Others

Thursday 11/23/2017 6:18 AM

Today is Thanksgiving Day. Throughout the day people will be acknowledging things for which they are thankful. Family, friends, good health, and other such things often top the list. In my experience the things for which I am most thankful are things that benefit me, that make my life richer. Today I read Psalm 4 for the fourth time this week and I saw something in verse 7 that gave me a different perspective. In the preceding verse David asked, “Who will bring us prosperity?” He then asks God to let his face shine upon him followed by this request, “Fill my heart with joy when their grain and new wine abound.” (Emphasis mine) David is asking for a joyful heart when others are prospering and doing well.

We live in a society where the individual is revered. Individuals within our society either accept or reject policies by answering the question, “What’s in it for me?” If there is a program that costs me something I am against it, even if it benefits another segment of society. If I benefit, I’m for it, even if it is to the detriment of others. We vote for, and support, things that enrich our lives, often without considering the effect on society at large.

How different our society would be if we would be happy and filled with joy and thanksgiving when others prospered instead of only ourselves. That is the kind of life David desired and that is the kind of life Jesus lived here on earth. Philippians 2:3-4 is a good reminder today. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Leaving a Charmed Life

Wednesday 11/22/2017 4:45 AM

I have always felt as if I have led a charmed life. Other than the death of my dad when I was thirteen I have had a great life. I have enjoyed good physical and mental health throughout my lifetime. I met, and married, a wonderful woman. I have three children who were healthy throughout their lives. I have healthy relationships with them and with their spouses. I have eight grandchildren with two more on the way and also have healthy relationships with them. I have been gainfully employed as a teacher for my entire life, working for only two different schools.

When I look at the lives of others around me it seems that many are beset by trouble and calamity at nearly every turn. Their lives seem diametrically opposed to mine. Today I read a quote from The Saviors of God, by Nikos Kazantzakis that makes me see things from a different point of view. He writes, “Everyone has a particular road which leads … to liberation – one the road of virtue, another the road of evil. If the road leading you to your liberation is that of disease, of lies, of dishonor, it is then your duty to plunge into disease, into lies, into dishonor, that you may conquer them. You may not otherwise be saved. If the road which leads you to your liberation is the road of virtue, of joy, of truth, it is then you duty to plunge into virtue, into joy, into truth, that you may conquer them and leave them behind you. You may not otherwise be saved.”

It has always seemed clear to me that someone stuck in a life of disease, lies, and dishonor should conquer that life, to leave it behind and, thus, be liberated. In my mind, when you leave that life you enter a life of virtue, joy, and truth and are liberated from all the things that cause the pain. What I find interesting is those on the road of virtue, joy, and truth, are also encouraged to conquer that life, to leave it behind and, thus, be liberated.

I have always seen my charmed life as something to be coveted and something for which to strive. The danger is that I see my charmed life as a consequence of my own efforts and I become jaded toward those suffering the evils of life. It seems natural to adopt a superior attitude toward others, thinking that if they only did things my way their lives would be different.

Lord, forgive me for my attitude of superiority. Give me the grace to leave my charmed life and to empathize with others, showing them the nature of the God who loves them as much as you love me.

Shaken Confidence

Monday 11/20/2017 5:03 AM

When I was younger I thought I had a lot of things figured out. I believed that as I matured in life, and in my faith, things that I didn’t have figured out would come into focus and I would become more knowledgeable about God and the things of God. Boy, was I wrong! It seems that rather than having more knowledge and understanding I am questioning even the things I thought I had figured out. What I thought were simple, black and white issues have become colored with varying shades of gray and the simple answers no longer satisfy the complicated questions.

I find that I often disagree with those in the broader Christian community regarding many issues regarding society and the Christian’s role in seeking the kingdom of God here on earth. This has resulted in my questioning my faith and my own relationship with God. I sometimes despair and wonder if I have wandered from the path that leads to God.

The first verse of John Pratt Green’s hymn When Our Confidence is Shaken provides some hope that God may still be working with me.

When our confidence is shaken

In beliefs we thought secure,

When the spirit in its sickness

Seeks but cannot find a cure,

God is active in the tensions
Of a faith not yet mature.

Stability or Balance?

Friday 11/17/2017 6:08 AM

I read an excerpt from Living with Contradiction, by Esther de Waal, today. “What I am looking for is some sort of balance in my life – a balance ‘so delicate, so risky, so creative’, as Maria Boulding puts it, that she likens it to a bird in flight, a dancer in motion.”

I’m looking for balance in my life too, but I think I don’t think it’s the same kind of balance she is looking for. My kind of balance could better be described by the word stability. I have a plastic bird in my office that has a center of mass at the tip of its beak. It balances on its beak on a small pedestal and teeters, swaying with every passing waft of air but never falling off the pedestal. That feeling like you might fall at any minute is not one that I appreciate. I like to have both feet on the ground, standing firmly planted so nothing moves me.

The problem with stability is that when the ground shifts underneath, the stable structure can topple and fall, evidenced by buildings during an earthquake. The balancing bird would remain on its pedestal while swaying with the motion of the ground.

I desire stability. God knows that balance is better for me. Life can be chaotic and extremely unstable. When I live with balance I will never fall. I’ll simply bob and sway in the chaos.