Tag: Christian Purpose

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Pursuit of Happiness

The Pursuit of happiness is one of the most cherished possessions of all United States citizens. The pursuit of happiness is so cherished it is in the first sentence of our Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776. The right to the pursuit of happiness is considered unalienable; unalienable rights are rights that can never be forfeited. They’re fundamental parts of humanity, the basis for moral interactions between people, and are irrevocable.

Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.”

“Every man, whatsoever his condition, desires to be happy.” —Saint Augustine

Unalienable Rights

Thomas Jefferson, the primary drafter of the Declaration of Independence, described unalienable rights as, “We human beings are born on this planet with these rights, and so these are our birthright. These great virtues keep us separate from other living species and protect human dignity. These rights are like God’s gift to the human race.”

Ecclesiastes 3:13, "Also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man."

Over 130 national constitutions recognize happiness or well-being as a constitutional value worthy of protection. However, this is high praise for a concept so pure yet so misunderstood. We all crave a world where we are free to chase what makes us happy. We freely endorse that all people have the right to be happy. The problem comes into play when we start to define happiness. Some things that might make one person happy infringe on another’s happiness. Many things that might bring us happiness at the moment are short-lived and harmful in the long term. Almost every perception of human happiness concerns the here and now.

Misapplied Happiness

Most people pursue happiness at their peril. The list of things people do to pursue happiness makes the sins described in Second Timothy sound like a shopping list. Somehow we seem to gravitate toward things opposed to God.

2 Timothy 3:1-5, "But understand this, that in the last days, there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power."

“There is no man upon the earth who isn’t earnestly seeking after happiness, and it appears abundantly by the variety of ways they so vigorously seek it; they will twist and turn every way, ply all instruments, to make themselves happy men.” —Jonathan Edwards

Happiness becomes self-centered. Happiness becomes about having, being, or controlling rather than giving, loving, and accepting. The pursuit of worldly happiness makes us more unhappy. We become insecure about what we have. We become possessive of our happiness over others’ happiness; slaves to the very things we are pursuing.

True Happiness

Happiness is untested delight. Joy is delight tested.- Jack Hyles

Galatians 5:22-23, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law."

Happiness is situational; joy is a decision. God did give us the unalienable right to Joy. Pursuing it does not lead us to gain something but to give up something. Once we give up our right to be joyful and start helping and loving others, we find we have joy. God has built this joyful quotient into us that the more you give, the more you get. We chase happiness like an animated object trying to allude us. Joy is stationary, waiting for us to apply the Gospel to our everyday lives and reap the rewards promised by God.

Ecclesiastes 3:12, "I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live."

Happiness is a valent concept that would lead us to praise it as if it was an object to be worshipped. But, in fact, it is a by-product of our condition. On the other hand, we get joy when we give up on everything worldly. It is the peace that comes from knowing God is with us.

John 15:11, "These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full."

The world is spiraling downward toward the end predicted in Revelations; those who do not cling to the God of the universe will eventually suffer significantly from it. Accordingly, happiness is about serving; not about others serving us.

“It is a Christian duty . . . for everyone to be as happy as he can.” —C.S. Lewis

Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance, and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

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Swimming with Jesus

Ever wonder what it would be like to go swimming with Jesus? Are you holding on to the side of the pool for safety? Maybe you can swim with Jesus, but only in the shallow end of the pool. You know, where the water is shallow enough to touch the bottom when things get rough. How many of us venture into deep water with only Jesus to protect us?

1 John 5:14, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."

Intimacy with Jesus takes the same courage and practice as swimming when we were children. When we were children, we relied on our parents or a swimming instructor to guide us through learning to swim. In the beginning, we spent most of our time either hanging onto the side of the pool or wading into the shallow end, where we knew we were safe. Only after much encouragement and practice did we even think about going to the deep end. But, unfortunately, the pool’s deep end did not provide the safety we needed.

Prayer is like swimming; we tend to cling to the edge and not let go. We want to trust in Jesus enough to set our worries aside, but we aren’t that sure. In time we feel more comfortable trusting Him with some things, but we want the security of taking control if it is not going how we want. If we are to mature in our prayer life, we must be able to swim in deep water and turn everything over to the one who loves us unconditionally. We must learn to trust Him even when we do not see His plan.

Hanging on to the Edge

1 John 5:15, "And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."

When we first started to learn about Christ, we probably did not understand the power of prayer. Prayer was more about asking for what we needed and then hanging on until it arrived. We felt we lacked faith if it didn’t arrive or God didn’t hear us. We certainly didn’t live as though we thought God would answer our prayers. It was more of a fallback position than looking for an answer.

Hebrews 4:16, "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

We didn’t approach prayer confidently. Who were we to expect God to care? God is busy; surely,  other prayers are more important than mine. My need isn’t as great as other people’s needs. Satan doesn’t like us to pray. He will do what he can to get us to stop. If he can’t convince us that our need is too big for God to resolve, he will convince us our need is too small for God to care.

Psalm 18:6, "In my distress, I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple, he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears."

Wading In

James 1:6, " But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind."

As we grow closer to God, we become emboldened, asking what is on our hearts without restraint. The problem is that we still don’t fully trust God to answer our prayers how we want them answered. Somehow, we have come to believe in answered prayer, but not that God’s answer is the best. We want to stay in shallow water where we can stand on our own if the need arises.

Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

The shallow end is where most Christians spend their lives—praying but doubting the power of prayer. Because of this, they never see God’s hand in their life. It is a spiral that leads them to become more skeptical of prayer’s power. They find themselves standing in shallow water, thinking they can swim.

Swimming with Jesus

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

For the advanced open water diver, the Marriott Gold Coast in Australia has a private saltwater lagoon with an artificial reef visitors could use to prepare for diving on the Great Barrier Reef. Open-water divers are the ultimate swimmers. They are diving fifty to a hundred feet under the water, miles from shore, with only their scuba gear to sustain them. They are literally emersed in the experience, totally dependent.

That is the experience God wants for us when we pray. He wants continuous communication with an expectation that He will meet our needs. God wants us to be totally dependent on Him. Not so that He can control our lives, but so He can show us the power of His grace and compassion. God has a great life planned for each of us. God wants us to experience what He created in us.

Ephesians 6:18, " And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."

Be a deep-water diver of prayer, swimming far from shore, deep under the surface, and completely secure in what God has in store for you.

Philippians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
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A Sobering Thought

I was reminded of a sobering thought today. I was looking through old documents I had written to see if there was something that God would use to speak to me. But instead, I found an MP3 audio file from a few years ago. I very seldom record my thoughts. I used to, but I learned that God wanted me to write them out while they were fresh in my mind. I have a big file of Letters to Myself. So I listened to the recording to see what was so important that I recorded it.

Psalms 36:7, “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.”

It is hard to describe the enormity of God’s love for us. The fact is he wants all of us to spend eternity with Him. God demonstrates this through His relentless passion for us by constantly pursuing us despite our condition. We can never become so degenerate or lowly that He will stop loving us.

1 John 4:9-10. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

In the Dark of the Night

I recorded that message at four o’clock in the morning on an IMED trip while in Kyrgyzstan. It started to be about Andrey. Andrey was a student looking to expand his small construction business. Andrey has spent time in a Russian prison. His relationship with God was of the tough love type. God loved him unconditionally, but God had rules, just like everyone. In Andrey’s life, anything that came easy wasn’t worth having. He had spent his life overcoming. There was something about that man I loved. But he dropped out of the program because he couldn’t understand why we had to know so much about him. His leaving deflated me because we could have done so much for him, and his testimony was incredible.

2 Timothy 1:9, “He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time.”

I sometimes get off subject and have to serpentine my way back, I‘m told; here is the tie-in. In this recording, talking about Andrey made me think more about myself. I had built this narrative around my life that had to do with God loving me so much that He saved me so I could help others. I didn’t die in the Emergency Room because God had a plan for me. It was a plan to serve others and expand His Kingdom. Andrey taught me that it was a faults narrative. It wasn’t about High Tech Ministries, Champions for Life, International Mission Connection, or Roswell Day of Hope. All of that would have been just as effective without me.

The Sobering Thought

The sobering thought was this, had I died that night, I would have spent eternity separated from God. I would be in Hell. God could do everything I have done since then without me. He did not need me; I needed Him. I just didn’t realize it yet. It was several years before I fully understood that I needed Him. I spent the immediate years after getting my pacemaker lamenting my loss of invincibility. Before that night, I was bulletproof and invisible. There was nothing I could not achieve. Now I was battery operated.

1 John 3:1, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

Andrey reminded me that he survived a Russian prison so that he could be saved. He didn’t see himself as the next Martin Luther. Instead, he saw himself as a child of God trying to please his Father. As Christians, we sometimes become arrogant in our beliefs. We start to think that we are one of the critical gears in God’s machinery. We can’t seem to accept that we exist because He loves us. Sure, He wants us to spread the Gospel, but His primary motivation is love for us.

1 John 4:16, “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

We all have an expiration date. Unfortunately, we don’t know when that is. Sharing God’s story is so that others may be saved before it is too late. We don’t know when that is. We don’t know when that is for ourselves, our family, co-workers, and friends. God can do everything you have accomplished and more without you. We can not change His plan, but we can decide to be part of it.

Ecclesiastes 9:1, “So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.”

Living is about getting to salvation and finding our way home and helping others find their way home. God loves us unconditionally; He wants to be with us for eternity. And that, folks, is a sobering thought.

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Being Loved is Life

Being loved is life; it is what gives us substance and hope. Love fuels our passion for life. However, only when we learn to love do we start to understand what it means to be loved.

Being loved is life’s second greatest blessing; loving is the greatest. – Jack Hyles

Ephesians 2:4-5, “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.”

DESIRE

One of my greatest desires and fears is to be loved. I have loved very deeply and hurt because of it. But I know that on those nights when sleep evades me, my mind starts to wander to a place I go to what it would be like to be completely loved; not the love I have experienced in my life but a deep-abiding love mentioned in the Bible.

1 Corinthians 13: 13, "And now these three remain faith, hope, and Love. But the greatest of these is Love."

I lay in the darkness, with no distractions but my thoughts, thinking about love with no agenda, secrets, or motive other than me. I think about a love so consuming that it dictates my existence, a love so large it threatens my heart. It captures me with an attraction that terrifies me. To have and then lose a love like this would be devastating.

Colossians 3:14, "And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony."

LOVE

Altruistic, unselfish, complete love that quenched my desire to be loved is potent. My desire for it makes me vulnerable to its power. To lose it would be to fall into a deep black hole with no escape. The joy of experiencing a love like that is balanced by the pain that would occur if I lost it. And with that thought, I retreat into my world. I return to the safety of a worldly love bartered and traded. I content myself with minor love and minor pain, emotions that I can understand. It is a human love that is well-intended but flawed. Because of that, we build an invisible wall around our hearts to protect us from pain, and that same wall holds back what we can give.

To love someone means to see him as God intended him. – Fyodor Dostoevsky

1 John 4:19, "We love because he first loved us."

The love I desire is out there. It has existed since before time. God, in His infinite wisdom, built the desire for that love into us. It is that hollow feeling we have that we are never complete. You are trying to fill that hole when you chase fame and fortune. Drugs, alcohol, money, status, sex, and power are cheap alternatives. But, ultimately, it is more drugs, alcohol, status, sex, and power we crave because the desire remains. The fire rages because we have not found the one source that will fulfill that desire once and for all time.

1 John 4:7-8, "Dear friends, let us love one another, for Love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is Love."

CHALLENGE

The challenge is that God’s love is not manifest in worldly trappings. He does not replace His love with cheap imitations. He does not confuse our desire to love and be loved, with our desire to possess. One desire demands purity the other grovels in our sinful nature. One looks at eternity; the other looks only at today.

Everything God does is Love — even when we do not understand Him. – Basilea Schlink

God is love in its most pure form. God’s very existence defines that He will freely give Himself without hesitation. God does not fear loss as we do. Instead, he gives and gives and gives. There is no limit to what He will do to demonstrate His love to us. Because His love is perfect, we do not have to fear loss. He will always be with us for eternity.

Deuteronomy 7:9, "Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments."

In the dark of the night, I try to set aside my worldly experiences and trust in His promise. I dream of overcoming my fear and fully embracing what God has always wanted for me, to learn to lean on my faith that He will do everything He has promised. I want to free my heart to love as He loves me because being loved is life. 

Hebrews 10:23, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful."
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Living a life Worth Living

Are you living a life worth living? Does your existence consist of going through the motion, or does it echo with impact? Have you ever asked yourself why you exist? Were you created out of passion, or was there a purpose? Are you living a life worth living?

Ephesians 5:15-16, “So then, be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil.”

The First Tragedy That is Not Ours

Today I was reading about two separate tragedies. The first was Duangpetch Promthep,  Dom to his friends.  He was the most talented of the Thai cave survivors. He had just won a football scholarship in London. The second was in the biographies of the Michigan State University students that died in the shooting last week; three college students were killed senselessly. My heart cries out for the children I don’t know, whose lives were cut short.  I think of the legacy that will never be realized and the wasted raw potential.

Matthew 5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Years ago, had I not been saved in the Emergency Room, what impact would that have had on the world? Afterward, would my name even be mentioned, except for dear, compassionate, loving friends who would have noticed, six days, six months, or six years afterward? These children and all of us face the same fate. What is our impact? Do we leave a legacy worth remembering?

At the time of my heart failure, I had not thought about who I was or what I was accomplishing. I was headlong into living life, focused on an abstract future created by others around me. I was competing for a prize that was foggy at best and undefined at worse. Yet, I had to have it, whatever it was, because that is what you do. Not for a single moment did I think this could be my last day.

The Second Tragedy That is Ours

These children do not get to achieve their potential. Dom will never get to go on to win a world football championship. Arielle Anderson will never perform pediatric surgery. Did any of these children give a moment’s thought to their eternity? Did any of them think this would be the day they would find out? That may be the biggest tragedy of all.

Matthew 16:26, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”

With a heavy emphasis on We, we need to reassess what and who we are. I am concerned about two specific aspects of my life;  the first is who I am and what impact I am achieving, and the second is what I am doing for the young people around me to ensure their impact is both long-lasting and positive.  

I am not concerned about people remembering my name or my deeds, I am concerned that my actions are not creating a future beyond my years. Does my life echo over time? We owe this both to ourselves and to the God that created us. It is through His grace that we breathe. Everything we have to offer is a gift from Him to be shared.

1 Timothy 6:17-19, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

The Final Tragedy That We Control

I don’t want any of you to wake up one morning to find out that someone dear to you lost their chance to achieve their potential. Some time ago, a friend of mine had a son, Ryan, who passed while in college. At the Celebration of Life service, a parade of young people spoke of Ryan’s impact on their lives. Many of the young people my friend had never met. My friend had mentored his son well. Today Ryan’s presence echoes, some twenty years later, through an organization called Christ in the Rockies.

Ryan left this quote behind:

And if I go, while you’re still here, know that I live on, vibrating to a different song. Behind a thin veil, you cannot see through. You will not see me, so you must have faith. I wait for the time when we can soar together again, both aware of each other. Until then, live your life to the fullest, and when you need me, just whisper my name in your heart; I will be there.

Colleen Corah Hitchcock

We have to learn to live our lives with urgency. In the end, we will realize we can do no more. What we have done is all there is. There will be no more chances for a kind word or compassionate gesture. That day may signify our end or someone close to us that we hold dear. On that day, will you rejoice? Were you living a life worth living?

Romans 14:8, “for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
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Fighting Discouragement

We are all fighting discouragement from time to time. The less fortunate among us face discouragement daily. The verb to discourage means “to deprive of confidence, hope or spirit; dishearten.” The word discourages is synonymous with afflict, beat down, demoralize, depress, dismay, distress, frighten, intimidate, irk, and trouble.

Discouragement comes from the root word courage. The prefix dis- means “the opposite of.” So discouragement is the opposite of courage. When we are discouraged, we lose the motivation to press forward. The battle is too fierce, the river too wide, the hill too tall, or the destination too far, and we lose the courage to continue.

Romans 7 21-23, “It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s obvious that not all of me join in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything, and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me?” (MSG)

The Discouragement Lie

A lie from Satan is the source of every discouragement. Satan uses our desire to do and be good against us. He knows he cannot overcome our strength in Christ, so he uses our desire against us. He makes sure that we feel we don’t measure up.

John 8:44, “….for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths.”

We have talked about this often; we live in a post-modern world designed to make us discontent. We are overwhelmed with influencers who only show us the highlights of their lives. The media paints pictures designed to make us want more, do more, and be more. None of this is from God. Instead, God points us to the exact opposite.

Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage”

The person God made you to be, is perfect for what He made you to do. No one else has control over that.

Three primary forms of discouragement

Fleeting:

Fleeting discouragement is when we experience minor problems or pressures that affect our emotions; we quickly become discouraged when we seek rewards or affirmation from those around us. This is something we fight every day. If it is not how we look or how we talk or whom we know, it’s what we don’t know. We are being evaluated against a worldly performance standard that is not tied to whom God made us. These minor issues evaporate like morning dew, but the accumulating effect lasts a long time below the surface.

2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

Mild discouragement can grow into significant discouragement. We relive our shortcomings over and over until it becomes part of us. We lose our sense of reality because it has been replaced with repetitive negative thoughts. Like the erosion of sandstone by dripping water, we become something different than what we were created to be.

Significant:

Discouragement becomes problematic when we face significant problems or pressures that affect our spirits. Some of these pressures are self-inflicted, but many are not. When we let mild discouragement mushroom or set our standards too high, we can create an environment that fosters strong discouragement. This type of discouragement only goes away slowly. You can’t blow it off and move on. You have to face the source of that discouragement and defeat it before it becomes disabling.

Ephesians 4:24, “and put on the new self, created in God’s image, in the righteousness and holiness of the truth.”

The second source of strong discouragement produces the same result. This discouragement is the creation of those around you. Sometimes it is meant to be motivating, but mostly it is a passive-aggressive approach to making someone else feel better about themselves. Sometimes a well-meaning friend or parent wants you to become who they think you should be. Other times, someone uses you as a punching bag for their shortcomings.

Deuteronomy 20:4, “for Jehovah your God is He that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”

None of this is from God. All of it is Evil trying to distract you from your real purpose in life. Go back to scripture and reaffirm who you are. Distance yourself from the desires of others and concentrate on the desire of God. Don’t allow others to define who you are.

Disabling:

This happens when our hearts “melt” within us, and we have no desire, energy, or ability to fight on. I’ve been there. You know you have arrived when getting up in the morning doesn’t seem worthwhile. If God has a plan for your life, you are so far off course that there is no way to correct it. You blew it; there is no “do-over” in life. This is the biggest lie of all.

Deuteronomy 31:6, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

You can never get so far off course that God cannot bring you back where He wants you. You can give up on God, but he will never give up on you. It may take time and effort, but it is achievable. Seek professional help if required. Make sure that help is scripture based. You don’t need another person to point you in the wrong direction.

God is there. He is always there. He knows what you are going through. His timing is not always our timing, but believe me, he loves you unconditionally and will not let you go.

Isaiah 40:31, “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

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Impact

Does your life have the impact that you want it to have? Of course, everyone has an impact, but is yours what you expect?

According to the ancient Greeks, there are three components to a lasting impact. They are 1) logos; what you say; 2) Pathos; how you make the other person feel; and 3) ethos; the way you live. If we are going to have a positive impact on the world, we need to do it with a sense of completeness. We can not approach change with duplicity. We can not want others to be what we are not prepared to be. To impact the world for Christ, we must present a total package. The latest social issue, media sensations, or worldly crises cannot influence us.

That is a big ask. We live in a post-modern world where sensation and bias rule. The next shiny object influences us. Trendsetters and newsmakers surround us. Truth is subjective. Honesty is overrated. Much of the ground we stand on is quicksand, ever-moving, ever-changing, and ever-morphing into a new reality. Values etched in stone a few years ago seem outdated and anti-social today.

Ephesians 4:14, “So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.”

How can we be light in a dark world? Follow the Greeks.

Logos

Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”

Remember that each of us is a part of something bigger than all of us. Like wavelets expanding out across the pond, what each of us does influences others. This is true not only of our actions but the actions of those around us. We are all on the same blue orb spinning through space. The more people are driven to please Christ, the better we all are.

That is the short-term incentive to speak the truth. If nothing else, we make this place more livable. The eternal impact is far greater, but for non-believers, hard to imagine. We can not shy away from the truth because it dramatically impacts us, individually and corporately.

The credibility in our words is demonstrated through consistency. We can not speak the Gospel in some aspects of our lives while retreating from the Gospel in other aspects. We can not only demonstrate the truth of our words by applying them to others, especially in situations in which we will not find ourselves. At the same time, we ignore the application of the Gospel to our shortcomings. Hypocrisy is contagious.  

2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

Courage is an act of overcoming, not overpowering.

Pathos

Ephesians 4:15 “Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ.”

Compassion, what a powerful word and act. The ability to show compassion starts with confidence in who we are. We are children of God. And being such, we have overcome the world. We know it is not us who overcame the world, but Christ in us. We can afford compassion. Compassion is not from us but through us. The same God that showed compassion in us would use us to show compassion to others if we let Him.

One of my favorite quotes:

“At the end of the day, people won’t remember what you said or did; they will remember how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou

I remind myself of this often. I can have the best intentions in the world but deliver them with arrogance or disparagement, and I have lost. My message will be buried in ill feelings and resentment. I have to reflect the love of Christ to present the love of Christ.

Ethos

1 John 3:18 “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”

Living out the Word in your daily life is the most challenging and effective evangelism you will engage in. Living your life according to Scripture adds credibility to your words and impacts people you will never talk with. If you proclaim to be a Christian, people will watch how you live your life to see if it is different. They will want to know if that difference produces positive results.

The pinnacle of sarcasm when parenting is telling your child, “Do as I say, not as I do.” Your friend, co-workers, and family are not children and shouldn’t be treated as children. Don’t hide behind the Christian badge of forgiveness unless you are prepared to extend it to others. Follow the adage – be the change you want to see.

1 Peter 3:10, “For Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.”

Impact

You must add ingredients, stir them thoroughly, and bake them when making a cake. It doesn’t matter what type of cake; the steps are the same. The same is true for sharing the Gospel. It doesn’t make any difference whom you will engage with or their condition; the steps are the same. So, study the Bible, pray for direction, and persevere. In all of this, walk the talk with compassion.

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Does God think I’m a fool?

Does God think I’m a fool? On the one hand, that question seems arrogant because being a fool is no small matter. Being called a fool is more than saying I’m uneducated or uninformed; it is saying I lack common sense. It is saying that more information would not save me from my folly. On the other hand, is it possible that God may think of me as a fool? How did I get here? A couple of weeks ago, I referenced a parable in Luke (Luke 12:13-21) to make a point concerning storing up treasures here on earth. I couldn’t get the parable out of my mind because it made several points that haunted me.

Setting the Stage

Let’s set the stage for this spiritual dilemma. I am on the far-right side of the bell-shaped curve of life expectancy. Up to this point, I have beat the odds of average life expectancy. On top of that, for the most part, I am still healthy. God has blessed me with provisions that are meeting my needs for now. But I know my needs will change; how much and how soon is a guess. All of us are in the same dilemma today. No matter what age we find ourselves, God is meeting our essential needs today, but life is subject to change. What that change will entail is different for all of us. God is meeting your essential needs today because you are reading this. Being able to read this online connotates a certain level of prosperity; you are above the basic level on the Maslow hierarchy of needs.

Luke 12:27-30, “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon, in all his splendor, was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. The pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows you need them.”

Back to the rich guy.

For the sake of time, I will paraphrase the parable. If you choose, you can follow the link above and read it. Jesus spoke to a crowd of people, probably in Judea, about a year before His crucifixion. He told the story of a rich man that had a great harvest. The harvest was so big that the man didn’t have room to store it all. So he decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to have security in the coming years. Then, he could “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”

God rebukes the rich man by saying, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” God says, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

On the surface, this seems relatively straightforward, do not rely on material possessions for your salvation and future security. But we live in a material world. All of us need a certain level of materialism to survive. I believe that God is not opposed to wealth. I say this because people of every social standing need to hear the Gospel and who is better equipped to spread the Good News than peers? No matter our status in life, each of us has a specific target market for spreading the Gospel. So, we need the entire spectrum of humanity to reach the entire spectrum of humanity.

Lessons from a Fool

Two key phrases clarify this passage for me. The first is at the beginning. Jesus starts the parable by saying, “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.” Notice that Jesus didn’t credit the rich man for the harvest. He credits the ground. The first key to foolishness is to whom you give credit. The rich man was a fool because he treated the abundant harvest as his. Just as all other things like knowledge, experience, and talent are gifts from God, so was the harvest. Everything the rich man had was not of his effort but through grace from God.

Luke 12:15, “Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

The second key phrase is when the rich man explains what he will do with the harvest proceeds. He said, “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” The harvest was of God and should be used for God. So the second key to foolishness is what do you do with what God provides? Whatever position you find yourself in, it is God’s providence that it should be used for God.

Back to my Dilemma

My dilemma is your dilemma. Years ago, when I was with the prison ministry, I talked with a man on death row. I asked him what it was like to know the specific time and place of his death. His answer surprised me. Again, I will paraphrase it; the state will not allow me to die before the court-appointed time. It would be seen as escaping justice. So I can plan my last days. But, on the other hand, you do not know if you will live long enough to cross the parking lot today.

We are all rich men. Our harvest is different for each of us. It is not what we have but how we use it that will determine if we are seen as fools. Does God think I am a fool? I should hope not, but the opportunity is there. If I do not give Him credit for the good in my life and I do not use that good for His kingdom, then I am.

My future is uncertain, but my path is clear. Just as the ground yielded an abundant harvest for the rich man, so will it yield the same for me.

Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”

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Winning in a Meritocracy

What does winning in a meritocracy mean? First, winning in a meritocracy is almost impossible. Meritocracies are like vermicular designs or mazes; they spawn out in every direction with dead ends and false trails. Every country has a version of meritocracy created over time to reflect cultural norms. In some Asian countries testing in school can set the path for the rest of your life. In western cultures, whom you know and what you know determines where you stand in the social rankings.

Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

MERITOCRACY

Meritocracy: (noun) A system in which advancement is based on individual ability or achievement.

Winning in a meritocracy is about playing the game when some rules are hidden. Some rules are open and easy to understand. A high grade in school moves you up the ranking, and a low grade moves you down. Social structures can be subjective. Being a doctor can move you up the ranking, but being a doctor of what? Does a Surgeon, a General Practitioner, a Chiropractor, and a History Professor have the same status? It’s according to who else is in the room.

As children, we start with a subconscious understanding of merit. We are rewarded for specific behavior and punished for others. We get awards to commemorate each good occasion. Sometimes the merit system needs to be clarified, as in a participation award. Did that move me up or down? Is the fact that I participated a remarkable thing worth rewarding, or is it wrong because I didn’t distinguish myself?

2 Corinthians 4:4, “In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

We face competition in every aspect of life, but one. We compete at work, in extracurricular activities, in relationships, in school, in how we dress, how we talk, whom we know, and what we know. And we compete for our place in this world. We face a pie of limited size, and we compete for our slice.

THEN THERE IS GOD

Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

God wiped out the merit system when He sent His son to die for our sins. That should be embraced as incredibly good news. The constant striving to have meaning is replaced with open arms and purpose. We are not created equal in the sense that the world sees equal. We were created equal because God created us uniquely and ideally for the purpose He had in mind. As a result, not a single person is better qualified to do what God has planned for them.

Winning in a meritocracy has no meaning to God. We are saved through grace, not works. Therefore, we do not compete with each other for God’s love and acceptance. Our place in eternity is assured through His grace.

TAKE A BREAK FROM THE RAT RACE

Colossians 3:2, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

In Luke 12, Jesus tells a parable about a rich man whose crop yielded a great harvest. The rich man decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones so he could be secure for the rest of his life. In verse 20, God says, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” We are all gifted uniquely, but it is God who makes the plants grow. It is God who determines how long we have to enjoy His gifts.

We still need to do our best in all that we do, but it is not to please others. We don’t have to look over our shoulders to see who’s gaining on us. Instead, we can rest in the knowledge that God has our back. It is hard to shift gears when you have spent your life competing at every level. Uncertainty comes with breaking away from the worldview to embrace an eternal view. But the peace of mind from trusting God will give you the confidence to excel in all He put before you.

Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

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Struggle

I struggle with a great many things when it comes to following Christ. I struggle with my ability to obey, my competence to do God’s will, and my sin. This morning it is my sin. Not a specific sin, just the abundance of sin in my life. The little nagging failures to demonstrate God to others.

Romans 3:10, “As it is written, “Not even one person is righteous.”

Odd things wake me in the middle of the night. Why is it that I struggle with the same things over and over? It started me wondering about the characters in the Bible of their daily struggles. God doesn’t tell us much about that. We know that Moses was a murderer and David dealt with lust, but we don’t know about their daily struggles.

1 John 1:8, “If we say that we do not have any sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and we’re not being truthful to ourselves.”

SIN IS NOT PROGRESSIVE

James 2:10, “And the person who keeps every law of God but makes one little slip is just as guilty as the person who has broken every law there is.”

The place I gravitate to is that sin is not progressive; it doesn’t get better or worse; it just is or isn’t. There is no sliding scale. God doesn’t try to provide a standard other than Himself. We all fall short. Did Solomon write Proverbs because he was constantly irritated at the folly of those around him? Did he feel superior to them at times? Were Proverbs his passive-aggressive vent? Did Moses struggle with the leadership responsibilities and the Israelites’ constant whining? Was He short-tempered and impatient? David loved his son, but did his son also cause him grief? Was he impatient with his demands? It is easy to read between the lines that Paul was not an easy guy to get along with. He saw life as black and white. Although God gave him the gift of compassion, I don’t think he received the gift of patience.

Romans 7:19-20, “When I want to do good, I don’t; and when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. Now, if I am doing what I don’t want to, it is plain where the trouble is: sin still has me in its evil grasp.”

I have no reason to believe that the characters in the Bible didn’t struggle the same as us. So why didn’t God provide us with these examples so that we could feel better about our struggles? I would guess it is because we should never stop struggling; we shouldn’t feel better. There is only one standard, and we all fall short.

SALVATION IS NOT WHITEWASH

When we accept Christ as our savior, do we see it as our get-out-of-jail-free card? The analogy that came to my head was citizenship. Some people study hard for citizenship so they can pass the test. But, once they pass the test and take the oath, do they see citizenship the same way? Do they treasure it, or do they start to feel entitled? Once salvation is ours, does it become a right? Our sins are forgiven yesterday, today, and tomorrow. We are made white as snow. Should that not give us a level of comfort?

My guess is no, it should not. On the contrary, I believe it makes us struggle more because we now know that our sin is unacceptable to God. We now know that things normalized in the world are unacceptable to God. This is a good thing.  Even with our salvation, we will stand before the Judgement Throne of Christ to account for how we lived our lives once we accepted Christ as our savior. God will want an accounting for the rants on social media, our discussion concerning politics, and our impatience with others who think differently than ourselves. This is about something other than being right; it is about doing right.

Lamentations 3:22, “his compassion never ends. It is only the Lord’s mercies that have kept us from complete destruction.”

REDEMPTION IS REAL

I would suspect that the day you stop struggling with sin is that day you need to start worrying. Sin is always with us; it never takes a holiday. No matter how hard we try, there will be something. That nagging sin is a constant reminder that we need Christ. It is a portal to God’s love, compassion, and understanding of our condition. So, as we fight sin, we cling to Christ.

Romans 8:1, “So there is now no condemnation awaiting those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

I want comfort and to know it is all right, but it isn’t. That is good news. The more I struggle with my shortcomings, the more I talk to God. The more I am disgusted with my behavior, the more I demonstrate that I care. The only standard is God Himself, and we will not achieve that this side of Heaven. To struggle is to gain.

I remember that the God of the universe that has forgiven all my sins is the same God that reminds me of His love through the ultimate sacrifice of His son. A God that would do that for a man as undeserving as myself is a God of infinite compassion.

Isaiah 30:18, “Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him so he can show you his love; he will conquer you to bless you, just as he said, for the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them.”

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