Sweet Charity

I have been hearing from a lot of Christians lately that surely this world must be coming to an end because of all of the depravity that they see around them. First of all scripture tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5 (as well as elsewhere) that the exact time of the second coming of the Lord is not known. So, why the speculation? I think it is because some believe that certainly God would want to get us (Christians) out of such a calamitous environment. It has just become too overwhelming to deal with. Secondly, the vileness that is going on in the world is nothing new Ecclesiastes 3 shows us that. It only seems that way to us because, again, it is too staggering to deal with. No, I don't think Jesus is coming anytime soon; especially while his people are being so disobedient.

The calamity is not in the evil of those around us, it is in our own villainy. We have become egotistical as Christians and we feel we are entitled to everything we have. Not only that - if someone else doesn't have as much as we do, then that is there own plight. We have the Marie Antoinette 'let them eat cake' mentality. I have a feeling God is appalled by that.

There was a good reason that Jesus came to earth not as a wealthy or even a middle class citizen, but as a poor man. He was a carpenter by trade. He worked with his hands. There is a good chance that he went periods of time without work because there was no need for a carpenter at that time or the project that he was working on was finished. He would probably have to wait for a while or travel to another town to find work. Do we think he was lazy? Not making good choices in his line of work? Maybe he should have used his talents in a different way. Then he may not have had to rely on the kindness of strangers or charity to fill in the gaps in his employment. I think not. Assuredly we would not fault Jesus for working in a low paying, physical labor job; so why do we find fault with those around us who make the same choice?

If you take a good look at scripture it clearly tells us that we are to take care of the poor among us. It shouldn't take governmental mandates in order for us to be generous. We should give freely knowing that the laws of reciprocity will surely be in our favor down the road. We never know what life situation we may find ourselves in some day. I know I don't want to be in a position to help someone right now and refuse, only to find myself on the receiving end of the charity next year and have someone deny me help.

Of course we shouldn't assist others out of fear or guilt. We should do it because correct thing to do - because Jesus told us to.

Deuteronomy 15:7-11 - 7 If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 89 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. 10 Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. 11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.

Proverbs 21:13 - 13 If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
he too will cry out and not be answered.

Matthew 19:21 - 21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

2 Corinthians 8:7-10 - 7But just as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 8I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 10And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.

A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Back to School Update

The kids had a great first day of school. My seventh grader was a little bummed because he has third lunch, which is when mostly eight graders eat, but other than that I really heard nothing but positive things. I took a few pictures of them as we were leaving. I can't believe how much they have grown. Cliche, I know, but it is so true. Parenting makes time a paradoxical situation in which every moment is an eternity and it is over before you know it. I am trying to enjoy every moment and stage of their development as much as I can, since I realize that in the blink of an eye it will come to an end. *sniff, sniff*

Know it All

From a worldly point of view there is no mistake so great as that of being always right. ~Samuel Butler, Note-Books, 1912

Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6 in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Don't you just love those people who always seem to know it all? You know the type I am talking about -- the ones who, during a conversation, often interject the word actually. "Well, actually, the chicken had to come before the egg because..." "Well, actually, I am a pompous ass." Okay they don't actually say that last one, but they might as well.

We all encounter these people in our lives. It makes me wonder -- what drives someone to be a know it all? Why do they feel the need to be right all the time. I think that the answer is fear. So many roadblocks in our lives can be attributed to that (not so) little word -- fear. I think frequently, folks feel afraid that if others see them as they really are, they will not be liked, so theyexalt themselves to expert in all subjects.

The problem is that one can never relax in this constant state of readiness. She ahs to always be ready with the correct information in which to stump her fellow confabulator. It has to be tiring, always trying to win an argument when the person she is talking to never even realizes that the pleasant chat they were having was actually a debate. She walks away with a victory in her pocket -- the fact that she actually knew the facts to a tee. However, her friend is shaking her head and wondering why she even bothers to have a conversation with her; it always feels like she is trying to one up her. It starts to wear on the friendship.

It is indeed impossible to always be right about everything. Furthermore, we weren't put on the earth to know all of the answers all of the time. As a Christian, I believe that God made us with an inquiring mind that seeks to know the answers to all of life's queries. It's true that we have a tremendous capacity for knowledge, but we will never know it all.

It is my belief that only God knows all the answers. That is why scripture cautions us not to lean on our own understanding, but to acknowledge God in all ways. It is only then that who we are to be can come to fruition. If we hold so tightly to our own intelligence that we are living in fear of being wrong, then we are surely not living our best life.

God longs for us to live victorious lives. He wants the best for us, just as we want the best for our children. We must learn to let go of our own pride and relinquish our hold on our own perception of perfect understanding and concede that God alone knows it all. It is a lot less taxing and infinitely more joyful.

Back to School

At the moment, my house is quiet with anticipation; expectation of the long awaited first day of school. There is nothing like the first day of school. It is the chance to start things anew and look at things with a fresh perspective. Without these kinds of fresh starts, life would surely become stagnate. I know that for the last few weeks, stagnate is what I have been feeling. I need a brand-new beginning, there is no doubt about it. I know my kids do as well.

In just a few minutes the quiet anticipation is going to turn to buzzing expectation. I will miss my children dearly. They are really cool kids and they are fairly amusing to hang out with; however there are a few things that I will not miss. Like the plethora of discarded drinking glasses that invariably pile up no matter what 'system' I enact. They also will not be able to graze at the trough that is our pantry all day long like they do during the lazy days of summer. No, they will have to wait until after school to come home and have a 30 minute eating frenzy, as they are forced to 'starve' all afternoon with no snack at school. I am not sure if they eat more while grazing or during the binge, but at least the abandoned granola bar wrappers and yogurt cups are restricted to a finite period of time. That way I can make one clean sweep of the house and pick them all up at one time instead of shrieking at them all day to pick them up.

I will also not mourn the loss of their constant and continuous bickering. This last few weeks they have felt the incessant need to irritate each other. It is too haot ot go outside and do much of anything, and I ran out of money to throw at them for entertainment, so they took up pestering one another as amusement. Have you heard of an experiment in which rats where placed in a cage without enough space to accommodate all of its inhabitants? Well, what happened was the rats started tearing each other apart. This is what occurs in human specimens in August, in Texas where there seems to be no place to escape the confines of their domiciles -- They fight to see who can be ousted from the cage to insure proper elbow room for the remaining inmates.

We used to start school in early August, thus allowing our children and their ensuing scratching, biting and clawing behavior to be the responsibility of the public school system. Alas, that is no long an option. The powers that be in Austin, Texas have seen fit to mandate that no public school be allowed to start classes before the last Monday in August. I feel certain that it was a teacher's lobby group that pushed that legislation into action. No way would any other special interest group benefit so much from this regulation. It surely was not stay at home moms of four kids who pushed for it.

It is a time for renewal today, however. A season for change and a shift of focus. It will be nice to have a routine again and to try to get some perspective.

Okay, the are up now, so I can't think straight any more.

Learning is Not Just for Kids

“When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me.”
- John Wesley

As I get older I realize just how little I really know. There are so many things yet to be learned and explored. The old saying that youth is wasted on the young really has a ring of truth to it. If I knew half as much as I thought I did at 22, I'd be a genius. Some wisdom in life can only come from, well...life. There is no substitute for life experience. I now know that I really am not as smart as I thought I was. I am a little wiser now, but not nearly as wise as I will be in 5,10,15 years. I can't wait to learn new things and gain more insight into life's mysteries.

As far as my relationship with the Lord is concerned, I want to be emptied of all preconceived notions that I have. I want to forget what the world tells me is the truth and concentrate on what God reveals to me as the truth. I anxiously await these revelations. There is so much glory and power in God's word. I don't want to read it with my own understanding. I want to read it like it was meant to be read - with humility and openness.

Proverbs 3:5-6:
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

1 Corinthians 2:6-10

We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"¹⁰but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.