of us try to act like someone we’re not in real life. We dress a certain way to impress people. We show up in church. We show up for certain service activities. We may even hold doors open for others. Or say “please” and “thank you.”

But what is inside? Do we care at all for those we serve? Are we full of anger, hurt, bitterness, vengefulness, envy, greed? It’s easy to be caught up in some of those emotions–emotions that can crowd God out of the picture and our lives. Anger seems to be the prevalent emotion in America today. Most likely caused by underlying feelings of greed, selfishness and envy.

I live in America and travel frequently to Europe. I speak only a little German and very little French. I can watch a little TV and see magazines, though, and see the same things as here–a supersaturation of marketing trying to reach the depths of emotions of needing things to be satisfied (or sexy, or beautiful, or accepted). Those are all external things with which we act a part in a play. And we buy it. Literally.

But, what are you left with?

The real need is to be in relationship with God. Bring your inner life into congruence with what your outside life sometimes says. Saying you have faith is one thing. But living with God is another. Living with God requires stepping back in your mind and observing yourself. Catch yourself when you get caught up in some of those emotions–and you will get caught up in them. Then remember your friend–Jesus. His example and teaching were meant to help us line up our thoughts, as well as deeds, with God.

This takes effort. You must slow down your life and reflect. Pray as a conversation where you talk and you listen. Don’t pray that someone else’s faults are corrected. Pray that your own faults will be corrected. Simplify your life so that you quit acting a part and start living the part.

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Strive not for talk but for virtue

November 11, 2010

The political season is over (albeit briefly) in the United States. That is always an exhausting season for people emotionally. Every media if stuffed with candidates and pundits striving to reach a message that stirs your basest emotions so that you’ll hate the other guy and vote for him/her. As much as analysts have discussed for at least 40 years the changes that will be wrought in politics and business if we just have more women  involved, I have yet to see any difference in actuality.

Interesting that Thomas a Kempis puts these words in a dialogue between Jesus and the disciple, “For the kingdom of heaven consists not in talk but in virtue. Attend, rather, to My words which enkindle the heart and enlighten the mind, wich excite contrition and abound in manifold consolations. Never read them for the purpose of appearing more learned or more wise. Apply yourself to [subduing] your vices, for this will benefit you more than your understanding of many difficult questions.”

It’s not what we say as much as what we do. People watch you. Kids will mimic your actions, not your words. The old phrase, “Actions speak louder than words” speaks to this. If you say one thing and do another, people will believe what you do–not what you say.

If you talk about your relationship with God, yet do not practice virtue, who will believe you? If you have memorized vast amounts of the text of the Bible and do not act differently from how you acted before, who will listen to you? And in the end, what will it benefit you with God? Go out this morning and look for the first opportunity to help someone. That will start the day off right.

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Free or Responsible Speech

October 23, 2010

In the U.S., there is a legal case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court on the First Amendment right of free speech. I don’t know many details–but it has something to do with a group of people who say they are Christians who are upset with something, so they chose to generate publicity for their cause by protesting outside funerals of  U.S. soldiers who had been killed in Iraq or Afganistan. The legal case involves the group’s first amendment right of speech versus the families’ fourth amendment right to privacy.

I’m not commenting on that–exactly. But I’d like to take a teaching from my new best friend, James. I think he would agree with me (although they didn’t have many of these legal “rights” in his day) that just because you have the right to do something doesn’t mean you should do it. The word “responsibility” creeps in here. You need to combine doing things with responsibility. I guess when we protested for civil rights and against the war in VietNam in the 60s, we didn’t dream to what extent that idea would spread. Now we have protests arranged mostly to generate publicity all over the place. (Another good reason to turn off TV news.)

James told us to watch our tongues, because that is one organ that can surely send us to hell. He also said just after his teaching on the tongue that wisdom from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.

I think that list is one we should compare ourselves to. When is our speech not up to God’s standards of wisdom? How can we bring ourselves back to these attributes? Remember this list. Watch for when you stray. Then revisit the list and bring yourself back into God’s way.

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Loving the Giver More Than the Gift

October 9, 2010

Does it seem as though people are obsessed with getting stuff. We are living in a time where the general culture seems to be one of “it’s all about me,” or “what’s in it for me,” or “I need more stuff.” Many people I meet through business seem to be this way. But also many church people, Christians, seem to be more focused on themselves than others.

I don’t think this is a recent phenomenon. The Bible records many stories of selfishness and greed. Writing in the Middle Ages, Thomas a Kempis says, “The wise lover regards not so much the gift of Him Who loves as the love of Him Who gives.”

Love is an attitude. That attitude more highly regards the love of a person or of God who gives us a gift than the gift itself. We ought to rejoice that someone thinks enough of us to give us something rather than focus on the gift. Maybe someone you love gives you something that is less than what you expected. Do you pout because you wanted more? Or do you rejoice that they thought of you at all?

This is one part of love that Christians should be displaying. My prayer is that those who have not yet overcome the human emotions of selfishness, greed and hate will eventually be overcome with love for God, the Giver, and for people, His creation.

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Judge or Judge Not – God Knows

October 7, 2010

American society currently, at least the vocal part, seems to be in a rush to judgment. So many people want to sit on the Lord’s throne and make pronouncements as to the worth or salvation of everyone–well, everyone except themselves and maybe their friends. This may be true to a small extent in other societies, too.

Reading James’ pastoral letter, he warns us not to judge others. That is God’s job. Every time this verse comes up for discussion in one of my small groups, we have one guy who always speaks up and says, “I don’t agree. We have to judge others.” To which I always reply, “There’s judging and then there’s judging.”

I think James is saying, do not take upon yourself to be the final judge–the person you meet at the end of your life who either says “Welcome, good and faithful servant,” or says, “Depart from me,” and casts you into Hell. In English we can use the same word for making a decision in a legal sense and for discerning the goodness or correctness of other people.

This latter interpretation is a necessity for everyday life. You must evaluate everyone you meet with whom you may have some interaction and decide (judge) whether you should believe them or not. If someone comes to you and says “I have discovered the exact time of the end of the world,” you could apply your knowledge of the Bible where Jesus says, “No one knows the time, not even the Son.” Based on this, you would make the judgment not to believe this person.

Now my friend in the small group may border into the group of Christians with whom I have the most trouble with–those who think they have discovered the Truth through one Bible verse and proceed to sit in final judgment (or so they think) on the salvation of others. Even others whom they have never met, and so cannot even begin to look into their souls and their lives to see if they are upright and walking with God. I cannot bear that burden. I cannot be that presumptuous. I can discern others and choose whom to believe and whom to befriend. But I’m content to let God do His work in that regard. The only thing I can do is use my talents to show Him to others. That’s probably the best attitude for you, too.

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Rush to Judge Others

September 27, 2010

We live in a time, I don’t know, maybe like other times in human history, where people are so quick to judge others. I know Christians who perfectly know the mind of God and can point out exactly who is going to heaven and who isn’t. Of course, for them, the game played is about heaven. I’ll never forget a Mad Magazine cartoon from when I was a kid that talked about the first preacher who moved to Hartford, Conn. (then the capitol of the insurance industry) and sold “fire insurance.”

The book I’m currently studying is “The Imitation of Christ” by Thomas a Kempis. This contemplative from the Middle Ages wrote, “If a man would weigh his own deeds fully and rightly, he would find little cause to pass severe judgment on others.” These certainly reflect the voice of Jesus–speck in someone else’s eye, log in yours; he who is without sin cast the first stone.

If you spent more time in your morning prayers reflecting upon where you fall short and asking God for help, you would approach the day with an entirely different attitude than when you, like the Pharisee, begin the day with the prayer, “Thank you God for making me perfect.” When you look inside yourself and see the sin that lurks in both things you do and things you are capable of, you’ll understand why relationship with God through Jesus is key to salvation–not so much from the future hell but from the hell of today.

Why live bitter, resentful, judgmental? Why not live free to love God and love other humans? Throw off the chains of your limited, fearful view of God and enter into relationship with Him.

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How to handle obnoxious Christians-or anyone

September 10, 2010

Ever notice that sometimes when you’re going in too many directions and barely keeping your nose above the metaphorical water your body, tired of being ignored shouts, “Stop!” ? I’ve pondered my next post on this blog from many angles. In the evening of 8/31 as I prepared for a quick drive up to Cleveland for a meeting. Then from the perspective of laying on my back on the garage floor Wednesday morning 9/1 when the muscles in my left leg told me rather forcefully “you ain’t going nowhere, buddy”. Then I received one of those dreaded calls that one of my friends was about to die from cancer.

Even I could finally stop the frantic space and just rest a little. Even in the early morning pain when the pills haven’t done their job and I can’t sleep. Slow down, breathe deeply, focus — on God.

I’m contemplating attitude. What’s my attitude about life right now? How do I approach small setbacks? Then news started hitting. Pastor of a small church in Florida (I think) decides it’s a great time for a publicity stunt. He’ll burn a pile of books he doesn’t like and generate a lot of attention (I think that idea was tried in the late 30s and early 40s in Europe–didn’t work too well). Well, he got a lot of attention, but problem in a connected world is that one small-time opportunist can create havoc for thousands. He literally could fan the flames of hatred and put the lives of thousands of Americans in danger half-way across the world. Is it time for growing responsibility? Or are we headed toward another era of hatred and warfare such as the Nazis incited?

Problem is, the guy claims to be a Christian (I leave the judging to a higher authority). So how do you deal with an obnoxious Christian? Well, how do you deal with an enemy? With love, right? So…

Jon Swanson is one of the best writers I read on these subjects. Try this on for size.

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Spiritual Fitness and Endurance

August 29, 2010

I have refereed soccer for over 20 years. Along the way, I’ve been privileged to work some pretty high-level games. In order to be successful, I had to continually train my body and my mind. Part of training the body is to have the endurance to still be running at the end of the match along with the players and not be so tired that you begin to make poor decisions (mind).

People ask me about the spiritual life. Is it one burst of enlightenment? Or, is it believing in a set of words? Baptists (among others) emphasize the importance of decision. Some think that once you make the decision for Christ, then you’re pretty much done. Nothing else to do.

The answer to all of that is pretty much “no” or “there’s more.” Paul often uses the metaphor of athletic training when speaking of the spiritual life. Just as it is necessary to train your body and mind to be fit to be a soccer referee, you must train your body and mind to be fit for the spiritual life. How do you train? You train your mind by study–study the Bible; study scholars who study the Bible and help explain terms the original languages and the like; study writings from spiritual masters; and, most of all think abut what you’re reading. You train your body by working to avoid sins of the body–sexual, alcohol abuse, and the like. You also train through the discipline of prayer.

James makes a similar teaching at the beginning of his pastoral letter–you gain endurance by living through trials.

Once you decide for Jesus, the spiritual life begins in earnest. Begin training now.

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