Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Patience and Perception

Okay, so I'm pondering something... How much of a wait-and-see attitude should a Christian have? What role does experience play in determining the "spirit" of a person's actions, a current event, etc.? How long should we wait before drawing conclusions on any fruits we perceive?

I'm interested because having a balance in two vital areas--that is, with patience and perception--is both a foundation for and true sign of building godly wisdom and character. However, being short on supply of either one or having a false variety thereof has caused millions to be blinded to the Truth.

Allow me to explain what it is that I currently think I think of these two qualities...

There seems to be varying levels of patience and perception (based on our experiences). Perhaps there are better words for what I'm describing, and maybe typing this out on a blog will flesh out those terms. One way to define these terms is to start with extremes: the person with much patience and little perception will wait and wait to draw a conclusion on a matter until they just accept the consequences of having not done anything when everything has finally unfolded. The person with much perception and little patience will sense the faintest whisper of a wind blowing similarly to their previous experiences and immediately draw conclusions that the same is happening now. The former is the typical frog in increasingly hotter water analogy and the latter is your wackiest conspiracy theorist. Certainly, this doesn't even begin to show the many varieties of patience and perception/experience nor even their good side, but it can show the flaws of having a false variety of each one.

To demonstrate some of the other sides of these two qualities, I'll try to describe them with examples. I am reminded by those older than me that "I haven't been around as long as they have to experience these things that they're seeing." And I believe them, I really do. On the other hand, the ever-optimistic, open-minded youth or rarely-judging pacifists seem to have peace, joy and a gentle spirit in their lives. Personally, as I grow older, I have tended to lean more on my experiences to help make quicker judgments of a situation. Still, I attempt to hold off some before making my final judgment to verify that my perception of the situation is indeed correct (I said attempt...).

A patient-only individual may have an opinion, but is waiting for further validation before acting. A perceptive-only person probably had their minds made up long ago and wondered what took so long for everyone else to catch up. Yet the perceptive-only person may have missed crucial information that wasn't initially presented and make a rash decision. The patient-only person may never find the validation they're looking for and take lumps for not acting decisively earlier.

Several years ago, the Worldwide Church of God was taken over from the inside and turned inside out. It was a terrible experience for all, but it was indeed experience-building. Based on everything I've read and everyone I've talked to, many lessons were drawn from each of these experiences. Some folks took the approach to wait it out and patiently see what God would do within the church He raised through Mr. Armstrong, allowing themselves to drift back into worldly Christianity as the Worldwide Church of God transformed itself into Grace Communion International over the decades to follow. Others, being badly scalded personally by this enormous trial, have ran in fear from all organized religion and point the finger accusingly at any who continue to live or teach such a "god" who would allow such a thing to occur. Of course, there are many, many shades of gray between these two extremes.

Similarly in politics, war, prophecy and religion, experience and education are especially needed, as is patience. Many people I know took one look at Barack Obama and immediately knew what kind of man he was by his words and his politics, while others want history to judge his actions. (NOTE: I'm not passing judgment on either camp here, just noting them.) The same goes with George W. Bush, the Iraq War and the recession as well as the future of Jerusalem, Germany, the Catholic Church, and even the Church of God.

Some with much godly experience may see the Church as having shed several of the problems of the past. Others with much experience** have identified loose bricks in the House of God that reek of the sins of the past.

**As a side note, it appears to me that some men with extreme cases of relying too much on their so-called perception have practically turned themselves into prophets and apostles, if they're not already declaring themselves to be so. These people are so sure of their predictions, even if done under the guise of "I've seen this all before" or even "God has given me special insight to know this."

Some with patience have learned from enduring such difficult trials and have gleaned a great deal of knowledge from the lessons each has taught. Others with a more complacent patience have come to the point of not worrying about nor praying for the problems of others because doing so might require some introspection on their part as well. I've seen people refuse to "judge" others because doing so would be hypocritical. We probably shouldn't be so patient with our own sins just because we're supposed to be patient with others. What are we hiding or not overcoming? Paul says we shouldn't want grace to abound for our sins' sake (Romans 6).

Why am I talking about all this? Because I want to figure out the right balance of each of these vital characteristics and make sure that I'm not misidentifying each one for something quite different. I would like to have the patience and mercy to be willing to let God work with every individual to perfect them in His image regardless of their current state. Yet I also understand that God will eventually draw a line in the sand when someone's character is set and their mind cannot be changed by Him or anyone else. Final judgment will take place.

Next, God expects me to make decisions with limited information at times to test me and I can't always have the time that I might want. Other times, He wants to see if I'll act upon my selfish desires or emotions of the moment or patiently dig deep and rely on past experiences to realize what a poor decision that would be. Other questions I've asked are: Will I let God and Jesus Christ lead Their Church? Will I leave in the case of apostasy? Will I scour for problem areas in others or will I get on my knees to pray for any problems that happen to come to my attention?

Also, combining these two characteristics is a powerful concoction. Together, we can draw on our experiences while patiently allowing our minds to sift over all available knowledge that's available, whether through seeking advice, researching and studying the subject in the Bible and asking God personally for help. Whatever mood we're currently in can color our perceptions. Patience can smooth out the erratic nature of our emotions and help us to see the larger picture by analyzing things through a variety of emotions and experiences. Humans are generally incapable of more than just a few emotions or memories at any given time, so repeated exposure to these things while not coming to one quick decision can help us verify that our original perception was or was not the right one.

Perception is absolutely required to make any kind of stand in our lives and it requires us to thoroughly re-analyze our experiences over a lifetime against a backdrop of fellow members' perceptions to build a more complete picture. This is why a Church is required in the first place--in order to allow the various parts of the body of Christ to share their individual growth and knowledge to edify, encourage and grow the Body. Our perceptions need to become the Body's perceptions and the Body's perceptions need to become ours.

As it is, the Body is constantly adding new members, and thus new parts, and this requires patience to help them draw closer to the stature of the fullness of perfection that is our Elder Brother. Our experiences can help us remember what it was like being in their position, if there are similarities, and sympathize with them...even drawing us closer to them by desiring to help them along. Of course, the opposite occurs when someone with more experiences than ourselves offers us a hand in our current trials and lack of understanding some issue.

Anyway, that's me getting all of this stuff off my mind. I suppose the wisest people of all are the most experienced folks around that still practice a great deal of patience in coming to a full judgment, even distrusting their own human nature until God delivers His perfect understanding to them. May each one of us continue to work towards that...

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Ownership

Building on my last post about appreciation, I wanted to write a little about how I've grown in appreciation for things I didn't necessarily highly value at earlier points in my life.

Perhaps each one of us can look back and remember being told to do chores around the house and how much we loved to do them (not). I couldn't watch TV on Friday night or Saturday morning or attend any of the school holiday parties. I remember having to sit still in church as a preteen, taking notes and looking up scriptures while my school friends were out playing team sports and riding their bikes. I remember my first experiences on the job not exactly being the most exciting. I have heard over and over from friends a co-workers--and I might have uttered more than once myself--that we work to live and not the other way around.

Yet one of the main lessons I've learned in life is that anything worth having is worth working for. 'Work' here can probably mean anything we've put effort into or perhaps even struggled through. While I didn't like doing chores for my parents, I did find, upon moving to my own apartment, that I had certain expectations of cleanliness and kept my place fairly tidy. When I started working, a nice Sabbath rest and spiritual recharge proved to be a huge relief after a long week in the world's grasp..

And on my motivations in my career... Well, let's just say that it took more than a few years to get through my thick skull that hard labor was actually good for me. In those years, I annoyed my first manager quite a bit to the point he would drag me to a private room for one-on-one meetings. There, and in my annual reviews, he would tell me that I lacked "ownership," which to me was a nebulous managerial term meaning I needed to work nights and weekends for no additional pay. (I was never lacking for cynicism...) But in order to appease my manager and keep my job, I prayed to God that I might learn good work habits and become a profitable servant.

Over time, I switched teams and got handed several projects that I became the "expert" of. In other words, nobody else wanted it, it was new, or I brought it with me from my old team. My clients would need something quickly and I had to build it for them with timeliness and quality. Several of them would forward on their appreciation for my efforts. Then another issue might arise with a different project or I'd receive a new one, and the cycle would continue. This same cycle occurred on my first team, but now I was suddenly aware of what true "ownership" was; it was responsibility for something that I had invested a great deal of time and effort into and got a great deal of appreciation out of.

There's a word here that's very significant: 'invested'. The difference between cleaning my parents' home and my own was that I was invested in my place. That's not to lessen the wonderful lessons I was taught by doing chores as a kid. But when you search for a house or apartment, sign all the paperwork, move all your stuff, decorate, pay rent and utilities, lock up and protect your place, it's a whole different ballgame. When they're my projects, they were far more important to me.

Likewise, rather than just getting rest on some random day of the week, the Sabbath became a whole day to invest in God, just as the Bible says He has invested in me. I attend services with like-minded brethren and invest in them, too. And as we study, pray, fast, meditate, serve, encourage and edify, we are investing in the soon-coming Kingdom that Christ Jesus will set up shortly on this earth!

'Work' takes on a different meaning for me when I am invested. Rather than drudging from deadline to deadline, each job has meaning and there are important lessons that can be derived from most every activity. When invested, I take the role of a servant leader to my manager, minister, clients, co-workers, brethren, and even strangers in that I will volunteer to do whatever it takes to give them what they need to thrive. More accurately, God places us in a position and hands us expectations spelled out over the duration of our calling, baptism and conversion, similar to a business. It should be our privilege to serve in this way and take ownership for what we're invested in.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Appreciation

I'd like to say a few words about appreciation today. And no, not the kind of appreciation that my home's value is unlikely to be receiving lately. Google's definition is, "understanding of the nature or meaning or quality or magnitude of something." 'Understanding' here, to me, is more than just an acknowledgment of something we think is good or helpful, it is also the deep feelings of value associated with something.

For example, I find God's Law, the Bible, wisdom and other spiritual concepts to be good and helpful. But I seem to have a stronger emotional reaction to physical things, perhaps a nice condo at the Feast, a fancy sports car, a fine wine, expensive clothes or shoes, a quality vacation, etc. I'm not saying that the spiritual things aren't better, as they obviously are. I'm referring to the fact that given my actions, I seem to be more naturally drawn to the physical than the spiritual. That said, I also recognize that when the Holy Spirit is truly working with me, it's far and away the most powerful experience I've had. But over time, while the memory of that experience remains, the feelings fade, as it does with the physical.

This comes as no surprise to me when I think about it. But the problem I'm having is that I don't think about it all that much. Sure, I study, pray, try to find ways to serve and what not, but I still find the pulls of the flesh more tempting. In order to do these spiritual things, I've had to make them habitual. I've gotten to the point that I've derived real value out of these activities, but when push comes to shove, I'd rather go shop for a new stereo than read an extra couple of chapters. "Oh, you wanted to hang out tonight? Okay, I can fast some other time." And so forth.

In other words, I'm okay with the daily routine of prayer, Bible study, etc., but in order to grow my current plateau, I think I need to increase the worth I place on spiritually-based activities in order to increase the amount I want do them versus the purely physical--or the kinds of things that are simply carnal pleasures. Carnal doesn't necessarily mean bad things, just not things that help you grow in grace and knowledge. I figure if I learn to grow in my desire to do these spiritual tasks and perhaps lessen the excitement I feel for the others, I will choose the eternal over the temporary. Or to steal the other meaning of the word 'appreciate', which is to grow in value, I'll appreciate my appreciation.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Talents

I was having a conversation with a friend about motivation the other day. During it, we were discussing a personality type that seems to put forth a lot of effort towards some stated goal, but rarely seems to finish the job. I told him I was at a loss for how one could encourage such individuals, so he suggested that I take a closer look at the parable of the talents. He thought this tale would be a good way to illustrate some important points on productivity. This suggestion prompted me to reread the parable of the talents within the context of motivation and productivity and their importance to God. The more I read and thought about it, a good number of helpful lessons became apparent.

First, let’s get the context of this story. Matthew 25:15 states, “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability.” The word ‘ability’ here signifies that the master knew how much each servant was capable of based on past performance. He obviously knew the servant to whom he gave five talents could handle a larger amount of responsibility and the servant given two talents with somewhat less.

The servant receiving only one talent was entrusted with the least. Perhaps the master knew this servant’s character displayed a clear lack of motivation judging by his past work as we will see later. It may have been a test for him, but that is speculation. We do know that he only gave him one talent, so his ability was deemed to be smaller than the others. Based on that understanding, we find out what the servant actually did with his money; he buried it in the ground (v18). It is possible that he had hoped God would tremendously bless him by growing a money tree, but that, too, is speculation.

Why did the last servant not do anything? Verses 24-25 give us his explanation: “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.” “See? No harm done. You got your talent back, even!” It’s not exactly clear what the servant was really afraid of, but it is clear he wasn’t fearful enough to actually have done anything with the money. Verse 26 shows the master’s reply to this excuse: “You wicked and lazy servant,” – obviously, the master wasn’t pleased that his servant did nothing with his money – “you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.”

The master explained that the servant’s clear understanding of his expectations should have motivated him to work rather than stop him from working. “So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.” Here, the master implies that the servant should have known to at least use bankers. It appears likely that the servant was educated enough to know this, but he simply refused to take the first step. It is imperative to begin working in order to gain momentum; otherwise we are merely dreaming and hoping. That is the first lesson we can glean here: Take one step.

If the last servant would have taken this first step, he would have already met the stated criteria of his master – to grow his investment. In doing so, he theoretically would have talked with the bankers and perhaps found other ways to invest his master’s money. He could have learned on the job while gaining knowledge and experience each step of the way. He had the opportunity to become a more profitable servant, but chose to pass it up because of a lack of motivation, true fear and respect for his master’s expectations.

Although the parable doesn’t say so, the master likely gave the last servant many chances to prove his worth before this final opportunity became the last straw. He ordered his other servants to “cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (v29). The second lesson is: if we won’t work, it won’t be pretty.

If we aren’t willing to work with God, He can’t work with us. “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?” (Amos 3:3). When we enter our covenant relationship with God, He expects us to do His will and become more like Him (John 15:14, Heb. 8:10). The consequences of not holding up our end of the bargain is destruction, yet it is mercifully so. We could not be happy living in a giving, sharing, loving and everlasting Kingdom such that God is preparing for us if we’re not willing to put forth the kind of effort required for it to stay that way.

Ecclesiastes 9:10 simply states that “whatever your hand finds to do, do it with [all] your might.” If one isn’t putting their full effort into each task they undertake, they likely won’t get the best results. If our whole attention isn’t given to the task at hand, there might be lessons that go unlearned and knowledge that is missed. Certainly, we cannot expect God to bless us to the fullest if we are only partly devoted to Him. Nor can we truly say that something wasn’t meant to be, or “God’s will,” if we didn’t really try our best. This is the third lesson: If you’re going to work, work hard.

The other servants did just that. The second servant, judged to be slightly more capable than the last servant, was given two talents by his master. He took that first step – and likely many more – worked hard, and earned double his master’s investment. “Therefore by their fruits you shall know them” (Matt. 7:20). His reward? Verse 23 says, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.” He was complimented for his hard work and given a portion of his master’s sizable inheritance. To summarize, there are two lessons here: we are judged by our fruits, not just our desire and effort, and hard work pays off.

While highly celebrated by his master, the second servant wasn’t quite as industrious as the first servant, who was given five talents and earned five more through trading (v20). This servant was judged by the master to be a go-getter and self-starter. It has been said that if you want something done, give it to the busiest person. The first servant was that kind of individual. This is demonstrated by verse 28: “So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.” This describes the sixth lesson: accomplishment generates a greater desire to produce more.

This hardly seemed fair to the other servants in the parallel account, who stated: “Master, he [already] has ten minas” (Luke 19:25). But the master replies: “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away” (Matt. 25:29). This practice might not appear fair at first glance, but it can be explained as the only fair way.

To illustrate, one point must be made about the kind of person the first servant was. These personality types are many times the top men of organizations or governments, much like a CEO, president or leading evangelist. They hone their efforts to become as efficient as possible. Every task undertaken is organized and prioritized so it gets done with quality. And they always try to keep the big picture in mind in order to keep themselves focused and moving in the right direction. People with this mindset do not sit around waiting for someone else to schedule a meeting or worry about every last detail. Rather, they get to work knowing they have plenty more to do later.

In essence, this industrious servant was of the pedigree that God could trust with that high level of workload. He displayed the motivation required and used his God-given talents to perform the job at hand. The lazy servant, if given such responsibility, would have likely caved under the pressure! It could be said that the second servant wouldn’t have even liked having that much responsibility, but was productive enough to handle and enjoy the amount he was given (Luke 19:19) because it better suited his skills and personality. God doesn’t need everyone to be CEOs and presidents, but he will test our character to see what we can handle. Similarly, each one of us must be motivated and productive in order to prove to ourselves what abilities we have. Positions in the Kingdom of God will match our skill set. The final lesson we can take from these profitable servants is: God prepares us for our perfect job.

We learn much about where we’ll fit in God’s awesome plan through our efforts in this physical life. The parable of the talents teaches us that motivation breeds productivity, responsibility, skills and knowledge that are required by God to rule in His Kingdom. These attributes, once started upon, will continue to increase asymptotically until they match God’s eternally flawless character. Finally, we will receive our inheritance, as He declares in Matthew 25:21: “Well done, GOOD and FAITHFUL servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Be Diligently Vigilant

I heard a story a long time ago about a guy, we'll call him Bob [his name was NOT Bob :) ] that was crossing the street, when all of the sudden, he was shoved in the back by a stranger. Knocked down by the incident, he furiously got up and found his assailant. This man, obviously winded, asked, "Are you okay?" Puzzled, Bob retorted, "Not after you knocked me down!! What were you thinking?!" The other man, obviously taken aback by this comment, replied, "You were almost hit by a speeding car! Crazy drivers these days!" "But I didn't see any car," Bob muttered, confused himself. "Well," the man said with a smile on his face, "I don't suppose you do see the car that hits you most times, do you?"

I remembered that story after thinking about getting caught off guard by sudden frustrations and temptations in my life. Wondering what to do about these problems as they catch me unaware along with the resulting filth I produce reminded me of I Peter 5:8-9. It states, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith..." I've heard and read this passage what seems to be hundreds of times, and occasionally, a fuller picture of what this scripture is really stating stikes me. However, recently, events have caused this and other passages like it to hit me more like a ton of bricks.

See, normally, I'm focused on the "your adversary the devil" part, and honestly, I think I look out for the more obvious evil attitudes or actions that would come from him. However, after analyzing myself and situations I frequently get myself into, I've realized more and more that we are to be vigilant against the far more subtle everyday occurrences influenced by the attitudes and confusion that Satan unleashes on this world.

Quick aside: Now, some of you (or the one person that may actually read this blog (thanks!!)) may be stating, "Duh." But epiphanies sometime hit us emotionally more than intellectually, and this is one of those occasions for me. When things strike at my person or emotional base, it causes me to seriously dig deep with real questions and begin a process of change. Whereas when I just intellectually understand something, it's generally more like, "That's such a cool idea! Ooh, look! A pretty bird!" And my mind is onto the next distraction, ala James 1:22-24 (the mirror passage).

But this whole concept much deeper than that to me, so I'll attempt to go into the line of thinking that led me to it (feel free to follow along if you'd like). It started out by analyzing some of the sins I've been having serious trouble overcoming. One thing I've learned from meditating on these sins is that knowledge helps us understand why we do things, but it doesn't necessarily help us to stop. So once I was satisfied with the fact that I had mostly understood why I was committing these sins repeatedly, the effects of them on me, my loved ones, and God, the spiritual fruits and gifts required to overcome them and even how those fruits helped and blended with God's other fruits and gifts to make life so much easier... (I'll take a deep breath now from this run-on sentence...) ...I started to look for the solution on how to actually stop committing them.

But upon trying to stop several times, I was led to understand that really didn't want to overcome these sins. I mean, I knew I needed to, and I know God requires us to act on what we know, otherwise it's sin to us. Yet I was being completely stubborn.

So I figured the way to gaining back this desire to change for the better was to study how to overcome stubbornness. I mean, the Bible has the answer for all of these kinds of questions, right? What I found shouldn't have surprised me, but it did... The Bible merely points out that people are stubborn and foolish, similar to the way it points out that people are prideful, arrogant, liars, fornicators, drunkards, idolators, etc. There was no way to "ease" out of being stubborn, no mantra I had to chant umpteen-thousand times, and asking God to "change me" over and over again, ala the persistent widow, wasn't going to work quite the way I hoped... <*sigh*> All it points out is the same solution for each and every one of our problems: humble yourself to God, allow Jesus Christ to work within you and, finally, simply DO what He tells us to do, wherever we learn it. I had to just man up and do it. A great quote that goes with this concept is given to us by Master Yoda, "Do or do not. There is no try."

I always take my advice from Muppets, don't you?

A physical example of this could be the day some of us look in the mirror or look down at our gut and say, "Wow, I need to exercise." And that thought quickly passes as we head to the fridge. Then a few weeks down the road, we finally get really sick of it and we might attempt a few sit-ups or take a long walk. But the follow-up is lacking. Finally, we realize that we need to get into a routine of exercise. Once again, it lasts for a while, but busy-ness, distractions, stress and just being utterly tired get in the way. Besides, that cheeseburger looked waaaay too good. But we learned how much better we could feel by trying...

Then it finally hits some of us. Real change can only take place when we notice that it's our entire lifestyle that needs to change. The kind of food we eat, the amount of sleep we get, the kind of exercise we do, the stresses we have, even the people we spend time with... It's at this point that it all becomes clear, and yet we have to make a choice: Am I really going to change my whole lifestyle, or am I going to go back and just be satisfied with what annoyed me so much before?

I give this example because it demonstrates that physical and spiritual problems can be viewed - and resolved - in much in the same way. The moment I realized I had to go all out kind of scared me, and yet it gave me clarity that I needed to go forward with the Just Do It attitude. There is no try over the long run...

So how in the world, after doing whatever bad habits we've done for who-knows-how-long (hence why Paul calls it the OLD man) do we suddenly change everything surrounding an issue? I mean, sure, if I did every right and good thing at once, it would be wonderful. But the initial inclination to stop at the first sign of any inconvenience is ridiculously high. It takes a ton of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy to get this fully-loaded cargo ship turned around in rough seas!

It was going to take all the will power I had, obviously. And then something else hit me... I was reading some old sermon notes how Jesus Christ had to constantly guard against evil in His life. Think for a moment about how difficult His job was. Sure, He had a ton of wisdom, experience and help. Yet if He messed up even once, ONCE, it ruined everything. How did He do it? By constantly having his guard up and being ready for anything. He never once let down, even while relaxing with His best buds over a glass of wine.

Coincidentally, I have said some of the meanest things to my friends over a glass of wine. I noticed that because of my comfort level, I felt I could say anything to them or about others and they would understand. Yet I keep finding out that harsh words from a good friend are like arrows shot through the heart. And looking back, those statements were rarely necessary. It's funny how, at least in my life, I treat perfect strangers better than I do my own family and friends a lot of times.

I finally saw that I, too, had to begin to get my guard up in all situations. I had to turn on my active sonar and begin scanning the world around me for possible tripping points. I had to anticipate what to do in case something happened. If I am particularly susceptible to some problem, then I need to have thought about how to stop it before it has an opportunity to present itself. Then when it occurs, I need to immediately act upon that!

When driving, most of us have learned to be defensive drivers. I've had cars come out of nowhere into my lane before when I didn't even have an inclination that they might. Similarly, I've had the most innocent situations erupt into a temper tantrum or a sin-fest. If I'm going to go all out, I have to be vigilant and always ready to counter temptation, no matter what shape it comes in. For example, I heard one minister say that we have to be in a constant state of forgiveness just in case somebody offends us.

Perhaps I should permanently keep my foot in my mouth so I stop myself from re-inserting it.

And of course, Jesus, in His off-time, went and prayed, sometimes entire nights. He never strayed from His Father in order that He would be guarding against those things that were really a problem, not just man-made ideas about what's bad. He was intimately familiar with the Scriptures (seeing as how He inspired them, Himself) so He wouldn't counter with the wrong words or actions. And if He knew to do something, He always did it.

I, who started this life as a mere mortal, get access to the same resources, too. However, I have to gain understanding and habits gradually over time by experience, advice, embarrassment and more embarrassment until we're finally sick of whatever we've become. Or we can choose to do what we're told in the same spirit as that of a child. Unfortunately, the older I get, the more stubborn I seem to become. Or as a friend recently put it, my conscience has become that much more seared from habitually choosing the wrong thing, and it is far more difficult to find out what's wrong with me, much less change. I guess it's in my best interest to make sure I'm in the right mold before the cement completely dries, so to speak. Otherwise, God will have to get out his trusty pick axe.

So I finally got back around to our opening scripture in I Peter 5. Be SOBER. Be VIGILANT! Sober (or nepho in Greek) means to abstain, be discreet or watchful. Vigilant (or gregorgeuo) means to keep awake, or also watchful. Satan is constantly throwing stumbling blocks into our path in obvious and sometimes completely obscured places to us. What may be obvious to a friend, we are blind to. We must, at all times, be in a state of awareness of what's going on around us regardless if we're amongst hungry lions or sleeping lambs (isn't that where it's easiest for hungry lions to attack?). Satan is always on the prowl regardless of how much we let our guard down.

I found another scripture that talks about being sober-minded: the qualifications of an elder in I Timothy 3 and Titus 1. It's interesting how the job of a shepherd requires constant watchfulness. They are having to watch out vigilantly to defend their flock from outsiders trying to destroy or chase off members. Ministers must not be given to wine or quarrelsome, yet be gentle, hospitable, unmaterialistic and filled with self-control. These qualifications are to keep the overseer, himself, from doing damage to the flock. That said, the responsibility on the shoulders of each minister is that much heavier than that which is on us laymembers. And God even states that teachers are held to a stricter judgment (James 3:1) in a similar way that Jesus was held to the highest standard possible. Any falter would have greater consequences on God's people. Yet ministers are generally more humble, teachable, serving and loving than I have ever hoped to be. Why? I believe it's because they see the tremendous amount of responsibility placed on their shoulders and the seriousness of their role causes them to remain on high alert as Christ did.

These are the men responsible for actually living up to the "true religion" James points out in his epistle. Their job requires them to get to know all the members, visit the elderly and those in prison, go and annoint those who may be on their death bed, and in some cases, watch them die. They assist people with counseling and carry the burden of each person's issues in confidence without being able to "vent" to others about it. And they have to deal with troublemakers and make tough decisions on how to deal with such individuals. Yikes! Oh, and they speak and write and plan activities, camps and Feast sites from time to time, too.

How about me? Does my life carry the same kind of weight? Do I have a great deal of responsibility placed on my shoulders, too?

I believe the way we individually answer that question will guide how much we're vigilantly anticipating each word or action that comes our way. Heroes and champions have a way of rising to the challenge and God is making champions today. The weapons of God's warriors can be found in Ephesians 6:13-18 and other places. Will we bend our will towards him so He can bend us straight? Will we ask Him to show us what we need to see?

How clearly do I want to see? On one hand, the less blinded I am, the more vigilant, the more responsibile and the more accountable I'm expected to be, which requires more work and diligence. On the other hand, we are to be promoted by God to a position far higher than earthly ministers. And we are to let Christ live in us. If He is truly living in us, then He will cause us to walk as circumspectly as He did.

It's a tall order. I already have that uneasy feeling like there's no way I can maintain it for all that long. And yet, like a muscle being exercised, the pain will subside and we will grow stronger. And like a healthy person, I know I won't look at junk in the same way I did before. God wants us in His Kingdom and He'll stop at nothing to get us there. But it's we that have to be willing to ACT on what God is teaching us today along with tireless, ceaseless anticipation for what this world has to throw at us next.

Monday, May 04, 2009

You Can't Fix Chrysler By Fiat...

I've attempted to stay out of the political mess for awhile now (mainly by not blogging), but this comic seems to summarize my latest view on the Presidential administration as of late. I've taken a wait-and-see approach when it came to President Obama. I actually liked many of the things he was saying early on because they actually sounded like ideas that were thought out and well-reasoned. He seemed to stress personal responsibility, parental help on education, a renewed focus on domestic issues that required common sense, not just money being thrown at them, etc.

I didn't necessarily enjoy how the media and a mass of people fawned all over him with the idea that he would answer their every heart's desire. I also didn't like the Republican response (equaled by the Democrats during the Bush administration) that everything the man says must be wrong and countered by an opposing idea. But, after all, that is American politics.

But as this comic sort of demonstrates, and as many people opposing Mr. Obama have "known", he has spoken one thing and done something different on a number of occasions. The most recent one that irked me was the restructuring of Chrysler. Fundamentally, I have no problem with letting that ship sink (I have owned two Dodge Stratuses and they both had major quality issues). When President Obama forced their hand into making the tough decisions quickly and decisively, something they should have been doing for the last several years, I applauded him.

However, what has come of the situation is disconcerting... Just before bankruptcy started last week, the government offered the major debtholders 30 cents on the dollar repayment and very little control over the company after the company exited bankruptcy. Perhaps that should have been enough for them seeing as how they made a poor investment and the government was offering them an out. But the government was trying to save this company, and thus it makes more sense to try to stay on-board and try to recoup their losses... Hopefully far above 30%. Some of these lending institutions noted that the only companies who were applauding the government's plan were those who were already given government money (TARP), whereas those who stayed out of the housing and credit mess were going to lose their hat over this deal. These untarnished groups called themselves the "Non-TARP Lenders to Chrysler." So they decided to say no to the deal feeling it wasn't a good one while noting there were strings being pulled on those companies who were already hand-tied by the government. One article snarkily stated that "the government in essence called the group's bluff - since lenders are worse off in bankruptcy than outside of it." Bluff?? This is no standard bankruptcy! (I'm no expert in business bankruptcy, but I seem to recall the fact that in a standard Chapter 11, most lenders get a first dibs in whatever is sold off.)

Let me to further demonstrate some of the stench eminating from this deal: The party posed to receive the largest portion of this whole deal just happens to be the group largely associated with the company's demise (outside of the old leadership's ineptitude): the United Auto Workers union! A 55% share to be exact. The same group who strongly supported Mr. Obama, and hundreds of other Democrats, on their way to office, I might add! Granted, some sources say that even a majority share of stock in the company won't get the UAW more than one seat at the board member table and hardly the ability to run the company, as seen in previous deals with United Airlines and other companies.

What's interesting here, however, is the fact that the greed of the union will cause it to almost immediately have to sell off its share of those stocks just to pay for the pensions and retirees' health benefits it tirelessly worked for over the last several decades. Many of those shares will be sold to Fiat, an Italian automaker who specializes in smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles (which I'm ecstatic over after driving a 50 mpg turbo-diesel car in Wales for the Feast), who will take controlling share of the company and hopefully prop it back up into a respectable company once again. This isn't necessarily a sign of the Beast power rising as Germany has already tried to revive Chrysler, via the Daimler Group, and failed.

I may be stretching, but this all sounds metaphorical to me... Think about it: Political wranglings over greed and special interests of a mismanaged organization leading to failure, requiring help from a foreign conglomeration who won't be able to untangle the major issues that got them into the mess in the first place. Thus causing this foreign entity to eventually dismantle it, sell off the profitable parts and destroy the rest due to its unsupportable weight. Hmmm, that sounds like the predicament the U.S. is finding itself in. Okay, that's probably trying to read too much into it. :) Stay tuned to find out...

Friday, April 24, 2009

Dirty, Dirty Swine

Another interesting development in the flu department... The swine flu is going around both in Mexico and in a tiny population in California. Now, we've been pummeled with information about the bird flu for the last several years. But last year, Mr. Weston posted something interesting on the Living Youth web site that I had never encountered before. He stated that while the flu originates with birds, it takes pigs to make into something that becomes more human transmissible. I kind of put that on the shelf until I had more time to research that, but this article on MSNBC sort of restated that assertion:

"Scientists keep a close eye on flu viruses that emerge from pigs. The animals are considered particularly susceptible to both avian and human viruses and a likely place where the kind of genetic reassortment can take place that might lead to a new form of pandemic flu, said Dr. John Treanor, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Rochester Medical Center."
I wouldn't call that an outright declaration that the flu came from people eating pigs (which are declared unclean for human consumption by God, if you haven't heard). But it certainly backs up Mr. Weston's earlier assumption. Anyway, it was something I found interesting...

Friday, March 06, 2009

Faith and Credit

Have you ever read something and shuddered? Boy, I just did. Basically, the FDIC, the federal insurance agency for covering deposits held by banks going out of business, stated this week that they will likely run out of money by the end of this year without new, higher fees charged to those banks that are still solvent. In other words, the agency that gives the federal government the ability to say, "Don't freak out and rush your bank, we've got your deposits covered," may not be able to do so without a lot of help. That in itself is a shudder-able statement...

However, the wonderful congress of the United States, who lately seem to have figured out that money does indeed grow on trees, "'cuz as long as we got us some paper, we can print all we want!", have proposed to borrow out an additional $500 BILLION to help the FDIC. The spokesman for the FDIC had this to say on the subject (and thus, the shuddering followed closely behind):
The FDIC is "backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government," Gray said. "We can and always will be able to meet our obligations to depositors."

I think that speaks for itself, but allow me to point out two words that are clearly frightening - "faith" and "credit" - especially in regard to the United States government. I don't know about you, but my "faith" in the United States government, much less its financial ability to do anything, makes me want to pull my money out of the banks and hide it under my mattress. However, it's the "credit" of this country that will make such an action pointless since we will likely be paying $200+ for a loaf of bread in the next couple of years if we keep wrecklessly spending money like we are. And that's assuming the nice countries out there who obviously only have our best interests in mind keep buying all that debt up.

So to follow those two words in their context with, "We can and always will be able to meet our obligations to depositors" just seems preposterous unless taken in the context that your deposit will be completely worthless by the time you withdraw it.

I dunno, I'm sure I'm overreacting, but pulling piles of bills worth hundreds of billions of dollars out of our behinds seems to be getting ridiculous, and I don't care how well or targeted you spend it. I have no idea how this will all catch up to us in the end, but the vision of men grabbing their stomach and loins in a similar way to labor pains begins to come to mind. Wailing and gnashing of teeth?? Dentists will be capping a lot of them assuming they could even get paid for their services.

End of Rant

Monday, March 02, 2009

Snitch

This post is kind of a follow-up to a post I wrote back in April entitled "Duuuuuuude!". So I'm reading the morning news and come across this quote in an article about Mrs. Clinton's exploits in the Middle East:


"U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed doubt Monday that Iran would respond to the Obama administration's diplomatic initiatives toward Tehran on nuclear and other issues, a senior State Department official said.

Clinton made the statement in a private meeting with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who had expressed to Clinton a concern among Persian Gulf nations that Obama might make a deal with Iran without full consultation with U.S. allies. The official who described the exchange spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private."


And we wonder why Iran doesn't trust us. Aside from the thought that Mrs. Clinton may have wanted this information leaked, although such reasons I cannot fathom at this point, I think there are two interesting things to learn here.

Point one, don't be a talebearer (Prov. 11:13). I think that's obvious. Why such an individual would want to reveal issues of national security on such a delicate issue is beyond me. Perhaps this individual felt this point was so obvious, so it would not infringe on future talks. However, we're dealing with a new President and cabinet and his opinions and methods may differ from those of his predecessor. Keeping this kind of information close to the vest, especially with allies who could possibly make a difference in smoothing out issues with a nation we have such a volatile relationship with, seems to be the wisest course of action here. We may have our inclinations of what another nation, or individual, may do, but we don't know for sure, so it's probably not worth spilling the beans until they've had a fair opportunity to prove otherwise.

Which leads me to point two: Why did this even get said in the first place - even in private? As someone who has regularly shared and overshared my thoughts and opinions on a variety of topics and issues, including on my closest relationships, I can relate with Mrs. Clinton in her dealings with Iran. Iran is seemingly a weird nation with a weird culture to her and it's making weird, seemingly chaotic and self-destructive decisions, so she's simply expressing her disbelief to a confidant. However, as I have more recently learned, if something is said in confidence, you better hope the individual you said something about won't mind, because they could easily hear about it later. So measure your words carefully. Not everybody, as we have seen, has learned point number one above, so it's very possible to have something spoken in secret blabbed to everybody, including the subject of the secret. Matthew 10:26 states that God will one day make known the thoughts and actions that we try to hide. Which, when I think about it, SUCKS!

Of course, Mrs. Clinton didn't need to act completely naive towards this situation with Iran as though she were some sort of Pollyanna, but she could have at least displayed some hope in reconciliation with them. After all, isn't Hope and Change the key buzzwords of this current administration? And similarly, I think it is worthwhile to have more hope in our friends and relatives around us - to give them the benefit of the doubt and allowing them to change should they be doing so. After all, one definitely difficult lesson I've had to learn recently was the difference between my theory of what someone is thinking and doing and actually knowing what someone is thinking and doing. Keep the theory to yourself and that person may surprise you! And hey, I like pleasant surprises. Just insinuating that they're going to screw it up like they always do will just turn an opportunity for expressing confidence in someone to grow and change into a self-fulfilling prophesy of repeated failure.

Hopefully, Mrs. Clinton's words, carelessly repeated by a talebearing "official", do not ruin an opportunity, regardless of it's likelihood, to reconcile our relationship with Iran.

[Follow-up: Having more carefully read the article, it's the Associated Press journalist that seems to have put the negative spin on Mrs. Clinton's words. Her words are carefully chosen as diplomats usually do (my favorite, Mr. Clore's description of Pres. Obama's ideology: "He has a compelling narrative." Brilliantly worded to reveal exactly what it is rather than how he feels about it). The quote: "We have no illusions, Mr. Chairman, that even with a new administration, looking to try to engage Iran in a way that might influence its behavior, that we can predict the results... Our eyes are wide open on Iran." So perhaps, shame on the media, too, for being reckless with word choice on what our Secretary of State actually said rather than just reporting how it made them feel.]

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

One Reason I'm Sick

Nutritionists have been discovering more and more about Omega-3 fatty acids lately, but I hadn't read anything like this before about them. Basically, in the Good Ol' Days when cows and chickens grazed the pastures for their food, choosing the choicest green grasses and plantlife over years rather than months, they ate a larger amount of cellulose that provided our dairy products and meat with omega-3s. However, today, we're just packing farm animals together and feeding them wheat, soy bean, seed oil and corn. These ingredients contains fats from the other fatty acid, omega-6, which is more rigid and used shape our cells. Omega-3s are more flexible and help us fight inflammation among other things (that's what the article said, anyway). That said, the average diet 100+ years ago before the days of commercial farming had a ratio of 1:1 omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. Today's ratio is more like 20:1... Which might explain why food allergies (inflammation), asthma (inflammation), cancer (mutation and then inflammation) and, of course, my IBD (inflammation is the first word) are all on the rise. They've even linked it to diabetes, depression and heart disease. Crazy...

The article states that they're going to fortify future foods with omega-3s, which should help turn things around. However, I always wonder what additional catalysts, enzymes and other useful ingredients those cow and chicken (and of course, a current source: small, fatty fish) by-products provided to us we're missing. I guess I trust God's design more for some reason. I'm grateful our scientists are figuring this stuff out now and hopefully we'll see some turnarounds in the future for these problems. However, just like a few years ago when they discovered ulcers were caused by bad bacteria overgrowth, they went crazy in prescribing a certain kind of antibiotic that got rid of the ulcer-producing bacteria. However, in doing so, they killed off the same or similar bacteria cultures that were SUPPOSED to be there for to regulate and help the lungs and respitory system, thus causing asthma-like symptoms... Something else I contracted and have since gotten over (for different, but possibly similar reasons) thanks to exercise and better eating habits.

After reading Mr. Apartian's article "Have You Had the Mumps... Yet?", I get the sense that while I can blame the food industry along with our own ignorance of these biological complexities, I need to really evaluate if I really have a greater role in eating right. Perhaps all the restaurants and grocery store meat and produce are lacking in the nutrients we require, but should I blame someone else and then go ahead and eat? There are other options, as Annette and others have pointed out. Even if you don't have land to plant a garden, you can work together with those to those who do in planting one, assisting with the work, in order to get a healthier food supply. Rachel and I started buying our own beef from a farmer, one who unfortunately uses commercial farming practices, but nonetheless, we've know it's possible to find a farmer who doesn't since we've left the idea of grocery store meat behind for the most part. When we lived in a townhome, we had friends store meat for us until we had money to purchase a deep freeze.

These are just ideas I have running around my head. Perhaps we in the Church really do need to analyze far more where our food comes from and realize that we have a large role in our own deteriorating health and can actually do something soon to stop it. Doing so may give us a food supply when our current source of food has shortages. And while the health gains may not be immediate, I've always been told that we're reaping today what we've sown 5-10 years ago, how much more true that could be 5-10 years from now when the food supply may be just a few molecules away from almost being plastic... Perhaps that's an overstatement, but I'm not willing to take a chance on it anymore. For those of us with inflammation problems, diseases, cancer, heart problems and stroke, or those who will, the time is now to start changing.