A New England fishing boat captain explained the dangers of icing to a young sailor. Ice can sink a boat in the Atlantic. Well, sure it can, if you run into an iceberg, except that the fishing captain wasn't talking about big chunks of floating ice. He was talking about another kind of ice that forms slowly and almost unnoticed. The continual spray of the ocean in the cold of winter causes ice to build up on the boat, weighing her down so that she sits lower in the water. If she is too weighted by the ice, when a wave sweeps up to the bow, she may dip into the sea and take on so much water, that she'll sink. The young crewman's job was to take a bat and hit the ice, knocking it off- again and again.
Pilots know the dangers of icing, too. Ice build up on the wings causes extra weight and reduces the aerodynamic effect of 'lift' creating a very real danger. It doesn't take much ice, either. This is something my own family experienced several years ago when my uncle Dean, who piloted a corporate jet, died after flying into icing conditions that took his plane down!
Believer, there is a danger to our spiritual well-being that is similar to those accounts. Just a little 'willfulness,' a small deviation from what we know to be right, good, and the will of God, creates a weight. The drag created by that disobedience allows other sins to stick more easily and we sink lower... and lower. We don't turn away from God in one dramatic moment. We drift away from Him, one tiny step after another. Scripture warns, "It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard so that we don’t drift off." (Hebrews 2:1, The Message) In His parable about seeds and soils, which is about the Word of God and our hearts, Jesus says - "the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." (Mark 4:19, NIV)
It is so much easier to deal with things earlier, rather than later. Not allowing a bad habit to start is much simpler than breaking one after that pattern gets engrained in us. James creates a colorful illustration to help us understand the way that temptation turns into death! "Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers." (James 1:14-16, NIV) Making love to desires of disobedience creates the possibility of getting pregnant with sin! Could he be clearer?
This TFTD is not written to imply that you and I can save ourselves from God's judgment through scrupulous attention to self-righteousness! You can keep all the rules in the world and drive everybody around you crazy with your nit-picking at human failures and foibles and still be far from God. The Pharisees who show up frequently in the Gospels were great at writing and keeping rules, but they didn't really love God, nor did they have the life of the Spirit in them. If you have not met Christ as Savior, received His forgiveness, and been made alive in a conversion brought by the Holy Spirit - that is what you need to start. That said, the importance of daily holiness, of walking 'in the Spirit,' cannot be under-stated. Yes, it's dramatic but it's Biblical. "Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour." (1 Peter 5:8, NLT) Even more insidious to our spiritual vitality is - dangerous drift!
Do a spiritual check-up today. Invite the Holy Spirit to shine the Light into the corners of your heart and mind.
Are you holding onto unforgiveness, giving bitterness a toe-hold?
Are you careless about your prayers, your attendance to worship, or the daily disciplines of the soul?
Are you flirting with temptation, giving thoughts of disobedience to God a place to rest in your mind?
Turn to Him! Make a clean break with that thing with the help of the Spirit, your Advocate, the Helper.
Call that behavior what God calls it! Don't go easy, don't 'pretty it up!'
Enlist the help of another Believer to break the ice that is weighing your down from your life.
Practice the disciplines of spiritual formation which allow the seed of Gospel of Christ to grow, producing a bountiful harvest of goodness in you, which is for the glory of God, the Father. Amen!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Fresh, but not new!
Seems to me that a fad to discover some 'new' truth about Jesus has really gained momentum in the last year or two. Even authors I really respect are caught up in this pursuit of "re-discovery of Jesus' true message and identity. Everything that I've been taught about Him is being questioned by somebody, somewhere - at least that how it seems to me. It leads to a lot of speculative nonsense finding its way onto paper, into blogs, and being published in books. Most of it will be forgotten in a year or two. Does anybody really remember the controversies raised by "The Last Temptation of Christ," or "The Passover Plot"? Huh? Exactly!
The stories recorded in the inspired texts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have stood the test of time, telling us about a Man who is also God, who lived - and died - and rose again - in a dusty out of the way place called Palestine, during a time when the Romans ruled. His timeless story has inspired people from primitive cultures in the Amazonian jungles and in luxury Manhattan apartments. The not so bright and the intellectual are moved by His sacrificial love displayed in His willingness to die on the Cross. The young and the old are thrilled by the miracles that attest to His uniqueness.
I am not saying that applying the ancient Gospel to our lives and times in fresh ways is wrong! That is the most wonderful and amazing thing about Him. He doesn't fall 'out of style' or become irrelevant. Nor I am saying that it is a terrible thing to re-examine our understanding of the Gospel texts from time to time for it is true that ideas not found in the text get attached to it that corrupt it. So make it fresh! But don't re-write the Bible. Find Him, but don't try to do a "Jesus make over" that robs Him of His majesty and message.
Jesus is a controversial and shocking Individual. He said outrageous things, made claims that are stupendous! He provokes and prods, demanding our attention and devotion. We don't do Him or the Gospel a service by trying to round off the edges. He meant to challenge the status quo. He meant to call us to change, to tell us that there was a new Way back to God opening up through Him. In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says it best:
The stories recorded in the inspired texts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John have stood the test of time, telling us about a Man who is also God, who lived - and died - and rose again - in a dusty out of the way place called Palestine, during a time when the Romans ruled. His timeless story has inspired people from primitive cultures in the Amazonian jungles and in luxury Manhattan apartments. The not so bright and the intellectual are moved by His sacrificial love displayed in His willingness to die on the Cross. The young and the old are thrilled by the miracles that attest to His uniqueness.
I am not saying that applying the ancient Gospel to our lives and times in fresh ways is wrong! That is the most wonderful and amazing thing about Him. He doesn't fall 'out of style' or become irrelevant. Nor I am saying that it is a terrible thing to re-examine our understanding of the Gospel texts from time to time for it is true that ideas not found in the text get attached to it that corrupt it. So make it fresh! But don't re-write the Bible. Find Him, but don't try to do a "Jesus make over" that robs Him of His majesty and message.
Jesus is a controversial and shocking Individual. He said outrageous things, made claims that are stupendous! He provokes and prods, demanding our attention and devotion. We don't do Him or the Gospel a service by trying to round off the edges. He meant to challenge the status quo. He meant to call us to change, to tell us that there was a new Way back to God opening up through Him. In his book, Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis says it best:
- "I am trying here to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus Christ]: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept his claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on a level with a man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice.
Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse .... You can shut him up for fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God. But let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that option open to us. He did not intend to.”
Here's a word from the Word. Believer, it may be familiar to you and therefore you'll be tempted to let your eyes quickly run through it... but don't!
Ponder it, meditate on it, believe it - and the testimony it makes about Him.
"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:10-14, NKJV)
_____________________
Jesus! What a friend for sinners!
Jesus lover of my soul!
Friends may fail me, foes assail me;
He, my Savior, makes me whole.
Jesus! What a strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him;
Tempted tried and sometimes failing,
He, my strength my victory wins.
Jesus! I do now receive Him;
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness;
I am His and He is mine.
Hallelujah what a Savior.
Hallelujah what a Friend.
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.
Our Great Savior- Chapman, J. Wilbur / Prichard, Rowland H.- Copyright: Public Domain
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
A Mind of Faith!
Last night before I went to bed, I watched House. It's a drama centered on an egotistical, rude, and brilliant physician, Dr. House, played by Hugh Laurie. The series stretches credibility in that a person with the ill manners of House would not survive the flood of lawsuits provoked by his meanness, but the writing is good, and the medical mysteries are engaging. In last night's episode, House vs. God, the doctor, who is committed to the principle that all developments have rational explanations, is faced with events he cannot explain. A boy healer, who prays for the sick in the name of Jesus, supposedly heals a woman with cancer while he is hospitalized. In the end, Dr. House figures out the 'healing' has a natural explanation, although it happens through an amazing convergence of factors. The choice that the program sets up is irrational faith or rational science.
Is that really the either/or that we must choose?
Does it all really come down to a choice between believing God irrationally or trusting 'science' and keeping our intellectual integrity?
There is a lot of arrogance in the assertion that we can understand everything and that we can explain all of life by scientific means. Of course, there is a kind of proud ignorance that hides from the mysteries of life behind superficial 'faith' phrases and proof texts from the Bible, too. Genuine humility allows us to think rationally yet to admit that there are things happening around us that defy our explanations. For example, scientific inquiry leads some to the "Big Bang" theory as an explanation for the origin of our universe. Great! Now tell me, what/who was the First Cause for that event? We have detailed knowledge of the life process, the insemination of the egg by the sperm, and the wonder of development of an embryo that emerges from the womb 9 months later as a baby, but what causes that 'spark' of life?
I am ever so thankful for those whose study and science have given us aspirin, electricity, and the Internet. I will use those technologies to make my life better and more productive, but I will also retain my faith in God that gives my life meaning and purpose! How about you? I won't let myself be forced into what I think is a false choice between rational thought and genuine faith. To set up up a choice between the 'head' and the 'heart' is a terrible mistake and it ignores Jesus challenge to us. He said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ (Matthew 22:37, NLT)
Rick Nanez, in a book titled Full Gospel, Fractured Minds, writes this - "Christianity with zeal and emotion, yet without knowledge and intellectual prowess, fits ideally into a society such as ours, where a nonrational, feelings-oriented, subjective way of life is customary. Yet as children of the Kingdom, God urges us to be radically distinct ... Reason and logic are gifts from God; the mind and the intellect are, in large measure, His image in us; and science, education, and the arts are at their best when under the dominion of those who are called out from the blinding clutches of those with a fallen world-view."
Let's not be lazy about using the mind that God gave us, nor so arrogant that we are unwilling to trust the Word and the Spirit when He leads us to faith. Rather with holy hearts and minds, let's serve the Lord God.
"In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect," (1 Peter 3:15, NIV)
Is that really the either/or that we must choose?
Does it all really come down to a choice between believing God irrationally or trusting 'science' and keeping our intellectual integrity?
There is a lot of arrogance in the assertion that we can understand everything and that we can explain all of life by scientific means. Of course, there is a kind of proud ignorance that hides from the mysteries of life behind superficial 'faith' phrases and proof texts from the Bible, too. Genuine humility allows us to think rationally yet to admit that there are things happening around us that defy our explanations. For example, scientific inquiry leads some to the "Big Bang" theory as an explanation for the origin of our universe. Great! Now tell me, what/who was the First Cause for that event? We have detailed knowledge of the life process, the insemination of the egg by the sperm, and the wonder of development of an embryo that emerges from the womb 9 months later as a baby, but what causes that 'spark' of life?
I am ever so thankful for those whose study and science have given us aspirin, electricity, and the Internet. I will use those technologies to make my life better and more productive, but I will also retain my faith in God that gives my life meaning and purpose! How about you? I won't let myself be forced into what I think is a false choice between rational thought and genuine faith. To set up up a choice between the 'head' and the 'heart' is a terrible mistake and it ignores Jesus challenge to us. He said, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ (Matthew 22:37, NLT)
Rick Nanez, in a book titled Full Gospel, Fractured Minds, writes this - "Christianity with zeal and emotion, yet without knowledge and intellectual prowess, fits ideally into a society such as ours, where a nonrational, feelings-oriented, subjective way of life is customary. Yet as children of the Kingdom, God urges us to be radically distinct ... Reason and logic are gifts from God; the mind and the intellect are, in large measure, His image in us; and science, education, and the arts are at their best when under the dominion of those who are called out from the blinding clutches of those with a fallen world-view."
Let's not be lazy about using the mind that God gave us, nor so arrogant that we are unwilling to trust the Word and the Spirit when He leads us to faith. Rather with holy hearts and minds, let's serve the Lord God.
"In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
But do this with gentleness and respect," (1 Peter 3:15, NIV)
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Between now and then
My son heard me say something about abandoning a project and said, "Come on, Dad, you know you won't do that. You're a finisher!" And so I am. I like to complete tasks and measure life's successes mostly by forward movement. At this time, however, the 'to be completed' list in my life is longer than I'd like it to be. Last night I was awake at several times, staring into the darkness, trying to figure out a way to move the ball down the field on a couple of them. Then I remembered several friends of mine that are living with situations that apparently have no resolution - chronic and severe illness,a family member that is struggling with mental illness, an addiction that is just waiting for an 'invitation' to take over their life again. That that light, my issues with mortgages, yet to be found associates, and some unfinished projects were not all that important! Isn't the way the Holy Spirit gives us perspective a wonderful thing?
The fact is - we all live with the tension of anticipation versus realization! That is what faith is all about. Faith bridges the gap, according the Bible, between what is and what we hope for, between God's promises and our current struggles. Faith lifts us up to see over the horizon of time into eternity. It's great to talk about faith and to hear faith stories, but living in faith is usually hard. When everything is going our way - when we've won a victory, realized a dream - we are not all that 'faith aware' because we're absorbed by the present, living in the moment. But then come those times when God says, "Let's go." He points us to a distant goal, planting a vision in us. Most of the time we don't know just how long the journey will be or what the obstacles will be along the way; thank God! If we did, we might not start to follow Him! God wisely lets faith grow in us to meet the challenges as they arise.
Jesus walked along Galilee's shores inviting some fishermen to follow Him. He said, "Come, follow me, and I'll make you fishers of men." He didn't say, "If you follow me, in a few years your lives will become incredibly difficult, full of sorrows, and you will die an early death as a martyr!" If He had, I wonder if Simon, James, or John would have ever left Capernaum? He let them glimpse the goal, set a vision in their hearts, and then walked with them in through the process of realizing the dream!
God spoke to Abram, “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I’ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram left just as God said, and Lot left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran." (Genesis 12:1-4, The Message) What God left unsaid, for the time, was that Abram would be a pilgrim, a wanderer, for much his life; that he would live only hoping for the promised son for decades.
Are you presently living in one of those 'between' times of life? Did you hear the call, receive the promise, and now you're on the journey?
When we set out to possess the promised land, we descend from the heights where the vision is given, down into the valley where we encounter the challenges. That is where faith grows stronger. That is when we pray, "Lord, remind me of Your promise. Lift me up, now and then, to catch a glimpse of the goal again." And He does, and He will!
Here's a word on which to meditate today -- "Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven. Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin." (Hebrews 12:1-4, NLT)
______________________________
I'm pressing on the upward way,
new heights I'm gaining everyday.
Still praying as I'm onward bound,
'Lord, plant my feet on higher ground!'
Lord, lift me up, and let me stand,
by faith on Heaven's table land;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
I want to live above the world,
where Satan's darts at me are hurled.
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
the songs of saints on higher ground.
My heart has no desire to stay,
where doubts arise and fears dismay.
Though some may dwell where these abound,
my prayer, my aim, is higher ground.
Lord, lift me up, and let me stand,
by faith on Heaven's table land;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
- Johnson Oatman
The fact is - we all live with the tension of anticipation versus realization! That is what faith is all about. Faith bridges the gap, according the Bible, between what is and what we hope for, between God's promises and our current struggles. Faith lifts us up to see over the horizon of time into eternity. It's great to talk about faith and to hear faith stories, but living in faith is usually hard. When everything is going our way - when we've won a victory, realized a dream - we are not all that 'faith aware' because we're absorbed by the present, living in the moment. But then come those times when God says, "Let's go." He points us to a distant goal, planting a vision in us. Most of the time we don't know just how long the journey will be or what the obstacles will be along the way; thank God! If we did, we might not start to follow Him! God wisely lets faith grow in us to meet the challenges as they arise.
Jesus walked along Galilee's shores inviting some fishermen to follow Him. He said, "Come, follow me, and I'll make you fishers of men." He didn't say, "If you follow me, in a few years your lives will become incredibly difficult, full of sorrows, and you will die an early death as a martyr!" If He had, I wonder if Simon, James, or John would have ever left Capernaum? He let them glimpse the goal, set a vision in their hearts, and then walked with them in through the process of realizing the dream!
God spoke to Abram, “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I’ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.” So Abram left just as God said, and Lot left with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran." (Genesis 12:1-4, The Message) What God left unsaid, for the time, was that Abram would be a pilgrim, a wanderer, for much his life; that he would live only hoping for the promised son for decades.
Are you presently living in one of those 'between' times of life? Did you hear the call, receive the promise, and now you're on the journey?
When we set out to possess the promised land, we descend from the heights where the vision is given, down into the valley where we encounter the challenges. That is where faith grows stronger. That is when we pray, "Lord, remind me of Your promise. Lift me up, now and then, to catch a glimpse of the goal again." And He does, and He will!
Here's a word on which to meditate today -- "Since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward. Now he is seated in the place of highest honor beside God’s throne in heaven. Think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him, so that you don’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin." (Hebrews 12:1-4, NLT)
______________________________
I'm pressing on the upward way,
new heights I'm gaining everyday.
Still praying as I'm onward bound,
'Lord, plant my feet on higher ground!'
Lord, lift me up, and let me stand,
by faith on Heaven's table land;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
I want to live above the world,
where Satan's darts at me are hurled.
For faith has caught the joyful sound,
the songs of saints on higher ground.
My heart has no desire to stay,
where doubts arise and fears dismay.
Though some may dwell where these abound,
my prayer, my aim, is higher ground.
Lord, lift me up, and let me stand,
by faith on Heaven's table land;
A higher plane than I have found,
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.
- Johnson Oatman
Monday, April 24, 2006
"Me, Myself, and I"
Our grandsons, ages 2 and 4, are at that stage in life when they are possessive - "It's my toy," but not yet mature enough to understand the concept of sharing. My son tells me that they fight, raising a racket in the house. Ah, I remember the days so well! Seems that some of us never really do grow up. I know adults that approach life like a 2 year old - "It's mine!" - insisting on holding onto things, positions, titles, ministries, etc. for no other reason than than their own ego needs.
Sometimes it's just about control. A friend was describing his unpleasant encounter with his neighbor over the erection of a fence. He got a survey map and determined where the property line was. Then he put up a fence. The neighbor went ballistic, over a whole 3 feet of land. Despite the map, he wanted to exercise control over that little strip of property. Then, too, I've watched my grandsons hold onto one toy while trying to play with another. Why? Just so the other can't have it!
Sometimes it's about making a statement. A few years ago I discovered that an employee of an organization that I headed was using false credentials, claiming to hold an advanced degree. I was familiar with the institution from which he said he had earned the doctorate and knew that they didn't offer a degree in that field. So, I asked him to produce a transcript to substantiate his claim. He walked out the door and never returned! I later learned he was still claiming to be Dr. ________! He needed to be somebody more than he needed his integrity.
Sometimes it's about affirmation. "Please notice me, tell me I'm important." Over the years I've more than a few people who did all the right things for all the wrong reasons. They put in hundreds of hours in their ministry. They gave 'til it hurt. They built up 'ministries' - but not for the Lord, not to serve others. Their true motive? Recognition! The tragic thing about that is that ego always spoils the work, casts a shadow over all the good that is done. The agenda gets twisted into being about the person's needs rather than about the needs of those being 'served.' Often everybody knows it, except the person who is so desperate to be needed and affirmed.
Jesus knew how powerful the pull of selfishness is and so He taught about it. Read the following passage carefully, thoughtfully, prayerfully. And, hey, don't start to think, "I sure hope ______ is reading this." Invite the Spirit to shine the light on your own motives.
“Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you. Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out." (Matthew 5:48-6:4, The Message)
Practice the discipline of humility. Serve somebody anonymously!
Do something like cleaning up the bathroom without telling anybody. That's not pleasant, is it? Find a way to serve, in your set of circumstances, where there is no possibility of being recognized. Thank God for the opportunity to learn humility. When we practice that kind of discipline regularly, it breaks the very nature "me, myself, and I" orientation of our sinful nature. It patterns our mind and heart to be like Jesus. As we struggle with our pride, we become desperate and that causes us to rely on the Spirit for change.
Here's a word from the Word for today.
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name." (Philippians 2:5-9, NKJV)
______________
Father, I'm proud, but not proud of it.
I love applause, eat up affirmation, and like to be first.
Holy Spirit, restrain those impulses from shaping the way I 'serve' others.
Put them to death in me so that Your work through me is never stained with pride's ugliness.
Make me a servant, thoughtless of the reward, content in obedience.
Let me live in harmony with others,
seeking only the praise and glory of my Savior, Jesus,
in whose Name I make this prayer. Amen."
Sometimes it's just about control. A friend was describing his unpleasant encounter with his neighbor over the erection of a fence. He got a survey map and determined where the property line was. Then he put up a fence. The neighbor went ballistic, over a whole 3 feet of land. Despite the map, he wanted to exercise control over that little strip of property. Then, too, I've watched my grandsons hold onto one toy while trying to play with another. Why? Just so the other can't have it!
Sometimes it's about making a statement. A few years ago I discovered that an employee of an organization that I headed was using false credentials, claiming to hold an advanced degree. I was familiar with the institution from which he said he had earned the doctorate and knew that they didn't offer a degree in that field. So, I asked him to produce a transcript to substantiate his claim. He walked out the door and never returned! I later learned he was still claiming to be Dr. ________! He needed to be somebody more than he needed his integrity.
Sometimes it's about affirmation. "Please notice me, tell me I'm important." Over the years I've more than a few people who did all the right things for all the wrong reasons. They put in hundreds of hours in their ministry. They gave 'til it hurt. They built up 'ministries' - but not for the Lord, not to serve others. Their true motive? Recognition! The tragic thing about that is that ego always spoils the work, casts a shadow over all the good that is done. The agenda gets twisted into being about the person's needs rather than about the needs of those being 'served.' Often everybody knows it, except the person who is so desperate to be needed and affirmed.
Jesus knew how powerful the pull of selfishness is and so He taught about it. Read the following passage carefully, thoughtfully, prayerfully. And, hey, don't start to think, "I sure hope ______ is reading this." Invite the Spirit to shine the light on your own motives.
“Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you. Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out." (Matthew 5:48-6:4, The Message)
Practice the discipline of humility. Serve somebody anonymously!
Do something like cleaning up the bathroom without telling anybody. That's not pleasant, is it? Find a way to serve, in your set of circumstances, where there is no possibility of being recognized. Thank God for the opportunity to learn humility. When we practice that kind of discipline regularly, it breaks the very nature "me, myself, and I" orientation of our sinful nature. It patterns our mind and heart to be like Jesus. As we struggle with our pride, we become desperate and that causes us to rely on the Spirit for change.
Here's a word from the Word for today.
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name." (Philippians 2:5-9, NKJV)
______________
Father, I'm proud, but not proud of it.
I love applause, eat up affirmation, and like to be first.
Holy Spirit, restrain those impulses from shaping the way I 'serve' others.
Put them to death in me so that Your work through me is never stained with pride's ugliness.
Make me a servant, thoughtless of the reward, content in obedience.
Let me live in harmony with others,
seeking only the praise and glory of my Savior, Jesus,
in whose Name I make this prayer. Amen."
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