Risky Business

A 1983 movie starring Tom Cruise chronicled a Chicago teenager looking for fun while his parents were out of town. The notion of risky here was putting his parents wrath in play in exchange for some teenage fun. Most peeps attempt to steer away from a risky lifestyle because they are not willing to exchange the displeasure of the world for personal pleasure. Of course the basis for risk here is the exchange of favor of the world for doing things the way the world expects. As I have blogged many times, this is simply carnal mindedness, which is the opposite of what we may think. We have been taught to believe "carnal minded" is the search for pleasure, but that is just hedonism. Carnal minded according to Scripture is seeking our well being by exchanging our behavior with the world to extract for ourselves what the world has to offer us (respect, love, comfort, safety, economic benefit, etc.).

What is risky business for the Kingdom minded peep? Consider that Grace compels us to give with no expectation of return and to receive with  no obligation to return. This suggests that what seems to be risky is really the path of least risk. Grace drives us to "recklessness". What? How so? That doesn't sound Christian, to live recklessly. Isn't that risky business?

"Reckless" means careless, or without care. So, if we don't care about fear, or pride, or hedonism, or worldly security, or comfort, then we seem reckless to the world. In this way Grace makes us reckless and appears as risky business.

Yet, Grace gives us joy, peace, eternal security, love, ........  So when we act in Thanksgiving (not duty) from the Grace we have received we can give, love, share, speak truth, wait, and so forth without any expectation of receiving because we already have everything we need for our well being forever. The world perceives us as risky when we move on the unctions of God because we do not appease the world, but in reality "reckless" Grace is the least risky lifestyle there is.

When you feel constrained from responding as God has prompted you because of what others may think, then you have risked the quality of life that is our privilege as a child of the Kingdom!! Just look at all the actions Jesus took that shocked the world's establishment.

Something to ponder .....

If I were only just a little ....

How often have we heard someone say, "I wish I were a little bigger, or a little smaller, especially here or there"? Or "I wish I were a little more like this or less like that"? Heck, maybe we say something like this ourself oh so often!!

Being obsessed with one's perceived physical appearance or personality flaws is quite common, especially in Western cultures. Why is this so common? Is there something wrong with the culture? Or is there something in each of us that sources this obsession? Maybe its the combination of the two?

We know that culture is a sociological phenomenon that influences what people value and what is normal. When society values certain forms of appearance and certain kinds of behavior over others (and I believe all do), then peeps are prone to attach what makes them acceptable and important to these social norms and values. Couple this with the carnal mind's notion that I get what makes me happy by exchanging what I have with what the world wants to get what it has for me in return. Obsession is born.

Now many if not all of you reading this know that our self worth is not in what we do or how we look. The Kingdom mind learns that value and identity is granted to us by God's grace (the atonement of the Cross).

Kingdom minded peeps want to be healthy and behave in respectable ways because excellence is God's way and these add quality to the testimony of our life.Yet we still obsess. We forever fall prey to the forces of culture.

The fact is we KNOW this, the question is why don't we act on what we know.

The answer may be in that knowledge does not equal belief and without belief there is no action.

What keeps us from believing what we know??  

Now that is worth pondering ........

A different perspective on tattoos

I was doing my power walk on the Red Neck Riviera beach (Gulf Shores, Al) this morning. Of course there are many young peeps there and therefore many tattoos. I thought to myself that the main problem these young peeps have is that their instant gratification of being cool will be with them for their whole life and eventually the tattoos will sag with the natural process of aging. This was verified as I witnessed some not so young peeps who got their tattoo years ago.

                           

The thought then hit me is that its us older peeps that should be getting the tattoos. The rest of our life is not that long anymore and what's gonna sag has. Furthermore, it gets more difficult to find ways to be cool. Its the perfect time!!!

This just goes to show that everything eventually is a matter of personal perspective and perspective comes from our own power to rationalize ......

Oh, then there is absolute truth, what do we do with it??? 

In what do we boast?

Webster 1828 dictionary says to boast is to glory in something, such as to speak of with laudable pride and ostentation (ambitious display) of merit or worth. It seems that the act of boasting itself is not the issue then, but the target of our boasting. That's why the question - in what do we boast?

I think most of us would confess that while we do sometimes direct our attention to the greatness around us, our most natural desire is to boast in ourselves - to want others to think well of us, to see us as worthy, desirable peeps. Even when we have low esteem and practice self-deprivation, we are boasting in pride of our self, focusing on projecting what we want others to think, to agree with us about our sense of unworthiness.The issue with boasting is not whether we think highly or lowly of ourselves, its that self is the target and source of our identity and value.


The prophet Jeremiah  (9: 23-24) reminds us "let man boast in this, that He (God) understands and knows me." Here the target of our boasting is not us but God. If we are to have any pride in our self its that God is the author of our self. He defines our identity and our value. He receives the glory, the laudable praise for everything about us. Our ambition becomes to display His merit and worth.

The Apostle Paul states that his ambition is to please God, which is to trust Him completely for well being of our self. When Paul looks at his own resume, he reminds us that he is Grade A prime beef. No one could boast about themselves as he could. Yet his resume is just, well lets say BS (manure), compared to his life being defined by faith in Jesus. 

In a world that is so unstable, where is stability? With a nature that desires to glorify self, in what should we boast?

A little pondering here can go a long way ..... 

through the eyes of a child

Recently I was asked to visit my granddaughter's 4th grade class on Career Day. This was a time the teacher had invited in mainly parents to tell the kids what they "did for a living" or what "job they had." I chose to take a little different approach and talk with them about what makes a career. I explained mainly that a career is a journey not a job and flowed from the "itches inside your soul", especially since I had personally done a number of different things from business executive to college professor, always considering what I was doing professionally as a calling.

I wasn't sure if I would be able to communicate with 10 yr olds because my seniors in college struggle much of the time getting what I trying to say. I found myself explaining many words like intrinsic motivation and psychology and manager, which caused me to stop and ask them questions along the way about what they understood. I was amazed at the time at what they could grasp and the responses they had to concepts I was sharing with them.

Yesterday I received a package from the teacher thanking me for my time and expressing how much the kids enjoyed my Career Day talk. That was nice and pretty much expected. What was not expected were letters the kids wrote me giving their perspective on what I was saying. On one hand they are hilarious but on the other quite surprisingly insightful. So I thought I would share a few of their comments on my blog.

"I think it is interesting that you work 2 days a week. I would really not like to have your job considering how much you work." (I think she means "how little I work", haha)

"I would not want your job because it's another time that you go to school."

"I think an interesting thing about your job is that you teach about jobs."

"I think it is very interesting that you gave us a college class when we are only 4th graders."

"I think I would not like this job because you see a lot of kids, don't you? Because you have to remember a lot of names."

"I learned that our career is like a journey. It is interesting that some of the students will come and ask you for help on certain things."

"I think it is interesting that you teach college students. I also learned you teach many subjects. I dont think I want to be a college teacher because sometimes college students are crazy."

"It was cool what you said, 'I teaching you kids college education, plus it was an hour long.'"

"I liked that you taught us all about what it was like being one (college professor)."

"I have never been good at Math like you are, but I am good at reading and writing. I also like Social Studies and Science. Do you use these skills in your job?"

"The most interesting thing about your job is you get to hang out (teach) with them. The cool thing is you go to a college. I've never been to a college."

"when I start working I want to be a prof just like you."

What was it Art Linkletter built a career on?   "kid's say the darnedest things!"

I am impressed with 10 yr olds!!  :-)

"Blessed are the meek"

I watch my wife with her dog Spot. I see Spot respond to her for her good pleasure. While he selfishly wants to go places and do things that he somehow knows he shouldn't, he refrains from his own natural desires and sits patiently watching Gail until he perceives she approves. He learns her wishes for him because he now belongs to her. He discerns when to sleep in the chair in the bedroom and when he can get in the bed. He waits til she is ready for him to sit in her lap before he jumps up. When Gail yanks on Spot's lease with disapproval of the direction he is going, he cowers in awe and respect for her intentions for him.

You may be asking about now, what does this have to do with the title of this blog. It seems Jesus had the image of a domesticated pet when He said, "Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth." In the day of Jesus, the Greek word translated into "meek" was normally used to refer to a pet that was totally committed to its master. A domesticated animal that had every emotion and action in submission to the one in authority because of its desire to totally please that one.

Because Spot has proven to Gail that his actions are fully formed by his desire to please her, Gail gives Spot full advantage of our house. He is not penned up while she is gone. There are no places he cannot enjoy. In a sense he has "inherited" our home. This is the consequence of being "meek" and is what Jesus is pointing us to in this Beatitude. As we submit every thought, emotion, and action to the will of our master because we so fully desire the pleasure of His will, we inherit the dwelling place of our being, free to use and partake as we enjoy its provisions and privileges.

Interestingly, the Beatitudes begin each aspect of our life in Christ with the phrase " blessed are". Unfortunately this is often translated "happy are." However, the original word used here is makarios and means "the joy of being". The root word for happiness is hap. Happiness is our sense of favorable well being because or happenstances meet our approval. Blessedness on the other hand is a favorable well being independent of our circumstances. A well being of our soul that comes from inside, from the life of Christ in us. So this Beatitude is describing the nature of a Christian as being similar to Spot's. His well being is established by his desire to be fully aligned with Gail's will. His inner disposition provides his joy, the correlate to that is his full run of his domain, our house.

Such it is with those who trust Jesus for their well being, Our disposition is not one of fear or guilt or obligation, but of thanksgiving and peaceful assurance, which is the source of our joy. In concert with this is our freedom to fully enjoy and participate in the offerings of our domain, the earth in which we live.

Such are the musings of an old man whose wife has a pet dog named Spot .....

Behold the Lamb

In John 1:29 John the Baptist announces Jesus when he sees Jesus coming toward him. He shouts forth "behold the Lamb of God" speaking to the perfect sacrificial nature of Jesus. Sacrifice to the Jews meant an offering to God to appease Him for their own sin against Him. Sacrifice then to the peeps of John's time meant man's action toward God on their own behalf so they could then be acceptable to God.

John announces something astounding, that the person of Jesus IS the sacrifice to God on man's behalf. Interestingly, man is not the one making the sacrifice on their own behalf. God provides the PERFECT sacrifice when man cannot. It's God's act on behalf of man to reconcile man to Himself. BTW, that why Christianity is not a religion, which is man's attempt to establish his own relationship with God.

The point John is ultimately making about Jesus is that He "takes away the sin of the world." You ever thought what that means? Does it refer to Jesus's purpose is to correct all immoral behavior? Make peeps good enough for God by fixing what they do wrong? Does Jesus simply erase God's memory so He forgets what we've done or puts a blindfold on God so to speak so God doesn't see our misbehavior?

What are the key words here? First, world means inhabitants of the world or mankind. Next "take away" simply means that Jesus removes, not can remove but does remove. What does John mean by sin? This is where many peeps get confused. There are numerous different Greek words translated into the word sin. Most involve actions or behavior of humans, such as making a mistake, transgressing the law, or failing to meet moral code, and so forth. However, quite often in Scripture and in this case the word for sin, hamartia, literally means missing the mark. Its general application was to the true end of life and typically meant "to miss the true purpose of life as to not share in the prize." Thus, sin in this statement means that a person misses the point of the Gospel and doesn't see the Gospel as good news, not missteps in their life.

It would seem to me more beneficial for peeps, who wish to appease God so that they are acceptable to Him, to accept the sacrifice God made on their behalf than to produce acceptable actions on their own. The sin we should all attend to is not behavioral mistakes, moral failures, or transgressions of our actions but failing to receive the action God has already taken on our behalf, called the Lamb of God.

"Behold" means to see with absolute surprise. It is so amazing that our biggest and only failure is in receiving what God has done on our behalf in faith. Our eternal well-being is at risk but peeps of this world too often just can't believe this and so trust their own ability to be good enough for God and to produce from the world around them their own well being. This approach gets no piece of God's pie (provisions and privileges of the Heavenlies), and that's our sin.

probably worth pondering as much as our stock portfolio, or even where we going to go to dinner tonight :-)