making sense of "blessings"

A friend has been pondering what it means to bless and be blessed, so "this Bud's (blog) for you." @ftr

A good place to make sense of blessings is Ephesians 1: 3. This is one of the most intriguing verses in the Bible, mainly because it use three derivatives (separate Greek words) of the word "bless."

"Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." 

The first use of "bless" is how we view and approach God. In this case "blessed" means we give God our greatest adoration. The second and third refers to how God blesses us. Here the word for "blessed" means to bestow or to give to another freely of Himself. Then finally "blessing" means the privilege and provision of what belongs to the blessor (in this instance Heaven).

To apply this in human relationships how would we make sense of the notion that in a relationship we both bless and are blessed by each other?

To bless another person we freely give from what we have that is uniquely us and the other person is blessed by receiving the privilege of knowing us deeply and the joy that comes from that intimacy.

Certainly someone could make this statement mean what they would like, that's the post modern culture in which we live. However, this interpretation is anchored in thousands of years of tradition around the meaning of words rooted in "bless".

After all, "if a word can mean anything, then it means nothing!"
Hope this helps pondering on making sense of blessing and being blessed :-)

making sense of Christmas

By now everyone is into the annual ritual of trying to de-emphasize the commercial side of Christmas and seeking the spiritual side. "Jesus is the reason for the season" is the regular reminder of Christian parents to their children. While kids are starry-eyed over the presents they will receive and what Santa will bring to them, parents are redirecting attention to the importance of giving (more about this later).

Most people's favorite Christmas story is from Luke. That story reads well and is the source of nativity scenes and Christmas plays. From this story shepherds, Angels, mangers, stars, etc. become the Christmas icons. My favorite Christmas story is in John 1: 1, 14 (everybody can memorize this Christmas story :-)

"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. .. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."

This story brings a profound Christmas message. In the Incarnate Christ we have the solution (grace) to the problem. (truth). The truth is that we are born at enmity with God (inheritance from Adam) and we have no way home on our own. This is quite a problem. The solution is grace which came to us at this very first Christmas. Remember, grace is the opposite of Social Exchange, which is the truth of how we operate in our nature (the flesh).  Grace is not expecting when we give and not being obligated when we receive. The gift of Grace is being able to love another person free from all expectations because that is what God did for us at Christmas, came to us free of expectations and full of love.

The byproducts of Grace and Truth are peace and joy (two words on many Christmas cards). Peace is more than the absence of turmoil, it is the presence of all that is good (Shalom). As I discussed in the previous blog, joy is not happiness. Joy is a state of well being based on the excitement of knowing we have Peace.

This gets me to the main point of Christmas. I think we mistakenly focus too much on giving, forcing our children to see that Christmas is ALL about our giving. The truth is that Christmas is about our receiving. Children grow up to be adults like us and they cannot receive. Giving lets us maintain a sense of control, receiving makes us vulnerable. We must trust the Giver. Its receiving Christ that ultimately transforms us, not OUR giving. He gave, we receive. The Gospel is full of admonition for us to receive Jesus (ex. John 1:12, Col 2: 6-7). The Good News that comes to us at Christmas is that Grace overcomes the truth about ourselves, and in doing so, we are never the same. We become givers not out of duty or expectation of getting BUT because giving becomes our nature and Grace becomes the way we make sense of ourself and the world around us.
 =*..*=

All we have to do is receive the gift!!
That, my friend, is Joy to the World  ......

making sense of "The Pursuit of Happiness"

         
It is especially American to anchor our personal and societal aspirations in the notion of pursuing happiness. Its an "inalienable right" (T Jefferson), isn't it? We are all entitled to it, aren't we? Yet, as this cartoon aptly points out, pursuing happiness is really the genesis of worry. We worry whether we will ever be happy. When we reach some state of being happy, then we worry if we can keep it.

The root word for happiness is "hap". This is the same root for the word "happenstance." Happiness is simply a positive feeling we receive from circumstances that meet our needs or wants. Its the "presence of pleasure and the absence of pain" (Epicurus). It depends on how others respond to us and what we extract through exchange with the world around us. Often we make sense of happiness by comparing our self to others

So, the "pursuit of happiness" is carnally minded, based on the world's system of reciprocity. Thus, achieving happiness is fleeting, a constant struggle to keep the exchange working.

Then there is the idea of the "hedonic treadmill." This is the notion that people are constantly pursuing happiness but once attained, we begin seeking again. Happiness is an insatiable pursuit.

The Kingdom mind does not emphasize happiness as an aspiration. Jesus talks often about joy. "Blessed are" (Matt 5) means "O the joy of being." Joy is a state (not a feeling) in which our soul has permanent well being and more importantly, it is not dependent on our circumstances. "Blessed" is the Greek word makarios which means well being that is internally sustained. Jesus said "I come that you may have joy and that your joy may be full."

Joy is the real end game of life. Receiving well being that cannot be taken from us and will never wither away is the product of redemption. Intimate relationship with the King of the Universe and harmony with the Heavenlies (however you wish to view righteousness) is our gift from a loving Father.

While there is nothing wrong with wanting to be happy, is the "Pursuit of Happiness" really "life's natural end of existence" (Aristotle)?  something to ponder ....

the movie "The Other Side of Heaven"

   quote


"There is a connection between the Heavenlies and the Earth. Finding that connection makes everything meaningful, even death. Missing the connection makes everything meaningless, even life."

                     
Now that is how we make sense of our self and the world around us!!

Something to ponder :-)

Culture, Ethics, and The Law

            

There are three main structures that govern behavior in any collectivity or "society" (e.g., family, organization, team, gathering, or government entity). First, there are laws or other encoded rules and policies. These are formally devised and stated restrictions on behavior that when violated, leads to punishment of the individual by agents of the collectivity. Then there are uncodified or informal controls on behavior that occur at two levels, ethics and culture.

Ethical duties refer to the obligations owed by members of a "society" to other members of that "society". Ethical duties get down to the absolute essence of what is right, just, and fair for everyone.While these judgments may include what is legal, ethical (or moral) behavior goes beyond just staying legal. There are six universal rules or conditions with historical sequence that have been developed to guide ethical decisions based on what is fair, just, and right for everyone.

1. Personal virtue (Aristotle) – “never take any action which is not honest, open, and truthful, and which you would not be proud to see reported widely in newspapers or on television.”

2. Religious injunctions (St. Augustine) – “never take any action that is not kind, and that does not build a sense of community, a sense of all of us working together for a commonly acceptable goal.”

3. Utilitarian benefits (Betham and Mill) – “never take any action that does not result in greater good than harm for society.”

4. Universal rules (Kant) – “never take any action that you would not be willing to see others take in a similar situation.”

5. Distributive justice (Rawls) – “never any action that harms the powerless.”

6. Contributive theory (Nozick) – “never take any action that would interfere with the rights of others for self development and self-improvement.”

For an action to have ethical considerations, the individual must be acting rightly when he/she would benefit from acting "wrongly". If its in one's self interest to act rightly, its an "economic" decision, not an ethical one.

Ethical dilemma exists when an action is supported by one of these principles but violates one of the other principles.

Culture consists of the values and norms of the "society". While unspoken, they are powerful influences on behavior. However, norms and values are preferences and have no moral basis. They simply have developed over time to reflect what the "society" deems important and expected. Cultures affect how formal communications may be or how people dress. Culture affects how 'society" views time, age, women, power, the individual, etc.

In the world's system (the Bible calls the flesh or carnal mindedness) culture, ethics and laws provide a hierarchical basis by which members of the "society" exchange behavior for favor. As stated in earlier posts, these governance structures present obligations determining who and what is good and right and form control systems that engender the legalistic dimension of Social Exchange.

Contrast this with the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt 5 - 7). Here we find that yes, laws exist, but for a different purpose. God's Law does not obligate us to Him and is NOT a mechanism by which we gain His favor. Remember, our behavior is sourced in Thanksgiving, not duty. 

He established His laws for two primary purposes. One, God's Law spells out how things work best. There are physical laws that determine how the Universe works and how our bodies work. We can depend on them and act accordingly. Other laws reflect how relationships work best and what we can depend on when we give agape love from the love we have received from God. As with ethical dilemma, God's laws can seem confusing. "Thou shalt not kill." What do we do when our family is threatened by a violent intruder? How do we explain war? Often loving someone can result in "hurting" someone else.

The second purpose of the law as outlined by Paul in Romans is that God's law shows us our sin and thus our need for a Savior. That is, God shows us in His laws that His standard is impossible for us to attain on our own. The more we see our sin relative to God's standard, the more we praise Him for His redemptive love. In this case "being good" is not a result of what we do, but who we are!!!
While culture, ethics and laws are necessary for civil order, they are not necessary for gaining favor, unless the only favor that matters to you is from your fellow man!!

Something to ponder ......