Where Do Babies Come From?
Depending on when you asked you probably got a different answer. Parents have been answering that question in different ways since time began. There’s the stork story, the cabbage patch story, the story of the birds and the bees, you get the picture. Different kids at different ages can handle different stories. A lot of it has to do with where your child is and how ready YOU are to share. I still remember the day I found out – February 16, 1977, the day they aired the ABC Afternoon School Special, “My Mom’s Having A Baby.” We plopped down in the family room and watched it with my mom. The cartoon parts were hilarious and at nine years old, that was enough for me. When I got into eighth grade we had “sex ed” with Mr. Reller and Mr. Reller took the more direct approach to learning. He let us ask any questions we wanted and there were some doozies. I found out more in that one day of class than in the whole rest of eighth grade! But if nine-year-old me was in that room, it would have been too much. I wasn’t ready for it. It took time for me to gain the maturity, knowledge, and level of understanding to process the things we were talking about. I think I’m STILL processing some of what we talked about that day.
The same is true for our faith.
We need time to mature in our faith as we ask more and more complex questions. That’s a fundamental truth for anything we want to learn about. We start with the basics, build a good foundation, and then go on from there. Nobody starts with the LEGO Expert set. We don’t talk about God the same way to a 5-year old as we would a teenager or an adult. They have different levels of understanding. But what happens when you grow older and your faith doesn’t grow with you? When we leave our faith in childhood, our God stays there, too. Lots of people leave the church in their teens and don’t come back until something draws them back. Whether that’s getting married, raising children, or noticing a hole in their life they are hoping to fill, they come back to church with only the tools they left with. So whatever God we believed in back when we left the church is often the God we still believe in when we come back. The problem is our adult ideas don’t match up with our Sunday School God. Sometimes people never come back because they can’t reconcile the God they believe in with the life they know. But it’s not God that doesn’t make sense, it’s that our ideas about God haven’t changed as we have. And this isn’t a new problem either. You’ll find that most of the problems and issues we come up with today are the same problems and issues we’ve had all along. Even the 1st century church had these problems. You’d think being so close to the time when Jesus actually lived, they might have an advantage, but they struggled with faith just as much as we do today. Maybe even more so because everything was so new.
1 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. – Hebrews 5:11-14
Is your faith still in its infancy?
Just because you’re going to church doesn’t mean your faith is growing. It needs to be nurtured and tended to and fed like any other living thing. For a garden to bloom, you can’t just plant seeds in the ground. You have to water it, position it to get the right amount of sun, give it good soil to take root in, and tend to it. If you don’t, you might get lucky but usually, you just have a bunch of seeds buried in the ground. In the same way, faith needs to be nurtured. Without care, it just withers away and that’s what has Paul frustrated. He’s writing to this group of believers who he feels have grown lax in their spiritual growth. He’s so frustrated he insults them, “You need milk, not solid food!” He tells them they should be teaching this stuff, but they still haven’t mastered the basics. And he says, “But solid food is for the mature, who by CONSTANT USE have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Constant use. If we don’t practice our faith it becomes stagnant. We grow up, our ideas of the world become more complex, but our vision of God remains rooted in our childhood.
As you get older, you don’t believe the stork brought you to your family.
But a lot of us hold on to childhood beliefs about God unless our faith grows with our understanding of the world. In one of his sermons, Andy Stanley mentions some of these versions of God from our childhood.[1] One of them he calls Bodyguard God. Bodyguard God is the God that always protects us from harm. This is the God who never lets bad things happen to good people. We tell children if they listen and obey then God will keep them safe, but to a child this means nothing bad will ever happen to me as long as I believe. But that is just not true and it leads people to abandon their belief in God the moment things go bad because they have based their understanding of God on something that isn’t true. God never promises us a life free from harm. He even says it out loud. Jesus told them flat out, “In this world you will have trouble.” I don’t know how much more plain he could be. “In this world you will have trouble (John 16:33).” Then he goes on, “BUT (my emphasis) take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus doesn’t promise us a life free from trouble. In fact, he guarantees it! It’s just we don’t have to lose hope when trouble comes our way because we know God is with us. But Bodyguard God? That God doesn’t exist.
Then there’s Blanket God.[2]
Blanket God is the God of comfort, the God who is always present. He reminds me of Linus from the Peanuts gang because his blanket is always with him. But there are times in our lives where we are distant from God. There are times in our lives where we not only don’t feel his presence but instead feel his absence. And this poses a big problem for Blanket God believers because they feel abandoned and sometimes it leads them to abandon their faith. What they don’t understand is God is still there. Even in those moments where we can’t feel his presence, God is constantly reaching out to us. There’s just something that is blocking our vision of him. Sometimes that means we have to weather the storm until the fog clears from our eyes. This is when we need a deeper faith to hold on even when we can’t see God for ourselves. A friend of mine from Georgia gave me the best advice one time when I was going through my own period of doubt and it’s stuck with me ever since. He told me when he looks back on his life he can see all the ways where God helped him through the valleys. He couldn’t see it at the time because he was stuck in his own grief or anger or depression or whatever he was feeling at the time. But afterward, he would look back and see how God was present for him and when he was going through another valley, that’s how he could keep his faith in God, knowing that even if he seems absent God is still at work in his life.
There’s also Gap God.
Gap God is the God who fills in the gaps of our faith. This God is the God who explains the unexplainable. Whenever something happens when we don’t understand or can’t explain, we say, “It’s a God thing.” And while that might seem to be giving God his props, it’s really undermining our faith. Because God becomes a crutch for the unexplainable when we start to use God in that way. Remember when the AIDS epidemic first began and there were people like Pat Robertson who said it was caused by God to rid the world of homosexuality? Then they had to backtrack when heterosexual people started getting it too. Or when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 and those same God pundits declared it was God’s wrath upon a sexually promiscuous society? As if that one area of the world was the only den of ill repute. Using God to fill in the gaps of our knowledge is not only small-minded but denies the real power of God. We don’t believe in God because of the mystery of God. We believe in God because of his revelation in Jesus Christ. We don’t believe in God because of the things we can’t explain, but because of the things we have experienced ourselves.
Before Emma was born, I went through my own period of doubt.
I’ve shared this before and it was a really tough time for me. Cassie was pregnant and I went to my pastor, Jane to talk about it and I’ll never forget what she said. First, she told me it was okay to doubt, that doubt was sometimes healthy for our faith. But she also said, to hang in there and when Emma is born, I’ll know God is real. And she was right. The first time my baby girl held my finger in her tiny hand, I couldn’t help but feel like I was witnessing a miracle. I know it happens every day to hundreds of thousands of people, but this time it was happening to me. I know the biology of it all, I know how babies are born, but to be part of the creation process was mind blowing. And I saw God’s great plan up close for once. It wasn’t my LACK of knowledge that made God real for me, it was my understanding that did.
If you have lost faith because of one of these versions of God, I implore you to come back.
These are simplistic views of God that were meant for a time when we didn’t have the life experiences we have now. I want to challenge you to open your heart up to the possibility that it isn’t God that’s the problem, but instead our outdated views of him. Get to know God again. And if you are solid in your faith, I challenge you to keep studying, praying, and looking for God in your life because God doesn’t disappear overnight, but in the slow erosion of our faith. God vanishes because we allow life to chip away at our vision of God until there isn’t enough for God to rest upon and it all collapses beneath us. Question God. Question your faith. Don’t be afraid to put God to the test but be open and willing to listen to the response he returns. Don’t outgrow your faith, but instead nurture it, feed it, protect it and let it grow with you.
[1] From Andy’s sermon to North Point Community Church, “Who Needs God? Gods of the No-Testament.”
[2] Andy called him Boyfriend or Girlfriend God, but I think this description fits God better.
The Truth Is Out There
Before we found out chocolate was good for you…we ate it anyway because it was so good. But, when studies came out saying it provided real health benefits, it gave us every excuse to indulge in this tasty treat. But consider this. How many of you read the fine print? Most chocolate you buy in the store ISN’T good for you. It’s highly processed, contains way more milk and sugar that you don’t need, and doesn’t contain the nutrients that make it good for you in the first place.[1] If you’re going to have chocolate at all it should be at least 70% cocoa, taken in moderate amounts, and still contain flavonoids which often get stripped away in the process of making your favorite chocolates. It’s the flavonoid epicatechin that is the active ingredient doing all the hard work to help your body.[2] Without it, it’s just sugar your body doesn’t need. Remember when wine was good for you? First it was bad, then it was good, and now it’s bad again. You know why? Because they found out that in all of these studies that said drinking in moderation was good for you, they never studied the people. Turns out there was a reason moderate drinkers showed positive health results – reasons that had nothing to do with having a glass of wine each day. The new results are in, and it says that the safest amount of alcohol is zero drinks per day.[3] Most of you probably hadn’t heard about this news. It doesn’t grab your attention like the one that says having a glass of wine a day is good for you. Now that’s a headline! The truth is often buried behind a stack of half-truths and untruths and we don’t take the time to find out if what we like to hear is based on fact or not. Because what we are really after is validity rather than verity. We are looking for validity instead of verity. The truth may be out there, but we aren’t all that interested in finding it.
The same is true with our faith.
We are interested in finding out whatever it is that supports our view of faith, but aren’t all that interested in finding out information that may challenge it. If you believe in predestination, you aren’t all that concerned you might ignore that God tells us we have the freedom to choose (Joshua 24:15). If you believe women should never be pastors, you aren’t interested to hear Paul supporting women who taught Scripture to men (Acts 18:26). And if you believe every word in the Bible is the literal word of God, you don’t want to hear about the two different creation stories or two different accounts of the Great Flood even though they are right there in the first book of the Bible.[4] Because these things challenge your system of beliefs. That’s even true for people who don’t believe in God. If you’ve made up your mind God doesn’t exist, no amount of evidence is going to convince you otherwise. You might say you have a bunch of reasons why you don’t believe, but I have to challenge you to ask, “Is my objection to God really about God’s existence or my resistance?”[5]
How open are you to the truth?
Are you more interested in being right or finding out what’s real? Because if you only care about being right, all you’ll see in front of you are the things that confirm your own beliefs. You’ll forever live in a world of your own making which can be disastrous. One of my friends told me she would never get her kids vaccinated because it might harm them. And I’m not talking about COVID vaccines (although there is plenty of denial about that too). I’m talking measles, mumps, and rubella; the famous and quite standard MMR. Vaccines, by the way, that her parents readily gave to her and her siblings and my parents gave to me and my sisters and I’m sure one most of you received, too. There was a study published in the journal The Lancet which claimed a link between autism and MMR and anti-vaccine advocates picked up on this like white on rice. But it wasn’t true. Studies have been done to refute it. The design of the original study was found to be grossly flawed. And it turns out the lead author had a financial incentive to lie – he was being paid by companies involved in a lawsuit against the makers of those vaccines.[6] But despite the massive amount of evidence against the lie, people continue to believe it – except my friend who once she had kids did get them vaccinated. When we give up on the search for truth, the world is worse off for it. Doctors would still be doing lobotomies to free us from evil spirits and bloodletting to balance out our humours.[7] We would still believe people are inferior based on race or gender alone (sadly many still hold onto these falsehoods also). And we would still believe eggs are bad for you![8]
What is it in us that leads us to deny the truth?
How is it we remain willfully ignorant of the facts no matter how obvious they are? And this is a question for all of us. You are not as immune as you’d like to think. It would be hypocritical to look around and think, “Well, I hope (insert name here) is reading this,” because I am sure there is something in your life you are denying right now. Whether it’s the way you are living, the way you are caring for your body, the way you are practicing your faith, there is probably something you are living in denial about, and if you say, “That’s not true” there’s perfect evidence right there. Now, whether you believe in the Bible or God or any of it, you’ll find that this problem of truth denial can be found all throughout history. Even Jesus had to deal with it.
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.” – John 8:31-38
Pride. That’s what gets in the way of the truth.
Pride. It is the poison that gets in the way of healing, of good relationships, of reconciliation, and the truth. Pride. We’ve read from this passage before, but this time I want you to hear it from the perspective of pride. Did you hear how the other Jews answered Jesus? He said, “If you hold to my teaching, you really are my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” But instead of absorbing those words, instead of thinking about what Jesus had to say, they responded. “We’ve never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” Pride made them blind to the fact they were slaves to their own sin. You’ve probably heard kids say, “You’re not the boss of me!” Well, this is the adult version of that very same sentiment. “We’ve never been slaves of anyone! You’re not the boss of me! You can’t tell me that I need to be set free.” Andy Stanley brought this up in one of his podcasts. How many times have you been in the middle of an argument and it dawns on you the other person is right. And even though you know they are right, you keep on fighting anyway. Because it’s no longer about two people or two sides trying to get to the truth, now it’s all about winning. It’s all about being able to say you’re right. That’s pride. We think pride makes us strong. We think pride is an admirable trait. But we would be wrong. Strength lies in humility.
There’s a reason people use the expression “puffed up with pride.”
Pride inflates our ego to the point where we devalue others. Pride swallows up the room and pushes out space for new ideas and new learning. Pride forces us to continue down a path even when it’s clear it’s the wrong path. Humility on the other hand keeps us grounded. Humility opens us up to new ideas and new ways of thinking. And it takes a great deal more strength of character to be humble than to be filled with pride. Pride is for the weak, not the other way around. C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity that pride was the great sin, the one from which all others stem. He describes pride as “spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.”[9] There was a study done on the quality of humility as a competitive advantage in the workplace and the researchers came to the conclusion, “Humility is frequently associated with shyness, lack of ambition, passivity, or lack of confidence. We argue quite the opposite—that humility offers strategic value for firms by furnishing organizational members with a realistic perspective of themselves, the firm, and the environment. In fact, we propose that humility is a critical strength for leaders and organizations possessing it, and a dangerous weakness for those lacking it.”[10] Another study showed humble people make the best leaders.[11] And even the FBI believes humility is essential for success. In an article on leadership they wrote, “Humility often can be overlooked or, even, viewed as weakness. It is not. It is vital. Allowing yourself to be humble and to express your humility openly allows for others to grow. There is nothing more powerful than that.”[12]
Commit yourselves to the pursuit of truth instead of your own righteousness.
For it was Jesus himself who told us the truth would set us free. This week, challenge yourself to keep an open mind. Try a new food. Try a different detergent when washing your clothes or a different shampoo for your hair. We often get into routines without ever challenging if there might be better ways of doing things. Don’t blindly pick something, but actually think about it, ask for opinions, look something up. Open up your horizons to a world of possibilities (please keep in mind I am NOT telling you to do something dangerous or illegal – certainly you don’t have to go that far to do something different). If you’re on the fence about faith, I want to dare you to open your mind to the possibility there is a God. That he actually loves you. That he really did send his Son to Earth to die for you. And that he wants a relationship with you even if you don’t want one with him. If you have honest objections to faith, that’s totally reasonable and also healthy for any strong journey towards the truth. But be open to a world where God exists and has been searching for you for your entire life. Open that door a crack and watch the love that will pour in.
[1] http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/10/health/chocolate-health-benefits/
[2] https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20040601/dark-chocolate-day-keeps-doctor-away#1 The study done by Engler through the UCSF School of Nursing used 1.6 oz. per day of Dove Dark Chocolate.
[3] https://www.popsci.com/moderate-drinking-benefits-risks/
[4] http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/cflood.htm
[5] From Andy Stanley’s sermon “Who Needs God? I do” https://whoneedsgod.com/message-gallery/2016/10/4/who-needs-god-part-6
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/
[7] https://theconversation.com/five-bloodcurdling-medical-procedures-that-are-no-longer-performed-thankfully-75818
[8] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/why-are-eggs-good-for-you#TOC_TITLE_HDR_6
[9] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 125.
[10] http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=PdfExcerptURL&_imagekey=1-s2.0-S0090261604000506-main.pdf&_piikey=S0090261604000506&_cdi=272151&_orig=article&_zone=centerpane&_fmt=abst&_eid=1-s2.0-S0090261604000506&_user=12975512&md5=65d0f6fc48d7e81535608d991b99f331&ie=/excerpt.pdf
[11] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238328
[12] https://leb.fbi.gov/2014/march/leadership-spotlight-humility-a-leadership-trait-that-gets-results
Alone In A Crowd
I love hosting parties. I hate going to them.
You would think as a pastor it would be easy for me to mingle with people I don’t know, and in the context of church you’d be right. I love making people feel welcome. I love meeting first time visitors. I try to go the extra mile to make people feel at home. But that’s the key. This is our space. We are the host. We have home field advantage. When I was young, it was so easy! I guess I had the innocence of youth. You know how I met one of my best friends, Lance? It was my first day of Kindergarten and I just went up to him and said, “You want to be my friend?” It’s been over 50 years now and we’re still friends. It’s harder for me now. Maybe because I’m more aware of social norms. Maybe because I’m not as innocent as I used to be, but it’s tough for me to walk into someone else’s territory and feel comfortable. I’m not sure how to behave, how open I can be, where the restroom is, what are the rules of the house. Do I need to take my shoes off? Which is always tough for me because I have very flat feet and it hurts to walk around without shoes. But I want to respect our host. After all, they opened their doors to me. So, it feels weird to walk into a place that is completely foreign, that has its own customs and traditions, that has a history and expectations all its own. How do you live up to all of that? You feel like a fish out of water. At least I do.
I imagine Jacob felt the same way.
Let me set the scene for you. Jacob and Esau were brothers. But early on, Jacob blackmailed his brother to give up his birthright to him[1] and then later tricked his father to steal the family blessing away from Esau. Which was a very big deal back then. Stealing the birthright was like stealing the family inheritance and stealing the blessing meant that Esau would always be inferior to Jacob in the family. After twenty years, Jacob was forced to flee from where he had been living (again because he had deceived someone even if rightfully so) and decided it was time to reconcile with his brother. He was understandably nervous. And a little bit fearful for his life. After all, his brother had no reason to forgive him. No reason to accept him onto his land. And no reason to be kind to him. So, you can imagine the level of anxiety Jacob had when he finally approached his brother for the first time in two decades.
Jacob looked up and there was Esau, coming with his four hundred men; so he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the two female servants. 2 He put the female servants and their children in front, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph in the rear. 3 He himself went on ahead and bowed down to the ground seven times as he approached his brother.
4 But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept. 5 Then Esau looked up and saw the women and children. “Who are these with you?” he asked. Jacob answered, “They are the children God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the female servants and their children approached and bowed down. 7 Next, Leah and her children came and bowed down. Last of all came Joseph and Rachel, and they too bowed down.
8 Esau asked, “What’s the meaning of all these flocks and herds I met?” “To find favor in your eyes, my lord,” he said. 9 But Esau said, “I already have plenty, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.”
10 “No, please!” said Jacob. “If I have found favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me. For to see your face is like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me favorably. 11 Please accept the present that was brought to you, for God has been gracious to me and I have all I need.” And because Jacob insisted, Esau accepted it. 12 Then Esau said, “Let us be on our way; I’ll accompany you.” – Genesis 33:1-12
What a relief it must have been!
To have been accepted with literal open arms like that. To be made welcome immediately and to be accepted. This was worse than just walking into a party at someone’s house or going to a new school or your first day on the job. Jacob was fearful for his life! And not just his, but his whole family as well. But Esau doesn’t treat Jacob like an enemy, and he doesn’t approach Jacob as if something fishy was going on. Instead, he approaches him with what we consider the love of Christ. No strings attached. No reservations. He even initially refuses Jacob’s gift and tells him to keep it for himself.[2] But when Jacob insists, he graciously accepts it – not for his own gain, but to help ease Jacob’s anxiety. Then he does exactly what a good host should do – he accompanies him to his new home.
This is the kind of hospitality that God wants us to offer to everyone.
An open, no strings attached, no reservation, unrequited love for our neighbor. When you are the host, whether it’s a party at your home or welcoming a new teammate at work or even here at church, keep this in mind. When you have home team advantage, the onus is on YOU to take the initiative. It’s up to YOU to reach out, to offer hospitality, and to accompany the new person in our midst. Sit with them. Talk with them. Take your cues from them. Don’t impose your own needs and wants upon them but try to be in tune with what they need and want from you. Romans 12:9-13 sums up God’s expectations pretty well. Be sincere in your love of neighbor. Honor others above yourself. Join them mentally and emotionally wherever they are. As it says in the passage, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, (and) faithful in prayer.” Practice hospitality. It’s kind of God’s recipe for being a successful host no matter what situation you find yourself in.
What happens before a person enters our doors is more than we’ll ever know.
Whether that’s at home, at work, or at church, whatever brought them to us is deeper than what we see on the surface. While at a seminar for intercultural communication, they said people are like icebergs. What we see, what we hear, what we observe is only about 10% of what is actually going on. The other 90% is down below, hidden from our view and we’re not going to get to it on a first visit or even maybe a fiftieth. We just need to be patient, be observant, and be in tune with those who come to us. From a church context, this is especially critical. Nelson Searcy once wrote, “Seven minutes is all you get to make a positive first impression. In the first seven minutes of contact with your church, your first-time guests will know whether or not they are coming back.”[3] If you haven’t done the math yet, the first seven minutes is before they ever hear a song or listen to a sermon. It’s the time they spend from the parking lot to the door to the chair. That’s the most critical time for a guest. So how we go about offering hospitality and being a welcoming church is so very vital.[4]
But there is a right way and a wrong way of doing this.[5]
People want to be welcome, but they don’t want to stand out. From my own observation as the new membership pastor at Roswell UMC, it takes on average 18 months for someone to feel comfortable enough to actually join the church. Like jumping in a pool, everyone has their own way of doing it, but most people like to mosey in the shallow end and progress deeper and deeper as they feel comfortable. Often, they have joined a small group, started singing in the choir, or volunteered to help out before they consider actually joining. And they don’t like to give their personal information for at least the first four or five times they attend worship. They want to sit and observe and see if it’s a good fit. Highlighting them during announcements or prayer is often just too much for most people and they absolutely hate “passing the peace.” For some of you, you’re thinking, “What?!” But it’s true. There have been many, many, many studies on this. People want to be welcome, they don’t want to stand out.
It’s always hard being a new pastor at a new church.
I’m coming into YOUR house to serve you which feels a bit awkward because I don’t know much about you yet. It takes time to get to know you, get to know what is important to you, and how best I can use my gifts and graces to help be a blessing here. But as hard as it is for me, it’s especially hard for my family. Time and time again, they get thrust into a new church, one that they didn’t pick and are expected to make it their church family right from the start. And on our first day here, people were friendly and welcoming, but no one came up to Cassie to sit with her. No one came up and introduced her to different people in our congregation. No one showed her around. Thankfully, Cassie is the type to do it on her own, and she really liked you all right away. But sometimes it’s the little things that go into that first seven minutes that make the biggest difference. No one did anything wrong, but sometimes we need to take that extra step to be a truly exceptional host. Be bold and be willing to be that angel of hospitality. And if you’re not that kind of person, tap someone on the shoulder who has that gift and point out someone who could use that extra touch. This is true no matter the context. Whether it’s at work, at school, or at church, when you have home court advantage, be the gracious host. Don’t assume someone else will do it, because you know what they say about assumptions! Imagine, if it’s hard for you to step up into that role, how hard it must be for that new person walking in the door. Everybody can use a friend.
[1] https://www.gotquestions.org/birthright-Bible.html
[2] This totally reminds me of a Japanese custom to always refuse a gift at first offering. A Western equivalent would be “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” But a friend once told me that in Japanese custom you must refuse three times and if after the third time the person still insists, then you must take it or risk shaming them. But refusing is important because it shows your own humility and hospitality.
[3] https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/2017/12/Five-keys-to-opening-the-front-door
[4] Which is not to say that music and good sermons are not important because they are! A good sermon is often cited as the number one reason why people come and stay. Music is up there along with children’s programming, outreach, and fellowship. But it’s those initial seven minutes where an impression is made.
[5] If you’re interested, here are a couple of good articles on the subject:
Outreach Magazine’s “10 Things Not to Do to First-Time Guests”
Melody Maxwell’s “7 Do’s and Don’ts of Welcoming Guests to Your Congregati
Humble Pie
In a few days, I’ll be eating a tremendous meal at my sister’s house.
I don’t know how she does it, but on Thanksgiving, she has this FULL spread of food. Turkey, dressing, potatoes, warm rolls, soft butter, and my brother-in-law’s famous cranberry sauce which I love. He says it’s from the back of a box, but I can’t make it like he does. It’s going to be a seriously gut-busting day. One thing I really love about Thanksgiving is PIE! And I’m not alone. Thanksgiving is the number one pie holiday with Christmas being number two.[1] Pie is part of my Holy Trinity of desserts – homemade cookies, ice cream, and pie; so pie a la mode is like heaven on a plate. However, there’s one kind of pie which probably won’t be on the menu, but one we should all probably have a slice of once in a while. Humble pie. We could all use a good slice of humble pie.
I was thinking about this while watching one of my favorite episodes of Sports Night.[2]
The show opens with Dan and Casey getting ready for an evening broadcast and it becomes really clear Casey doesn’t know the staff very well. He’s kind of oblivious to the people who make the show happen. And so a few days later, when he’s being interviewed on another talk show and gets complimented about his wardrobe, he doesn’t think to compliment the woman on his staff who picks out all his clothes. Instead he makes a joke and everyone laughs. But later on, the wardrobe assistant, Monica, comes to his office, carrying his clothes for that night’s show and says to him, “I think you hurt the feelings of the woman I work for. Maureen? She’s been working here since the day you started?” Monica holds up a tie and asks him, “Do you know what color this is?” And Casey looks at it and says, “It’s gray.” And Monica says, “It’s called gunmetal. Gray has more ivory, gunmetal has more blue. Do you know what shirt you should wear with it?… Mr. McCall, you get so much attention and so much praise for what you actually do and all of it’s deserved. When you go on a talk show and get complimented on something you didn’t, how hard would it be to say, ‘That’s not me. That’s a woman named Maureen who’s been working for us since the first day. It’s Maureen who dresses me every night. And without Maureen I wouldn’t know gunmetal from a hole in the ground. Do you have any idea what that would have meant to her? Do you have any idea how many times she would have played that tape for her husband and her kids?” Casey doesn’t know what to say. He just got served a big helping of humble pie. But it really makes him think on what she said, and at the end of the episode, he publically gives thanks to the people behind the scenes who make the show a reality. And when he does, we know it comes from a place of gratitude because we know Casey has a humble heart.
When we give thanks, do we do it from a humble heart?
Do we realize how fortunate we are for the blessings we have or for the people in our lives who helped to make it happen? Because none of us live in a vacuum. No matter how talented or successful or powerful we are, we only got there on the backs of other people. As independent and self-sustaining as we like to believe we are, it really does take a community of people to make it happen. None of us can do it on our own. None of us is truly a self-made person. But it takes a humble heart to realize that. Someone once wrote, “If you want to live in a state of perpetual thanksgiving, you must abide in humility. Humility is the state of mind wherein pride, ego and haughty self-sufficiency have been crucified with Christ.”[3] The culture we live in encourages a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps mentality, but that mentality denies the state of the world we live in. We owe our success and our blessings to those around us, to our community, and ultimately to God. That’s the lesson King David tried to teach the people of Israel in the passage we are going to read. Prior to this passage, David had addressed all of Israel about his desire to build a temple to the Lord. He told them of how the Lord had chosen Solomon to succeed him as King and that it would be Solomon who would build the temple, but David wanted to make it as easy as possible for Solomon to accomplish this task so before he died, David wanted to amass everything that would be necessary for building it. He not only acquired all the necessary material, but he donated his personal fortune into building the temple and he asked all the leaders of the nation of Israel to do the same. By the time he was done, the people of Israel had donated more than 8 billion dollars worth of gold and more than 243 million dollars in silver not to mention the precious stones, bronze and iron that was also given. And that’s on top of what David gave. And so after all the wealth had been collected, David lifted up this prayer of thanksgiving to God.
10 David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. 11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. 12 Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all. 13 Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.
14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 15 We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. 16 Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. 17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. 18 Lord, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep these desires and thoughts in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. 19 And give my son Solomon the wholehearted devotion to keep your commands, statutes and decrees and to do everything to build the palatial structure for which I have provided.”
20 Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So they all praised the Lord, the God of their fathers; they bowed down, prostrating themselves before the Lord and the king. – 1 Chronicles 29:10-20
David’s model of thanksgiving is one that comes from humility.
He praises God as Creator and Father of all. He attributes all good things to God. And then he adds this line, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? EVERYTHING comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.” David wants to make sure everyone understands that all the wealth and power and blessings they have been given are only because of God’s grace. It would have been easy for them to take pride in what they accomplished. Think about how much they were able to give! When you include David’s personal contribution it was over $12-13 BILLION DOLLARS worth of gold alone. It would have been easy for them to say, “See what we’ve done? Look at we were able to accomplish! All for God of course, but look at what WE were able to accomplish!” And David reminds them in his prayer that this is nothing. This is nothing because they were only returning to God what he allowed them to use. As huge of a sacrifice as this seemed to be, it was really no sacrifice at all because it didn’t belong to them in the first place.
This was an important lesson to Israel and to us.
To remember that all we have accomplished comes on the backs of the many people around us. That as talented as we are, it is only because we are utilizing the gifts that God has given. And that our worth cannot ever be measured in dollars and cents but in the love we show to others. Because the richer we are, the more we seem to forget these lessons. We don’t even have to go back to ancient Israel to see that’s true. Patricia Greenfield from UCLA studied the linguistic frequency of key words in our writings over a period from 1800 to 2000 and as the country became wealthier “the frequency of the word ‘get’ went up, and the frequency of the word ‘give’ went down.”[4] Americans also became more individualistic and less community-oriented. Words like “individual,” “self,” and “unique” were more common while words like “give,” “obliged,” and “belong” were seen less. This might seem to be a small thing, but when you couple that with giving statistics that show that poorer people give about 50% more of their income to charity than the wealthy, it’s not that big of a leap to say that as we become more affluent, we tend to forget our humility and instead become more sure of our own ability to succeed. The wealthier we are the more we cut ourselves off from our communities and from those around us. We cut them off and assume people are only in it to take from us what is “rightfully ours” forgetting again that it doesn’t really belong to us in the first place and won’t go with us when we die. We forget these wise words from Ecclesiastes which says in chapter 9, verse 11, “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.” We forget our good fortune is as unlikely to happen to us as it is to anyone else, but when we stay grounded in humility, we become rooted in reality and realize how truly grateful we need to be. Because thankfulness without humility is like pie without the filling. Thankfulness without humility is like pie without the filling – it’s empty. It has no real meaning.
When I was at UJCC, our associate pastor, Akiko, used to say these great prayers for blessing the food.
She would always give thanks for the land, for the animals, for the people who cultivated the land…I mean she would do more than ask for a blessing upon the food. She would give thanks for the chain of life that made it possible to have this food on our table and it made me think how much more interconnected we are than we often think about. Too often we take things for granted that we shouldn’t. Things like water and the sun and the plants, let alone the people and the resources that it takes to make the world go round. This week as we celebrate thanksgiving let us remember that no matter how great our accomplishments we never do it in a vacuum. Let us find within ourselves the humility to admit that we need others more than we think we do. In that vein, let us challenge ourselves through this Christmas season to give thanks to at least one person every day for what they do in our lives. Give thanks to them for helping you in ways big and small that maybe you’ve never noticed before or given voice to. And give thanks for the invisible ways in which your life is made better because of the efforts of those who labor around you. Pray daily to God for no other reason than to give thanks. Not just for the food we eat or the clothes we wear, but for being the one who gives life. For being the one who loves us enough to send his son into the world for us. And for being the very model of humility we should strive to emulate. Let’s face it. We can all stand to eat some humble pie once in a while. Make it your thanksgiving treat this year.
[1] https://premise.com/blog/totw-favorite-holiday-pie-in-the-us/#:~:text=Thanksgiving%20and%20Christmas%20dominate%20the,%25)%20and%20Christmas%20(41%25).
[2] “Six Southern Gentlemen of Tennessee,” Sports Night 12/15/1998
[3] http://www.christianblog.com/blog/blessings2you/humility-is-the-foundation-for-thanksgiving/
[4] http://www.npr.org/2013/09/03/218627288/why-being-wealthy-doesnt-lead-to-more-giving
iCloud
What is “the Cloud?”
Most of us have things being stored in “the Cloud.” We have pictures and emails and documents that are being kept there. We’re able to watch Netflix and Hulu and Disney+ because of it. And today “the Cloud” touches almost every aspect of our lives in some way. But what is it? If you’re not a very technical person, hearing that your things are being stored in “the Cloud” might seem almost like magic. But “the Cloud” is just a cute term for the storage of materials remotely instead of locally. “The Cloud” is just a term for storing data remotely instead of locally. Back in the old days, like in the 1980’s and 90’s, if you didn’t have your data downloaded to your computer or stored on a floppy disc, it didn’t exist. Computer games, photos, and documents all had to be stored somewhere in your home. And you could almost forget about video. The amount of data it took to transmit video was enormous by today’s standards. But with advances made in communications and technology, we can now store and transmit all of that material to different places and from different places. We call that accumulation of material, “the Cloud.” “The Cloud” is sort of like The Force. As Obi-Wan Kenobi said, “It surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.”
The Bible talks about us being surrounded by a cloud, too.
And it too is all around us. This passage is part of the famous “faith” narrative in the letter to the Hebrew people living in Jerusalem. The writer of the letter gives many examples of what it means to live by faith sharing names the Hebrews would be familiar with. People like Abel and Noah and Abraham. People like Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. He talks about all the trials and tribulations they personally dealt with and the Israeli people dealt with – the crossing of the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho falling. And then the writer adds this…
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 11:39-12:3)
We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
Kind of intimidating actually. There are some places I don’t want a “great cloud of witnesses” to be watching. But that’s not what is meant here. It isn’t a bunch of ghosts watching our every move. It is the accumulated knowledge and experience of everyone who has gone before and paved the way ahead of us. Our faith in God is not some empty promise but built upon our forebearers in faith – both those we know and those we’ve never met or maybe even heard of. People like Deborah, Joseph, Gideon, and Ruth help us to understand God in a better way and to know who he is. Because of disciples like Peter, John, and Mary, we know the person of Christ and have come to trust in his promises. Our “cloud of witnesses” are all those people who have come before and whose stories form the foundation of our faith. As it says in John 20, “30 Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. 31 But these are written that you may believe[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” We tell the stories of those who have passed to give us strength and inspiration in tough times and to help us have confidence in what we believe.
But what really gives us hope is that first line.
“None of them received what had been promised.” Doesn’t SOUND hopeful so why does it bring hope? Sometimes we get stuck in an Old Testament “eye for an eye” mentality and it’s hard for us to look beyond that. Most of the world, whether they are religious or not often thinks this way, too. We expect tit for tat. When we do good, we expect good to come back to us. If we give money or time or energy into something, we expect others will do the same or return the favor in some way. But that doesn’t always happen, and when it doesn’t, because of our quid pro quo thinking, our faith and trust in the system weakens. The same is true with our faith and trust in Christ. When things don’t work out as expected, we become disappointed in God. We think somehow God has reneged on his end of the deal. But this passage reminds us that is not the case. “None of them received what had been promised” and yet…God had in mind something better. Even if they didn’t get the reward they expected, it’s only because God had something better planned. That “something better” may not always seem obvious to us because we see through a much different lens than God does. God can see the whole picture while we can only see our piece of it. But the writer of Hebrews here is trying to encourage us to keep our trust in God and shares this “cloud of witnesses” as testimony to God’s faithfulness so that we can remain strong, even in difficult times. So the writer of Hebrews encourages us to throw off our fears and trust in God. To continue to live a life of faith, to act and behave in a way that is consistent with a person who believes in the living Christ.
On All Saints’ Sunday we pay tribute to our own “cloud of witnesses.”
We honor and remember those who have since passed on who helped us to grow in our faith. We remember those who molded us and shaped us into the people we are. We honor loved ones we miss. Our definition of “saints” is probably different than what you traditionally imagine. It might even feel a bit uncomfortable to talk about our loved ones as saints. We often think of St. Patrick or St. Valentine or even St. Nicholas – specific people who have been honored by the Catholic Church for extraordinary service to God. People who are beyond reproach and most of us are far from that. But that type of “saint” is more like the Queen bestowing a knighthood upon one of her people. It’s a human title instead of a Heavenly one. For us, we believe that all Christians are saints. The word comes from the Greek hagios which means “consecrated to God, holy, sacred, pious.” So, to say we are saints doesn’t mean we are without flaws, or we deserve to be revered. That honor is reserved for God and God alone. It means we are set apart in service to God. When we talk about All Saints’ Day, it’s a way of honoring ALL those who have participated in the life of God’s Kingdom. Take a moment today to reflect and pray for those who have made an impact in YOUR faith journey and may we live up to that legacy.
What If?
What if?
It’s natural to wonder how things might have turned out if we had done something different in our lives. What if you went to a different college? What if you had moved to a different city? What if you turned left instead of right? Our life is filled with choices and each one makes a difference. Growing up, one of my favorite comic books was titled “What If?” and every month they would explore this idea about how the choices we make can affect our lives. Sometimes the differences were huge. Sometimes the differences were small but meaningful. Sometimes the differences were just…different. It was always interesting to read but was also a reminder that every day is important. What we do and say MATTERS! God has given us this chance at life, but we only get to do it once so how can we make the most it?
God wants us to be BOLD!
Nowhere in the Bible is there a story about a guy who played it safe and was told by Christ, “Good job! Who needs to take risks? Play it safe.” Instead, it’s quite the opposite. In the story of the Parable of the Talents, God rewards those who have taken a chance with the gifts they are given and instead punishes the guy who plays it safe. In the book of Acts, we read about Ananias and Sapphira who withhold a portion of their profits for themselves instead of giving it to God and they die on the spot! Not that God would literally kill us for playing it safe, but maybe it’s a metaphor for how our trust and our faith die a little bit when we hold back. We were put on Earth to serve God in BOLD ways, to dare to make this world a better place. And that takes BOLD people. There was a scene in the movie Dead Poets Society that reminds me of God’s call to boldness. In it, Mr. Keating is teaching his students about poetry, and the kids are used to studying about rhyme and meter and iambic pentameter – all the forms and functions of poetry. But Mr. Keating wants to inspire them, to go beyond just studying about it and understanding it and he says to his students, “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are all noble pursuits, and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman: ‘O me, o life of the questions of these recurring, of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities filled with the foolish. What good amid these, o me, o life?’ Answer: that you are here. That life exists, and identity. That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?” What will YOUR verse be?
God is never short of inspiration either.
There’s a great passage in Malachi I want to share with you today. Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. It was written to the Jews who had returned from Babylon after the temple had been rebuilt. The people had become spiritually apathetic. They didn’t turn to false gods or other deities, but were “disillusioned about their future and skeptical of God’s promises.”[1] They had the form and function of a church, but really had turned into nothing more than a country club for Jewish people. They stopped being a church. And in the beginning of this chapter, Malachi foretells the coming of Christ and asks the important question, “…who can endure the day of his coming? (Malachi 3:2)” Who can endure the day of his coming? And he follows it up with the section we are about to read this morning.
8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the LORD Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty. – Malachi 3:8-12
Test me in this!
“Test me in this…and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it…” That is such a striking image and I imagine as God is saying this, he isn’t angry or upset. He’s excited! He’s challenging. He’s ripe with anticipation. Are you willing to take God up on that offer? All we need is two things – faith and trust. When we have faith in God’s promise and trust him to be faithful to us, he promises a flood of blessings. Instead, we often choose to rob God of what is already rightfully his. God doesn’t ask you to give everything you have. He only asks for your trust enough in him so he can show you the amazing blessings he has in store for you. God challenges us to tithe, not because he needs it, but because we do. When we fail to give in service to God, we are not only robbing God, but robbing ourselves of this opportunity to experience God’s blessing in our lives. Now, you might be tempted to get this image of a mighty God holding back this wonderful blessing as a punishment for our failure to be more faithful or trusting. But the curse we are under is one we’ve made ourselves, not one that God wants for us. When we hold back from giving all we can, we are also holding back the chance for God to work in our lives in the most powerful of ways. God WANTS to do this for us. He invites us to “test him,” but that requires us to have faith in God’s promise.
For me, this is a reality.
And I can’t promise that it will happen for you in the same way. But before I ever even thought about becoming a pastor, I went through a real crisis of faith. It was not long after 9/11 and we just found out Cassie was pregnant with Emma. With so many horrible things going on in the world, it made me wonder what kind of world we were bringing our newborn child into. I started to wonder what kind of God would let so much evil go unchecked. Where was God in all of this mess? Maybe…there wasn’t a God. My whole world seemed to turn upside down, and it was horrible. I lost sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night sweating through my shirt. I felt hopeless and helpless. But during this time, I kept hearing this challenge – to test God. I heard it from my pastor, from the radio, on the Internet, and so I did it. And I can’t help but feel that it was God reaching out to me through these various people. Test me in this. Not with money but with prayer. I prayed for God to give me a sign, to show me some direction, to show me some kind of proof that he was there. And through people I loved and people I never heard of; through books and radio and Scripture and everything in-between, I kept feeling more and more connected again to God. God helped me to develop eyes to see and ears to hear until I felt what John Wesley felt – that blessed assurance God was there. And at the end of it all, I felt a new calling on my life. I needed to serve God in a new way so others who may be distant from God could see him and know they are loved. It was this crisis of faith that led me to be here today.
Where do you need to be bold?
What areas do you find yourself hesitating in? What things do you not fully trust God with handling? For you it might be prayer, too. But it might be giving financially to growing God’s kingdom whether that is through our church or in some other way. Or it might be in giving of your time to help others grow in their faith. Maybe you’re being called to serve as a Sunday School teacher or in the tech booth or on one of our committees. Challenge yourself in this thanksgiving season on how you can be bolder in your love of God and neighbor and see if he doesn’t rain down blessings upon blessings on your life. In whatever way I can, I would love to help so please reach out. But it’s really up to you. How is God calling on you to be bolder, more giving, more open to where he is leading. May we all pray to have eyes to see and ears to hear.
[1] Some of this section is taken from The Archeological Study Bible, “Introduction to Malachi,” p. 1545.
One More Day
If you only had one more day, how would you spend it?
Probably not at work. Or paying bills. Or worrying about buying the newest video game. Instead, we’d probably spend it doing the things we love with the people we love. That might be going to Disneyland or spending the day at the beach or maybe just spending the day at home eating our favorite meal. We’d talk to one another, share our thoughts and feelings, give lots of hugs, hold hands, and pray about what happens next. Because when it comes right down to it, we know in our heart what is truly important. Jesus tells us, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” And he uses the word “treasure” to broaden the scope of things we store up for ourselves. It’s more than just money. It’s how we spend our time, how we share our talent, and where we give our effort. And when we find ourselves with just one more day or even one more week, one more month, or one more year, it forces us to open our eyes to what’s truly important. But for the most part, we don’t think about life that way. We live life as if we had forever instead of one more day. We trifle away our lives worrying about the unimportant, investing in things that ultimately don’t matter, and then later regretting our decisions. Let’s change that.
Because you don’t have forever.
None of us do. Not even Jesus. So where is your treasure? Where does it lie? Most of us would say it’s with our family and friends. Some might even say it’s with God. But if you look closely at your life, where is it really? That’s the question we need to ask because it’s so easy to fool ourselves into thinking we’ve got our priorities straight. But maybe it’s more out of whack than we like to believe. I’m guessing, whoever is in charge of the iPhone must be a Christian because every week I get this little guilt trip early Sunday morning. About 9am, right when I’m getting to church, I open up my computer and at the top right corner, a little box pops up with my screen time for the week. And I think, did I really spend that much time on the computer? Now to be fair, about 90% of what I do weekly for the church takes place on my computer. Whether that’s working on the sermon, doing the weekly email, creating slides for worship, or doing ZOOM meetings, most of it takes place on this 13” screen on my desk. But if I’m honest, I spend a decent amount of “me” time on my computer, too. I love playing Magic the Gathering Arena online. I play Marvel SNAP. I hunt for bargains on eBay and Amazon. And I’m not alone. They did a study in China where they track early onset myopia and about 80% of teens and young adults are near-sighted. [1] All linked to too much screen time and not enough getting outdoors. Those kinds of problems lead to things like glaucoma, cataracts, and retinal detachment! And it’s not just in China but the entire world. In America, we went from 25% of the population being myopic in 1971 to 41.6% in 2017.[2] It’s estimated that worldwide, 40% of the world will be myopic by 2030.[3] What does that say about where our treasure lies? And more importantly, where it does not.
Obviously, that doesn’t mean you have to throw away your phones.
Or give all your money to charity. Or quit your job to spend time with your family. Our phones can be incredibly helpful, not only for work or personal time but for keeping in touch with those family and friends who are important to us. And you need money to care for those same family and friends – whether it’s to feed them or clothe them or pay for medicine to care for them. And without your job, could you save enough money to ever get to spend quality time with them? It’s about priorities. About setting them and keeping them. Because we are challenged all the time to keep them straight. We get pulled in a million different directions and it can be hard and frustrating trying to keep up with all of it. We probably feel a little bit like that Aesop fable about “The Miller, The Son, and The Donkey.” We can please some of the people all of the time or all of the people some of the time, but we can’t please all of the people all of the time. So, it’s important to set and keep our priorities and not let them get lost in the shuffle of life. The passage we are about to hear today is from a group of letters in the Bible called the “Pastoral Letters” because each one is written by Paul to help Timothy and Titus lead their churches. And in this first letter to Timothy, Paul gives advice on a wide number of topics. But we are going to focus on one. Paul is offering advice to Timothy on how to preach about “true wealth” and how we confuse material wealth and spiritual wealth. As you read this passage, listen for how that challenge speaks to you. Hear now the Word of God.
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. – 1 Timothy 6:17-19
When Paul writes about “those who are rich in this present world” he’s talking about you.
About all of us. We don’t have to be rich financially for this to apply to us. We could be rich in other ways like time. And by that I don’t mean we have more time in our day than others. But when we are young, we approach life like we’re going to live forever. We don’t often think if we should be spending our time somewhere else because there’s so much of it left. The days in front of us outnumbers the days behind us. We are rich in time! But does that mean we should waste it? Paul is talking to everyone who has an abundance. Of anything. Of money. Of time. Of energy. Of useful limbs. Of wisdom. Of experience. And in that way, he’s talking to everyone, because no matter how old we are, we are rich in something. And Paul is telling us that in whatever ways we have an abundance, to use them not for building up more for ourselves, but to help others. To be rich instead in “good deeds” rather than anything else. And in that way, we are not only making the world a better place, but we are laying a foundation for the next one. I like how Paul puts it, “so that (we) may take hold of the life that is truly life!”
Take the time now to plan ahead for the future.
Don’t wait until it’s too late to do what needs to be done. Because when those opportunities pass us by, we can’t always get them back. One regret I often hear is not spending enough time with family. Skipping those games your kids wish you had attended. Missing those meals because something just couldn’t wait. Ditching your friends to be with some girl you just met even though you’d been planning this for months. You think, “They’ll understand.” And they might. But at what cost? Now of course there are times when you really can’t get away, when it might mean your livelihood or an opportunity that won’t come around again. But a lot of times, we sacrifice the very things that are the most important to us just because we can. But you never get those moments back. It’s not like you can gather your family up on a Sunday morning and say, “Okay, I know I promised to have dinner with you all week and I didn’t, so here’s what we’re going to do. We’ll stop by IHOP on the way to church and have a huge stack of pancakes! Then after church we’ll go over to Olive Garden and have as many breadsticks as you want. Then we’ll go out to dinner at Red Lobster for those yummy cheddar biscuits and that will make up for all the dinners I missed, and we’ll bond and everything will be okay.” It just doesn’t work like that. One extravagant moment doesn’t make up for all the missed opportunities, all the disappointment. True devotion comes in the choices we make day by day.
Linda Ellis wrote a wonderful poem called “The Dash” that captures all of this.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] https://www.npr.org/2023/10/18/1206701199/how-our-tech-habits-are-causing-our-eyes-to-elongate-which-causes-myopia
[2] https://www.nei.nih.gov/about/news-and-events/news/myopia-close-look-efforts-turn-back-growing-problem
[3] Ibid NPR “How Tech Habits…”
Line Item Giving
If you love God, raise your hand.
Now, raise it a bit higher. REALLY show the world you love God! Ask yourself why didn’t you do that in the first place? Why not thrust your hand in the air as high as it could go the first time? Maybe we’re just a bit unsure. Maybe we’re a little bit afraid. Afraid of being made a fool. Afraid of being the only one out there. Afraid of what others will think of us. We are often fueled by fear. And that’s why we have a hard time to being as bold as God wants us to be. It’s hard to overcome that fear, but that fear affects every part of our lives. From our relationships to our work lives to our faith and we can see that fear become manifest when it comes to giving. We might feel like we SHOULD be giving more or that we COULD be giving more, but fear holds us back from actually doing it. Fear about how the money will be used. Fear about if the people in charge will spend it wisely. Fear of not having enough for what we want to do. But what if giving wasn’t really about money. What if giving was in fact really about your trust and faith in God?
God doesn’t need your money.
It’s all his anyway. Psalm 24:1-2 – “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.” It ALL belongs to God. Giving is about our faith and trust. If you have your Bibles or a Bible app on your phones, would you please go to 2 Corinthians 9:6. In this letter to the church at Corinth, one of the things Paul hoped to accomplish was to get a donation from the church so more churches could be built. I don’t know if this was the first sermon on giving outside of Jesus, but there is no doubt that was Paul’s goal. He wanted to convince the Corinthians to challenge themselves in giving. Earlier he wrote, “But since you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you— see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:7-9).” Sounds like a guilt trip, right? Maybe it was a little bit. But Paul was earnest in his desire to challenge the congregation to grow their faith through giving. See what he says right there in verse 8? “I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.” Later, he makes it clear he’s not challenging the AMOUNT they give, but their faithfulness in giving. The amount matters very little. It’s our faith and trust in giving that is the most important thing. Which leads us to our passage today.
6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:
“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
their righteousness endures forever.”[a]
10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! – 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
I think we are all challenged to be “cheerful givers.”
I don’t know of many people who give the way Paul challenges us to give. He says in verse 7, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” But there IS a part of us that is reluctant to give. Part of that is because plain and simple, we’re a little bit selfish. And we feel like we have a right to be. After all, we earned this money! We worked hard to get it and we want to spend it the way we want to spend it. The other part is even when we want to give, we don’t always trust the people we’re giving it to. We’ve heard about the seemingly ridiculous cost spent by the government like the $7,622 coffee brewer that the Air Force bought.[1] But it doesn’t even have to be on that scale. You’ve probably watched friends and family spend money on things you would consider a complete waste. Maybe it’s your kids, your parents, or even your spouse. “How much did that coffee maker cost?” “Why did you buy Tylenol when the store brand would have been fine?” “How many times a year do you need to go to Disneyland?” That one might have been from personal experience (actually Cassie is very understanding about my need for Disney). It’s hard to just be a cheerful giver because once we give it, we don’t have a lot of say in how it’s spent and that bothers us a lot because what if they waste it?
And that’s the challenge for us – to have faith and trust in our giving.
But we confuse faith and trust in GOD with faith and trust in how our money is being spent. It’s the difference between giving to give and giving to get. Are we giving cheerfully or conditionally? When we give for the sake of giving, it becomes more about developing our faith and trust in God. It’s about developing a heart of generosity. But we when we give to get, we care an awful lot about the outcome of our giving. We want to know how THEY are spending OUR money, and while that might on the surface seem rewarding, we are missing out on the greater transformation of becoming generous people. Being a cheerful giver is part of our developing relationship with God, the building of our faith and trust. Look at the rest of the passage from Paul’s letter, verses 12-15. “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” Paul tells us here giving isn’t just about helping others’ physical needs, but it is a way of saying thanks to God for the gifts you have been blessed with. It’s a way of witnessing to others your love for Jesus. And in your spirit of giving, you will be blessed in return. It may not be in the tangible ways we expect when we give to get, but it can instead be in growing our faith or growing closer to God or learning to value the things money can’t buy. Giving is about the building up of faith and trust in God. And when we withhold our gifts and graces, we are not just cheating God but cheating ourselves of an opportunity to become who God wants us to be.
When we focus only on the outcome of our giving, we become line item givers.
We want to pick and choose the outcome of our giving like the Line Item Veto Act of 1996. Congress passed a law giving the President the authority to veto portions of the federal budget without having to veto the whole thing. That way they could pass a budget without worrying about a federal shutdown and we all know how real THAT threat is. But the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional because it cheated the system. It might be faster and more efficient, but at the price of the faith and trust of the people the government was created to serve. The same is true about our personal giving. We love the idea of line item giving – of giving only to those things we believe in. But that assumes we know better where our money needs to go than other people. And while we certainly know what we want and what we like better than anyone else, that doesn’t mean we know where it might be used the best or where it might be needed the most. That’s where our trust and faith come in. At a certain point we need to let go of our need for control. Will there be times people waste the gifts we share? Sure. But what God cares about isn’t your money, but your heart and when we worry so much about the outcome of our giving, our hearts grow cold and cynical. But when we give cheerfully and let go of our fears, we gain something for ourselves – a heart of faith and trust. By the way, this isn’t just about money but about everything we have to give – our time, our talents, and our service, too. When you give freely, you gain something greater – a heart for living that will bring you peace and freedom from anxiety. When you withhold, you come to a poverty of spirit and a poverty of friendship, trust, love, and other things God wants to bless you with. In whatever ways you give, reflect today on your heart for giving. Let go of your fear and doubt. Let go of your need for control and instead turn it over to God. Be the cheerful giver God hopes for you to be.
[1] Why coffee pots cost so much on planes – more to it than you think. Not so ridiculous when you realize what goes into it, but on the surface we make snap judgements about waste.
Unity in Diversity
The Dodgers had no business winning the World Series in 1988.
By every estimate, they were the underdogs – by a long shot. The A’s had the Bash Brothers – Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Two of the greatest hitters of their time. Canseco had just become the first 40-40 player in baseball history – 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases, and together with Dave Henderson they had 3 guys with over 90 RBIs. The A’s also had the American League rookie of the year in Walt Weiss who manager Tony LaRussa said was better than either of the other two. And the A’s had the best closer in the game with Dennis Eckersley. Eckersley had 45 saves that season with a total ERA in those saves of 0.02.[1] If there was ever a sure thing in sports, Eckersley was it. The Oakland team just got done running over the American League West with 104 wins and crushed the Boston Red Sox in four straight games to get to the World Series. On paper, even the Los Angeles Times said the Dodgers were in over their heads. But as the old saying goes, they don’t play the games on paper. And after Kirk Gibson’s miraculous home run to win Game 1, the Dodgers behind Orel Hersheiser’s amazing season went on to beat the A’s in 5.
You just never know what makes a winning combination.
It’s the right mix of a bunch of different elements all coming together at the right time to make something beautiful. Unity in diversity. The blending together of different elements to make something better. The Dodgers won despite the odds being stacked against them because they were able to come together and through this bizarre mix of chemistry and talent and timing outperform arguably the best team of the decade. The diversity of talent and what each person brought to the table was exactly what they needed to win. And that’s true about life in general. It’s our great diversity that makes us amazing. When I hear people disparaging the value of diversity or why it might be important, what I really hear is fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the different. Fear of their own inadequacy. What they fail to realize is that it’s in our diversity the best ideas germinate. It’s our diversity that brings a new perspective to a situation or solves a problem otherwise unsolvable. In 1956, the Methodist church granted full clergy rights to women for the first time.[2] Before that, we were of the closed-minded thinking that only men could deliver the Word of God. But since then we have been blessed with a plethora of female clergy who have made a difference in our lives. If it weren’t for my pastor Rev. Jane Nugent, I wouldn’t be a pastor today. It was her counseling and her prayerful thoughts that encouraged me to head down this path. But what if we had never had female clergy? What if we had been so closed-minded that we couldn’t see what God was doing in the lives of these wonderful women? Think of how many lost opportunities there would be.
The Supreme Court overturned decades of precedent when they denied diversity inclusion.
In Students for Fair Admission v. Harvard and University of North Carolina the Supreme Court ruled that race couldn’t be considered as one of many factors in admitting students to the schools.[3] While some have hailed it as the end of an unfair practice, that conclusion is short-sighted because in the long run we’ve denied the value that people of different perspectives and heritage add to the mix. It’s not a blow for just the underprivileged and people of color, but even for those who fought against it, because they are missing out on the value of being in a diverse community. Here are some startling statistics for you from the business world to illustrate this point:[4]
- Organizations in the top quartile for gender diversity have a +25% likelihood of outperforming their peers
- Organizations in the top quartile for ethnic diversity have a +36% likelihood of outperforming their peers
- Diverse companies earn 2.5x higher cash flow per employee
- Inclusive teams are over 35% more productive
- Diverse teams make better decisions 87% of the time
It’s not just an idea, it’s a statistically proven benefit. And better yet. It’s God’s idea. Whether you are Christian or not, you’re probably familiar with this passage. And whether your believe it or not, it has value for what it teaches us.
And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” 23 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
27 So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”
29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. – Genesis 1:20-31
God created the Earth with an abundance of diversity!
From the birds in the sky to the fish in the sea and everything in between, God created it to be in harmony with one another. He saw “all that he had made, and it was very good.” God finds value in all of creation and if God does, so should we. But increasingly we strip away the great diversity God has created. We try to streamline creation into a world designed just for us. A good example is the tomato. Tomatoes out in the wild look and taste nothing like the ones we buy in the store. The ones in the store are genetically modified to withstand days and sometimes weeks of travel, to sit in a supermarket for more days after that, and to retain a nice, red, round look that people find appealing. But they taste bland compared to their wild and heirloom cousins. That’s because to create the “LOOK” we expect, they had to breed out what makes a tomato TASTE great. And who thought that was a great idea? Today, scientists are working hard to reintroduce flavor by again genetically modifying the tomato to appeal to the most people, but maybe…just maybe we should let God do the work and simply enjoy the variety that pops up in creation. Enjoy diversity. It just makes everything better.
As we celebrate World Communion Sunday we are brought together to be one body.
If even for just this one day, we are reminded that even though different groups of Christians have varying beliefs and traditions, we are better when we are one in Christ. It’s a reminder that we are not in competition with the Catholics or the Presbyterians or the Anglicans, but instead we share one common belief in Jesus who is Lord of us all. It’s a reminder that we can do more together than we can apart. The world is becoming more diverse. Our nation is becoming more diverse. Over the years our community has become more diverse. Our churches need to become more diverse with the rest of the world. Embracing diversity is not only a good thing, but exactly what God planned all along. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-10-14-sp-3967-story.html
[2] https://www.umc.org/en/content/ask-the-umc-when-did-the-church-first-ordain-women
[3] In case you want to know more: https://www.npr.org/2023/06/29/1181138066/affirmative-action-supreme-court-decision
[4] https://learning.linkedin.com/resources/learning-culture/diversity-workplace-statistics-dei-importance
Still Small Voice
My mom once said I had the best hearing in the world.
What she actually said was I had the best “selective” hearing in the world, but that’s not what I heard. If my parents were talking about something that interested me –movies, going out to dinner, Disneyland – I could hear them from behind the closed door of my room while they were on the other side of the house. Their voices came through as clear as day and I’d come bounding out of my room all ready to go. But when my mom asked me to come and help clean the table or take out the trash or vacuum the living room, amazingly, even though the discussion was much louder, I couldn’t hear that AT ALL. She might even say it two or three times and I would be totally oblivious to it. Has that ever happened to you? Or maybe with your kids? It’s pretty astounding what we can and can’t pick up with our ears. I was reading an article by Seth Horowitz from the New York Times about the difference between hearing and listening and it was pretty fascinating.[1] Did you know that we can “hear” at least 10 times faster than we can “see?” Our ears pick up and respond to things much faster than even our eyes. And it’s because our hearing is one of the alarm systems for the body. It’s designed to pick up a vast volume of surrounding sounds and over the years, our brains become trained which sounds are important to pick up on and which ones are not. So we can actually “hear” much more than we realize. Horowitz pointed out though there is a vast difference between “hearing” and “listening.” We “hear” a LOT, but we pay attention to comparatively very little. Again, we train ourselves to hear what we think is important and what is not. He said, “listening, really listening, is hard when potential distractions are leaping into your ears every fifty-thousandth of a second.”[2] It’s up to us to train our ears to listen to the things that are important.
Too often we “hear” what we want and tune out what we don’t.
Think about our political climate today. It’s astounding how people can completely ignore little things like facts and instead focus on fiction. And how both sides of an argument would agree with that statement. We truly do live in an era of “alternative facts.” If you have a Bible or a Bible app on your phone please go to Matthew 13 beginning with verse 10. Matthew 13:10. It might seem worse today given our hyperaware social media cycle, but this kind of closed-minded thinking is not new. Jesus had the same thing happen to him. Now right before this passage we are about to read, Jesus shares with the crowd some parables. Matthew writes that such a large crowd gathered while Jesus was by the lake he actually had to go out in a boat so people could hear him. Jesus tells the parable of the sower where he talks about how sharing the Gospel is like spreading seeds on the ground and how those seeds can fall into different types of soil. At the end of this parable he closes with the phrase, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Of course, Jesus means something much deeper than the literal meaning of this phrase.
The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. – Matthew 13:10-17
Do you have ears to hear?
Jesus points to the crowds, to the thousands of people who followed him just to listen to his teaching, and said even these people did not have “ears to hear.” He told the disciples even prophets and righteous people, people we would normally associate with people who “get it,” even THESE people could not understand what Jesus was saying. It wasn’t simply a matter of following Jesus that opens up our mind to God’s Word or all of these thousands of people would have understood. It had to be more than that. We not only had to hear, but to truly listen. We had to be fully present and to be willing to listen to what Jesus was saying to understand God’s work in our lives.
Perhaps a better interpretation of Jesus’ words would be “Whoever has ears to listen, let them listen.” Because there is a big difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is simply an auditory ability. Listening is active engagement. You can hear without ever listening. Isn’t that true? Most of us can probably remember at least one moment where we felt “unheard.” Sometimes we do it to the people we even love the most. Just ask Cassie. I have to admit there are times I’m “hearing” her, but my mind is drifting somewhere else and I’m not really listening like I should. I don’t mean to, but my mind is distracted with something else and I’m not focusing on what she has to say. If Cassie asked me to take out the trash…that might not register. If Cassie asked me if I’d like to go to Disneyland, I’d remember that forever. We listen to what is important to us, but not always what is important. And that’s what Jesus is referring to in this passage. Even among all the people gathered, many of them heard Jesus’ words but lacked understanding. Not that Jesus was trying to trick them, but he was trying to convey deep truths that only those with an open heart for God could understand. Often what Jesus was teaching was radically different than what the priests and the church leaders were teaching and on some gut level this appealed to the crowds. But to fully understand what Christ was sharing meant we had to be actively listening, to process what Jesus was saying, and to take a step back to understand it. When Christ says, “Whoever has will be given more…” he isn’t referring to material possessions but instead to understanding, truth, and peace. It might be better to read it as “Whoever has ears to hear” or “Whoever has an open heart for God will be given more wisdom, peace, and understanding. Whoever does not have an open heart, even what peace and knowledge they do have will be taken from them.”
The art of listening is truly a gift from God.
And it’s a gift that is available to us all. What it takes is a still mind, an active presence, and a willingness to hold back from responding immediately. Stephen Covey, the famous author, once wrote, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” This is true not just with one another but with God. How often is it that our prayers are filled with requests or pleas to God about what WE want and what WE need? And how much of our prayer time is filled with us listening instead? We spend so much time talking AT God and so little time actually listening TO God. You might think, “Yeah, but God never talks back to me anyway.” But I wonder if that’s really true or if we haven’t developed ears to hear or maybe we haven’t given God a chance to speak. Now, I’m not saying God will respond the way you and I respond to each other, but haven’t you at times heard that still small voice in your head? Haven’t you ever felt nudged to do something or say something and wonder where that came from? When that still small voice gives us instruction that is aligned with God’s will how can we say that isn’t God? And God can speak to us through his Word. Have you ever been reading the Bible and found that even though you read the same passage three times already, you suddenly came away with a different understanding? Couldn’t that be God? And when you needed a word of encouragement or comfort and suddenly a friend calls up out of nowhere couldn’t that be God? Perhaps it’s just that we haven’t developed ears to hear.
This week, practice the art of listening.
Spend time in quiet prayer. Start your prayers by simply being open to God’s presence instead of going down your laundry list of wants and needs. Pray for God’s leading in your life. And then take those listening skills out into the world and really listen to one another. Imagine what might happen if we had the intent to really understand one another, even and maybe especially people who don’t think like we do. Maybe we could better understand how to talk WITH one another instead of AT one another. And maybe the world would be a place where we work together despite our differences to make things better. Don’t listen with the intent to reply, listen with the intent to understand. Someone once said, “God gave us two ears and one mouth for a reason.” Perhaps we should listen twice as hard as we like to speak. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/opinion/sunday/why-listening-is-so-much-more-than-hearing.html?_r=0 Seth S Horowitz, “The Science and Art of Listening,” Nov 9, 2012, The New York Times.
[2] Ibid.
Craig's Corner 