Something Better

Here's a joke.

This politician dies.  He is met at the gates by an angel who says that he will be allowed to tour Heaven and Hell, then choose his destination.  So he tour's Hell.  And much to his surprise, it is much nicer than he originally thought it would be.  There are nice golf courses and there seems to be a party going on.  The whole atmosphere is happy go lucky and fun.   So then he tour's Heaven.  He sees the pearly gates and the streets of gold.  He sees the angels and hears the choir sing.  When it is done, the angel asks him which he chooses.  The politician says, "Don't get me wrong, Heaven is great and all, but Hell seemed a little nicer.  I can't believe it, but I guess I'll choose Hell.  And into the elevator he goes.  Down, Down, Down.  And when the door opens there are no golf courses or parties, only a burnt landscape to the horizon. The politician hears the wails and smells the brimstone.  And as he begins to feel the heat, he says to the Devil, "This isn't what I chose." The Devil says, "Then we were campaigning, but now you've voted."

Things are always changing as we are looking for the new or bigger or better,

As you know, I am a teacher.  And it sure seems that education is always the land of the next bright new thing.  When I started we were told that everything needed to be hands on, then came testing and we were told about all of the laws and terms that they needed to know, then it was about graphs and data and now they are saying it should all be hands on.  It seems like the old things keep coming around.

So why do we do it?  Why are we constantly looking for that next new thing?  There is something about human nature that no how good we have it, we are always looking for something better.  Everything new becomes old in a hurry.  Then we are looking for more.  We are looking for new.  We are looking for better.

This is a particular quandary for a Christian.  On the one hand, we know that being in God's will is better than anything that we can come up with on our own.  But on the other hand, sometimes we don't see it.  Sometimes we are looking at the situation through the world's prism and we think that there is something new, something better.  And so we go for it.  We accept the worlds better over God's best. 

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

Something better.  God had given us everything, but that wasn't enough.  We suffer from the same problem today.  We can have a life that is blessed beyond measure, but still we can look at it through the prism of the world and think that better is right by that tree.

Looking for Loopholes

Some actors play parts so convincingly that people can confuse the character for the actual person.  I heard recently that actor Michael Douglas was confronted about his character from the movie Wall Street, Gordon Gecko.  In the movie his character is quoted as saying. "Greed is Good." And then goes on to justify the merits of greed.  He was called out on it and asked if he still believed it.  His answer was that he never believed it.  He was playing a character in a movie and seemed dumbfounded that people had such a hard time understanding that.

And so was the problem of William Claude Dunkenfield, an actor from the early part of the 20th century who is better known by his stage name W.C. Fields.  He often played a sarcastic drunkard and so developed was this character that people often confuse the character with the person himself. He is famously quoted with lines like,

"It was a woman who drove me to drink, and I never had the courtesy to thank her for it."
or
"Once I had to survive for four days on nothing but food and water."

It's hard to know how much is him and how much was his character, but one of these quotes comes from a friend who was visiting him in the hospital.  He was caught reading the Bible.  When asked what he was doing, he responded, "Looking for loopholes."

I we all look for loopholes from time to time.  We like to think that certain rules don't quite apply in this particular situation.  We weigh the consequences of  breaking a rule and decide that maybe it's worth it.  A friend once told me, "A rule without a consequence is a suggestion."

And so it is with taxes.  We hear that such a small number of returns are audited and the IRS doesn't have the manpower to really investigate very many.    As a result, many treat the amount to pay in taxes as a suggestion rather than a requirement.

 

So where is all of this going?  As Christians we are sometime looking for loopholes in the will of God.  We know what it says.  We know the commandments and teachings of Christ, but we just don't want to do that.  So we try to justify our rebellion.  We say God didn't really mean it.  It was a different language and some translations make it sound different.

Love thy neighbor....
Provide for those in need....
Have no Gods before Me....
Thou shalt not....

Looking for loopholes we think that the commandments are nothing more than suggestions.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

"Did God really say that you could not eat from any tree?" Did God really say.  Surely he didn't mean it to apply in this situation.  Surely, if God gave us more detail, then this would be allowed.  Surely, this is not what He meant.

We like to reword what God says to fit our desires of the moment.  We are looking for loopholes and we should know better.  There is forgiveness in surrendering to the Grace of God, received through the blood of Jesus Christ.  We can't get in on a technicality.

You Had One Job

There are these funny pictures that you see online about people messing up.  Usually it isn't a really bad one, like someone getting hurt; it is more like an every day job done wrong.  Then they have a caption on it, "You had one job".  Here is an example

 

or here's another...

And I could go on and on.  There are hundreds of them out there.  It's hard to say what makes it funny.  Corn in an onion bag isn't really funny on it's own.  I think it's the set up.  The phrase, "You had one job." sets up a story.  It is really saying, "You were only asked to do one simple thing, and you couldn't even do that right." 

So why am I writing about this?  Well one of the first stories in the Bible is based on this idea.  "You had one job." The story goes like this.  Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden, and every thing is great.  God tells them to do anything they want, but "you have one job..." don't eat from that one tree.  So they ate from the tree.  And things went down hill from there.  

In all fairness to Adam and Eve, we were going to mess it up eventually.  People have free will, and with the ability to choose for ourselves and the knowledge of right and wrong, comes the inevitability of messing up.  Which I believe is the entire point of the story.  We can choose right from wrong and we know the difference.  We will inevitably choose wrong from time to time.  It is who we are.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

So they eat from the tree.  They gain the knowledge of wright from wrong and then they know that they did wrong.  And God says to them, "Really?, You had one job.  One job." And now its time to go.  He got the whole thing ready, then he handed us the keys.

God of course knew what would happen.  It is all part of the process.  Someone doesn't have free will if they can't make bad choices too.  And through our mistakes and through our poor decisions, we have the opportunity to rely on and draw closer to God himself.

Jesus said that the greatest commandments were to love God and love each other, which might be more like two jobs, but the idea is the same.  God tries to keep it simple for us.  Just do this.  Sometimes even the simple is beyond our abilities.

God in the Gaps

Sometime in life we need to stretch a little.  Our goal is just a little beyond out grasp.  It is so close that we can almost touch it.  Almost.  Maybe we are stretching to make ends meet or to squeeze in too many things into a too busy schedule.  Maybe we are confronting a health issue beyond our control or relationship problems that are a bit beyond what we can do on our own.  It is at those moments when our objective is beyond our reach, when we can't quite do it on our own that we are most likely to turn to God to fill in the gaps.  We ask God to fill in what we can't do on our own.

Sometimes God becomes a gap filler in our understanding of how the world works.  There was a time when people thought of outer space and Heaven as being the same thing.  Everything seen, but not understood was attributed to God, His Will and His Nature.  In this way of looking at the world, every why and how gets answered with God until we know better.  But here's the problem with that approach.  We end up with an ever expanding view of the world and an ever diminishing view of God.

Let me explain.  God is.  He is the Alpha and the Omega.  He is the Great I am.  There is nothing. NOTHING. That any human could do to diminish God.  But if we allow our understanding of God to be restricted to our gaps, then when we grow, He shrinks.

When we see God as the one who helps us through a tight financial pinch, then as we make more money, God seems less.  When we see God as the one who helps us through physical health, then as we get healthier, God seems less.  And if we see God as the answer to questions about nature, then as our understanding grows, God seems less.

The trick is to see God in all things.  We need to see God in richer and poorer, in sickness and in health.  We need to see God in our ignorance and our discoveries. 

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

In the 1616 Galileo tried to describe the tides by the motion of the Earth and the Moon around the Sun.  The members of the inquisition had a view of God that was too small to include both Him and a moving Earth.  But still it moves.  We need to allow our view of God to expand with the amount of His nature that he shares with us.  God is relevant everywhere, not only in the gaps.

Top Ten

In 1985 while on the show "Late Night" David Letterman had a bit that became a staple of American pop culture, the top 10 list.  The first one was the top 10 words that almost rhyme with 'peas' and on that list #1 was 'meats'.   The lists went on night after night until he went off the air earlier this year.  List included Bigfoot's Pet Peeves (the smell of wet squirrel and Elvis dropping in unannounced.) and Facts About the 100 Ton Fungus Found in Michigan (Believed to be smarter than Dan Quayle).  Politicians and celebrities would stop by to participate.  What started as a gimmick turned out to be a lot of fun for decades.

Of course, the lists don't stop with the Late Show.  Facebook is filled with lists and lists and list  and list.  We can see 30 Memories of Boblo Island Amusement Park or 29 Ways to Know You are From Michigan.  And here is my favorite list.  The New Yorker printed a list of the 100 best lists of all time.  Go ahead, follow the link and take a look.  I'll wait.

So where is all of this going anyway?  As Christians there should be one list that we should be very aware of.  It is the list of transgressions that have been forgiven of us by God.  Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven.  And as a Christian I know the areas that I have been forgiven and I continue to struggle.  I need to remember the list.  Not to beat myself up with the list, but to acknowledge that there is much to be thankful for and maybe generate a little more compassion for those who are just getting started on their lists.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We need a list.  Either a physical list or a mental list to remind us of where we were and where we've come in our journey with God.

Beggars and Choosers

If you want to stir up a feisty conversation at your next social gathering, just bring up the subject of welfare.  In general politics can do it, but welfare really gets under people's skin.  Some people can begrudgingly accept the idea that some sort of safety net is needed.  Many of us can think of someone who was on public assistance for a short time, and then got their life back on track.  But that isn't what bothers us.  What really gets under our skin are the people who are perpetually on welfare.  We see them spending their days lazing around while we're at work.

So to battle the middle class welfare frustration we want to put up hoops for them to jump through.  They need to get drug tested.  They should have to show up down here and do something before they get their check.  They should have to show that they are looking for work.  They should have to go back to school.  Just like there are things that we have to do to get paid, they should have requirements too.

And some of these ideas may be valid, but the point of this post isn't about ways to improve welfare.  The point is this.  What type of assistance are we on?  Us.  Not them.

I went to a public school and then to a public university.  We paid tuition for college, but I know that it was massively subsidized by tax dollars.  I took out a student loan, that was underwritten by the government.  I bought a house  and the loan was secured by the feds.  I continue to get a tax break based on my mortgage interest.  I also get a tax credit for having a child.  I went back to college and took advantage of a lifelong learning tax credit.  I got an energy tax credit when I replaced our front door and window.  Am I a welfare queen or what?

It is easy to pick on the problems of others.  It is easy to say that your problems are not my problems so get  your act together.  My point is that we all take from the pie.  When we say that we are not on government assistance, we mean that we are not getting a monthly check.  But there are so many ways that the government gives.

So what is my point with all of this?

This lesson is particularly relevant to Christians.  It is easy to look at another's sins and say "come on, get your act together."  As a Christian, I am called to forgive others for their transgressions.  Furthermore, we are told that the measure we use to judge others, God will use to judge us.  We are called to forgive others.  Have empathy.  Have compassion.  Love.  This is the calling of the Christian.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We are two beggars showing each other to the food line.  We seem to have a lot of angry people in the world and many of them claim Jesus Christ as their Lord.  We need to approach others with compassion and humility.  We need to encourage rather than condemn.  And in all things we need to let the love of God shine through us.

P2C

This is the 200th post for this blog.  In honor of that, this post is about perseverance.  Just kidding.  I wrote this post and later realized it was #200, but it does fit, to a point.  We often think of perseverance being associated with enduring those things that are hard to get through.  I wouldn't say that I have persevered through 20 years of marriage, because being married to my wife is a joy.  (Maybe she's the one persevering. )  In any case, thanks for persevering through the 200 posts.

And now a word on perseverance from Winston Churchill.


We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans,
we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the streets,
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.”

**Winston Churchill 4 June 1940

It is the summer of 1940.  London is getting bombed and France is on the verge of collapse.  Winston Churchill needs to encourage his people to persevere through the ongoing trials and the ones to come.  

Sometimes we get tired of the grind.  The same thing over and over again can get pretty tiring.  No matter what it is.  There are projects, goals, targets that we begin working on.  Along the way we start to lose focus and second guessing or purpose for doing it in the first place.  

 

We are called to serve our neighbors.  And let's face, our neighbors need a lot of service.  It can feel like we are spinning our wheels.  Whenever one problem is put behind us, the next one comes along.  In the midst of it all we can get discouraged.  But as Winston Churchill said, "We must never surrender."

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

We are called to serve out neighbors.  And not just a little bit.  We are called to do what we can, when we can for whom we can.  This can be taxing but if it is worth doing, it is worth persevering through to the end.  

Never Ending

It is the first week of November and it seems like we are being blessed with a week of nice weather.  It was clear and in the 60s and because of daylights savings time, it got dark about 6pm.  But after work I went out to rake leaves while I could.  We have a lot of trees in our yard and with that comes a lot of leaves.  I mean a lot of leaves.  And acorns.  This year has been a particularly big year for acorns.  There is nothing much to do with acorns other than dumping them in the woods for the deer to eat.

The thing about our autumn yard work is that it is never done.  There are so many leaves that the clean up goes on and on until they are covered with snow.  Then we take a break until spring.  And continue the clean up then.  It can get kind of discouraging.  When I am raking in the yard I know that I will never get done.  Bur that doesn't mean that I don't make a difference.  Last night I was working in the garden area to the side of the house (A place we call the courtyard) and when I was done it looked quite a bit better.  The front yard, the back yard, the other side of the house all need attention, but the area that I worked on is better.  And that is an accomplishment.

Like raking leaves, some jobs never seem to end.  Laundry can be like that.  Or shoveling snow in the winter.  Or washing dishes.  Or mowing the grass.  I am a teacher, so I would put grading papers on the list,  It seems like whenever I get to the bottom of the pile, there is always another thing getting turned in.  

It reminds me of the Greek myth of Sisyphus.  According to the story. Sisyphus was condemned to push a giant rock up a hill for all eternity.  When he got to the top the rock would roll back down to the bottom and the process would start again.  Our ongoing tasks can feel like the work of Sisyphus.  On going, never ending, and pointless.

There is of course a big difference between the toil of Sisyphus and our ongoing tasks.  The difference is that they make a difference.  Pushing the rock up the hill is a pointless exercise that benefits no one.  But the same is not true for grading papers.  Students receive feedback on their work and through that feedback can improve.  By doing laundry we have clean clothes to wear.  And by raking the leaves in the courtyard, The grass grows better and the flowers will grow better in the spring.  The efforts do make a difference.

As Christians we are called to help those less fortunate.  And as we look at the enormity of the need, it seems to never end.  We see the abject poverty in the world, both in foreign countries and here at home, and we are left thinking that there is no way that we can solve all of this.  And we are right.

But just because we can't fix everything, does not mean that there is nothing that we can do.  We can still make a difference in some places for some people.  And that is our assignment.  We are called to do what we can, where we can for whom we can.

Watch this clip from Pastor Chris.

The poor will always be with you.  Jesus offers that as a reminder that in all things we need to keep our focus on Him.  But it is also a challenge.  We will always have the poor.  The job of caring for others will never be done.  Ever.

There is much to do and as Christians we are called to do what we can, where we can for whom we can.  And just because the job is never complete, does not mean that our efforts do not make a difference in someone's life.