It's A Greed Thing

It's interesting this political season, with the promotion of the battle of the "haves" and the "have nots."  Wealthy people are depicted as cold-hearted, cruel, and only interested in taking from others; people that deserve to be sacked by those who "have not."  At the same time, we're told that we, as Americans, only take from the rest of the world, with many forgetting that we're not the only developed nation in the world. 

Despots and murderous dicators hold citizens at bay with threats of death, slavery, and starvation to get what they want, many times diverting the aid that was meant for the hungry to themselves, their friends, and their troops.  Fortunately, there are aid organizations that can get past the local problems.

Other dictators promise a "Robin Hood" style government, taking from the "haves" and give to the "have nots," only to perpetuate their own wealth while keeping an uneducated, often illiterate population in poverty.

Aid organizations can and do work with governments to ensure and verify that water, food, medication, and other resources get to where they are needed most to provide much needed care to those in need.

In our current political discourse, am I to understand that Republicans are the only ones with wealth and want to starve others for their own gain?  That Democrats are only looking out for others and have no financial interests?  Neither is accurate.

We as Christ followers have been admonished by celebrities, chastising us for our lack of care for others. We must all be careful of who we are admonished by - many of the popular celebrities who have "awakened" the church give little, if any, resources directly to those with the most need (If you don't believe me, do a little research.  Note that the misguidance of others is not an excuse to be inactive in providing aid to others).

Let me propose that the world's economic, political, sociological problems are:  A greed thing.  As long as some are in power, they will be tempted and unchecked without a clear direction on a moral compass and accountability.  Those of us who do not have political power are also susceptible to greed, no matter how much wealth we have or don't have.  Those of us who "have" are just as susceptible to greed as those who have much, much more material wealth.  Likewise, I firmly believe there are philanthropists that freely give and live well within their potential lifestyle.

We are sickened, as humans, by greed and self interest.  No socialistic system will eliminate poverty, hunger, and/or disease.  In fact, we know from observing other political systems that, in many if not all cases, the people are worse off and freedoms are quite limited.  Those of us who have much compared to the rest of the world have been wooed into a theology of blessing and safety.  I'll be the first to admit that I continue to wrestle with confusing blessings (i.e. the material) with blessing.

How are we to live?  What does God expect of me?  Am I keeping the poor at a safe distance?

Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours.  Yours are the eyes through which Christ's compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; and yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.  (St. Teresa of Avila)

Our charge is to both proclaim and embody the gospel so that others can see, hear, and feel God's love in tangible ways.

-  Are there service projects we can do individually, as a family, and as a team?
   (Feed My Starving Children, Union Gospel Mission service, Bridging, mission trips, serving locally at a food shelf are a few examples)

-  Do I have a neighbor that needs, or could use, a helping hand?
   (make a pan of lasagne and have them over for dinner, rake their yard, have a conversation, help watch the kids for a night out)

-  How am I funding reputable aid organizations?
   (Where my money goes demonstrates where my heart is.  Is it all for me, or can I use it to help others?  Sponsor a child or family.  Invest in a share of a water well or livestock.  Provide funding for a microloan.)

Best of 2012: Faith In A Hotel Pool

Over the next few weeks, I hope you take a moment to read the occasional "Best Of" repost, which will be made of installments that generated the most responses. 

This "Best Of" was originally published in October.  Enjoy!

When my girls were small, they loved going swimming at pools, preferably hotels. 

When Grace was 3, she clung to me like Velcro, sometimes choking me with her arms around my neck.  Dads, you know the grip kids have; there's no need to hang on to the child because there was no way they would let go. 

Part of the fun for Grace was to see how far she could jump, so I'd back up gradually until she yelled to stop.  Her point always seemed so close from my view, then she'd jump almost onto my head, I was so close.  Each time, I encouraged her to let me stand a little further back.  She'd hesitate, then beg me to come closer.  Each time, she'd jump right into my outstretched arms, no matter how far out I was.

At times, I'd need to reassure her that I was close enough, despite her disbelief.  When her eyes told her I was too far out, she'd hesitate and beg me to come back.

It was only when I backed up just out of her reach that she believed in herself (and her dad!) that she'd be OK.  That her legs would be stronger each time she jumped.  That her dad wouldn't let anything bad happen.

More than once, she'd end up just short of my arms and plunge into the water, and I'd see her eyeballs w i d e open glaring up at me.  Then her hands would meet mine and I'd pull her up, only to have her cling to my neck and back.

Funny thing is, no matter how scared she was after plunging into the water, she wanted to jump again and again and again.  It was fun!

Sometimes I think that's how God, our Father, treats us with our faith.  As we grow closer to Him, we can trust him, knowing that he's within reach.  At the same time, I think he backs up a bit each time our faith is stretched, helping us grow in dependence on him while trusting him with bigger things.

Just as Grace did, we go back for more when our faith-growth is stretched.  Sometimes we plunge, reaching for God to grab us only to have him pull us out and reassure us that he's with us. 

Then we go back for more. 

I find myself plunging in quite a bit.  But I'd never give up the growth in Him -- it's fun and I'd miss out on the adventure of "the jump" if I didn't try.

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

...but what would follow surely got my attention.  Thinking back, this could have ended badly.  Tragically really.

We were out for a nice, but chilly, walk along the river in Stillwater, talking over our plans for the next few weeks.  Elvis was with us, and because of his being cooped up inside lately, he was pulling the leash and raring to go.

As we approached a grassy area, Elvis spyed a flock of gulls, his head remaining still while the rest of his body swayed as he walked.  I felt him pull gradually harder and heard him wheeze slightly as his collar tightened his throat.

"Bird!" I yelled, letting go of the leash.  Elvis was off like a shot out of a gun.  It was beautiful to watch his lean, muscular body sprinting toward the flock.

The gulls scattered and took flight toward the river.  Elvis gave chase, made it to the water's edge and leapt in to swim after an injured gull that could only swim.  He closed in while the gull squawk with terror.

Kimberly ran toward Elvis yelling, "No!  Elvis!  No!"

Elvis closed in on the gull as Kimberly and I ran toward the water.  Everything from that point on seemed like it was all in slow motion.

I saw Elvis's mouth open wide, ready to catch the screaming gull only inches away from death.  Suddenly, Kimberly yelled again and Elvis turned his head toward her and began swimming back to us.  He was struggling in the cold water.  He's awesome in the water.  Today though, he sputtered from the excitement and cold water.

Elvis made it back to the barrier, but was still a good 3 feet below us and his head sank beneath the water.  I could tell he was cold and tired fighting the waves.  I got on my belly on the sidewalk as Kimberly tried to reach. 

Grabbing his neck just as he was about to give up, I pulled Elvis out enough so he could get his footing.  Suddenly, the fear in his eyes left him, in effect saying, "Did you see that?  I almost had the bird!"

Thinking back, how many times have we jumped in the cold water to go after some desire or other false comfort, only to have God call our names just as we're about to take a chomp of sin?  Clearly, if Elvis had caught the bird, he would have been too far out to make it back.  K and I would have been crushed by a great outing turned tragic.

I think of when I turned to Christ.  After losing my dad to a massive heart attack, I turned to sin as a way to dull the pain; to "live life to the fullest."  Only I was deceived.  There was no life.  Just death ahead.

Then there was God's voice, calling me back to true life where I could discover that Christ pulled me out of the frigid water. 

We know what real love is because Christ gave his life for us (1John 3:16) and each of us has a story where God sent Christ to save us from ourselves, which would lead to certain death.

Take time to thank God for his saving grace.

"The Anthem" by Jake Hamilton

This song came up on my iPod this morning and decided to take a good hard listen - found the video of Jake Hamilton live in Mozambique.  The lyrics are included below (all content from external sources).  Enjoy, absorb, and know the words are for each and every one of us.

http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=jake+hamilton+the+anthem&mid=95D9FA0385F80CAE5A6A95D9FA0385F80CAE5A6A&view=detail&FORM=VIRE1

I can hear the footsteps of my King
I can hear his heartbeat beckoning
In my darkness he has set me free
Now I hear the spirit calling me

He's calling
Wake up child
It's your turn to shine
You were born for such a time as this.

I can hear a holy rumbling
I've begun to preach another king.
Loosing chains and breaking down the walls.
I want to hear the Father when he calls.

This is the anthem of our generation,
Here we are God shake our nation
All we need is your love
You captivate me.

I am royalty
I have destiny
I have been set free
I'm gonna shake history

I'm gonna change the world!

Jonathan Picks A Fight

The Bible is filled with inspiring stories of courage; of those who rely on God in tight situations.  I don't know about you, but I find myself struggling to relate to the heros of the Bible more often than not.  Perhaps it's because I still find the characters (real people) "legendary," if I can use that term.

When's the last time we truly risked our lives - for real - for God's purpose?  Again, it's easy to read about the heroic people in the Bible and translate them into legend-figures.

What if we could live in the midst of these events, struggles, and worrys, not really knowing the outcome?  What if we could see events from the inside, as a participant?  What if you were one of the Spartans in "300?"  Many times, I think I'd be one of the nameless 300 rather than one of the dudes that had a speaking role in the movie, which I need to be OK with, because I would have been one of many brothers with a name, fighting together with my brothers-in-arms to defend my family, friends, and city.

What if we could see the story of Jonathn differently - from the "inside?"

Check out 1Samuel -- Bear with me, here, and read the entire text from Young's Literal Translation.

14 And the day cometh that Jonathan son of Saul saith unto the young man bearing his weapons, `Come, and we pass over unto the station of the Philistines, which [is] on the other side of this;' and to his father he hath not declared.  <sup>6</sup> And Jonathan saith unto the young man bearing his weapons, `Come, and we pass over unto the station of these uncircumcised fellows; it may be Jehovah doth work for us, for there is no restraint to Jehovah to save by many or by few.'

OK, that’s enough.  Isn’t it hard to read this and think of what we would do under the same circumstances?  I mean, what if “Saving Private Ryan” or “Apocalypse Now” were written this way?  The above is very poetic, but here’s what I imagine would happen in, let’s say, Afghanistan.

Jonathan and his servant carrying his armor were standing under a tree, indignant that Saul, the king, had his army standing around, unable to make a decision on how to attack the Philistines not 2 clicks from where they were.

“I’ve had enough.  You and I need to go kick some Philistine ass, so you and I are going to their ground.  Maybe God will help us,” says Jonathan.

“Yeah, right!   That would be suicide,” says the armor-carrier, halfway laughing at the suggestion.  But as he turned and looked at Jonathan, he saw the determination in his eyes and no smile on his face, he knew Jonathan was serious. 

Stopping mid-sentence, the armor bearer realizes the gravity of what Jon's talking about and replies seriously, “Whatever you want to do, I’m with you.”  In other words, it’s a good day to defeat the Philistines for God’s glory.  Or, it’s a good day to die for God’s glory fighting for Israel.  Either way is better than standing around.

This is where it gets really awesome.  Jonathan and the armor carrier (who has no name, by the way) go to the Philistine lookout. 

Jonathan says, ⁸ “All right then.  We’ll cross over and let them see us. ⁹ If they say to us, ‘Stay where you are or we’ll kill you,’ then we will stop and not go up to them. ¹⁰ But if they say, ‘Come on up and fight,’ then we will go up. That will be the Lord’s sign that he will help us defeat them.”

¹¹ When the Philistines saw them coming, they shouted, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes!” ¹² Then the men from the outpost shouted to Jonathan, “Come on up here, and we’ll teach you a lesson!”

“Come on, climb right behind me,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “for the Lord will help us defeat them!”  They had their sign from God that they would defeat the Philistines, because they said to come up! 

Can you imagine the exhileration?  The feeling in the pit of their stomachs knowing that they were going to be engaged in a bloody battle?  That God would show up?  Or not?  That’s some faith! 

¹³ So they climbed up using both hands and feet, and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer killed those who came behind them. ¹⁴ They killed some twenty men in all, and their bodies were scattered over about half an acre.

Now, warfare being what it was back then, I don’t think their swords were cutting through the mighty Philistines like State Fair butter carvings.  I’ll bet Jonathan had to fight like he never fought before.  And, get this:  The armor bearer didn’t have any weapons!  Like Erwin McManus says, HE’S THE GUY fighting by faith! 

Nonetheless, the Philistines were defeated and the entire army was panicked and ran.  We also know that Saul saw the commotion and decided only then to join in the battle. 

So, how do we use this? 

Going forward with our day, we lean on Him; thank Him for our neediness that builds trust between us; we remember that He has created us, each with different and distinct gifts. 

We remember that God knows the level of difficulty or ease of each experience. 

We also need to remember that we must never compare our own "level" of faith to those who fear what we see as "small" things.  Likewise, we should never fear judgment of others in the area of our faith. 

I don't need to be the Jonathan of the Bible.  I need to focus my attention on the path just ahead of me and on Him who never leaves my side.