The Good Life
Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God.
Ecclesiastes 5:18 -19 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
This verse sounds simple enough: work hard, eat well and live with gratitude. But, sometimes things can get complicated for me when I erroneously compare my life-gifts with others around me. It is also difficult when society insinuates what “good” is in magazines, television, film, music and in most every area of life. My life hardly measures up to their definition of good or desirable. I am black when white is better and beautiful, fat when thin is better, (on this point I might agree because of the health benefits), older while younger is more prized, mid-income when high income is respected and desired, (and sometimes needed), my home is small to mid size in a world where McMansions are becoming the norm. So, for those that do not measure up to the “American Standard”, what are we to do? Be thankful for what we have? Sounds like a cop-out answer doesn’t it? Maybe not.
When I get off track, I refer back to God’s plan for every man and woman. The life God plans for his person is more about attitude and gratitude than anything else. According to Solomon, the Bible’s most wise and richest man ever, the best life is to eat well and enjoy our work. Across Ecclesiastes, Solomon says he has done it all. He tried pleasure seeking, buying and selling, sex, philosophy and looking for “good people” to add more to his life. After a lifelong and probably expensive search by the wisest man ever, he concludes on just a few things: work hard, eat well and stick to God (5:18, 19 & 12:13). Oftentimes, the Biblical view seems upside down from the world view, and for good reason. God’s ways are not like ours. As He created life, maybe we should try it His way?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Just Ask For the Directions
Just Ask For the Directions
The very steps we take come from God; otherwise how would we know where we're going? Proverbs 20:24 THE MESSAGE
When my wife and I take long drives, she is normally the navigator and I am the driver. I think she likes it that way because she gets to continue telling me what to do, even in the car. One day I decided to get directions from Yahoo.com. I was going to handle the driving and the Navigation on my own. But, to my dismay, we got lost. We decided to pull into the unofficial location for directions, a gas station. I asked Urs to go in and get the directions since I had already gotten us misplaced and I wanted to maintain at least a little of my dignity and not have to ask for help. People began walking out of the gas station, pointing at our car and chuckling. Once Ursula came out, she told me several people wanted to help her. When she told them the directions we had, several people said the directions were horrible and asked if they were from Yahoo. She said yes and all of them had a good laugh.
I think it is important to get your driving directions from someplace other than Yahoo. I also think it is important to get your life directions from the one that authored you. It is good to make life plans, but discuss them with others that have strengths in your areas of weakness. Let go of your pride, ask, and then trust the answer even if you don’t fully understand it. In life, you can’t do things on your own all the time. Ask the Father who directs our steps, and trust that even though we don’t understand, He is trustworthy to the end. The steps of the people that trust God are directed by God. God is delighted to be involved and if we stumble, we won’t fall because God holds our hand (Psalm 37:23-24 Paraphrased New Living Translation).
It’s gainfully lucid to me that God wants us to depend on Him. He wants us to let go of our worry and pride and ask for His involvement and then act upon the answers He gives. We may not avoid every bump in the road, but we won’t fall and be destroyed, because He loves us.
The very steps we take come from God; otherwise how would we know where we're going? Proverbs 20:24 THE MESSAGE
When my wife and I take long drives, she is normally the navigator and I am the driver. I think she likes it that way because she gets to continue telling me what to do, even in the car. One day I decided to get directions from Yahoo.com. I was going to handle the driving and the Navigation on my own. But, to my dismay, we got lost. We decided to pull into the unofficial location for directions, a gas station. I asked Urs to go in and get the directions since I had already gotten us misplaced and I wanted to maintain at least a little of my dignity and not have to ask for help. People began walking out of the gas station, pointing at our car and chuckling. Once Ursula came out, she told me several people wanted to help her. When she told them the directions we had, several people said the directions were horrible and asked if they were from Yahoo. She said yes and all of them had a good laugh.
I think it is important to get your driving directions from someplace other than Yahoo. I also think it is important to get your life directions from the one that authored you. It is good to make life plans, but discuss them with others that have strengths in your areas of weakness. Let go of your pride, ask, and then trust the answer even if you don’t fully understand it. In life, you can’t do things on your own all the time. Ask the Father who directs our steps, and trust that even though we don’t understand, He is trustworthy to the end. The steps of the people that trust God are directed by God. God is delighted to be involved and if we stumble, we won’t fall because God holds our hand (Psalm 37:23-24 Paraphrased New Living Translation).
It’s gainfully lucid to me that God wants us to depend on Him. He wants us to let go of our worry and pride and ask for His involvement and then act upon the answers He gives. We may not avoid every bump in the road, but we won’t fall and be destroyed, because He loves us.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
What’s the Difference, It Still Hurts
What’s the Difference, It Still Hurts
My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord Disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Proverbs 3:11-12 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
I have read this verse for years, and I didn’t get it till now. You see, many times a writer will use examples taken from everyday life and the culture she or he is in to explain a concept. The writer of Proverbs, (most likely Solomon, though there were others that contributed), used an example from his own life to explain a spiritual truth. David, Solomon’s father, seemed to not only watch over his son, but to communicate with him. He left legacies for his son such as wisdom in keeping God’s commands, prayer, kingship and direction. This was all a part of Solomon’s training and discipline.
I was watching a movie once where the father regularly explained things to his son. I asked my wife if people really spoke that way to their kids. She suggested that it was possible. As a result of my upbringing, I never understood the difference between being in trouble and being disciplined. What’s the difference? They both hurt. To me they were intertwined and I had no desire for either.
The word “discipline” conjures up all sorts of negative imagery for me. Restraint, control and obedience are the first words that come to mind. But, there is a different word to define discipline, teach. When God disciplines us, we usually think of the negative stuff, right? For example, when things go wrong, we immediately blame God. Then we start rationalizing why this thing has happened to us with comments like, “God must be punishing me,” or “what did I do this time?”
When difficult things happen, maybe we should try to look at them as corrections instead of punishments. Instead of asking why God is picking on us, ask God what He is showing us. What does He want us to learn?
My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord Disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when he corrects you. For the Lord corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.
Proverbs 3:11-12 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
I have read this verse for years, and I didn’t get it till now. You see, many times a writer will use examples taken from everyday life and the culture she or he is in to explain a concept. The writer of Proverbs, (most likely Solomon, though there were others that contributed), used an example from his own life to explain a spiritual truth. David, Solomon’s father, seemed to not only watch over his son, but to communicate with him. He left legacies for his son such as wisdom in keeping God’s commands, prayer, kingship and direction. This was all a part of Solomon’s training and discipline.
I was watching a movie once where the father regularly explained things to his son. I asked my wife if people really spoke that way to their kids. She suggested that it was possible. As a result of my upbringing, I never understood the difference between being in trouble and being disciplined. What’s the difference? They both hurt. To me they were intertwined and I had no desire for either.
The word “discipline” conjures up all sorts of negative imagery for me. Restraint, control and obedience are the first words that come to mind. But, there is a different word to define discipline, teach. When God disciplines us, we usually think of the negative stuff, right? For example, when things go wrong, we immediately blame God. Then we start rationalizing why this thing has happened to us with comments like, “God must be punishing me,” or “what did I do this time?”
When difficult things happen, maybe we should try to look at them as corrections instead of punishments. Instead of asking why God is picking on us, ask God what He is showing us. What does He want us to learn?
Thursday, March 4, 2010
The God Who Knows
The God Who Knows
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:1 & 13 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
Until I read this piece of scripture, I always considered myself “unknown”. As in, “no one could possibly know the real me.” When I first read Psalm 139, I was sitting in a hospital room. I wanted to read to my dad, but hadn’t been a believer long enough to have had any solid perspective of what to read. My wife suggested reading from Psalms. I began reading scripture to my father and praying for him. As I read these verses, the words sounded very bizarre. I am not prone to hearing voices, but as I read the words of Psalm 139 to my dad, it was as if I could hear someone speaking the words back to me. As if to say, “This is how I feel about you.”
I was overwhelmed.
Suddenly, I had gone from unknown to known. I found out that I was not a mistake, but a purpose. No longer unwanted, but deeply desired. When people say things like, “God has a plan for your life,” I think God really does. For a starter, the plan for your life is to know God, and be known by Him. That, in itself is cause to celebrate! This magnificent, wonderful God is interested in me! In us! Out of all the planets and creation, He opted to make you and me on purpose, for a purpose. And, more than anything else, He wants us to know who we are, and where we come from and for us to come home.
My dad went home very early the next morning. As he passed on, conversely, I was being reborn and repurposed by God that night. Suddenly, I had become known.
I am still overwhelmed. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! (Psalm 139:6 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION)
1 O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. 13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalm 139:1 & 13 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION
Until I read this piece of scripture, I always considered myself “unknown”. As in, “no one could possibly know the real me.” When I first read Psalm 139, I was sitting in a hospital room. I wanted to read to my dad, but hadn’t been a believer long enough to have had any solid perspective of what to read. My wife suggested reading from Psalms. I began reading scripture to my father and praying for him. As I read these verses, the words sounded very bizarre. I am not prone to hearing voices, but as I read the words of Psalm 139 to my dad, it was as if I could hear someone speaking the words back to me. As if to say, “This is how I feel about you.”
I was overwhelmed.
Suddenly, I had gone from unknown to known. I found out that I was not a mistake, but a purpose. No longer unwanted, but deeply desired. When people say things like, “God has a plan for your life,” I think God really does. For a starter, the plan for your life is to know God, and be known by Him. That, in itself is cause to celebrate! This magnificent, wonderful God is interested in me! In us! Out of all the planets and creation, He opted to make you and me on purpose, for a purpose. And, more than anything else, He wants us to know who we are, and where we come from and for us to come home.
My dad went home very early the next morning. As he passed on, conversely, I was being reborn and repurposed by God that night. Suddenly, I had become known.
I am still overwhelmed. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! (Psalm 139:6 NEW LIVING TRANSLATION)
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