The Days of Our Lives
“For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” - Psalm 90:9-12 ESV
So far, I have lived for approximately 11,719 days give or take a few for leap years. I don’t know how many days I have left on this planet. No one does. Sometimes we think of our lives in terms of years, yet our lives are lived one day at a time. That gives us a day at a time to make this life worth something. Not looking out towards the distant future, but one day at a time. When we are little, everything seems like it is so far away. We can’t wait to hit double digits; then we can wait to be teenagers; then we can’t wait to start driving; then we can’t wait until we are18; then we can’t wait to drink; we can’t wait until our insurance goes down at 25; then we start to want to pump the breaks a little bit as we approach age 30; the we cross over the 30 mark and barrel down towards our mid thirties; then here comes 40; and so on and so on, if you are fortunate enough to keep going. But each of these milestones in life was a day. And there were a bunch of days before it that we had to live. But how we live those days is up to us.
In Psalm 90, Moses is actually teaching us how to be fruitful with whatever number of days God gives us. He says that we may get 70 or 80 years if we are lucky in this life and some of those days are spent in toil and trouble. But if we can learn to consider God during those days, then we can gain a heart of wisdom to use our time on this earth in an productive way. And I am not just talking about what we do for a living. I am talking about spending our time on what actually matters.
This past week, we experienced natural disasters that we don’t normally see in my area; an earthquake, tornados and a hurricane. For some, these event will just pass by as just another day. But for 9 people at least in the path of hurricane Irene, their lives were cut short. One of them was an 11 year old boy. He didn’t live to see 4,380 days. For those 9 people, their days on this earth ended. We always hear the saying about it’s not about the date you are born and the date you die, but what you do with the “dash” in between. But that’s usually saved for things like funerals when the people sometimes take a moment to actually reflect on their life and what they do with it. But I think that for us to do what we are called to do on this earth and live on purpose, we need to think, not in terms of years of our lives, but the ‘days” of our lives. And we need to do it often, not just at a funeral.
For some, the “Days” of their lives are drama (ha, ha - pun intended). Filled with useless arguments, wasted opportunities, unspoken words, deep regrets and painful memories. For others, each day is a new chance to make their lives a little better by living in it. Moses‘ prayer was to have God teach us to number our days in order that we get a heart of wisdom. There is wisdom in making every day of your life count for something. There is wisdom in not always putting things off for a future that may never come, but using the time you have wisely. There is wisdom in making the most of every day you are given and moving on from past hurts and disappointments and mistakes. If you learn to number your days, it may sound depressing, but you might find that you begin to live your life more purposeful. I have a lot of good memories in my 11,719 days lived on this planet. I have some bad memories in those same number of days. But if I look at it in terms of days, I feel better about the bad ones, because the good ones far outweigh the bad. And every day that God gives me is a day to make it a good one. Somehow, some way, I can make some good happen daily.
Living life one day at a time is wise. And Moses also said that it seemed like no one considered God’s power during their time on this earth. How many days do you consider how powerful God is? How many days of your life do you spend worried about how strong the enemy is, or has been in your life? How many days of your life will you spend lamenting over how much someone else hurt you? How long will you not consider how strong God is to bring you to another day, where you have the most powerful force in the universe on your side? How many days will you continue to waste on things that are beneath who you are in Christ?
The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. But that does not mean that you are afraid of God. It means that you know how powerful and strong He is, and you are grateful that He is on your side. Grateful that He has given you His spirit to be your guide. Grateful that He has promised to be with you all the days of your life. Grateful that every day, you are forgiven for not being perfect. Grateful that in Christ, you are perfected everyday. No matter how many or how few days you have. God is with you everyday. He is on your side everyday. You can talk to Him everyday. You can embrace your “true” self everyday. You can cast off fear everyday. You can walk in faith everyday. And if you mess it up, you can try again tomorrow if He gives you another day. But don’t take your days for granted. You don’t know how many you have. So make today count.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The Al Bundy Syndrome
The Al Bundy Syndrome
“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’” Haggai 2:9 ESV
Remember the show “Married With Children”? The father, AL Bundy was a shoe salesman who hated his life. He never wanted to have sex with his wife. His kids basically had to fend for themselves. He hated his next door neighbor and always called her a chicken. The show was comical! I used to love it. The one thing he always brought up was his glory days in high school when he was a start quarterback. He always talked about Polk High School, and how he scored four touchdowns in one game. That memory would always take him back to a place and time when he felt like “the man”! The time when he peaked in his athletic career. And he loved meeting back up with people from those days who remembered him for his success.
In thinking about this particular scripture in Haggai, I was reminded of Al Bundy. Israel was kind of like that. They were in the process of rebuilding the temple that was destroyed. The former temple was amazing! Solomon built it and it was a great symbol of Israel’s wealth and power in the world at that time. People from everywhere looked at the temple and concluded that God must have loved Israel and blessed them because those were their glory days. They had peace in the land; incredible wealth; a famous king; notoriety and respect. Them, according to scripture, because they turned away from God and forgot that it was He who gave them this power, God sent them into captivity through Babylon, Persia and Assyria. Where they were formally living in wealth and freedom, them found themselves in slavery to other nations who took their symbols of wealth and destroyed the temple. Everything that they looked to as a symbol of God’s blessing on them was taken away. And seventy years later, they were tasked with rebuilding the temple.
But the new temple didn’t look like the old one. It didn’t have as many amenities that they had before. There was less gold and silver and bronze. It wasn’t as big as it was back in the day. It may have been quite disappointing to Israel to see that they were being given a chance to rebuild, but it didn’t have as much “stuff” as they did before. God was encouraging Israel that His presence was not evident by a temple made by the hands of men. He was always with them, regardless of their outward conditions. It may have looked like they had less wealth and power than they had before, but God’s presence was all they needed. And if they had that, then they would always be a reflection of His glory.
This same syndrome can be true for us in many ways. Many of us are looking back to the days when we had more money, more popularity, more fame, more success in our eyes. It may look like God is not “blessing” you in the same way He did in the past. But the one thing we have to remember is that the presence of God in our lives is not indicated by how much Stuff we accumulate. As a matter of fact, it is often evident more so in the fact that without all of our “stuff” God still provides. This of how much “stuff” Jesus owned. Not much. Not even a home. Yet there was no question of how much God was with him.
The more we get stuck on our self-proclaimed glory days, the less we focus on what God can do and is doing in our life right now. Your best days are not behind you, they are ahead of you. Regardless of how much you have materially. If you fall into the trap of thinking that the best of your life was lived in the past, then you will get stuck there. You will miss the opportunity to embrace the life that God called you to live in the present. God was with you when you scored four touchdowns in one game, and God is with you now. God was with you when you became prom queen and God is with you now. God was with you when you had a six figure income and God is with you now. God was with you when you when you won those awards and God is with you now. It doesn’t matter what physical manifestations you have or don’t have. If God is with you, then you have all you need right now. Never-mind what you had before. It was not the best of what God can do in your life. The best is yet to come.
“The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’” Haggai 2:9 ESV
Remember the show “Married With Children”? The father, AL Bundy was a shoe salesman who hated his life. He never wanted to have sex with his wife. His kids basically had to fend for themselves. He hated his next door neighbor and always called her a chicken. The show was comical! I used to love it. The one thing he always brought up was his glory days in high school when he was a start quarterback. He always talked about Polk High School, and how he scored four touchdowns in one game. That memory would always take him back to a place and time when he felt like “the man”! The time when he peaked in his athletic career. And he loved meeting back up with people from those days who remembered him for his success.
In thinking about this particular scripture in Haggai, I was reminded of Al Bundy. Israel was kind of like that. They were in the process of rebuilding the temple that was destroyed. The former temple was amazing! Solomon built it and it was a great symbol of Israel’s wealth and power in the world at that time. People from everywhere looked at the temple and concluded that God must have loved Israel and blessed them because those were their glory days. They had peace in the land; incredible wealth; a famous king; notoriety and respect. Them, according to scripture, because they turned away from God and forgot that it was He who gave them this power, God sent them into captivity through Babylon, Persia and Assyria. Where they were formally living in wealth and freedom, them found themselves in slavery to other nations who took their symbols of wealth and destroyed the temple. Everything that they looked to as a symbol of God’s blessing on them was taken away. And seventy years later, they were tasked with rebuilding the temple.
But the new temple didn’t look like the old one. It didn’t have as many amenities that they had before. There was less gold and silver and bronze. It wasn’t as big as it was back in the day. It may have been quite disappointing to Israel to see that they were being given a chance to rebuild, but it didn’t have as much “stuff” as they did before. God was encouraging Israel that His presence was not evident by a temple made by the hands of men. He was always with them, regardless of their outward conditions. It may have looked like they had less wealth and power than they had before, but God’s presence was all they needed. And if they had that, then they would always be a reflection of His glory.
This same syndrome can be true for us in many ways. Many of us are looking back to the days when we had more money, more popularity, more fame, more success in our eyes. It may look like God is not “blessing” you in the same way He did in the past. But the one thing we have to remember is that the presence of God in our lives is not indicated by how much Stuff we accumulate. As a matter of fact, it is often evident more so in the fact that without all of our “stuff” God still provides. This of how much “stuff” Jesus owned. Not much. Not even a home. Yet there was no question of how much God was with him.
The more we get stuck on our self-proclaimed glory days, the less we focus on what God can do and is doing in our life right now. Your best days are not behind you, they are ahead of you. Regardless of how much you have materially. If you fall into the trap of thinking that the best of your life was lived in the past, then you will get stuck there. You will miss the opportunity to embrace the life that God called you to live in the present. God was with you when you scored four touchdowns in one game, and God is with you now. God was with you when you became prom queen and God is with you now. God was with you when you had a six figure income and God is with you now. God was with you when you when you won those awards and God is with you now. It doesn’t matter what physical manifestations you have or don’t have. If God is with you, then you have all you need right now. Never-mind what you had before. It was not the best of what God can do in your life. The best is yet to come.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
MIrror, Mirror
Mirror, Mirror
“If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” 1 John 4:20 NIV
This scripture is a hard one. Most people I know who are believers in God will usually confess some type of love for God. They love Jesus. They love Allah. They love the Creator. Whatever God they worship, they say they love. My faith in my God says that if I say that I love my God, then I cannot truly love my God unless I love the people God created. And therein lies the rub. People get on my nerves. People let me down. People disappoint me. People mistreat me. People annoy me. People misunderstand me. People talk about me. People are fake. People lie. People cheat. People do all kinds of things that make it really hard to love them. And yet, my God calls for me to love them anyway. Even with all of their obvious faults, and even for the stuff I don’t even know about yet. I have to love people.
There is a connection between our relationship with God and our relationship with people. The bible tells us that we are created in God’s image. All of us. Not just black people. Not just white people. Not just the people you like. Not just the people who do what you say. But all of us are created in God’s image. As a matter of fact, the best way for us to see God is in human form. God is invisible. God is a spirit. But if we are created in God’s image, then we bear an image of what God looks like. God came to earth in human form through the person of Jesus Christ. People who walked with Jesus or saw him in that day got to see God up close and personal. The one in who no sin dwelled. The one who walked in love and loved others. The one whose life we now read about in the pages of scripture. The one who said that he was going to be the only way for us to connect with God again. And then he was murdered. By people. People who said they loved God. They killed an innocent man, but they said they loved God. God says that’s not possible.
But truthfully, it’s just hard to love some people because we can see where they are just plain evil. We are exposed to the wicked plots and self-serving behaviors that they exhibit. And who wants to just let people get away with stuff? I mean nobody wants to be looked at like they are a pushover. And sometimes you just want to let people know that you know what they are doing or what they think they are going to do. Or you just want to fix them because they are so off! Seems pretty natural to me. I know I feel like that. Especially when you can see the problem and it’s glaring you in the face.
But I got convicted one day a few years ago. And God showed me that the evil and the imperfection that I am so quick to see in other people is a reflection of what I am doing to God. Our human relationships are a mirror for our relationship with God. That’s why we cannot say we love God whom we cannot see, if we don’t love people who we see everyday. We have to learn to love each other because it will also help us learn to love God.
Think about the imperfection you see in your most challenging relationship. Maybe it’s with a parent or a child. Maybe it’s a romantic partner. Maybe it’s a co-worker. Maybe it’s a friend. Take a look at what is most challenging in the relationship and reflect on whether or not you are doing the same thing to God. If the person is stubborn and wants things their way all the time, would God say that about you in your relationship to Him? If the person is afraid of commitment, have you truly committed to God? If the person is not spending quality time with you, how much time are you giving to God? If they are being rebellious, how rebellious are you with God? If they can’t keep their promises, how many promises have you broken to God? If they refuse to go deeper and be more intimate, how intimate are you with God? These are hard questions, but if you actually take a moment to reflect on it, you may end up cutting that person a little more slack. Because what you then realize, is that even though you have done this in your relationship with God, God still loves you anyway. God still provides for you. God still looks out for you. God still keeps you. God is still God to you, regardless of how you treat Him. And he never leaves you.
I’m not saying that every relational issue can be immediately resolved with this simple reflection. However, I do think that those who profess to know a loving, forgiving, faithful God, have no right to be so quick to judge the faults of others without first reflecting on how they are treating the one who loves them most. And just maybe, if you focus on doing the thing with God that you are quick to judge in someone else, then you will find that they are still loveable anyway. You may just see them a little differently. At least that is what happened to me. I stopped focusing on being frustrated with the person and started to focus again on my relationship with God. I saw where I was not as committed as I thought I was. I saw where I was being stubborn. I saw where I was afraid to take a risk. I saw where I was not walking in my purpose. And I started to pray about that. I started to confess that although these were faults in me, God still loved me. Although I fell short in my relationship with Him, he never left me. He found a way to love me. Through His son.
And that is probably the only way any of us can stand to have a chance at loving other people. Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we would just leave people in their sin as we engage them in relationship. If there was no way for God to love them, I don’t have a chance to love them, because all I could see is their faults. But God chose to make a way for me to be loved by Him and for them to be loved by Him. I don’t have the luxury of judging someone else and choosing not to love them because I see their faults. I’m doing the same thing to the God I say I love. And maybe I would be a little less judgmental and critical of others if I first look at my relationships with other people as a reflection of my relationship with God. Consider them a mirror. Check the reflection first before you speak in judgement.
“If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” 1 John 4:20 NIV
This scripture is a hard one. Most people I know who are believers in God will usually confess some type of love for God. They love Jesus. They love Allah. They love the Creator. Whatever God they worship, they say they love. My faith in my God says that if I say that I love my God, then I cannot truly love my God unless I love the people God created. And therein lies the rub. People get on my nerves. People let me down. People disappoint me. People mistreat me. People annoy me. People misunderstand me. People talk about me. People are fake. People lie. People cheat. People do all kinds of things that make it really hard to love them. And yet, my God calls for me to love them anyway. Even with all of their obvious faults, and even for the stuff I don’t even know about yet. I have to love people.
There is a connection between our relationship with God and our relationship with people. The bible tells us that we are created in God’s image. All of us. Not just black people. Not just white people. Not just the people you like. Not just the people who do what you say. But all of us are created in God’s image. As a matter of fact, the best way for us to see God is in human form. God is invisible. God is a spirit. But if we are created in God’s image, then we bear an image of what God looks like. God came to earth in human form through the person of Jesus Christ. People who walked with Jesus or saw him in that day got to see God up close and personal. The one in who no sin dwelled. The one who walked in love and loved others. The one whose life we now read about in the pages of scripture. The one who said that he was going to be the only way for us to connect with God again. And then he was murdered. By people. People who said they loved God. They killed an innocent man, but they said they loved God. God says that’s not possible.
But truthfully, it’s just hard to love some people because we can see where they are just plain evil. We are exposed to the wicked plots and self-serving behaviors that they exhibit. And who wants to just let people get away with stuff? I mean nobody wants to be looked at like they are a pushover. And sometimes you just want to let people know that you know what they are doing or what they think they are going to do. Or you just want to fix them because they are so off! Seems pretty natural to me. I know I feel like that. Especially when you can see the problem and it’s glaring you in the face.
But I got convicted one day a few years ago. And God showed me that the evil and the imperfection that I am so quick to see in other people is a reflection of what I am doing to God. Our human relationships are a mirror for our relationship with God. That’s why we cannot say we love God whom we cannot see, if we don’t love people who we see everyday. We have to learn to love each other because it will also help us learn to love God.
Think about the imperfection you see in your most challenging relationship. Maybe it’s with a parent or a child. Maybe it’s a romantic partner. Maybe it’s a co-worker. Maybe it’s a friend. Take a look at what is most challenging in the relationship and reflect on whether or not you are doing the same thing to God. If the person is stubborn and wants things their way all the time, would God say that about you in your relationship to Him? If the person is afraid of commitment, have you truly committed to God? If the person is not spending quality time with you, how much time are you giving to God? If they are being rebellious, how rebellious are you with God? If they can’t keep their promises, how many promises have you broken to God? If they refuse to go deeper and be more intimate, how intimate are you with God? These are hard questions, but if you actually take a moment to reflect on it, you may end up cutting that person a little more slack. Because what you then realize, is that even though you have done this in your relationship with God, God still loves you anyway. God still provides for you. God still looks out for you. God still keeps you. God is still God to you, regardless of how you treat Him. And he never leaves you.
I’m not saying that every relational issue can be immediately resolved with this simple reflection. However, I do think that those who profess to know a loving, forgiving, faithful God, have no right to be so quick to judge the faults of others without first reflecting on how they are treating the one who loves them most. And just maybe, if you focus on doing the thing with God that you are quick to judge in someone else, then you will find that they are still loveable anyway. You may just see them a little differently. At least that is what happened to me. I stopped focusing on being frustrated with the person and started to focus again on my relationship with God. I saw where I was not as committed as I thought I was. I saw where I was being stubborn. I saw where I was afraid to take a risk. I saw where I was not walking in my purpose. And I started to pray about that. I started to confess that although these were faults in me, God still loved me. Although I fell short in my relationship with Him, he never left me. He found a way to love me. Through His son.
And that is probably the only way any of us can stand to have a chance at loving other people. Through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we would just leave people in their sin as we engage them in relationship. If there was no way for God to love them, I don’t have a chance to love them, because all I could see is their faults. But God chose to make a way for me to be loved by Him and for them to be loved by Him. I don’t have the luxury of judging someone else and choosing not to love them because I see their faults. I’m doing the same thing to the God I say I love. And maybe I would be a little less judgmental and critical of others if I first look at my relationships with other people as a reflection of my relationship with God. Consider them a mirror. Check the reflection first before you speak in judgement.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Curse of Adam
The Curse of Adam
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:17-19 NIV
Today, I am going to deal with the other third of this curse from the garden: Adam’s Curse. I first started looking at this upon preaching my second ever message in 2007 in which I discussed “The Family of God”. As I prepared I noticed a few things that seemed out of place in society relative to what God created. And I found myself constantly going back to Genesis to read and re-read chapter’s 2 and 3. There is so much here that if we can just meditate on these things for a while, we can probably change the world. And I feel especially strongly that the lives of men can change if they understand what the curse of separating from God actually yields.
First I will deal with the first portion of the passage regarding Adam listening to his wife. Some people blame Eve for the fall, but Eve never got the instruction from God. She got it from Adam, who got it from God. God said, “Because you listened to your wife . . .” To me, that tells me that God speaks to men and gives them instruction and holds them accountable for what they hear. Not to judge it, but to obey. That is, if it comes from God. If they obey other instruction, then they will have to suffer the consequence. Or, even more, the world suffers because men do not hear from and/or obey the commands of God. The first part of the curse, affected the ground because of Adam. Because Adam came from the ground, it was cursed because he was cursed. The whole earth suffers the consequences of a man’s separation from God.
Second, this separation creates an antagonistic relationship between men and the earth. There is always a battle. We see shows like, Man vs. Wild and marvel at what seems to be the crazy battles of man going against nature or animals. But that is not the picture that I get from the garden of Eden as to how things were supposed to be. Prior to the fall the ground must have cooperated with humankind in order to get food. Otherwise, the curse would just be a pronouncement of what already existed, not a consequence of disobedience. He was always to get food from the ground, but all things worked in harmony. So that tells me that part of Adam’s curse is to have to painfully work to get his food and the ground that he gets it from will be resistant.
Third, the effect of the curse describes the type of work that Adam would now have to pursue. That word toil means laborious labor. The type of work where you just slave away all the days of your life. The type of work that adds no value to your life. Meaningless work. Slave labor. Never enough reward to equal the labor involved. Always feeling like you are playing catch-up. Never ahead. Always feeling like the world is against your advancement. The third effect of the curse is for a man to constantly work without purpose. Toil was not God’s design for your life. You were created to have purposeful work. The effect of the curse is for you to constantly feel like you “Gotta do what you gotta do”. “Gotta make this money”. The third effect of the curse will cause you to disregard the pull of purpose in your heart in favor of making money the quickest way you know how.
Gentlemen, you are called by God to work in this world in a way that is redemptive and life giving. Yet, because of your separation from God, you have settled for making money by any means necessary. Totally disregarding the desires that God has placed in your heart for you to go out and fulfill. You probably have this nagging feeling all the time that you were created for more. Good. You are supposed to when you are not where you belong. That nagging feeling is God tugging at your heart, trying to get you to finally stop and realized that you now have an opportunity through Jesus Christ to connect to your source again. You can finally stop living under the curse and start living on purpose. You can finally stop trying to hustle your way to feed yourself and your family and learn how to let the ground work for you instead of against you. It is possible. There are people doing it. There are people who have responded to the call of God and ignored the voices of anyone who speaks against what God has already said. It is possible to live life on purpose. It is possible for you to have the life that God called you to and not live is this constant toil. If you are reading this, then consider this a tug at your heart by God. He is planting a seed, or watering what has already been planted. You know that you are not where you want to be, but you are not sure what to do about it. My advice: Learn how to connect to your source and obey His voice. In that type of life you will find purpose and meaningful work. Without it, the curse prevails. The life you desire is already yours. It’s up to you to respond.
To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:17-19 NIV
Today, I am going to deal with the other third of this curse from the garden: Adam’s Curse. I first started looking at this upon preaching my second ever message in 2007 in which I discussed “The Family of God”. As I prepared I noticed a few things that seemed out of place in society relative to what God created. And I found myself constantly going back to Genesis to read and re-read chapter’s 2 and 3. There is so much here that if we can just meditate on these things for a while, we can probably change the world. And I feel especially strongly that the lives of men can change if they understand what the curse of separating from God actually yields.
First I will deal with the first portion of the passage regarding Adam listening to his wife. Some people blame Eve for the fall, but Eve never got the instruction from God. She got it from Adam, who got it from God. God said, “Because you listened to your wife . . .” To me, that tells me that God speaks to men and gives them instruction and holds them accountable for what they hear. Not to judge it, but to obey. That is, if it comes from God. If they obey other instruction, then they will have to suffer the consequence. Or, even more, the world suffers because men do not hear from and/or obey the commands of God. The first part of the curse, affected the ground because of Adam. Because Adam came from the ground, it was cursed because he was cursed. The whole earth suffers the consequences of a man’s separation from God.
Second, this separation creates an antagonistic relationship between men and the earth. There is always a battle. We see shows like, Man vs. Wild and marvel at what seems to be the crazy battles of man going against nature or animals. But that is not the picture that I get from the garden of Eden as to how things were supposed to be. Prior to the fall the ground must have cooperated with humankind in order to get food. Otherwise, the curse would just be a pronouncement of what already existed, not a consequence of disobedience. He was always to get food from the ground, but all things worked in harmony. So that tells me that part of Adam’s curse is to have to painfully work to get his food and the ground that he gets it from will be resistant.
Third, the effect of the curse describes the type of work that Adam would now have to pursue. That word toil means laborious labor. The type of work where you just slave away all the days of your life. The type of work that adds no value to your life. Meaningless work. Slave labor. Never enough reward to equal the labor involved. Always feeling like you are playing catch-up. Never ahead. Always feeling like the world is against your advancement. The third effect of the curse is for a man to constantly work without purpose. Toil was not God’s design for your life. You were created to have purposeful work. The effect of the curse is for you to constantly feel like you “Gotta do what you gotta do”. “Gotta make this money”. The third effect of the curse will cause you to disregard the pull of purpose in your heart in favor of making money the quickest way you know how.
Gentlemen, you are called by God to work in this world in a way that is redemptive and life giving. Yet, because of your separation from God, you have settled for making money by any means necessary. Totally disregarding the desires that God has placed in your heart for you to go out and fulfill. You probably have this nagging feeling all the time that you were created for more. Good. You are supposed to when you are not where you belong. That nagging feeling is God tugging at your heart, trying to get you to finally stop and realized that you now have an opportunity through Jesus Christ to connect to your source again. You can finally stop living under the curse and start living on purpose. You can finally stop trying to hustle your way to feed yourself and your family and learn how to let the ground work for you instead of against you. It is possible. There are people doing it. There are people who have responded to the call of God and ignored the voices of anyone who speaks against what God has already said. It is possible to live life on purpose. It is possible for you to have the life that God called you to and not live is this constant toil. If you are reading this, then consider this a tug at your heart by God. He is planting a seed, or watering what has already been planted. You know that you are not where you want to be, but you are not sure what to do about it. My advice: Learn how to connect to your source and obey His voice. In that type of life you will find purpose and meaningful work. Without it, the curse prevails. The life you desire is already yours. It’s up to you to respond.
Friday, July 15, 2011
The Curse of Eve
The Curse of Eve
“To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16 NIV
Quite often we read the bible and do not see how the words written thousands of years ago have any relevance today. Or, we gloss over certain scriptures and stories because since we’ve heard them a thousand times in some way shape or form, we become numb to them. But I thought that it would be fitting to revisit an old story in the beginning of the bible and look at it’s relevance today.
The story is of the fall of Adam and Eve. Maybe we have all heard this one before. Adam and Eve were chillin’ in the garden with God and Eve got tempted by the serpent to eat from the one tree God told them not to. Adam ate too, and here we are today in a fallen condition. Later, in swoops Jesus to save us from this fallen condition and we are supposed to have access to this previous blissful state of existence. Sounds great.
But what I have found is that one of the challenges of religion is that it doesn’t give you the opportunity to understand what you believe and why. In many churches if you ask too many questions, you are told that you think too much and that you need to stop questioning God. Personally, I am a curious being and I wasn’t about to put my faith in something that some human being told me to, simply because they are doing things that somebody else told them to do. I want to know. And when I look at the curse of Eve, as a woman, I want to know how this applies to me today.
The most evident application of this is the first part. Painful labor. If you have ever had a child naturally, or have ever witnessed birth, you can attest to that one. I saw my Goddaughter come into this world, and let me tell you, I am still amazed that women do that everyday. How in the world can something so big come out of us like that? I cringe just thinking about it. But I wonder if it was always supposed to be like that? I don’t know anyone who has had a painless birth experience without the assistance of drugs. If you know, please have her contact me so that I can take notes for when my time comes.
But it is the second part that I have always had questions about. What does it mean for the woman to have her desire to be for her husband and for him to rule over her? After much study, prayer and observation, I have an idea. And I think the manifestations of what this means are painfully evident in today’s society. And it can start with a simple question. How much of a woman’s time is spent doing things in order to please or get the attention of a man? And once she gets the attention from that man, how does he treat her? I have heard countless stories of women whose sole purpose in life seems to be to get a man in some way shape or form. Their entire existence is all about some dude. They don’t think about anything else. Don’t have any other goal. Don’t desire anything but a man. And those women that I have seem behave this way are also some of the ones whose hearts get broken badly. The ones who repeat the same pattern in their relationships over and over and over again. And it may get worse if they have kids. Because their desire may still be for a man who doesn’t want anything to do with her and he can use that against her. She is living under the curse. Even if she does go to church.
So my follow up question would be, then what was her desire before? If the curse said that her desire was now for her husband and he would lord it over her, then who or what was her desire for before the fall? And how do we, as women, learn to live there and not under the curse? The only thing I came up with was God. They already had everything else in the garden of Eden. All of their needs were supplied. They lacked nothing. They even had full access to one another. They were both naked an not ashamed. They had intimacy with God and intimacy with each other. Adam didn’t lord anything over her because she was his especially created partner. There was no hierarchy. Until the fall. Before that, all of her desires were met. So the only thing to focus on was God.
Moving into the implications of that for us today, I bring you to Jesus. The one who came to earth in order that the ultimate punishment which resulted from this fall would be fulfilled, and that through Him, we could find our way back to the place where we trust that God is meeting all or our needs and even knows and is working out our desires. So the only thing to focus on is Him. As we do this, our desires begin to change. Those things that we used to desire, don’t seem to appeal to us the same way. The things that we sought that would be harmful to us, but we wanted to do it anyway, lose their luster. Including how we engage men. Desperation is easy for a man to sniff out and use for his own agenda. It’s a consequence of the fall. But if you do have a desire for a man in your life, then trust God to lead you to him. That doesn’t mean simply sitting in the house waiting for some man to walk up to you door. But God has plenty for you to do. And as you seek out His purpose for your life and follow His path, you would be amazed at who and what else you may find along that path. Setting your entire being on getting a man will only lead to the consequences that were written in this book thousands of years ago: “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Yet setting your affection on God has a better chance of bringing to you a man who won’t seek to rule you, but who understands true intimate partnership. And it can also help you to avoid unnecessary heartache. Learn how to live in the blessing, not the curse.
“To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16 NIV
Quite often we read the bible and do not see how the words written thousands of years ago have any relevance today. Or, we gloss over certain scriptures and stories because since we’ve heard them a thousand times in some way shape or form, we become numb to them. But I thought that it would be fitting to revisit an old story in the beginning of the bible and look at it’s relevance today.
The story is of the fall of Adam and Eve. Maybe we have all heard this one before. Adam and Eve were chillin’ in the garden with God and Eve got tempted by the serpent to eat from the one tree God told them not to. Adam ate too, and here we are today in a fallen condition. Later, in swoops Jesus to save us from this fallen condition and we are supposed to have access to this previous blissful state of existence. Sounds great.
But what I have found is that one of the challenges of religion is that it doesn’t give you the opportunity to understand what you believe and why. In many churches if you ask too many questions, you are told that you think too much and that you need to stop questioning God. Personally, I am a curious being and I wasn’t about to put my faith in something that some human being told me to, simply because they are doing things that somebody else told them to do. I want to know. And when I look at the curse of Eve, as a woman, I want to know how this applies to me today.
The most evident application of this is the first part. Painful labor. If you have ever had a child naturally, or have ever witnessed birth, you can attest to that one. I saw my Goddaughter come into this world, and let me tell you, I am still amazed that women do that everyday. How in the world can something so big come out of us like that? I cringe just thinking about it. But I wonder if it was always supposed to be like that? I don’t know anyone who has had a painless birth experience without the assistance of drugs. If you know, please have her contact me so that I can take notes for when my time comes.
But it is the second part that I have always had questions about. What does it mean for the woman to have her desire to be for her husband and for him to rule over her? After much study, prayer and observation, I have an idea. And I think the manifestations of what this means are painfully evident in today’s society. And it can start with a simple question. How much of a woman’s time is spent doing things in order to please or get the attention of a man? And once she gets the attention from that man, how does he treat her? I have heard countless stories of women whose sole purpose in life seems to be to get a man in some way shape or form. Their entire existence is all about some dude. They don’t think about anything else. Don’t have any other goal. Don’t desire anything but a man. And those women that I have seem behave this way are also some of the ones whose hearts get broken badly. The ones who repeat the same pattern in their relationships over and over and over again. And it may get worse if they have kids. Because their desire may still be for a man who doesn’t want anything to do with her and he can use that against her. She is living under the curse. Even if she does go to church.
So my follow up question would be, then what was her desire before? If the curse said that her desire was now for her husband and he would lord it over her, then who or what was her desire for before the fall? And how do we, as women, learn to live there and not under the curse? The only thing I came up with was God. They already had everything else in the garden of Eden. All of their needs were supplied. They lacked nothing. They even had full access to one another. They were both naked an not ashamed. They had intimacy with God and intimacy with each other. Adam didn’t lord anything over her because she was his especially created partner. There was no hierarchy. Until the fall. Before that, all of her desires were met. So the only thing to focus on was God.
Moving into the implications of that for us today, I bring you to Jesus. The one who came to earth in order that the ultimate punishment which resulted from this fall would be fulfilled, and that through Him, we could find our way back to the place where we trust that God is meeting all or our needs and even knows and is working out our desires. So the only thing to focus on is Him. As we do this, our desires begin to change. Those things that we used to desire, don’t seem to appeal to us the same way. The things that we sought that would be harmful to us, but we wanted to do it anyway, lose their luster. Including how we engage men. Desperation is easy for a man to sniff out and use for his own agenda. It’s a consequence of the fall. But if you do have a desire for a man in your life, then trust God to lead you to him. That doesn’t mean simply sitting in the house waiting for some man to walk up to you door. But God has plenty for you to do. And as you seek out His purpose for your life and follow His path, you would be amazed at who and what else you may find along that path. Setting your entire being on getting a man will only lead to the consequences that were written in this book thousands of years ago: “Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Yet setting your affection on God has a better chance of bringing to you a man who won’t seek to rule you, but who understands true intimate partnership. And it can also help you to avoid unnecessary heartache. Learn how to live in the blessing, not the curse.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Getting Whiter?
Getting Whiter?
This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Polonius in Hamlet Act 1, scene 3, 78–82
At the apartment that I am staying in here in Rome, there are several books on the bookshelf. One of them happens to be the book by Christian Lander, “Stuff White People Like”. It was a NY Times Bestseller and it is pretty funny. It started out as a blog with a list of stuff white people like and poked fun at the white culture. As I sat there and read through the list of stuff, I started to get alarmed because it seemed as though I liked a lot of the same stuff. I started to wonder how white I actually am. I mean stuff like Hummus, The Wire, and Asian Fusion food was on the list and I started to get alarmed. Then it got to stuff like Barak Obama, Hardwood Floors, and Brunch and I was like, whoa! Wait a minute. So decided to take the quiz in the back to find out just how white I am. Turns out I am 20% white according to the scale. Not too bad I guess. But it did get me to thinking about the social challenges of being an educated African-American in today's culture. There is a certain tension that exists between attempting to progress in society and maintaining cultural identity.
At first it was kind of funny. People would say stuff to me all the time about how I was a “special” kind of black person. In all fairness, I grew up in the “hood” but went to diverse schools. I learned how to have friends of multiple races and even got introduced to things that I wouldn’t have if I had all black friends. And it seemed to be the right thing to do. Why should we ever limit ourselves to experiencing one culture. I know the names of things that apparently some black people don’t. I use words to describe things that some people have asked me to define. I like learning about history and going to museums. I’ve studied abroad. I like hummus. I watch Cougar Town, and like it. I like irony. I don’t watch much TV and prefer to read. I like having conversations with other intelligent people. I like eating outside. I have a sort of “preppy” style about me. I even like some country music. But does any of that take away from my “blackness”? Most of my friends are black, but many may argue that they are like me. Most of us went to college. Most of us have interacted at some level with races other than black consistently. Most of us enjoy some of the same things.
It has seemed to get worse as I have gone further and further in my education. It seems to get even worse when you combine education and financial advancement. And here is the tension. As we advance in our educational and economic pursuits do we run the risk of alienating ourselves from our culture? And how much of it is our own fault for seeing our people in a negative light? Do we as educated African American men and women cause an intentional or unintentional rift between those of us with formal education and those without? The gap seems to get wider and wider. Furthermore, how do we hold onto a cultural identity in a world where our culture does not dominate? What does it mean to be an educated African-American today?
I see many dangers in this discussion. But nonetheless, I think it is a discussion worth having. I saw that after the “Stuff White People Like” book came out, there were responses by educated African Americans showing the stuff “we” like. There is a certain level of truth to some of it, but it seemed like the discussion stopped. I think it should continue. I think that I do have a responsibility as an educated African American woman to bring the valuable elements of my culture with me wherever I go. I think that I also have a responsibility to become as successful as God allows and never to let the worry of losing my heritage get in my way. My history as an African-American didn’t begin with slavery or being oppressed. There was a time before. If being exposed to and adopting the things that are a part of white culture come automatically with advancement, then we have to also become aware of what we are bringing to the table. There is such richness in our history as African-Americans that we must be mindful not to discard it in favor of majority opinion. At the same time, we must not also simply cling to the things that are stereotypical and are based on socio-economic status alone. But I am talking about the true things that we bring to the American culture. The community consciousness; our intellect; the strength of our families; the beauty of our artistic expression; our holistic spirituality and so much more.
The more we focus on getting away from some of what makes us African-American, the further we actually get away from uniting as a people. But we have to unite under the truth. Not only the things that makes people tell you that you “keep it real”. I mean the things that would be true if you were rich or poor. I think that what we would find if we parse out the economics of the story is that we are probably not that different. What was life like in Africa before institutionalized slavery in the Americas? Before we had to make due with what we were given? Maybe what we would find is that an increase in our financial condition or education as a people does not make us "whiter", but makes us "blacker" in some ways. Maybe it gets us closer to being what we were before we were slaves. Maybe that actually gets us closer to the truth of who we are as opposed to adopting a culture that is not our own. And maybe we can stop teaching our children that to speak properly in their native language of English is the equivalent of “talking white”. Maybe we can show them that to excel in life is not a “white thing” but is the expectation of a people who had the capacity to create the pyramids. And maybe we can stop trying to be something we are not and just be who we are. I don’t think I have to really worry about not being black. I can’t help it. There is stuff in me that makes me "black" that I can’t even control. But I don’t also have to be ashamed of learning something new and adopting it into my “blackness” either. In any event, I just wanted to put that out there because we seem to have a need to keep this on the table of discussion.
This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.
Polonius in Hamlet Act 1, scene 3, 78–82
At the apartment that I am staying in here in Rome, there are several books on the bookshelf. One of them happens to be the book by Christian Lander, “Stuff White People Like”. It was a NY Times Bestseller and it is pretty funny. It started out as a blog with a list of stuff white people like and poked fun at the white culture. As I sat there and read through the list of stuff, I started to get alarmed because it seemed as though I liked a lot of the same stuff. I started to wonder how white I actually am. I mean stuff like Hummus, The Wire, and Asian Fusion food was on the list and I started to get alarmed. Then it got to stuff like Barak Obama, Hardwood Floors, and Brunch and I was like, whoa! Wait a minute. So decided to take the quiz in the back to find out just how white I am. Turns out I am 20% white according to the scale. Not too bad I guess. But it did get me to thinking about the social challenges of being an educated African-American in today's culture. There is a certain tension that exists between attempting to progress in society and maintaining cultural identity.
At first it was kind of funny. People would say stuff to me all the time about how I was a “special” kind of black person. In all fairness, I grew up in the “hood” but went to diverse schools. I learned how to have friends of multiple races and even got introduced to things that I wouldn’t have if I had all black friends. And it seemed to be the right thing to do. Why should we ever limit ourselves to experiencing one culture. I know the names of things that apparently some black people don’t. I use words to describe things that some people have asked me to define. I like learning about history and going to museums. I’ve studied abroad. I like hummus. I watch Cougar Town, and like it. I like irony. I don’t watch much TV and prefer to read. I like having conversations with other intelligent people. I like eating outside. I have a sort of “preppy” style about me. I even like some country music. But does any of that take away from my “blackness”? Most of my friends are black, but many may argue that they are like me. Most of us went to college. Most of us have interacted at some level with races other than black consistently. Most of us enjoy some of the same things.
It has seemed to get worse as I have gone further and further in my education. It seems to get even worse when you combine education and financial advancement. And here is the tension. As we advance in our educational and economic pursuits do we run the risk of alienating ourselves from our culture? And how much of it is our own fault for seeing our people in a negative light? Do we as educated African American men and women cause an intentional or unintentional rift between those of us with formal education and those without? The gap seems to get wider and wider. Furthermore, how do we hold onto a cultural identity in a world where our culture does not dominate? What does it mean to be an educated African-American today?
I see many dangers in this discussion. But nonetheless, I think it is a discussion worth having. I saw that after the “Stuff White People Like” book came out, there were responses by educated African Americans showing the stuff “we” like. There is a certain level of truth to some of it, but it seemed like the discussion stopped. I think it should continue. I think that I do have a responsibility as an educated African American woman to bring the valuable elements of my culture with me wherever I go. I think that I also have a responsibility to become as successful as God allows and never to let the worry of losing my heritage get in my way. My history as an African-American didn’t begin with slavery or being oppressed. There was a time before. If being exposed to and adopting the things that are a part of white culture come automatically with advancement, then we have to also become aware of what we are bringing to the table. There is such richness in our history as African-Americans that we must be mindful not to discard it in favor of majority opinion. At the same time, we must not also simply cling to the things that are stereotypical and are based on socio-economic status alone. But I am talking about the true things that we bring to the American culture. The community consciousness; our intellect; the strength of our families; the beauty of our artistic expression; our holistic spirituality and so much more.
The more we focus on getting away from some of what makes us African-American, the further we actually get away from uniting as a people. But we have to unite under the truth. Not only the things that makes people tell you that you “keep it real”. I mean the things that would be true if you were rich or poor. I think that what we would find if we parse out the economics of the story is that we are probably not that different. What was life like in Africa before institutionalized slavery in the Americas? Before we had to make due with what we were given? Maybe what we would find is that an increase in our financial condition or education as a people does not make us "whiter", but makes us "blacker" in some ways. Maybe it gets us closer to being what we were before we were slaves. Maybe that actually gets us closer to the truth of who we are as opposed to adopting a culture that is not our own. And maybe we can stop teaching our children that to speak properly in their native language of English is the equivalent of “talking white”. Maybe we can show them that to excel in life is not a “white thing” but is the expectation of a people who had the capacity to create the pyramids. And maybe we can stop trying to be something we are not and just be who we are. I don’t think I have to really worry about not being black. I can’t help it. There is stuff in me that makes me "black" that I can’t even control. But I don’t also have to be ashamed of learning something new and adopting it into my “blackness” either. In any event, I just wanted to put that out there because we seem to have a need to keep this on the table of discussion.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
The Rhythm of Life
The Rhythm of Life
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” Genesis 2:2
Life naturally has a certain rhythm. A dance, if you will, that if you can catch, makes life enjoyable. It makes life worth living because we become naturally in tuned to the way God intended for life to be lived. I think for many of us, we are out of step with what God intended. I am especially talking about us, Americans.
Traveling in European countries I am always reminded of how exhausting it can be to be American. We work like nobody’s business. We live to work and make money and do it at the expense of our health at times. But here, in Italy, there is a little something that they practice that we may know as a siesta. Italians don’t call it that. It is actually a Spanish term meaning the sixth hour, where everybody takes a midday break. They usually eat with their family and/or friends, then take a nap. Government workers work from 8am to 2pm. Store owners close down their shop during the middle of the day and reopen at a later time in the evening. So if you need to make a store run at 2pm, you better make sure they are going to be around. I made that mistake on day 1 in Rome. I totally forgot that Italians follow the rhythm of life.
When we worship God, the Creator, we relate that to the first two chapters of Genesis where we review how God created the earth and heavens in six days and rested on the seventh. One thing that I think we overlook is the part about the rest on the seventh. For many people, this is simply a reason to not go to their offices or open their stores on Sunday, or even to declare Sunday as the designated day to worship, the Creator. But the seventh day didn’t exist until God created it. And it only existed for the purpose of rest. That was why it was created. Rest is a part of creation. Rest is a part of our rhythm of life. It’s not to be simply observed on a particular day (since there is no reason to assume that creation had to occur in a literal seven days). But rest is a part of creation as a whole.
Part of the reason that Europeans, in particular, observe the siesta is because of the practicality of it. It gets hot during the midday hours and it is hard to work and to concentrate on anything really important. They know better than to keep pushing beyond what your body will let you. They know how to follow a rhythm. They take a break and spend that time doing what we all may do naturally around that time. We Americans may call it a “2:30 feeling”, but maybe that should not be met with a surge of an energy drink but a pause to seek the creator on what activity, if any we should pursue. Too bad your supervisor or CEO didn’t get that memo, but some companies are catching on. After a while, we need to take a break or we will burnout. Money is not that important that you need to kill yourself to get it. And if you are a person who is out of rhythm, picture a person on the dance floor of life off beat. That’s you. Breaking it down on a slow song. McHammering to a Jazz tune. Slow down! There is plenty of time to make money. But you might not get there if you don’t learn how to get in step with creation.
“By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” Genesis 2:2
Life naturally has a certain rhythm. A dance, if you will, that if you can catch, makes life enjoyable. It makes life worth living because we become naturally in tuned to the way God intended for life to be lived. I think for many of us, we are out of step with what God intended. I am especially talking about us, Americans.
Traveling in European countries I am always reminded of how exhausting it can be to be American. We work like nobody’s business. We live to work and make money and do it at the expense of our health at times. But here, in Italy, there is a little something that they practice that we may know as a siesta. Italians don’t call it that. It is actually a Spanish term meaning the sixth hour, where everybody takes a midday break. They usually eat with their family and/or friends, then take a nap. Government workers work from 8am to 2pm. Store owners close down their shop during the middle of the day and reopen at a later time in the evening. So if you need to make a store run at 2pm, you better make sure they are going to be around. I made that mistake on day 1 in Rome. I totally forgot that Italians follow the rhythm of life.
When we worship God, the Creator, we relate that to the first two chapters of Genesis where we review how God created the earth and heavens in six days and rested on the seventh. One thing that I think we overlook is the part about the rest on the seventh. For many people, this is simply a reason to not go to their offices or open their stores on Sunday, or even to declare Sunday as the designated day to worship, the Creator. But the seventh day didn’t exist until God created it. And it only existed for the purpose of rest. That was why it was created. Rest is a part of creation. Rest is a part of our rhythm of life. It’s not to be simply observed on a particular day (since there is no reason to assume that creation had to occur in a literal seven days). But rest is a part of creation as a whole.
Part of the reason that Europeans, in particular, observe the siesta is because of the practicality of it. It gets hot during the midday hours and it is hard to work and to concentrate on anything really important. They know better than to keep pushing beyond what your body will let you. They know how to follow a rhythm. They take a break and spend that time doing what we all may do naturally around that time. We Americans may call it a “2:30 feeling”, but maybe that should not be met with a surge of an energy drink but a pause to seek the creator on what activity, if any we should pursue. Too bad your supervisor or CEO didn’t get that memo, but some companies are catching on. After a while, we need to take a break or we will burnout. Money is not that important that you need to kill yourself to get it. And if you are a person who is out of rhythm, picture a person on the dance floor of life off beat. That’s you. Breaking it down on a slow song. McHammering to a Jazz tune. Slow down! There is plenty of time to make money. But you might not get there if you don’t learn how to get in step with creation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)