Wasted Words

There have been a few times, in my parenting stint, where I have felt like I was completely wasting my words.  These have usually been extremely important instructional points that are sure to lead to complete destruction of their future if my children refuse to catch onto and apply them.  Examples might include things such as taking out the trash every morning; not fighting with one's sibling over something stupid like who had such and such toy first and who it belongs to in the first place; not leaving clothes piled on the floor of the bedroom or bathroom or living room or hall or any of the other rooms where my kids love to leave clothes piled up; turning off the lights when you're not in the room because we're using up all the electricity; not filling the bath tub up to swimming pool levels when taking a bath; or NOT EATING ON MOM'S RUG!!!  Ok, maybe those things aren't as life-altering to you as they are to me.  These are the things, however, which I seem to harp on over and over and over again.  It's like all my words on these issues are completely wasted.  You get that because I'm sure that you, too, feel like there have been times when your words have fallen on deaf ears and were wasted as well.

The truth is that it's not just the unheeded words we speak that are wasted.  You see, things can be wasted because they're used in wasteful ways OR things can be wasted because they sit there and are never used at all.  Quite honestly, we waste as many of our words this way as we do the other!  Perhaps it's that missed opportunity of telling someone how much we really do care.  Or, maybe it's those words of encouragement that could make such a huge difference in someone's life that we leave unsaid.  We, often, leave hard words unsaid because they could make things awkward, but we also leave great words unsaid because they could make things...well, awkward!  And then, there are some words we don't say because we've wasted a couple of other resources that are so valuable...time or money.  So, instead of being THERE to say the words we should be saying to the ones who need to hear them, we are off somewhere else using our time to make more money.  If you're like me, this is all very convicting.  That being the case, lets take it up a notch.

There are, perhaps, no words more wasted than those we don't say...to God!  Yep, I'm talking about prayer.  Lets be honest, some of us talk to ourselves more than we talk to God.  An Ellis Research Survey for Facts & Trends magazine found that only 16% of pastors are satisfied with their prayer lives.  The median amount of time that most spend praying each day is 30 minutes!  Another poll found that only 64% of Christians pray more than once a day.  Of these same Christians, only 38% see that an important purpose of prayer is to provide intimacy with God.  So, as a whole do Christians pray enough?  I don't think so.  According to these statistics, there are quite a few wasted words out there.  And, wasted is the absolute perfect term to use based on another study!  Did you know it's been proven that prayers are extremely effective?  A group of physicians wanted to determine the effectiveness of prayer so they set up a study.  Patients at a medical center in California were randomly divided into two groups.  One group was assigned to a group of Christians to be prayed for.  The placebo group had no one praying for them.  Before the study, there were no statistical differences between the groups.  However, the results of the study were astounding.  During the trial period, those who were prayed for suffered "less congestive heart failure, required less diuretic and antibiotic therapy, had fewer episodes of pneumonia, had few cardiac arrests, and were less frequently intubated and ventilated."  So, there you have the proof...prayer works.  And, when believers don't pray, we're wasting some pretty effective words!

Now, I could have bypassed all of the above and went straight to scripture to tell you this, but sometimes we need a few physical proofs to get us moving in the right spiritual direction.  Nevertheless, listen to what God's Word tells us in James 5:16..."the intense prayer of the righteous is very powerful."  That's right...those aren't just words you're speaking to God...they are, perhaps, the most powerful and effective words you could ever speak to anyone, anywhere!  So, Believer, pray it up!  Or, as another Biblical author puts it, "Pray without ceasing!"  I really don't want to get to heaven and find out that I could have had so much more impact on this world and the lives of those around me if I had just said a few more prayers!  I don't want to miss out on God's blessings, nor do I want others to miss out on His blessings, because I have wasted my words.  

Parents, pray for your children.  Pray for them when they can hear you and pray for them when they can't!  Husbands, pray for your wives!  Wives, pray for your husbands!  Children, pray for your parents!  Friends, pray for one another.  Pray for your family!  Pray for this world...it needs it, by the way!  Pray for our nation!  Pray for our leaders!  Pray for God's work to produce much fruit!  Pray for God's workers to be effective!  Pray that you'll be effective!  Pray for opportunities to serve and work for God's Kingdom!  Pray that God would bless you and those around you in crazy ways!  Hey, I have a few things that I'm praying for right now that are completely insane, but if they happen the only explanation will be God!  Bottom line...DON'T WASTE YOUR WORDS!!!!

**the following website was cited in this blog:  http://www.churchleaders.com/mobile/pastors/pastor-articles/150915-us-statistics-on-prayer.html

Income Inequality Is Real...Just Not How You Think!

You're rich!  Did you know that?  Before you react with an emphatic "NO!" you need to read the rest of this blog.  Now, when I say your rich I don't mean you're rich compared to all of the other people in the United States.  Although, you may be if you look at the numbers.  Here lately, in the US, there's been an increasing amount of talk about "income inequality".  Evidently, there are those who think that the "haves" actually have a disproportionately greater amount than the "have nots".  We could argue this all day, although I would point out that as long as there have been material possessions, there have always been those who have had more.  There's no way you can get around that.  So, when it comes to me saying you're rich, I can't say that with any certainty when comparing you to others in the US.  However, according to some recent statistics, if you're an American then compared to the rest of the world you are most certainly rich.

Check this out.  America's poorest still live better than many in other countries.  In fact, "America's poorest are, as a group, about as rich as India's richest."  Let's say you're in the bottom 5% of American's, based on income.  Your standard of living is about equal to the top 5% of Indians!  Hard to believe?  Further, even if you're in the bottom 5% of American's, income wise, you're still richer than 68% of the world's inhabitants!  What that means is that if your family income is around $10,000 a year, then you are wealthier than 84% of the world's population.  If you're family income is more than $50,000 a year, you make more than 99% of the rest of the world.  Seriously, the upshot of all of this is that, unless you are homeless and have no income at all, YOU ARE RICH!!!

Now, I realize this may be hard for us to hear...especially in a nation where we are, all, chasing an American dream that pits us against our neighbors and drives us to be materialistic and self-centered. In fact, we're convinced that we deserve the same things as everyone else around us.  That's created an entitlement mentality in our nation.  So much so that, now, our nation is handing out free cellphones because everyone deserves to have the basic necessity of a mobile device satisfied.  I wonder how much of the other 99% of the world have such a convenience?  Anyway, this isn't a rant against handouts...it's actually a rant against all of us who have so much, yet still feel entitled to more!

My point is that, despite the fact that you may not be doing so great a job at keeping up with the Jones', you are definitely pretty far ahead of, at least, 68% of the rest of the world's population and, if you're just an average American you're way ahead of almost everyone else in the world.  So, now that we've established the fact that, regardless of how we compare ourselves to other Americans, we are, in fact, rich from a global perspective, lets turn ourselves to a pertinent issue that applies to all of us rich folks.

JAMES has a message for us...you guessed it, right!  In chapter 4 of his letter he has some pretty serious words for those he classifies as rich.  He cautions them about putting their confidence in wealth.  He vividly makes the point that their wealth is going to perish and, if that is where their trust lies, they'll perish right along with it.  He echoes something Jesus once said about storing up treasure on earth.  Of course, Jesus made a point that one should do just the opposite of that, instead laying up treasure in heaven.  In my last blog, I suggested that there is a resource much greater than money...that of time.  It's the one resource we can't get back.  So, the question that hangs in the air with both Jesus and James is, "What are you spending your time on?"  Are you spending all of your time amassing for yourself a little treasure trove of temporary trinkets such as houses, cars, clothes, cash, etc. or are you spending your time amassing for yourself a treasure of eternal worth and significance?  Both Jesus and James would say that if you're of the former crowd then you'll find, at the end of the line, that all you have is a temporary treasure...eternity will elude you!  All of this is made much the worse if, while indulging in your excess, you have ignored or even mistreated the neglected and the needy in the process.  In other words, if you are rich (which we are, remember) and you use the resources God's given you for purely selfish means to please your selfish ambitions while ignoring the need that surrounds you then you "have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter."  Sound like a fun day to you?  Nah, me either.

So what does this mean?  Well, obviously, where you place your trust matters!  Regardless of what you may say with your lips, if the pattern of your lifestyle points to the fact that you put more faith in what you have than in who has you then you're in deep trouble my friend!  The sad part of all this is that you probably don't even realize how lost you really are!  The true believer realizes that riches are just resources to be used for God's Kingdom!

Does this mean that if you're not trying to remedy some of the need and neglect in the world with what you have  then you're not a true believer?  Does it mean that true salvation is somehow tied to the work of giving?  Well, no...and yes.  No...giving doesn't save you.  In fact, there are more than a few non-believers who out-give believers precisely because they're trying to earn better Karma for themselves.  They shouldn't expect eternal life just because they give!  What you do with Jesus is what determines your salvation.  However, a true believer will find it difficult, impossible even, to self-indulge, all the while, knowingly ignoring the needs of others.  I know this to be true because I know who Jesus was and is.  He is, by nature, a Giver.  In fact, He gave all!  What that means is that those who follow Him will do the same.  So, a true believer WILL be a giver instead of a taker and, in that way, giving marks a "Christian" as a true believer.

So...surprise...you're filthy rich!  You should really thank me for opening your eyes to this fact!  The question remains, however...now that you know this, how will it change what you do with all that treasure?


**Articles cited in this blog:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2013/06/01/astonishing-numbers-americas-poor-still-live-better-than-most-of-the-rest-of-humanity/

http://www.oregonlive.com/hovde/index.ssf/2012/08/income_in_perspective_americas.html

The Time Of Your Life

I love teachable moments.  Since my background is in education, I’ve come to appreciate those times that pop up every now and then that lend themselves so easily towards a greater understanding of a complex thought or process.  This is especially sweet when it involves my kids!  Just last Sunday, my kids enjoyed the privilege of such a moment.  Here lately, every time we put our kids in the car, they think we should stop by a restaurant while out and about.  After worship last Sunday, they started the “Daddy, where are we going to eat?” questions again.  I gave them my usual answer, “Wendy’s.”  Now they used to get excited about that…now, they’ve come to realize that I mean Wendy’s kitchen , not Wendy’s Restaurant (for those of you not in the know, Wendy is my wife's name).  Last week we just happened to be on our way to Walmart to pick up a few food items before heading home so I decided to take the opportunity to explain why we eat at home.  I started by explaining that it usually costs our family at least $40 to eat at a restaurant like Chili’s (that’s their favorite).  Then, I explained that for $200 we bought groceries to feed our whole family three meals a day for a week.  After doing a bit of math with them to discover what 3 meals a day for a week of eating at places like Chili’s would cost, I asked them which was the better deal.  Of course, they agreed that eating at home was the way to go.  That’s when I dropped the bomb.  I said, “So, guys, we’ll eat out on special occasions, but doesn’t it sound like a complete waste of hard earned money to eat out all the time?”  To my surprise…and delight…they completely agreed.  I’ve always thought that eating restaurant food was a lot like eating money…it’s gone in no time and you really don’t have much to show for it…except a gut maybe!

Now, you may or may not agree with my thought processes when it comes to eating out, but I’m sure you’ll agree with me that money is an important resource.  Without it, survival becomes somewhat difficult.  However, as valuable a resource as money is, I can think of one that is infinitely more valuable…time!  I mean, I can always make more money, but no one has the ability to make time.  I can take something back to Walmart and get my money back, but no matter how hard I try I can never get my time back regardless of how unsatisfied I am with how I’ve spent it.  Generally speaking, we all come into this world with no money, but tend to increase that resource as we get older.  However, time is a resource that we continually lose the more we live.  Money is valuable, but time is invaluable!  In fact, at the end of their life most everyone would give all of their money just to buy a few more months, weeks or days of time!  

We’re reminded of this concept in the book of James.  In the latter part of chapter 4, James introduces us to a group of people who make all kinds of plans about how they’re going to spend their future.  Their pursuits are purely selfish and materialistic.  Worst of all, they carry on as if they had all the time in the world AND were actually in command of their time.  In today's world, they would be making a 5 year plan.  James reminds them of a few things.  First of all, their time is fleeting…”like a vapor” or wisp of smoke, each will come quickly to the end of their life and realize that time marches on.  And, sadly, it marches on without them!  Secondly, he reminds them that they are not in control...their idea that they are is a complete illusion!  They don’t know what’s going to happen later today, much less tomorrow!  We live in a world where all of our plans for this weekend or this summer can be cut short by one drunk driver at a stop sign.  We are not in control.  Finally, he reminds them that how they spend the little bit of time that they have is infinitely important.  He points out that “to those who know the good to do, yet don’t do it, it is sin.”  The way we spend our time matters!  We are all guilty of piddling away our time on momentary pleasures and worldly endeavors, all the while forsaking the things of great eternal worth that God has given us to do.  We can sit for hours in front of a computer, television or movie screen, then have the audacity to claim we don’t have time to study God’s Word, pray or share the Gospel with a lost soul.  We can involve ourselves in all kinds of selfish and vain pursuits...improving our golf game, our tennis swing, our physique...while completely ignoring our own spiritual health.  Our homes are full of children who drizzle away their time at video games, cell phones, sports and all manner of extracurricular activity, yet, as their parents, we excuse them from Bible study, church attendance, prayer and activities that would grow them spiritually because their lives are just “too busy”.  We work too hard, play too hard and have little time or energy left for the eternal things that really matter…and according to God’s Word, in doing so, we sin!

Ladies and gentlemen, we should be absolutely ashamed of ourselves.  And, for those of you who are reading this, I’m sure that some of you join me in that shame.  The sad truth, however, is that many will never even read these words because they don’t think they “have the time”.  Believer, our lives were meant to count for so much more than the pitiful temporal things we spend them on.  So the question is, how are you spending your time?  It’s a resource that you can’t get back, you know…  At the end of your life, you’ll get a tombstone with two numbers on it.  One will mark a beginning for your lifetime and one will mark the end.  In the middle will be a dash.  Can I ask you what your dash will stand for?  How will you spend the time of your life?

You might hate me for this post, but if you do...

As I'm sitting, writing this, I'm also doing something that I've done at least 8 times now...watching the new Disney movie Frozen.  I've seen a lot of Disney movies in my life.  I have a sister that's 12 years younger than me so, as you can imagine, I spent a lot of time watching Disney during my teenage years.  Not only that, but my wife is a huge fan of all things Disney so we've seen almost every movie Disney has ever made.  My humble opinion is that Frozen is, by far, their best one yet.

Somewhat surprisingly to me, this movie has become a little controversial in Christian circles.  There are those who think it is pushing an agenda.  Honestly, I don't see it...at least not in a blatant way.  One would have to do a good bit of "reading into" in order to make a case for that, I believe.  However, there are also those who see a lot of parallels to Christianity in the movie.  After watching it so many times, I, myself, see quite a few Christian themes in the movie, as well.  It's definitely got more of a Christian theme than Noah, the latest "biblical" movie to come out.  Anyway, that's another blog for another time.  I definitely won't go into all the good themes I see in the movie Frozen (by the way that's been done pretty impressively by other bloggers), but I would like to unpack one of these because it just happens to line up with the current study we're doing with our students in our FaithWorks series from the book of James.

By the way, SPOILER ALERT!  If you haven't seen the movie, you probably will want to stop here, go see it and come back.  Otherwise, you've been warned!

The movie is about a girl, Elsa, who has the power to freeze things.  After an accident with her sister, Anna, during childhood it's suggested that she hide these powers until she's able to control them.  The rub is that she never is able to control them because, unbeknownst to all involved, it is her sister's love that gives her the power to overcome the raging storm inside her.  Wait, did I mention that her sister's memories of Elsa's powers have been erased?  Anyway, coronation day comes and Elsa is pronounced Queen of Arundell and, it being an emotionally charged event, the predictable happens and her facade cracks.  Her powers come out and Arundell is plunged into an eternal winter.   Elsa runs to the North Mountain, after her powers are revealed, where she hopes to leave Arundell behind for good.  She believes that her sister and the other inhabitants of her kingdom can live safely and peacefully in her absence.  Back in Arundell, there are a lot of mixed responses to the discovery of Elsa's powers.  Some respond with fear, others with awe and wonder.  Two responses, in particular, stand out.  First, there's the unconditional love and genuine concern that drives her sister, Anna, to go after her.  Anna hopes to bring Elsa home and help her to learn to control her powers.  She's not put off by Elsa's revelation.  Even after Elsa inadvertently hits her with her powers, thereby freezing her heart and bringing about her impending death, Anna's desire continues to be to see her sister restored.  This response is so very different from another character in the movie.  The Duke of Weselton wants one thing and one thing only...Elsa's demise.  He claims Elsa's power to be "sorcery" and demands that she be brought to justice.  In his mind, she's a monster and Arundell will never be safe until she is disposed of.  At one point in the story, he sends his men along on a rescue mission for Anna, commanding them to "end this winter"...ie, get rid of Elsa.

So, two hugely different responses.  And, as I think about them and our lesson from the Book of James, I'm cognizant of the fact that while Anna responded to Elsa with love, grace and genuine concern, the Duke's response was self-righteous judgment.  Now, lets be honest about something.  While most of us Christians would immediately identify ourselves with Anna, the truth is that the world would identify most of us with the Duke.  For the most part, Christians are seen as self-righteous, judgmental people who tend to unmercifully point out the flaws in others while turning a blind eye to their own.  Now, I don't think this would be case if it weren't at least partly true.  We do have a tendency to point out the faults of others.  We do tend to rail against certain sins that others commit while turning a blind eye to our own sins.  The world watches as we demonize homosexuality, drunkenness, fornication and licentiousness, yet frequently indulge, ourselves, in gluttony, gossip, slander, back stabbing, greed, materialism and sugar coated idolatry.  So, I say it again...though we think of ourselves as Anna, there is a great propensity for us to be more like the Duke.

Now, before you think I'm being soft on sin, let me point out an important little tidbit.  I actually believe we don't call out sin enough!  Let's face it...God has given us a high standard to live up to...and, I believe we've lowered the standard in today's church!  Identifying sin is not what makes us judgmental people.  We're judgmental when we set ourselves above others and self-righteously wag our pointing fingers, forgetting that we, ourselves, are sinners.  We should call out sin!  We should call out the sin of others AND we should call out our own sin!!

So, all of this to lead us up to what James has to say about the subject.  "Don't criticize one another brothers.  He who criticizes a brother or judges his brother criticizes the law and judges the law.  But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.  There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy.  But who are you to judge your neighbor?"  (James 4:11-12)  What is the law that James is talking about here?  Well, our gut instinct would be to say that it's the Law given by God to the Israelites when they came out of Egypt...the ten commandments.  That's not the law James has in mind though.  Remember that context is always key!  Look back a couple of chapters at James 2:8, where Ole Jimmy gives us this one.  "If you really carry out the royal law prescribed in Scripture, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself', you are doing well.  But if you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors."  James goes on to state that breaking any one of the Mosaic laws makes you guilty of breaking it all.  Therefore, since the Royal Law (given by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40 and reiterated here by James) supersedes the Mosaic law, being unloving makes one guilty of breaking the entire law.

Upshot of this is that if you hate a homosexual because of their sin then you are just as guilty, if not more, than them!  If you hate an adulterer because of their sin then you are just as guilty, if not more, than them!  I could go on, but I think you get the idea...they may be breaking one of God's laws, but if you hate or self-righteously judge then you're breaking the entire law!  You see, the law that James is referring to is the law of love!  We're instructed to love one another and the reason that criticism and judgmental attitudes are wrong is because they cause us to break this law!  Be sure of something, here.  James is not saying we should be soft on sin.  Read the rest of his letter if you think that!  If anything he's setting the bar even higher!  We must call out sin...but we must figure out how to do so in a loving and merciful way.

Back to the movie.  Anna knew that what Elsa had done wasn't a good thing and she went after her, in love, to restore her and help her make things right.  The Duke, on the other hand, was ready to write Elsa off.  Anna was willing to leave the safety and familiarity of the castle to go after her sister.  The Duke was willing to do nothing but sit back within the walls of the castle and condemn her.  When pressed to go along on the rescue mission, he sent some guys in his place to carry out his mission.  (Not to open a can of worms here, but this sounds a bit like what we Christians do when we send other people around the world to the "heathens" to tell them about Jesus while we sit back in our comfortable pews and air conditioned churches in the most affluent culture on the face of the earth and, self righteously, pat ourselves on the back for a job well done)  Believers, we are called, just as Anna did, to go after those living in sin.  To get in the trenches.  To suffer along with them.  To get dirty so that we can lead the filthy to the One who can make them clean.  We're called to convince others to stop trying to hide their dirty little secrets and, instead, to acknowledge them and give them to Jesus (this is what true repentance demands, after all)!  And, most importantly, we're commanded to do every bit of this with a loving, merciful and gracious spirit...just like Jesus!

So, who are you?  Are you Anna?  Are you selflessly going after those who are failing and flailing in their sin, driven by the grace, mercy and love that was poured out on you when you found rescue from your filth?  Or, are you the Duke?  Self-righteously pointing a finger at others, condemning, convicting, criticizing, but really doing nothing to try to help their situation?  Truth is, I didn't like the Duke very much so I guess I can't really blame the world for criticizing when they watch believers act just like him.  Hey, this world is frozen in the grip of sin...let's get busy spreading a little love and warming some hearts!

Filthy Cheaters

It's always amazed me how some things that happen in your past just seem to cement themselves in your mind so that you never forget them.  I've been happily married to my beautiful wife for 18 years, but there are still a few things from my dating days that I remember.  I really only dated two girls during my teenage years.  One of them is now my wife...yes, we were high school sweethearts.  However, before her there was this other girl.  Now, let me be completely honest.  I liked the girl, but I definitely would not say I loved her.  Truth is, I had no idea what love was at that time.  I can say, though, that I have always valued faithfulness and loyalty (I attribute this to reading too many Louis L'amour books, growing up...go look him up, it's good stuff).  Anyway, all of that to say that this first relationship ended because I found out the girl had spent a Saturday with another guy at a local water slide.  Now the irony of all of this is that it was my next girlfriend and future wife who let me in on this little secret!  It's all very funny to me now, but when it happened I was really upset by it all.  Not because I was in love with this girl, mind you, but because I didn't like the idea of being cheated on!  I was loyal to her and I expected the same in return!  To say I was hurt is a little bit of a stretch, but I was definitely mad.  You know how I felt because I'm sure you, yourself, have felt the sting of a relationship gone bad because of disloyalty or unfaithfulness.

Loyalty and faithfulness are some of the most important traits in healthy relationships.  In fact, when it comes to patriotism, there was a time where disloyalty was a capital offense.  Wendy and I made a commitment to one another when we first got married that we would never even consider the idea of divorce...except under one condition...that of unfaithfulness.  We trust each other implicitly...and part of the reason we can do that is because we both understand, completely, the consequences of "cheating".  Cheating destroys relationships and hurts countless innocent people surrounding the "cheaters".  All of us know of families destroyed by cheating fathers or mothers.  Some of you may even be the product of a home destroyed by unfaithfulness and, to this day, you still carry the baggage associated with the loss that "cheating" brings.  As a minister to students, I'm constantly reminded of the turmoil that is brought about in the lives of teens by broken families.

So...upshot of this whole thing so far is that cheating is not a good thing!  Sidenote time...what has to happen in order for restoration to take place when cheating happens?  A whole lot of repentance, humility and forgiveness must take place!  And, perhaps, even a good bit of counseling!  Point being, cheating is easy while faithfulness is not and restoration is nearly impossible!

Now, lets make a little spiritual application of these thought.  This guy, James, is writing this letter to the Jewish people back in the first century and he's telling them that empty faith is useless.  It does nothing to save you and definitely doesn't mark you as a true believer.  James says that what you do marks you much more than anything you could say or even believe.  So, to Jimmy, the way people who claim to be Jesus followers behave in this world is of utmost importance.  In fact, he equates a worldly way of living with unfaithfulness towards God.

It's no secret that one of the ways the Bible illustrates the relationship of believers with Christ is as a marriage.  We are the "Bride" of Christ.  Go back to the Old Testament book of Hosea and you get a beautiful picture of what God is up to, concerning His people.  The picture we get is that of humanity, selling itself into prostitution to this world and a sinful way of living and thinking.  In great love, however, God (like Hosea did for Gomer) comes to where we are practicing our unfaithfulness and buys us back from that way of living.  Hosea used money to buy back Gomer while God uses something much more valuable (in fact, priceless)...the life of His only Son.

This is where ole Jim takes up the story.  According to his way of thinking, it would be absolutely crazy for someone who had been liberated from this way of life and brought into glorious freedom and a perfect relationship with someone who truly loves them to ever want to go back to that old way of life.  However, some folks do!  It's insane, but these people "cheat" on the One who chose and loved them...the One who liberated them and gave them a proper relationship...by going back to being friends with and hanging out with their old pimp (the world).  So James calls them out on it.  Listen to what he says, "Adulteresses!  Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God?  So whoever wants to be the world's friend becomes God's enemy.  Or do you think it's without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit He has caused to live in us yearns jealously?"  (James 4:4-5)  Did you get that?  If you're a person who claims to know Jesus...who claims to follow Him...yet is identified with the world in the way you live, act, talk, dress, etc. then James labels you as a "cheater"!  In fact, he says you're actually living as an enemy of God regardless of what your mouth may claim to be otherwise true!

Now, this ought to hit some of us right between the eyes.  And, for others of us, it should absolutely break our hearts.  The church has lost almost all of its influence here in America.  Why?  Could it be because we're "cheating" on the one who truly deserves our loyalty and love by making friends with His enemy?  I know you're thinking, "Wait a minute...I'm not the devil's friend?"  I would suggest that if you are enjoying the offerings of the devil...if you're partnering with those who do his work...if you're joining in the behavior of those who wittingly or unwittingly follow him...then you are, in fact, his friend!  I mean, you can't really claim to be the holy bride of Christ if you're covered in the filth of the world, right?  And, if you're buddying up with this world then you are "cheating" on the one who desires, more than anything, to set you free from that life!

So, if you find yourself in this situation, what is the proper response?  Well, you could do one of three things.  You could try to conceal it.  Many "christians" do, in fact, try to do this.  They live one way when they're in front of the "christian" crowd, but a totally different way in front of folks who aren't part of that crowd.  However, remember that "cheaters never win".  Eventually, the truth comes out about everyone!  Another thing you could try to do is deny it.  You could convince yourself that just because you have a few "guilty pleasures" doesn't mean you're setting yourself against God.  You could convince yourself that a word here or there doesn't really matter or that a peek here or there doesn't really matter or that an unethical action is sometimes needed to get ahead or that what you listen to, watch, etc. doesn't really define or affect you or fill in the blank.  However, remember that though you may try to live your life in the grey, with God there is only black or white!  You may deny that you are a cheater, but if you're cheating you can't really hide the fact from the One who really matters!  Finally, you could admit it...and change.  And, by the way, this is the only correct way to deal with the problem.  Check out what James says we ought to be doing when we find ourselves acting unfaithfully towards God.  "Submit to God.  But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people!  Be miserable and mourn and weep.  Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you." (James 4:7-10)

Sounds like we fix our unfaithfulness to God the same way we would with anyone else.  A lot of humility, repentance and even some counseling from God's Holy Spirit.  The greatest part of it...God is faithful to forgive!

Soooo...all that to say that I really can't stand cheaters.  The worst part of the whole story is that I am one, myself!  I've cheated on the One who has been faithful to me in thick and thin...the only One who was willing to die to redeem me from my unfaithful lifestyle.  Nowadays, I'm trying to live faithfully with my God and I pray that all of the rest of you cheaters are joining me in the endeavor!

I feel so centered after reading this!

I'm going to teach you a new word.  You ready for it?  Here it is...geocentrism.  Any idea what it means?  Years and years ago, people actually believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that EVERYTHING revolved around it.  The reason they thought this was because they observed the movement of the sun, stars, moon and planets through the sky.  As they studied this, they came to the conclusion that the earth must remain in a fixed position while all the other bodies moved.  This was the widely held view until a few important people came along.  A fella by the name of Copernicus was one of the first to challenge this idea.  Since he was bucking all common knowledge at the time AND the religious establishment who saw the earth's geocentricity as theological, his thoughts went over like a bucket of bricks.  Galileo was the first guy who was really able to give any concrete evidence to the new theory of a sun centered solar system though.  He had a nice tool...a telescope...which he used to try and prove his point.  Regardless of his evidence, however, he had a pretty tough time of it as well as the established academia of the day and the Catholic church let him have it for his beliefs.

Today, we are certain that the earth is not the center of the solar system.  No one, other than a few fruit cakes out there, would claim that everything revolves around the earth.  The whole reason I bring this up is though we are no longer geocentric folks (in other words we don't think the universe revolves around the earth), most of us ARE egocentric folks (in other words we think the world revolves around us)!  All of us are born with a selfish streak in us.  Just watch a bunch of two year olds playing together and you'll realize that selfish ambition is just something we're born with.  No one teaches children to be selfish...they just are!  Take my kids for example.  If one has a toy, all of the others want it.  It doesn't matter that they've already played with that toy till they're sick of it.  If they see someone else enjoying it, they want it back!  Why is this the case?  Because we don't want anyone to have more happiness than us, and, for most of us, that means that we don't want anyone to have more ANYTHING than us!  We're selfish.  Now, as adults, this looks a little different.  We don't just take things away from others...usually...but we do compete with them in a pretty bad way.  We don't want our neighbors to have a better house than us.  We don't want our friends to drive better cars than us.  We don't want anyone to have a better job than us.  We climb ladders, build bigger and better and buy more expensive all in an effort to outdo everyone else and have ALL the happiness for ourselves.  And, if we sense that someone might be doing a little better than we are, we are JEALOUS!  We have selfish ambitions.  ALL of us.  Even you!  It's just part of our human nature.  Selfish...Ambitions.

There was this one guy, however, who didn't have selfish ambitions.  He didn't compete with those around him.  In fact, he was pretty chill about climbing the ladder.  He didn't try to gather a lot of followers (if he had had twitter, I'm sure he would have been following many more than were following him).  He didn't really try to impress.  He was just who he was.  And...instead of being selfish, he was selfless.  That's right, instead of demanding and taking, he surrendered and gave away!  Yeah!  This fella, Jesus, wasn't like the rest of us.  In fact, in the greatest sacrificial act of giving in all of history he gave something that most of us spend our whole lives trying to hold on to...his life!  Paul said this about him, "God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!" (Romans 5:8).  That sounds pretty doggone selfless doesn't it?  Yeah, Jesus was all about selfless affection!

Now, if that's where it all ended we could just say, "Oh, nice story!" and go on about our business, but that's not where it ends!  For those who know Him personally, this Jesus is working to change them!  You see, when someone gets to know Him, He connects His Spirit with theirs and He starts to do some radical stuff.  Most of all, He starts the process of moving them from being self-centered, self-indulgent and self-serving little punks to being other-centered, self-denying, self-sacrificing little saints!  It's a process...and for some it takes longer than others...but it happens!  What He's up to is making us like Him.  He's giving us a new nature...and with that new nature, selfless...affections!

Now, it's time for a little bit of honesty.  You and I have both known people who claim to be "Christians", yet are still some of the most selfish people you'll come across.  I'll be honest about this...I can't explain that.  However, I DO KNOW one thing...when people really meet Jesus if affects them!  Sooooo...if someone claims to know Jesus, but the pattern of their life is one marked by selfishness then you and I have good reason to wonder about the reality of said relationship.  In fact, I believe that one of the biggest and most legitimate beefs that an unbelieving world has with "Christians" is the fact that so many of us are just so stinking self-centered.  And, though an unbelieving world may not know Jesus, they know enough about Jesus to know that He wasn't like some of the folks they know who bear His name.

So, yeah, the earth is not the center of the solar system...and, guess what, you're not the center of the world!  And, if you're a believer you definitely aren't the center of ANYTHING!  And...that's really a good thing!  Now, quit reading this and go make someone's day!

I WROTE THIS ESPECIALLY FOR YOU!

My wife, Wendy, and I have been working on a little project for a couple of months at our church.  It's a little something that sprung out of a need we saw in our church and a recognition that there were few churches in our area ministering to that need.  We are parents of a child with special needs.  You wouldn't know it by looking at him...he has, after all, my roguish good looks.  His disabilities are in the cognitive and language areas.  Anyway, all of that to say that we've noticed a need for an area in our church for parents and children who have special needs to be able to worship without feeling like they were hindering the worship of others around them.  A place with no stares, no irritated coughs, no raised eye brows, no mumbling under the breath about getting your child under control, and no pitiful looks.  Honestly, I find it hard to sit through an hour long service, sometimes, without wanting to burst out with a yell or do a couple of laps around the sanctuary, myself, so we got to thinking on what we could offer that would allow parents a place where they could hangout on days that their child might be having "a day" (that's what we call it when Colby gets in one of his moods where he just can't sit and be quiet and makes it his goal to embarrass us until he gets his way).  We came up with a room just for this purpose.  It's really neat because it has some toys, puzzles and coloring books for the kids, but also has a TV which is streaming a live feed of the worship service for the parents.  Now, parents can enjoy the service with other parents who may be in the same boat AND not have to worry about their child being the source of mass chaos.

Now, as I stated at the beginning, this has been a project that has been months in the making.  I gave up my office to make a space available which was large enough, close enough and offered the technology we needed to make this happen.  We had to gather up all the materials and install all the audio visual equipment.  The odd thing is that as much work has gone into the room, the hardest part of the whole ordeal has been deciding on a name for it.  Why?  Well, though I'm ok with the idea myself, a lot of folks we talked to didn't want to just call it the "special needs room".  They felt it carried a bad connotation...a label, if you will.  That really got me to thinking.  You may think me odd, but when I think about my special needs child, Colby, I don't think of him as weird or odd or different.  Colby is, actually, really normal!  Because of Colby, I've gotten to know a few other "special" children and I can say without hesitation that most of these "special needs" children really aren't that much more "needy" than any of us "normal" folks...in fact, in some ways, they are MORE normal than we are!  

Let's explore that last statement for a bit, shall we?  First of all, all the term "special needs" conveys is that a person is lacking some ability.  We also call it a disability or handicap.  For some, what's lacking is the area of cognition, for others it's mobility, for still others it may be communication or social abilities.  Usually, though the lack in one area may be severe, the individual can still function.  I've met children with Down Syndrome who are some of the sweetest, most loving people you'll ever meet.  I've met children in wheel chairs and walkers who are some of the smartest kids you'll ever know.  In fact, I have a friend with Cerebral Palsy who has a great sense of humor and is a genius when it comes to beating me in cards!  I've met kids, like Colby, who may struggle academically and expressively, but have an incredible ability to relate to others and use common sense, despite their handicap.  I've also met seemingly normal people who are considered successful by society, but are incredibly mean spirited...lacking compassion.  I've known people who are leaders in church and other walks of life, yet have debilitating levels of pride and self-righteousness.  I've met "normal" people who are extremely academic, but have an inability to relate to others.  I've met men who are hard workers, but are emotionally handicapped in such a way that they can't show proper love to their wives or children.  I've met women who seem to be the picture of beauty and grace, but barely hide the bitterness and emotional turmoil brewing inside them.  I've met husbands and wives who seem to function well in all other areas of life, but can't hold together a marriage because of their inability to communicate.  I know of men who look like they have it all together on the outside, but inside they are disabled by lust and selfishness.  In fact, almost everyone I've met has some sort of handicap!  I do and I'm sure you do too!!

The truth is that you may look at my child and think that his disability "marks" him or provides him with a "label".  I don't see it that way at all!  What I DO see is that we've identified what our child struggles with and are working on it?  The question is have YOU identified what YOU struggle with and are YOU working on it?  You see, the truth is that we are all "special needs" people because we all struggle.  None of us are perfect...especially when we start talking spiritually.  To see what the Bible has to say about this, check out Romans 3:10-26.  In this passage, Paul makes it clear that we are all spiritually needy and that Jesus is the only one who can fix our handicap.   You can deny your need for Him all day, but that doesn't make you any less needy!  You can resist the therapy He wants to put you through in order to bring healing, but that doesn't make you any stronger...it actually means you're pretty weak!  Or, you can accept what He's done to fulfill your need.  You can surrender to what He wants to do in you so that He may grow you and remediate you.  You can give yourself over to His IEP (Individualized Education Plan for all of you mainstream education folks) for your life so that you may learn how to live in a right relationship with Him and with others.  The choice is yours...you can seek help for your "special need" or you can live in denial.  But know this...living in denial doesn't make you any less "needy" or any more "normal".

So, this Sunday my special little family will be attending worship via live video feed, at our church, in the "No Name" room while all the normal folks get the full, live experience in the real special needs room, also known as the Sanctuary.  Wherever you worship, I pray that your needs are identified and you find them met in Jesus.