Who Are You Not What Are You Good At

I finally got to watch The Wrestler recently. I saw a film that told a wonderful morality play along the lines of what happens when you invest your life into something at the cost of everything and you are defined by what you do rather than investing in who you are called to be as a character.

This is particularly poignant if we are particularly good at what we are doing – if it gets us acclaim, fame and that glimmer of glory that is like a whiff of something intoxicating, alluring and compulsively addictive. We are good at it, so we become one with it and no longer have the emotional or character skills to deal with life when we are no longer the best at what we do and there is nothing left to life for us.

Someone said that it was a film that dragged for her, but to me it travelled at a measured pace ticking all the journey marks of a good story – tell the basic areas of the character’s life, introduce the main character, let us know what the main theme of the brother’s life is, give us the crucial up and down points, lead us to the finish. It does this well, it takes us on an emotional rollercoaster but in no way at a stomach churning pace.

So I enjoyed watching the film and came away thanking God again that He has delivered us from any other preoccupation other than being His sons, so that I don’t find my identity in anything else than that – not what I do, or who knows me or how well I am known. I also left hoping others would likewise be set free from such a dangerous clinch on the world and the things of the world.

To be lonely is a very sad thing and there we don’t have true love that forgives, that puts relationships as a priority and that can allow us to find contentment in the simplicity of life and not be wracked by a need to be fulfilled by the temporary.

So I was reflecting on some of the lessons I learnt from The Wrestler and continued reading the book of the moment which is the autobiography of Eric Bristow I was walking home and as usual thinking. The Bristow book is definitely about a man who became obsessed with something he was good at to the cost of virtually everything else. Whilst taking all that in, I thought again about King David’s issue with Bathsheba (found in 2 Samuel 11 and 12).

There is a reading of the story that goes as follows. David took time off from doing what he’s always meant to be doing, i.e. leading the troops. Because he took that time off he was susceptible to being caught off guard and hence the whole mess and so the lesson to learn is to always be at our post doing what we’re meant to be doing so we don’t foul up as David did.

The problem with that reading is that it doesn’t actually address the fact that David’s actions with Bathsheba exposes the dark heart of what David is capable of to himself more than anyone. It exposes his spiritual bankruptcy and vulnerability to the many sins that plague a lot of men. To leave it down to the brother taking a break actually reinforces the sort of thinking that makes the Protestant Ethic such a popular thing for work-a-holics.

There is something to be said about being where you need to be, doing what need to be doing so as not to be caught out. In this case, however, there is more to it than that. It fits a better picture of our growing understanding of what the life of every faith-traveller reveals – after the initial encounter with God others follow like this that are not meant for someone’s elevation but again to bring the traveller to an appreciation of their utter dependency on God because of the deeper issues in life.

I trust that out identity will continually be tried by God so that all the dross is dealt with, in whatever season of life and we won’t be dependent on something we’re good at or something we desire of limited value. Rather our desire will again be determined by God telling us that we are His and He is ours.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Management, Meekness, Moses and Me

Recently I attended a meeting that was set up to organise a function to be held soon. I like to keep it vague so that no one gets hurt. Kinda.

Anyway, one thing that became very clear to me as I entered the meeting and noticed the atmosphere from the people in attendance was that there remains a great truth in the saying power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is something about the whiff of power that can turn people’s heads. It can make them think of themselves as ever so slightly superior to others, with the clout that they have and the ability to exercise it whenever they want. Not only that but that faint promise that they can truly have whatever they want in that sphere of existence.

I am aware of myself. I am aware of my nature and tendencies and I am not one to suggest at all that the whiff of power would not entice to me likewise. As a result I’m very wary of any area that might give me that impression. Many a story has been told of people who enter positions of power with noble intentions who are very soon compromised by the many factors involved in the executing, maintaining and progressing of that power.

That’s what makes the story of Moses all the more fascinating. Here was a guy who was aware of his destiny from a young man and only his impetuous nature and anger management issue made him try to act before his time. His intentions were no doubt noble, but it was such a serious misfire that from a position of power and prominence in the super power of the known world he was on the run in the middle of the wilderness.

Whatever happened in the ensuing time, what is clear is that the man who was called in the Burning Bush episode was no longer the bravado social justice hero messiah figure that he would have been 40 years earlier. It is not to say he lost the ability, the intelligence, the rhetoric style or anything else. What it is to say that by the time God commissions him on the great work of the era he is ready to be used by God. That is the key to meekness as I read it. It’s not to say it is about weakness, but it is implicitly based on that humility from experience that due to our unerring ability to mess things up, it would be good to actually give the controls back to the owner rather than try to play by ourselves.

Of course Moses’ own anger management issues would be his own downfall preventing him for stepping into that which God had promised his people.

That acknowledgement leads me to the point about management and the issue with the power trip. I notice Jesus wasn’t big on people getting ideas of power and the whole trip of titles and position. Indeed He was more than happy to show that the power of love was in giving it away, not hoarding it to exhibit as an ego trip. The problem with power unattached to responsibility is that for some reason rather than making a decision because of our stewardship call, we begin to believe that hype that maybe we are good enough to be in charge, to wield the power, to be the big chief making all the big decisions. That problem is quickly remedied by the ever helpful reminder that without the Creator in control, and giving the instructions to make sure we go the right way in our management there is a great likelihood that a mess will be in the offing sooner.

The management mentality and meekness goes together well then – that which we have is not our own, it belongs to the Maker of all things. That we are able to exercise some level of engagement with it at all is not something to take lightly, but something to place in the context of the relationship that made it possible. Does that make it look like a restricted, dour existence? Not if it is actually an invitation to live a joyful life of freedom allowing us to be whatever we are called to be to contribute to making life worth living in preparation to a better one to come.

That of course, then, just requires me to do the small thing of learning how to be meek all of again and not making the mistake of thinking that by myself I can make it. I blatantly cannot and life is much better in His will than without it. God help us all.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

What Is It About The Teaching On The Mount?

It’s fair to say what is often referred to as the Sermon on the Mount has not always captured my imagination.

Indeed I got a bit bored with people taking snippets from it and having them as poster campaigns for their own agendas. Like the ‘Judge not lest ye be judged’ mob that defiantly went about telling others they couldn’t be judged as only God could judge them. Or the ‘golden rule’ crew who just went about thinking it was a decent ethos to go about saying do to others as you’d have done to you. I was brought up in a church was a bit of a stickler for getting the Word right.

Not that we got the Word right ourselves, after all our church hardly grew out, in, up or down – that’s not a slight, more of a general fact. In any case as a stickler for the Word it wasn’t always cool seeing people nick these bits and pieces without getting the whole thing. Not that I ever thought about getting the whole thing myself.

That changed in 2006 though. I’ve yet to write about how significant a year that was in my own spiritual development but it was a renaissance period for me in a number of ways. One of those ways was to go back to basics again checking what it was to love God – for who He revealed Himself to be in His Word rather than the faith of my father or the doctrine of the church in which I was brought/dragged up.

One of those fundamental building blocks was an appreciation all over again of the Beatitudes. You’ll know it’s something when I committed them all to memory and let it soak in me especially the fourth one that focussed on hungering and thirsting after righteousness. I got in major deep into that section of scripture and realised just how much I had to start from the beginning in cultivating a living relationship with God through His Son. As you can imagine it was one of the best things that ever happened to me. More on that in a future blog I hope.

That as you may have calculated was three years ago and since then I’ve had my fancy taken with other scriptures and theological concepts. In the background however has always been especially that Beatitude and the issues that spring from that, for example a definition of righteousness that doesn’t capitulate to having right this or right that – a bit too tautological for my liking.

Anyway along life’s journey since then I’ve come across a book or two on what I prefer to refer to as the Teaching on the Mount. (After all at the start it says he taught and at the end people were amazed at what he taught, it occurred to me that perhaps calling it a teaching might be a tad more accurate. Having said that it’s obviously later scholars who referred to it as a sermon just as some bright spark referred to the first part as Beatitudes.) As this year has proceeded I was drawn again to the theme of this tremendous teaching.

A friend of mine came across a dude who majored on the piece of scripture and that caught my interest and I began to be a lot more interested in seeing the Beatitude in its context. As love would have it then just as I was skirting round the edges the whole topic became the subject of our recent 13-week study. So now I get the chance to mix life, business and pleasure and share what I love about it as I study it and reflect on how I put it in practice and how it convicts of the areas that still are in need of better practice.

On reading it as regularly as I am at the moment the thing that catches my eye about this brilliant monologue is how Jesus is not just outlining and clarifying how the law was fulfilled when it was a part of our hearts turning us into the character of our Father, but how He Himself typifies all that we talk of. The point of worship is to show love for God and that is first expressed in the profession of faith in Jesus and here He outlines what that faith means for our heart’s attitude to God and to others.

Also as I read it, the thing becomes ever clearer to me in terms of how it should be read as one. Not just a collection of random thoughts by Jesus as to what would Kingdom life be like, but one coherent piece pointing people not just to the Kingdom or Kingdom living, but to the King Himself and how He stands as an example for us to follow. I’m drawn by the counter-intuitive and counter-cultural quality of this teaching. I’m drawn to how it challenges me to be light and salt not by conforming but by being distinctive and a clear beacon to others of who God is. I’m excited by the power of the secret life of prayer, fasting and giving and how that helps us to get priorities straight in not worrying about temporal worldly stuff, but getting caught up with the things that matter.

I love the areas that remain a bit mysterious – what the pearls and swine bit all about really? I’m sobered up pretty quickly by the definition of a hard way through a narrow gate. I’m particularly made sharp by the reality of professing Christians being called workers of lawlessness because Jesus does not know them as evident particularly from their fruits. I don’t just read, I envisage Jesus teaching it whilst using word imagery to get people’s heads grasping what He’s saying. I get caught up with the flow of the piece and am brought to a sombre yet stimulating close by the house analogy. I can easily see why people get carried away with it, it is a brilliant piece of work. As I explore further I hope to share some of the things that come to me and let it settle with you.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Peace and Love

Coming across songs that don’t have that great a public exposure but have a solid lyrical message with a brilliant musical hook is a great joy to me. Now this is all about connections.

You’re aware that I’m a Jon Gibson fan. Yeah, you know that. I love the man’s music big time and I obviously don’t blog about him enough. On an album he did not too long ago he worked with a brother called Tommy Sims to do a song I’ve treasured ever since I’ve heard it called There For You. If you remind me I’ll blog it and share the goodness.

Even more scandalously is the lack of Marvin Winans that has been evident on this blog. Now here is a brother who’s talent for singing and writing quality songs has helped me a great deal in life. All I have to refer you to him is a brilliant spoof of the guy by a Christian comedian called Broderick Rice.

Well as love would have it, Tommy did an album displaying his undoubted music talent and who should be his guest vocalist on the main track? So just thought I’d take the time to allow you to enjoy it for all it’s worth and I really will have to do something about the lack of quality music on this blog. By that I’m talking quantity, not disrespecting the stuff that’s already here!

Enjoy this beauty about two of my favourite words outside ‘baked’ and ‘beans’.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

He Gets About

I was recently reflecting on just how God is in everything. Not in the deist sense of things where He is the trees, the river, the birds, etc. I mean it in the sense that if I have the eyes to see and the ears to hear I’ll experience Him in every situation I face in life. Whether it’s His commitment to joy seen in the playfulness of my girls, His character of compassion seen in the young people crying out for love at the YMCA, the call to patience and perseverance when I’m on a shopping trip with all the female members of the household and they’re being a pain of one sort or the other. He gets about. That He shows me glimpses of His character in these events reminds me of my responsibility to seek Him in all aspects of my life. It also reminds me of His incredible grace and mercy

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd