Moving On

Immigration has been in the news a lot over the past few years.  It seems to be one of those issues that politicians are going to argue about but not actually do anything about.  Some want to send immigrants back to where they came from.  Some want to let those here stay, but keep out the rest and some want to let them all in.  And within that description there are a thousand subtleties that make one person's position a little different from the rest.

We are a land of immigrants.  Most of our ancestors came here from somewhere.  And we all have one thing in common.  When we got here, the children of the last immigrants were none too happy to see us.

As the debate goes on (and on, and on, and on, and on) I find myself thinking more and more about the people who immigrate.  People who look to the distance, see an opportunity and decide to go for it.  It must be quite the mental process to come to that decision.  We all grow up thinking that our experiences are the norm.  To move on to a new land, you have to get to an utter state of dissatisfaction where you realize that they way that you are living isn't working for you.  You need to be so uncomfortable with where you are that you are ready to jump into the great unknown.

Of course the epitome of this satisfaction comes with refugees.  For a refugee, it is not a well thought out plan of immigration.  It is the sense that I must escape.  I will only take the small amount that I can carry and I will go.  We see pictures of people crammed on rafts.  These people who climb onto overcrowded boats and head across the water are not stupid.  They are desperate.  They know how dangerous climbing on the boat is, and they still see it as there best option.

As Christians, God calls us to be refugees from this world.  Jesus preached that to be a follower we need to be at a place where we hate the things of this world.  We need to be desperate to move on, to see that there is a better way and to take a leap of faith.  And to be an immigrant to the Kingdom of God is not really enough.  Many immigrants come with the idea that someday they will return home when things get better.  A refugee says "I'm done here" and moves on.  We cannot be part of the Kingdom of God and still keep our dual citizenship with the things of this world.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We need to make the journey.  We need to leave as refugees. 

 In the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor there is a poem inscribed on a tablet,  The poem is called The New Colossus.  Part of the poem says, 

"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free, the wretched refuse of your teaming shore.  Send these the homeless tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."  

This is an attitude that we as Americans struggle with in welcoming the needy from foreign lands, but it perfectly describes God's welcoming attitude towards us as we come to Him as refugees from this world.

Winning the Argument

I hate to admit it, but sometimes I get sucked into political arguments.  It would be nice to call them discussions or debates, but let's be honest.  They are arguments.  I have opinions on a wide range of topics and when someone is expressing the opposite view.....well, I have a hard time not expressing mine.

But one thing occurred to me recently.  It is possible that I have never, ever, ever, won an argument.  

Of course that depends on your definition of winning.  If what you want is to say certain things. If what you want is to make others in the room uncomfortable.  If what you want is to have another person wait there while you talk at them.  If these are your goals, then sure, you can claim victory,  But, if your goal is to change their opinion to yours?  Forget it.  It isn't going to happen.  

Think about this.  The only reason that you got into this argument is that they felt strongly enough about it to express their opinion.  They are as certain of their opinion as you are about yours or I am about mine.  Someone who is one the fence, won's stick around for the argument.  They will smile and walk away,

I think that winning an argument is just about impossible.  In order to have a chance at convincing the other side, they have to be open to considering their position on the matter.  Most of the time they aren't even listening to what you say, they are preparing their next argument.

As Christians this is important to remember.  We are called to make disciples of all nations, but we will never, ever, ever argue a non-believer into believing.  Ever.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

You cannot argue a non-believer into believing.  Ever.  If we want others to see the love of Jesus Christ, we need to let that love flow through us.  We need to live a life caring for others in such a way that others may see it and say, "I want what they've got." 

And here is the real trick.  Loving people is not a sales pitch.  We don't show mercy, grace and love to people to convince them to restore their relationship with God.  We don't do it to seal the deal.  As Christians we need to love our neighbors because GOD LOVES US, and if the Holy Spirit is flowing through us, we can do no different.

It's Not You. It's Me.

Fantasy Football.  If you haven't heard of fantasy football, you aren't paying attention.  Fantasy football has become huge in recent years.  There was a time when it was a niche hobby that a few fans played, but now it is every where.  If you don't know about fantasy football, Google defines it like this:

a competition in which participants select imaginary teams from among the players in a league and score points according to the actual performance of their players.

One thing about fantasy football (full disclosure - I too have a fantasy football team)  is that individual player statistics are much more important than who wins or loses.  If you were on an actual team, the philosophy is that we win or lose as a team.  Not so much in fantasy football.  If I am watching the Lions, I am happy when they score.  I am more happy if one of the players on my fantasy team was carrying the ball.

We love to herald individual accomplishments and not just in fantasy football.  Social media allow us to constantly list our events.  Others feel left out if they aren't doing the same.  So we have the highlights of everyone's lives right in front of us.  

When politicians speak they often like to point to the accomplishments of individuals.  They find that people relate better when a face is put to an accomplishment.  So in stead of saying that schools are improving, they point to a certain school and say how they are improving.  At the State of the Union Address, we know the people sitting around the first lady will be highlighted in the speech and asked to stand and be recognized.

The point is this.  All of this individual recognition can lead to a sense of pride.  It can lead to an opinion that the individual is more important than what is going on around them.  Professional athletes always say that they would rather have the win, than put up individual numbers.  Still, it's hard to believe that the fame and notoriety doesn't affect them.  In the same way, we all need to be cautious that when we are recognized individually, we remember the role that others had in our success,

Pride is the sense that our accomplishments are the result of our own abilities and talents, and not from circumstances that we are in.  And a little pride is a good thing.  We see that our efforts can make a difference how things turn out.  But too much pride can be toxic.

As Christians walk the walk and grow closer to God, we see more each day that it is not our own individual efforts that matter, but rather it is God working through us that makes a difference.  Or in other words, what we can accomplish on our own is insignificant to that which we can do when working in the will of God.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We live in a world where accomplishments generate notoriety.  We must remember that we do very little on our own and that true success comes when our efforts are aligned with the will of God.

Change We Can Believe In

The self help industry is alive and well in America.  There are many groups and companies who each suggest the perfect remedy for what ever ails you.  It may be organic or vegan or low-carb or gluten free.  There are gyms with personal trainers.  There are 12 steps and 10,000 steps.  Most of these plans all have a central set of rules that if followed, success is certain.  I read once that most of these plans do actually work, if we stick with them.

And that's the real trick isn't it?  How do we find the formula for a change after failing so many times?

This time it will be different.  That is the motto of anyone anywhere that is trying to make a change in their life.  I have tried in the past and failed in the past, but THIS TIME will not be like the last time.  No, this time it will be different.

Let's face it, change is hard.  Our old ways are comfortable to us.  If change were easy we would have done it a long time ago.  So we need to go against the biggest obstacle to change, ourselves.  Each time we try to change, we can become our own worst enemy.

So real, authentic, life altering change requires something more.  It's not enough to do it on our own.  Real change requires real power.  And that is where God comes in.  Changing lives is God's business.  Unlike self help programs that offer a program of rules, God offers a relationship.  And a relationship with God is the vehicle through which real change happens.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

So there you have it.  Real change is just a relationship away.  Now there is change to believe in.

Yeah, But....

Attitude means a lot.  If you play a sport, whether that sport is football, volleyball, wrestling, basketball or cross country; if you play a sport, you are going to get you share of bumps and bruises and injuries.  Recently I was talking with a group of students about their sports injuries and we noticed how much differently they feel after a win than after a loss.  After a loss, the joints are a little more sore and the bruises are a little more deep.  After a win?  We are saying, "Oh that?  That's nothing."

And just like a good attitude can lift us through the bumps and bruises and hard times, a bad attitude can sour even the most blessed times.  There was a man I once knew who was sour over the news that high wife was expecting a baby.  It was their first child and he was upset.  Now he had gone to college, had a good job with benefits. and life was going along pretty swell.  But he had a plan.  They were going to have a certain amount of money in the bank and own a house and do this and that and THEN it would be time to have kids.  This was happening out of order and it was disrupting his perfect plan.  He couldn't see all of the blessings that he did have.

The point is this.  There are always reason to be happy or sad.  There are always reasons to step up and do or to hang back and sit out.  We can find justification for either course of action.  And this is particularly true in our walk with God.

There are as many reasons to lead a Godly life as there are ways to stray from the path.  It is only a question of our attitude and how is it that we want to be.  We can choose to love our neighbor even when they are not lovable, or we can be angry at them over their inconsideration.   We can find joy in the midst of our trials or we can let the events happening around us define our days.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

No excuses.  Go and do likewise.  

No Excuses.  There are many premade excuses that we could use.  But ultimately we are blessed.  We need to let our appreciation for those blessings shine through us.  That is what joy is all about.

Badges

Merit badges.  When I was in scouts there were over 100 badges that could have been earned, if you were so inclined.  And some scouts were.  I had friends that were really into earning badges and accumulated seventy or more.  The would fill up the sash both front and back.

To become an Eagle scout you have to earn 21 badges.  There are 16 badges that are required plus five electives.  (I earned 23, thank you very much.) In actuality you really only need a small percentage of what is available.  But some scouts were really into the badges and kept on going.

Badges?  We don't need no stink'n badges.  

OK.  I got that out of my system.  There are a lot of awards and badges that are handed out these days,  Some like the scouts have a set of requirements that must be completed.  Others are given out just for showing up.  It is really common in children's competitions for every child to get some type of an award, no matter what the level of success.

But this type of need to recognize isn't restricted to children's activities.  As an adult it is not uncommon to be given certificates at the end of training seminars for the distinct accomplishment of staying awake through almost all of it.  I remember after one day long workshop being given a certificate IN A  FRAME.  No kidding.  Did someone there really think that we were going to want to display it?  There is a lot more to our experiences than the badges that we earn.

As a Christian, life isn't about badges. The walk with Christ isn't about checking off certain things on our to do list.  We can't meet requirements 1 through 8 then be done with the process.  It is about changing everything.  To follow Christ is to change our entire perspective, to see the world from a new point of view, to consider things in a new way, to totally transform our heart.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We are incapable of loving the world around us in the way that God loves.  He loves unconditionally and perfectly.  We are just not wired in a way that makes that possible.  But if we accept the grace of God and allow ourselves to be redeemed through Jesus Christ, then our hearts can be transformed and the love of God can flow through us.

It is not a badge to be earned, but rather a gift to be received.

No, Seriously, How Long?

As many of you know, I am a teacher, and like all teachers, I have certain canned "Teacher Speeches".  These are the little talks that we have ready to go.  Life lessons to share when the right teachable moments comes along.

Question - Can I have extra credit?

Answer - You really aren't asking for extra credit.  That would mean that you had done everything and now you want more.  What you asking for is something to take the place of the work that you previously did not do.  So what you are asking for isn't extra credit, but ALTERNATIVE CREDIT.  See the difference?

Question - How much of this will be on the test?

Answer - All of it.  Everything.  Everything we talked about on in class, everything in the book, everything that you should have known before you got here and everything that I meant to go over, but didn't quite get to.  If you know everything, then you will be fine.

Question - How long does the paper need to be?

Answer - Write all that you have to say on the topic.  Then stop.

All of these questions are basically versions of the same question.  What is the minimum that I can do to skate by?  Recently I read a post from blogger and English teacher Peter Greene.  His answer to the how long question was great.  It may change my teacher speech on that topic.   It goes something like - You are asking what is the bare minimum that you can get away with.  You want to know how much can you limit yourself and still make it.  But here is what I want, I want to know how awesome you can be.  Show me that and it will be long enough.

So often we ask the same question of God.  What is the least that I can do to get by?  How much of my life can I hold back.  How much can I keep my heart in this world?  How little can I follow You and still receive the blessings and grace that come from being a Christian.  What is the bare minimum required?

The answer is that we aren't to be limited by minimums standards.  God wants all of us and we need to give him all that we can.

This clip from Pastor Chris is a little longer than normal, but it is well worth the watch.

The question is not how little can I do, but rather how awesome can I be.  What is my best effort?  How much can the fruits of the spirit; (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  patience and self control, ) define me and my life?   God does not want our minimum effort, He wants all of us.  

There is no alternative credit.

Following Links

This morning I got on my laptop and began the routine by going through my email.  One thing led to another.  There was an article that linked to a blog that linked to a youtube video.  I found myself listening to a commencement speech by author David Foster Wallace.  I thought that it was interesting on several levels.  The first of which is that much of what he discussed I was planning on writing about this morning anyway.  But he also had a lot to say about being self centered and looking beyond ourselves.

In his speech, Wallace says that we all have a default setting that confirms that we are in fact the center of the universe and that getting beyond that point takes deliberate effort. 

 It is very easy to fall into a trap where everything that we see comes through the lens of how does it effect me.  And we can become quite indignant that others have not considered how their actions affect me.  They seem to behave as if they are the center of the universe, but we all know that it is me.

The reality is that when we approach life in this way.  When we look at the world as though it is all about me, we will come to the point where our talents and abilities do not measure up to the needs at hand.  Not even close.  At those times we see how painfully short our own efforts will leave us.

But the grace of God is sufficient.  When we embrace that idea; when we realize that there is a correct path for our lives and that surrendering ourselves to the will of God will lead us on that path; then we can see the world through a different lens.  God has a plan for each of us and by submitting to the will of God we can be part of a greater purpose.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We follow the links.  We accept the grace of God that came through Jesus Christ.  We allow that grace to change us in ways that we could never change ourselves.  We see the world through the Love that God has for us all,  And we allow the grace of God to work through us.  Not a bad path at all.

Credit for the Sunrise

A few years back there was a scandal involving a popular historian's new book.  It seems that when writing the book there were sections that she didn't actually write herself.  She took some passage directly from her assistant's research notes and placed them into the book.  The thing is that the assistant had also taken the passages from someone else's work.  When the book came out, there was quite a dust up.

From time to time we hear about a politician who gets in trouble for copying another's speech.  Now most of those speech's sound alike to me, so I'm not sure how you tell, but they can.

The whole thing reminds me of taking a young child fishing.  You get the poles and bait.  Pack them up with a snack and go to the lake.  Once there you bait the hook, cast the line and some time later, while the child is playing with the worms, you reel in a fish.  They come over to lift it out of the water and say, "Look what I caught".   The child is happy and it's all fun, but it does bring up a point.

How often does one person take credit for the work of another?  Whether in school or the workplace there is always someone taking credit for something that they had little or nothing to do with.  The expression is "It's like a rooster taking credit for the sunrise." Or it's like a weather broadcaster on TV who seems quite proud of the day he is predicting.  Just like the rooster, he didn't bring the sunshine.

As Christians we can crow pretty loudly from time to time.  We know right and wrong and try to walk the walk.  So much so that we can believe that our goodness actually counts for something.  You see for all of our efforts we are nothing without the grace of God.  We can do our best, but our best falls painfully short.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

Pastor Chris spoke of Mother Theresa who spent her life helping the poor in the streets of Calcutta.  I once read a quote from her where she described he soul as being black as coal.  She knew that her efforts did not buy her grace.  They were a response to the grace of God.  And if her actions can't buy her grace, how insignificant are our own efforts?