Faith Venture

What if…?

What about…?

The guys in a small study  group I attend when I’m in town got to talking about what if? What if the crowd had not called for Jesus’ death? What if Pilate had not made a gutless decision?

I’m in other groups where people ask what about people of other cultures than their own. Will God save them?

I started to wonder–do we think too much? What if, when used in the context of stories about Jesus are pretty much just worthless mind games. Doesn’t matter. What happened–happened. Good thing, too.

Then I remembered all the stories in the Bible–both Old and New Testaments–where people from other cultures than the Hebrews contributed to the cause.

It can be all just idle speculation. Unfortunately, idle speculation sometimes leads to a line of thinking that leads to evil acts. You can talk yourself into feelings of hatred or jealousy. Too much thinking can lead to brooding. It can lead to personality disorder.

Jeff Moore, in his My Everyday Power Blog, just posted a video based on a Charlie Chaplin speech, “Let Us Fight to Free the World.” In this powerful, short speech, Chaplin states, “We think too much and feel too little.”

The word “feel” is in the sense of empathy. When we think, we become theoretical. When we feel for others, we move from theory to practice. People are not a theory. People are not a description in the “DSM” (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, contains definitions of mental illnesses).

Thinking is a marvelous gift from God. It has helped humans make better lives. But it has also caused much suffering when diverted from its real purpose–that of improving society.

I started contemplating Jesus. I’m trying to recall any time when he was merely theoretical. Seems to me he was always in the reality of the present. He had both the standard of God and empathy for fellow humans within him.

Sometimes we think too much and feel too little. We need some of that empathy in our discussions.

Did you ever commit to something and then begin to wonder about it?

Maybe you agreed to speak to a large group. Maybe you are on a mission trip and about to go face the people. Maybe it’s a court case. Maybe a cross-country drive and the weather turns ugly.

There is a moment after the action is initiated and before the events take place where you wonder, “What did I get myself into?”

I’ve been there. Had that queasy feeling in the stomach.

We know Jesus felt that.

He told his friends that he was heading to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. He had a feeling that bad things would happen. I think John did. Not so sure about Peter and the rest.

But Jesus, even through the celebration of the “Palm Sunday” parade into Jerusalem.

Later Jesus prayed. He had that feeling. Events had been set in motion and there was that feeling you get when you know you’ve got to carry on even though it isn’t going to be pretty.

That’s the pre-Easter feeling. We know the end of the  story for Jesus. But we still have to experience it for ourselves.

Rays of light, symbolically represented as horns on the head of Moses (Michelangelo), can be a graphic symbol of Wisdom.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.”

James is known as a writer in the “Wisdom Tradition,” much like Solomon to whom is attributed much of the book of Proverbs. When I read this verse (chapter 3, verse 13), I thought, so what is wisdom?

Did you ever read a word 1,000 times and then stop and ask, “Just what do they mean by that?”

So, I looked it up in Wikipedia. Here are some things I learned. “Wisdom is the judicious application of knowledge.” I first have to know something. But knowing isn’t enough. I have to apply that knowledge somewhere in my life. Shoot, here we go with the parts of speech again. We start out with a noun (a thing) and then move to a verb (something we do). Kind of like when I just wrote about love as an action verb, wisdom also leads to action.

What!? We can’t just sit around being wise?

Wikipedia continues, “It is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgments and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one’s emotional reactions (the “passions”) so that universal principles, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one’s actions. Wisdom is also the comprehension of what is true coupled with optimum judgment as to action.”

Sounds a lot like James. He asks, “Are you wise?” I bet that could be a trick question. I can imagine him in a gathering of Christians asking that question. And someone raises their hand and says, “Oooh, Oooh, I am.” You know that kid from school.

Then James says, “Good. But don’t tell me. Show me.” It’s not enough to be wise, you must show it. Doesn’t that sound like the entire Gospel? It’s not enough to know, you have to do.

Discontent. How it can pollute our lives. And the lives of those close to us.

Paul says in Philippians that he has learned to be content in all things. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews says also to not put your faith in money, but to be content.

Some people seem to be discontented due to some sort of feelings of inadequacy. They think the world owes them, but that they do not necessarily need to earn whatever it is that will make them content–possessions, respect, position. Some people seem to feel they have to “win” at all things. They can never be content until they have won it all and done the little victory dance.

I know both the passive-aggressive types and the active-aggressive types. Bet you do, too. Neither ever seems to have enough to be content.

Contentment comes from stepping back from your daily urgencies and seeing the big picture. Where do we all fit? Where is God in all this?

My career has been in business. Supposedly, the ultimate goal in business is to make as much profit as possible. That’s winning. I’ve been there. I remember one place where I worked. Marketing a consumer electronic product. Seemed like a cool idea for a product when I accepted the position. Very small company, but lots of politics. Several discontented souls.

One day at a trade show–Comdex, once the largest electronics show–I was contemplating on the fact that we were not generating much interest. In the moment, I could see the landscape of PC development, how we were now “old” technology even though it was less than two years old, and how all this fit in the overall scheme of life.

By stepping back and asking God for perspective, I could see where it was all going. I no longer cared about the politics. In the long run, we were doomed.

I’ve seen that twice since. Same scenari0.

By being able to step back and observe even myself dispassionately, I could glimpse God’s perspective on life. I could become content with what I had, with what I had been given.

I have seen that swirl of discontent in companies and in churches many times repeated.  More than 30 years ago I learned to just quietly keep on the path with God.

And I pray that all those people who just can’t seem to find contentment would listen to Paul, live like Jesus, and let God help you find contentment and peace within your life.