perspective

Pointing Fingers and Passing Blame

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“If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all. … How can I possibly serve another person in unfeigned humility if I seriously regard his sinfulness as worse than my own?” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

I think we all know that when you point the finger at someone, there are typically four fingers pointing back at yourself. Then there’s the story in the gospels where the religious leaders bring a woman caught in the act of adultery. They’re all about to stone her to death and expecting Jesus to give them the go-ahead, but Jesus instead says “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”

That’s a genius answer. Obviously, Jesus isn’t condoning her behavior (or the behavior of whoever was the other party in the act of adultery), but he’s saying that their sin of pride is just as evil in the sight of God as her act of adultery. They don’t get to make the call on the woman’s destiny. God does.

It’s easy to point the finger at public figures whose lives are on display. True, many of them have made dubious and questionable choices. To cast aspersions on their characters when we are just as fallen as the rest of humanity would be the height of hypocrisy.

I believe calling out sinful behavior is biblical, as long as it is done in love and humility from the perspective that I could have done the same or worse given the same circumstances.

What did Jesus do for us when we were at our worst? He demonstrated His love for us by dying for us. He paid the ultimate price so that we could be free from the sin that held us captive. He sent His Spirit so that we could have the power to live the kind of holy lives that please God.

When it comes to serving, it helps to remember the line from Philippians to regard others as better than ourselves and not to seek to vaunt ourselves at the expense of others. Love as God defines it seeks the best for the beloved as God did for us. Instead of pointing fingers, may we always point to Jesus.

Useless Time

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“The world says, ‘If you are not making good use of your time, you are useless.’ Jesus says, ‘Come spend some useless time with me.’ If we think about prayer in terms of its usefulness to us – what prayer will do for us, what spiritual benefits we will gain, what insights we will gain, what divine presence we may feel – God cannot easily speak to us. But if we can detach ourselves from the idea of the usefulness of prayer and the results of prayer, we become free to ‘waste’ a precious hour with God in prayer. Gradually, we may find, our ‘useless’ time will transform us, and everything around us will be different” (Henri Nouwen).

I guess in a sense that prayer is useless, speaking in human terms. We like to measure success and progress in tangible terms. We want to be able to check all the boxes on our to-do lists and see the results of what we do all day.

But prayer is different. We may pray and from our limited perspective nothing seems to be different. We may not hear an audible voice from God. We may not even sense God speaking at all. In fact, we may feel exactly the same after as we did before.

But when you look back over a month or a year, you can see you’re not who you were then. The people, places, and things you prayed for may not be different, but you are. You see a little more with God’s eyes and have a bit more of an eternal perspective on your life.

Sometimes, it’s good to detach from the world and simply to be still. You don’t need to ask God for anything. Sometimes, you don’t even need to say anything. Just sit at Jesus’ feet and breathe in and out slowly and above all pay attention. Be mindful in your silence and ready to obey whatever you hear from the Lord.

It may seem useless to a world that glorifies busyness, but in eternity’s perspective, nothing is more important than time spent in prayer.

Feeling Something

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“It is quite right that you should feel that ‘something terrific’ has happened to you (It has) and be ‘all glowy.’ Accept these sensations with thankfulness as birthday cards from God, but remember that they are only greetings, not the real gift. I mean, it is not the sensations that are the real thing. The real thing is the gift of the Holy Spirit which can’t usually be—perhaps not ever—experienced as a sensation or emotion. The sensations are merely the response of your nervous system. Don’t depend on them. Otherwise when they go and you are once more emotionally flat (as you certainly will be quite soon), you might think that the real thing had gone too. But it won’t. It will be there when you can’t feel it. May even be most operative when you can feel it least” (Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis Volume III, C.S. Lewis).

The problem with a faith based on feelings is that those feelings are fickle and subject to change. I mean, have you ever tried to sustain a single emotion over a 24-hour period? You can’t. You can’t make yourself feel anything indefinitely.

Also, I’ve learned that feelings can lie. What you feel at any moment can stem from something you ate yesterday that didn’t agree with you. I’ve noticed I might trend more toward negative emotions when I am tired or hungry or bored. Typically, I can’t trust what I’m feeling when I haven’t slept well the night before. I especially have learned from experience not to post any social media or respond to any social media or emails late at night. A good night’s sleep and some time have a way of miraculously changing my attitude and perspective.

But the life of faith does have an emotional component to it. You just don’t put feelings in front. That’s where faith comes in. Feelings should be the caboose of your spiritual journey, present but not leading the way.

God is real even when I don’t feel Him. God’s promises are true even when I can’t see them. Obedience is acting in loving ways even when I don’t feel loving and following God’s commands when I don’t want to.

I’ve always loved the idea that my security as a believer doesn’t depend on how tightly I hold God’s hand but how He won’t ever let go of me.

Praying the Unattainable

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I was in a Bible study this evening, sitting at a table with some people that I barely knew or had just met. We were discussing why it is that thanksgiving isn’t more of a part of our lives of faith.

One girl said that when she prays, she starts off by thanking God for those certain attributes of His that she will never have.

That took me by surprise. At first, it sounded like she was copping out, but I figured I’d hear her out so I tuned all the way in to the rest of what she said.

She basically said that she praises God for attributes like His omniscience and omnipotence. That centers the rest of her prayers around the fact that God knows way more than she does and can see from a bigger vantage point than she can.

I wonder how that would change my own prayer life. If I was mindful of God’s ability to know and see things I can’t, it might change my perspective toward what I think God needs to give me. It might shift my focus from what I don’t have to what I do.

I might even choose to ask for less and pray more “Thy will be done,” leaving the choice to God to provide what He knows I need instead of what I think I want (that often times I don’t really want once I get it).

Thanksgiving comes first. It changes my mindset from entitled whiner to grateful praiser. It reminds me that everything I am and have is really only God’s doing, so I have no reason to think I’m all that and a bag of chips. Then I can rightly see myself as God sees me and understand that when God sees Jesus in me, that’s a very good thing.

 

 

A Year Ago Today

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Thanks to Facebook, I was reminded that today is the one-year anniversary of my fender bender. The car behind me got hit and pushed into me. Thankfully, I sustained the least amount of damage.

Looking back, I see how it could have been so much worse. I could have been the middle car and ended up with damage on the front and back of my car. Instead, my rear bumper was all that needed repairing.

It took some patience and persistence to get my car fixed. The guy who started the whole incident was originally uncooperative with his insurance company, and that gummed up the works for a bit. Finally, he relented and everything got taken care of in good time.

I needed this reminder to help put my life in perspective. Every day that I’m alive is a good day. The only day that isn’t is the day that I fail to wake up at all. That day will be fantastic because I will wake up in the presence of Jesus. That’s truly a win-win.

My rear bumper needed replacing anyway. It had accumulated some dings and scratches in 19 years on the road. I would also seriously recommend USAA for those who are either military or have military family members. They are absolutely the best auto insurance company around.

At the end of the day, if you have nothing else to be thankful for, you can be grateful that you are still here. Let none of us ever take that blessing for granted ever again.

 

Mission Accomplished

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It may not sound overly exciting, but I got a few things done tonight. I paid a couple of bills and finally got around to my 2015 Federal Tax Returns. For some reason, I put my taxes off, and when I do get around to them, they really aren’t so bad.

Here’s my take on the day.

The morning and evening commute? Not my favorite.

Having a job to commute to and from? Totally worth it.

Having to pay bills? Not so much fun.

Not having to write checks and lick stamps and remember to put them in the mailbox in the morning? Win.

Having the money to pay the bills and not having to worry about it? Priceless.

Having my taxes done and over with until 2017? If I weren’t so tired, I might break into a happy dance. Maybe I’ll settle for a happy nap instead.

Perspective is my new mantra. It’s all about perspective.

I could complain about how sore my feet are from the journey or I can choose to sing along the way. I choose singing over complaining. It’s better for you.

Choosing to see the blessings instead of the burden isn’t always easy, but it is most definitely alway worth it. If you look for God’s gifts in the every day minutiae, you end up seeing God there. You see God’s hand everywhere you turn.

If you look for joy, you find it. If you look for bitterness, you find that, too. You really do find what you’re looking for in the long run.

All that to say that the most important part of this Thursday is that I’m still here, therefore God must have a reason for me being here. I will celebrate another day of life successfully lived.

I say that qualifies as mission accomplished, don’t you?

 

Get to Vs. Have to

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Something my pastor said today in his sermon at The Church at Avenue South made me think of something another pastor from Fellowship Bible Church said.

Most of us, including me, have from time to time looked on the different aspects of Christianity as a drudgery– as in I have to read my Bible, I have to pray, I have to share my faith with others.

That’s the wrong perspective.

Maybe instead you should see your life of faith as a delight– you get to read your Bible, you get to pray, you get to share your faith with others.

Those who serve best are the ones who love best, and the ones who love best are the ones who know more fully than anyone else that they are loved best.

Once you begin to grasp the infinite love of Abba Father for you (and it’s something that not even in eternity will you ever fully get to the bottom of), then what He asks of you is no longer a chore and a drudgery, but a blessing and a delight.

It’s not a time issue. You always make time for what you love. It’s a heart issue. What truly matters to you and where does God end up on that list?

I write from the perspective of someone who’s not nearly there yet. I also speak as someone who is daily being transformed into that kind of person who can fully live out of the knowledge of being the Beloved.

Fear is a poor motivator. Eventually, you get tired of being afraid. Love, however, is the fuel that never runs out. As much as you are loved, you can love others, and the more you love others, you find yourself receiving even more love in return.

Those who live loved will live to serve. Those who live blessed will live to look for opportunities to bless and be a blessing.

The end.

 

 

Tonight We’re Gonna Blog Like it’s 1,999

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I had a random memory today. And I mean random in the sense that it wasn’t connected to anything current.

I was thinking back on a sermon by my pastor, Aaron Bryant, where he mentioned listening to The Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill back in the day.

That got me thinking about a particular youth group trip way back in ’86 or ’87 in the Ridgeway Baptist Church bus with Jason Payne sitting in the very back of the bus with his ghetto blaster playing that same Beastie Boys album at full volume. I think we were on our way to that year’s Youth Evangelism Conference in Nashville (of all places).

I remember very little else about that trip. But I remember the Beastie Boys.

I bet I must have heard that CD all the way through at least two or three times.

You’re probably wondering where the oh-so-spiritual tie-in is. There’s really not one.

I just know that certain songs can trigger memories hidden deep in the recesses of my mind and can bring back faces and places from long since past.

2016 just so happens to mark the 30th anniversary of that Licensed to Ill album that ruled the Billboard charts way back in 1986. This way way before Eminem or even Vanilla Ice. For those who grew up solely on CCM fare, this was even before DC Talk.

I suppose you don’t really appreciate the significance of a moment when you’re in it. It’s only after time and distance has given you some perspective that you really do come to see those memories in a new light.

Who knows what we’ll remember about 2016? Hopefully, there will be some moments worth cherishing and remembering, some very happy moments. That’s my prayer for all of you (and for me, too).

Let’s make 2016 a year to remember.

 

Rain, Rain, Go Away: The Sequel

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I am officially over the rain. I liked it for a bit, then it got old. Then it continued to rain.

I spent more than double my usual commute time from work to the Starbucks on Franklin Road in Brentwood where my friend and I meet weekly to walk and talk.

Thankfully, I had classic 90’s tunes in the form of the fantastic album, Surfacing, by Sarah McLachlan. I do believe that 90’s music by and large is better than the current pop music playing on most radio stations.

Still, I got stuck in traffic. At times, I’m fairly certain I could have gotten out of my car and walked faster than I was driving.

I don’t know what it is, but being in extended traffic makes me weary. I suppose it’s from being constantly hyper-aware of all those drivers around me (including those numbskulls who STILL don’t have their lights on in the rain EVEN after my last blog specifically on that topic).

Ultimately, being stuck in traffic means that I have a job to drive to and from, a car to drive in, and a me that is healthy and able to drive said car to said workplace. That in itself outweighs and inconveniences caused by traffic delays and the snail’s pace.

It’s still all about perspective. Before you complain about your life, remember that you still have it better than most of the world’s population. In fact, most people would give anything to have your problems versus the ones that they are facing.

Before you whine about being the 99%, remember that if you have a roof over your head, more clothes than the ones on your back, more than one meal a day, running water, transportation, and cash in your pocket, globally speaking, you are the 1%.

Plus, I had a very good chestnut praline latte at Starbucks to reward myself for not losing my everloving mind over being in the car so long.

All in all, I’d call it a good day.

 

More About Blessed

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If you turn on TBN, you might hear some old preacher talking about how God wants to bless you. By that, he probably means that God wants to shower you with riches and mansions and luxury cars and yachts and so forth.

But when I read my Bible, I get a different version of what it means for God to bless someone. What Jesus calls blessed in the Beatitudes is far better than what any health-and-wealth preacher might call it.

Not that God doesn’t grant wealth as a blessing, but I think the idea of blessing is so much more than that. After all, doesn’t the Bible say not to store your treasures on earth where thieves break in and steal and rust corrodes? Will you be able to take any of your wealth with you? Of course not.

The older I get, the more I see that the best blessing God gives is God. More than any gift God gives, God giving Himself to anyone is the best gift of all. It truly is the gift that keeps on giving, because you will never in any lifetime get to the bottom of Who God is or how much He loves you.

To be blessed is to know God and to know Jesus, who is God with a human face. All of us take that privilege for granted all the time, but have you ever stopped to think that the Creator and King of Everything has sought you out for a relationship? That should boggle our minds.

At the end of the day, I’m blessed. I know that God will supply all my needs through Jesus because ultimately my greatest need is Jesus. And He will take care of all my other needs, too.

You can have everything your heart desires and not have God and you will be miserable. You can have nothing but God and you will find that He is enough.

That’s another reminder to myself.