We are all like “The Emperor” wearing his “new clothes,” which are a figment of his prideful imagination and vanity. Until we see that we are naked and ridiculous, God cannot clothe us with His righteousness or fill us with Himself. Wearing imaginary clothes can seemingly be no problem if everybody else is just as blind – and as long as the weather holds favorably. But God brings the winter with its storms and cold, and we blame Him for our coldness. Yes, He is responsible for the weather, but blame is not the right word. Like a loving parent, He doesn’t want His children going around without clothes and thinking nothing is wrong.
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Size is relative only to us, but not to God. It is one of the criteria that we judge by -- when we should not judge at all. What is important is defined by God and not by us. The smallest and most menial of tasks, if God wants it done, is the most important. The key is being in the center of God's will, maintaining the spiritual walk of faith, and being obedient, as best you know, to His leading, knowing that we aren't perfect and will make mistakes along the way. God is gracious to set us right. It is not wrong to want to do "big things" for God, but I must remember that the "least shall be greatest, and the greatest least." Size is no true measure. God knows.
Moving up the Ladder of Success…
Many people get jobs or move up the ladder of success because they are connected to someone in an organization. It is unfair but true. From the employer’s point of view, of all the people looking for jobs, it is difficult to choose the best one. Knowing something more about an applicant (i.e., from another employee) gives a distinct advantage over absolute strangers who only have an application or a résumé to recommend them. The unfair part is that they have been passed over and not given a chance to show their own merits. What is also true and unfair is that being connected to God moves us up His “ladder.” In fact, it is the only way up, because none of us have a good enough résumé. On the face of it, getting anything unearned is unfair, but in this case to whom is it unfair? To Jesus Himself, for He did not have to suffer and die like He did for our sins. Yet few choose to climb His ladder because the first rung is admitting our unworthiness and the second is repentance. It is this that is the real unfairness, and not the killing of the only innocent Person in the place of the guilty, for He has more than earned our trust by loving us so much. Holding on to the blessings from God, instead of using them to bless others, show that the ruling basis of my life is selfish; it also shows that I don’t trust God enough to replace them. That is the governing principle of Hoarding. I also have used the excuse for hoarding by saying something like this: “Why else did God give this blessing but to use it for myself? After all, since I would want my kids to play with the toys I gave them, wouldn’t God want me to do the same?” These are legitimate questions, but the real answer (the one that my selfish nature doesn’t want to hear) is that, like any good parent, He gives me things because He loves me and He wants me to love Him back. Sounds like bribery, doesn’t it? It isn’t, because He also gives me the ability to love the things themselves. Unfortunately, this creates the opportunities for hoarding, greed, and a host of many other evils. But even if I avoid all of this, God’s blessings are like toys; they break down. They are meant to, actually, lest they make me forget who gave them to me in the first place. When my toys broke down as a child, my dad was the first one I’d take them to for fixing. In the same way, when I come to Him with my broken-down blessings (for instance, my health when I am sick), I have the opportunity to receive something greater than the gift itself, the Gift-Giver Himself. His love can satisfy me so much that it wouldn’t matter that much even if He didn’t “fix it.” And if He did, great! It would be an opportunity to give the blessing away to those who need it more – and to experience firsthand that “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
It is common knowledge that we all have “wants” and “needs.” Telling the difference is often helpful in making decisions. Why don’t we just make it simple on ourselves by wanting what we need? I think that’s because there are also “wishes.” What I merely want will diminish in my desire when I have the power (ability, opportunity, and/or money) to obtain it. For example, whenever I’ve gotten extra money to spend as I will, I often hesitate in buying that expensive thing that I’ve been dreaming about forever just so I could look around before deciding. See what happened? My “want” was no longer as attractive as it was when it was farther out of reach. “Wishes” go much deeper, and are why the “wants” lose their importance because they are often misinterpretations of what I really wish for. How can people know what they really want? The proof is in whether or not the fulfillment of a particular desire is satisfying. We can chase every dream and desire without ever finding that satisfaction, however. That’s because, like in a math problem, I believe that there is only one solution to our dissatisfaction. “Delight thyself in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” I’ve found nothing or no one else that will give me those desires, because He is our Ultimate Desire, the One we all wish for in the deepest parts of our hearts whether we will admit it or not. Incidentally, He is also our biggest Need.
Judgment, Discernment, and Disillusionment…
The difference between judgment and discernment is love. The latter allows for it, the former does not. Additionally, discernment has nothing to do with what is in another’s heart but with the actions themselves. Only God knows the intentions of someone else’s heart. I just know, to some degree, the intentions of my own, and it is those intentions that I am to discern whether or not they line up to the truths of right and wrong as revealed in God’s word. To act as a judge, though, we have given a verdict on the guilt of a person (we are not to even judge ourselves). By doing so, we will have crossed the line and pushed God out of the picture, for He alone can truly judge. And here’s the part that seems a stretch, but it is absolutely true: When pushing God out of the picture and setting ourselves as judge and jury, we essentially become as guilty of all the things that we are judging others for. Why? Because, believe it or not, we all have the same evil potential; it is only by God’s grace we have not done all of them. Have you’ve ever let yourself down by doing something that you never thought you would do? I know I have, and, thank God, He still loves and forgives. The promises of God can be a double-edged sword – for blessing and for judgment. I will be judged for not taking Him at His word, for not trusting in His promises or taking full advantage of them. I’m not talking “Name it, Claim it” theology. I’m talking about His greatest promise – that of giving Himself to us. What greater promise can there be? Yet how many times have I set my sights on something less – wanting His blessings more than the Giver? There is a prayer that I have often said: “Lord, I want more of You.” It is a prayer with a good intention, but it implies a belief that God is withholding Himself. The cross not only proves that is a wrong belief, but it also opened up the way to make the Greatest Promise to come true. The problem is with me, for He is a far more willing to give than I am to receive. My pleading should rather be “Lord, have more of me!”
The Most Important Battle…
One reason I generally avoid politics is because they cause divisions, which is particularly self-evident after this election. But what is also self-evident is that divisions are inevitable. It’s not healthy, mentally or spiritually, to deliberately create division or to seek them out, but they are frequently unavoidable in a world of free choice. If you believe in something, it’s guaranteed that someone else in this world will believe the exact opposite. Superficially, it seems that differences lie at the heart of all divisions, but I believe it goes much deeper than that because if you think about it, differences can also be good. The human body, after all, is composed of different parts. Without those differences, life would be impossible, but those parts must work together to combat the forces outside of the body (for example, the harsh forces in nature) that would destroy the body. It is a war that is constantly fought whether we are aware of it or not. There must be unity in our body parts for us to keep winning – or, in other words, to keep living. However, life is more than just about fighting a battle against forces that are opposed to our physical existence, because life is more than just about living, at least human life is. The most important battle is for our souls. Many like to believe that “everybody goes to heaven, except for, of course, the degenerate, the homicidal, the hate mongering, the intolerant…” If you follow that train of thinking, the list actually goes on and on. In fact, if we’re brave enough to be truly and completely honest with ourselves, we would eventually have to admit that we ALL are included on that list of “those who won’t make it.” Tell me that you haven’t harbored hate, told a lie, lusted after someone, or cheated in some way. I know that I have. So is the Battle for the Soul already lost before it’s begun? No, it’s already been won. It was won by Jesus, who was without sin, when He died to pay for the penalty of our sins and who rose again to a life that He can share with us if we will but receive it. Yet there is a battle that we have to fight, but it is not technically a battle at all: It is a daily surrendering of our wills, a laying down of our arms at His feet, a confessing of the ugliness within, and a willingness to let him make our hearts anew. Ironically, while becoming His captives, we can rejoice in His victory and glory in our defeat. Only by doing this can there be true unity. Without that surrender, the battle, whichever one we think is the most important, is already lost. Unfortunately, there probably will be still a lot of fighting and hardship before we come to realize it. What’s Up, Doc?
Remember in Looney Tunes when Bugs Bunny painted a hole in the ground and then jumped in it to get away from Elmer Fudd? Or when Coyote was chasing Roadrunner, but upon realizing that he’s run off a cliff for several feet, it was only then he would fall (and, of course, the Roadrunner never did)? I don’t know about you, but I found these scenes to be great fun, and even at the age of 50 I still like them. But it wouldn’t be fun to expect that they’d work out the same way in real life. Yet that is what people think when it comes to spiritual things. So many people think that, unlike truths in the physical world, the spiritual truths depend on what you believe. Many people talk about building “karma” with good deeds or about being reincarnated after they die, or going to “The Great Bowling Alley in the Sky” (if they happen to be bowlers). What makes them think any of these things are true? Do they really have any rationale argument to support these beliefs? Or is it that they really don’t care what is true spiritually, just as long as it gives them some purpose or comfort or security? At least kids know that cartoons aren’t real, but we adults seem to think that we can paint a hole in the sky and jump through it to reach Heaven or wherever we wish to go after we die. This is just a challenge to all of us, including myself, to examine our beliefs and be willing to throw out the lies that we’ve been basing our lives on. Sure, it’s no fun, not at first, but life, after all, is no cartoon. Actually, it can be a whole lot better than any Looney Tune -- if we stop expecting that’s how it should be. |
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