Don’t Cheapen Your Faith in God

January 24, 2011

The bottle looks almost like that of the more popular dishwashing detergent. The price was great–much less than the competition. Must be a good buy, right? But then you notice that the dishes come out of the dishwasher with a grungy film.

Cheap doesn’t always win. Value is the ratio of the price to the quality.

I thought about this in relation to the faith that many people seem to exhibit. So, I was wondering–is your faith cheap? Or a value?

Sometimes I wonder if people get their faith from a cereal box. Or a bumper sticker slogan. Donald Miller in his book “Searching for God Knows What” talks about “propositional” Christianity. That is where someone’s faith consists of repeating short propositions that may or may not be actually based on the Bible.

Then again, sometimes I think that people think way too much about their faith. I was checking out a church’s Website to learn something about them. There was a very long page of “what we believe.” It’s well thought out, I guess, and quite comprehensive.

On the other hand, I’d be warmer toward that church if they had just said, “We’re a community of followers of Jesus trying to help each other live a life with-God.”

It’s easy, but cheap, to just memorize propositions. Not to mention that knowing more propositions than others can be a source of pride. It’s much harder and requires extra expenditure of effort and focus with a dash of humbleness to strive to live each moment with God. Man, sometimes I wish it were easy.

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Listening For the Call

January 18, 2011

“Can you hear me, now?” asks the mobile phone technician in the series of TV commercials. Getting heard. That’s what we all want, right? We are flooded with messages in every media we encounter. Then we meet people, and they just want to say what’s on their mind. In politics, it seems that everyone wants their opinion heard–even if there is no tainting of the opinion by facts.

I have a fault–OK, lot’s of them. Sometimes I tell more than I need to in a conversation once I get started with a story. The other day I was talking to someone and by the time she’d talked to someone else and it eventually returned to me, the story was completely changed. It was like that old parlor game “telephone.”

But–who’s listening? Folklore holds that the famous baseball catcher and manager Yogi Berra said “You can hear a lot just by listening.”

The first thing about listening is acknowledging in your own mind that there is another person. Then you need to focus on that person. And treat what they say as important–indeed, the most important thing in the world at that moment.

I’m teaching from Daniel for a short time. I really like him. If I could pick interesting people with whom I’d like to spend an evening or a day in conversation, he’d be up at the top of my list. One thing he did–he listened to people and he listened to God. Even at one point where he was troubled and another where he was perplexed by what God said, he still listened.

David talked about Abraham and Sarah Sunday. There are two other people who listened to God. They didn’t always believe what He said. They were quite old and God maintained that he would eventually send a child–they didn’t believe Him any more. But it happened.

It’s time to polish up those listening skills. Pay attention to the next person you encounter. Remain open to God’s voice–and if he talks, please listen.

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Earn your way to heaven or have relationship

January 13, 2011

I listened to a speaker talking on the rich young man yesterday. He opened my eyes a little. That’s why I read and listen to as many people as possible. By the way, downloading “podcasts” (talks and shows that you put on your iPod for listening later) is a great use of time–better than TV. When I make the 4.5-hour drive to my office in Chicago, I can listen to many podcasts and learn a lot. It’s better than mind-numbing other stuff on the radio.

Anyway, he was pondering the question, was Jesus too harsh with the young man? You remember the story. Rich young man (or rich young ruler depending on which Gospel you read) comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to be saved. (Note the verb “do”) Jesus says follow the commandments (my guess is that Jesus either knew him or knew of him since he was obviously of the aristocratic class). He says he has from his youth.

Let’s pause a second there. He has followed all the commandments? That’s an audacious statement. In fact, isn’t it really impossible?

Regardless, Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give to the poor. And the man went away unhappy.
So, was Jesus harsh? He didn’t go after him and say, “Hey, wait a minute. I’m still here. Let’s work something out.” Jesus let him go.

In one recording of the story, it begins with “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” Jesus wasn’t hateful to him. I don’t think he was even trying to pile more burdens on him. I don’t think the possession thing is even the point.

The man was trying to earn his way to heaven by being good. Jesus said that we can’t earn our way to heaven. We must turn our lives around (repent) and turn our focus and belief toward God. And Jesus says that if we have a relationship with him (like being his friend) then he will help us find that focus on God and enjoy God the Father’s grace.

The man evidently was still trying to earn his way into grace. Maybe his whole life had centered on the ability to buy his way out of anything. I bet you know people like that today. Therefore, the wealth gets in the way of relationship. I bet you know people like that with their personal relationships–let alone relationship with God.

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Pride will drive you crazy

January 11, 2011

I was teaching from Daniel last week. It’s always amazing how threads of thought come together. I’ve been pondering whether much of the trouble and strife we have in the country today is caused by pride and then I’m asked to teach from this particular book. My text was Chapter 4 where the king has a dream. He is troubled, but he doesn’t know why. No one can interpret the dream, until Daniel (who is about to be killed along with all other educated men) says, Wait. I can help.

Now, my daughter earned a master’s in psychology. Me, I am just a perpetual student–but not in schools. I’ve read most of Freud, all of Jung, all of the Bible (more than once), and a lot more. She says that a dream is just a bunch of random neurons firing over night probably dredging up random thoughts you’ve had during the day.

My studies (and personal experience to some degree) say that occasionally a dream is more than a dream. (Carl Jung, who studied these things and was much more wise than his followers, once said, sometimes a dream is just a dream. But then he studied a lot of dreams.)

When you are in a position of great authority, your thoughts are on things that are beyond everyday living. You are concerned with history, your importance, what people are plotting, and especially in the ancient world, God. Early leaders right up through the rulers of Rome and continuing into the Middle Ages’ kings and Popes would get the idea that they were, indeed, God himself.

So, the king is full of those thoughts–we would say full of himself, or maybe something soft, brown and squishy–and goes to sleep. He has a numinous dream–one from God. Paraphrasing Daniel’s analysis, “You’d better change your ways, or you’ll go crazy.”

He didn’t; and he did.

Later, when the king was restored to health, he praised God because he had experienced the mighty power of God.

Just so, do we all today–and all those loud-mouthed pundits on TV and radio, and so on–need to go through a season (or seven seasons like this king) of insanity before coming to our senses? Acknowledge your pride and turn your life away from it.

The best advice I’ve seen so far about this is to live only in the present moment without dwelling either on the past or the future but focused only on walking with God during this minute. If you are doing that, then there is no place for the ego to assert itself and get you into trouble.

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Can we accept redemption?

January 10, 2011

Paul writes to the Ephesians, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.”

I am curious about this action of God. Actually, I’m more curious about how we, as humans, accept the redemption of others. Most of us probably live day-by-day not even aware that we ourselves are redeemed or forgiven by God. How many times have you sinned already today? Probably not really big ones, though. Right?

But how about the times you done some bigger bad things? Could you accept God’s forgiveness? Or, can you accept that God forgives others? I know that for some people healing from the sin of someone else takes forgiveness of the other to begin to heal.

I thought about this during the weekend when Michael Vick was about to play in an NFL football game in the playoffs. He participated in some barbarian activities using animals–he supported dog fighting. I know that this is a male diversion in many parts of the world. But we try to be more civilized here. We count that as a sin and have made it illegal.

However, Vick acknowledged his sin and spent time in jail–perhaps having to forgo a career worth perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars. But he served his time and emerged promising to turn his life around. And, so far, so good.
Many people hold Vick’s past activities against him and evidently believe that one should never be forgiven for past sins. God doesn’t feel that way–and we should all be eternally grateful for that. We are still accountable for our actions. If we but acknowledge our short comings, God is steadfast in his support of us. The least we can do is to act the same way to a fellow member of the human family.

Then we have the tragedy in Arizona. We know little about the young man who went “crazy” and started firing his automatic pistol at a crowd. But what a shame that someone, sometime ago, perhaps an older man in his life, couldn’t have provided some support. According to stories, many people were afraid of him. But, so far as we know, no one stepped in.

Maybe we should be even more watching for troubled souls who need a human to intervene and show God’s redemption so that they don’t have to take terrible action.

But this I know–I am grateful for God’s redemption, and I’m grateful when people turn their lives around for the better. Wish I could share that better.

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Praying to keep the Christmas Spirit

January 7, 2011

I’m sitting here this morning looking at my wife’s beautiful Christmas cactus. It’s full of blooms. It sits there all year waiting for mid-December to bloom. The blooms last a little while. Then it goes dormant again.

It’s kind of like us. How many years are we dormant most of the time, then bloom in December with the excitement of Christmas (carols, talk of peace, remembering Jesus, buying gifts for others), then the blooms die in January with the Christmas tree we pitch out on the street.

I’ve been reading 14th Century mystic Walter Hilton–“The Ladder of Perfection”–where he talks about how to cast the spiritual eye of your soul on Jesus. He writes some chapters about how hard that is for humans to do constantly. You slip, think about physical pleasures or pressures.

Hilton suggests praying the Psalms. But praying them in the soft voice of Jesus, not the “high-pitched voice” of men trying to impress. Put yourself in an attitude of communicating with God and then begin to pray the Psalms.

That sounds like a good idea. Many years ago I read a book by German pastor and theologian (and political activist) Dietrich Bonhoeffer where he called Psalms the “prayer book of the “Bible”. Let’s see if that gives a focus to our prayer life.

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Ethics Matter In Business and in Life

January 6, 2011

Does ethics matter? If you are a leader, do you realize the impact of your ethical decisions and lifestyle on your team and on your career?

Try the situation of US Navy Captain Owen Honors (see The New York Times article).

I bet there were sighs of relief in Oxford, Ohio, home of Miami University and the “cradle of coaches” in football, when the football coach they lost to Pittsburg University had a lapse of ethics and judgement and was arrested for allegedly physically attacking his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child. He was just over two weeks on the job at Pitt when he was summarily fired.

It really pays to think. We used to live in a world where ethical lapses of our leaders were quietly hidden by press relations and media. We live in a more transparent world now where instead of whispered rumors we have public information.
And it’s not just sexual ethics or restraining our violent side. There are tons of ethical decisions facing you every day. In my business, a big one is to not be bought off by advertisers, but to retain my independence and integrity. Not that we can’t be friendly, but I have to be watchful. What are the biggest temptations you face for taking the easy route? How do you handle them?

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Make Yourself a Blank Slate

January 4, 2011

Jon Swanson posted a thought on Levite Chronicles that got me thinking. He was talking about giving a gift of blank paper and colored pencils and adding an note, “Sometimes the best gift is a blank slate.”

A new year is beginning. Think of yourself as a blank slate beginning the year. What will be written upon it? Will you control the pencil? Will you let Jesus fill your slate?

 

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Focus On Jesus This Year

January 3, 2011

We did a lot of holiday driving. Visited one set of relatives in Tennessee for three days before Christmas, then drove to Florida on Christmas day. In the spirit of the season, I found a continuous supply of radio stations playing “Christmas” music.

Guess how many of these popular Christmas season songs mentioned Jesus. None. Well, one station played one traditional Christmas carol (song). So, I think in 16 hours of driving listening to Christmas songs, we heard Jesus mentioned once.

Do you confuse traditional Northeast US wintertime nostalgia with Christmas? (Think “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”, “The Christmas Song (chestnuts roasting)” and the like) How about all the Santa songs?

I’m sure that these bring back warm, nostalgic feelings from a distant childhood. But as far as keeping focus on Jesus–could be an entirely different season.

Now that Christmas is past and we’re beginning the new year, stick a note somewhere (on a calendar, your mobile phone, on a pop up window on your computer) with a memory jog to think of Jesus more often this year. It’ll help your overall outlook on life.

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Invitation to Relationship with God

December 24, 2010

It’s Christmas Eve. Almost all the presents have  been purchased and wrapped. Our retailers are happy. That makes some manufacturers happy. Sales have been pretty good this year in the US.

Are you giving presents just to show off your wealth? Or just because you’re supposed to give a lot so that the kids and others won’t feel deprived? Or is it a reflection of the relationship you have with others?

Jesus entered the world to point the way to a relationship with him and with God. He said to the leaders that they were burdening people with their many laws and interpretations. He said it was very simple, but hard. Just enter into a relationship. Live every moment with God as a companion. Deal with others in the spirit that God would deal with them.

Tonight and tomorrow, we remember and celebrate that Jesus entered the world to change the world’s view of God. Does your view need to change? Are you in a loving relationship with God? I pray this is so. Merry Christmas.

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