What blocks progress? Beyond the forces of nature and occasional events beyond one's control, progress is hindered by the choices we make. Whether consciously or on a subconscious level, it is a natural tendency to blame other people and/or our circumstances for our lot in life. But our reaction and response to any situation rests squarely on each of us, individually. We are responsible for choosing to help or halt our own progress. (And, of course, I am keeping my potential, expected readership in mind as I write this. What I discuss here would not apply to those living in Somalia, for example, who are living minute by minute at the mercy of circumstances.)
What guides our choices? Many things, of course. As a general rule, choices which move us forward in a beneficial way are guided by a set of principles based on right conduct and are helped along when we are well-informed and willing to admit there might be a different way of doing things other than the way "things have always been." On the other side of that, things like selfishness, greed and a stubborn refusal to consider other opinions and ideas will stop forward movement, in just about every way.
In the areas of health, happiness and spiritual growth, we often feel "stuck" and without options. But are we really, or is it possible our daily decisions are keeping us from improvement? We know that sitting on the couch, watching TV and eating a piece of cake is not a superior choice to having a couple of carrot sticks and going for walk, but how often does the television win the battle in our war with self-control? (Don't ask me that question; I'm not telling.)
Similarly, for the most part, we are not ignorant of what promotes spiritual well-being. Faith, hope, love, kindness and joy lead to peace and progress on our journey through life, and qualities such as these are not mysteriously bestowed on us; they are up to us to choose, just as worry, fretting, fear, unforgiveness, hate, stinginess and whether or not we're in a bad mood are all within our control.
My encouragement to us all is to look inward to see how we can change ourselves and look outward not to place blame or criticize, but to seek how we can help others along as we all travel the Way. Let's choose the good news and move ahead.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
God Insurance
My niece recently shared the following story about her baby: "A couple of weeks ago when we were going to have Teddy baptized, our younger nephew asked his mom and grandma, 'Why do we want to have him hypnotized?' They said not hypnotized, baptized. He asked what baptized means; his older brother told him it meant 'God insurance.' "
Kids certainly can be funny (and sometimes, painfully accurate) can't they? It brought to my mind a conversation I had this week about what the word "Christian" means. One friend commented that in American society, calling oneself a Christian is almost like trying to have a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, and many of those who profess to be Christians "don't want to leave home without it."
These days, rather than Christian, I often prefer to call myself a follower of Jesus, a believer or disciple (student) of Christ. For one thing, Jesus did not call his followers Christians, they were first called that at Antioch (see Acts 11:26) a number of years after his crucifixion. Another reason is, even though those who call themselves Christians know what they mean when they use it in reference to themselves, the term, I'm afraid, has a negative connotation for many, who equate it with dogmatic formality, dreary inflexibility and misplaced zeal.
Jesus did not teach the importance of following traditions and practicing elaborate rituals; in fact, he spent a great deal of his time trying to free people from thinking God wants to be confined to earthly buildings and that one needs to follow a complicated set of rules and laws to please and obey him.
Baptism is one of the few "rituals" in which Jesus himself participated. One other I can think of is communion. I wouldn't consider doing either one to be simply an effort to feel "insured." These two things represent heartfelt love and obedience.
Whatever one chooses to do to express religious beliefs, it is not my intent to question anyone's sincerity or devotion. Each of us knows our own heart and no one else can, but I do want to challenge us, myself most of all, to think about and study why we do what we do in the name of Christianity. If it's only because "that's the way it's always been," or to fit into a specific mold made by society and not by Jesus, maybe we're merely paying our monthly premiums toward a "God insurance policy."
Kids certainly can be funny (and sometimes, painfully accurate) can't they? It brought to my mind a conversation I had this week about what the word "Christian" means. One friend commented that in American society, calling oneself a Christian is almost like trying to have a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, and many of those who profess to be Christians "don't want to leave home without it."
These days, rather than Christian, I often prefer to call myself a follower of Jesus, a believer or disciple (student) of Christ. For one thing, Jesus did not call his followers Christians, they were first called that at Antioch (see Acts 11:26) a number of years after his crucifixion. Another reason is, even though those who call themselves Christians know what they mean when they use it in reference to themselves, the term, I'm afraid, has a negative connotation for many, who equate it with dogmatic formality, dreary inflexibility and misplaced zeal.
Jesus did not teach the importance of following traditions and practicing elaborate rituals; in fact, he spent a great deal of his time trying to free people from thinking God wants to be confined to earthly buildings and that one needs to follow a complicated set of rules and laws to please and obey him.
Baptism is one of the few "rituals" in which Jesus himself participated. One other I can think of is communion. I wouldn't consider doing either one to be simply an effort to feel "insured." These two things represent heartfelt love and obedience.
Whatever one chooses to do to express religious beliefs, it is not my intent to question anyone's sincerity or devotion. Each of us knows our own heart and no one else can, but I do want to challenge us, myself most of all, to think about and study why we do what we do in the name of Christianity. If it's only because "that's the way it's always been," or to fit into a specific mold made by society and not by Jesus, maybe we're merely paying our monthly premiums toward a "God insurance policy."
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The Journey
My family and I recently returned from a weeklong driving trip which covered over 3,000 miles. While we did have a couple of particular destinations in mind, for the most part, our vacation was more about the journey than where we were going to end up.
We love the natural beauty of the country as well as man made oddities and attractions. We enjoy stopping at scenic overlooks and at almost any claim of the "world's largest" anything. This trip included a stop at the world's largest hand-dug well in Greensburg, Kansas. Greensburg has another claim to fame. It is a small Kansas town which was decimated by a tornado in 2007. When deciding to re-build, planners made it the "greenest" (environmentally-friendly) town in America. It is fascinating to see their creative approach in coming back from a devastating loss.
Mount Rushmore, the Badlands and Devil's Tower were some of our favorite sites, but along with those we saw the continuing shameful plight of Native Americans, extreme poverty in areas of Colorado and Kansas and Joplin's destruction. Breathtaking beauty exists alongside sobering heartbreak; this is true on vacation and it is a fact as we live our lives every day.
I view our individual spiritual journeys in much the same way as I think of my recent vacation. It is vital to live in the moment and make the best of every situation, embracing the beauty while not trying to deny the pain. Because life is uneven, because we often struggle with the cares of the world, it is easy to dismiss the present and get caught up in thinking God must be preparing us for some great plan or future project. Even though that might be true, how we behave on our way there is most important. We should not concentrate exclusively on "someday." Because of life's uncertainties, it is "now" which should be our focus.
Living with passion, loving unconditionally and helping where we can must be our daily goals. If all we think about and long for is a better future, we miss golden opportunities today. Appreciate the journey, letting the beauty inspire you while not allowing the sadness to overcome you. And if you're ever near Greensburg, go see their big well.
We love the natural beauty of the country as well as man made oddities and attractions. We enjoy stopping at scenic overlooks and at almost any claim of the "world's largest" anything. This trip included a stop at the world's largest hand-dug well in Greensburg, Kansas. Greensburg has another claim to fame. It is a small Kansas town which was decimated by a tornado in 2007. When deciding to re-build, planners made it the "greenest" (environmentally-friendly) town in America. It is fascinating to see their creative approach in coming back from a devastating loss.
Mount Rushmore, the Badlands and Devil's Tower were some of our favorite sites, but along with those we saw the continuing shameful plight of Native Americans, extreme poverty in areas of Colorado and Kansas and Joplin's destruction. Breathtaking beauty exists alongside sobering heartbreak; this is true on vacation and it is a fact as we live our lives every day.
I view our individual spiritual journeys in much the same way as I think of my recent vacation. It is vital to live in the moment and make the best of every situation, embracing the beauty while not trying to deny the pain. Because life is uneven, because we often struggle with the cares of the world, it is easy to dismiss the present and get caught up in thinking God must be preparing us for some great plan or future project. Even though that might be true, how we behave on our way there is most important. We should not concentrate exclusively on "someday." Because of life's uncertainties, it is "now" which should be our focus.
Living with passion, loving unconditionally and helping where we can must be our daily goals. If all we think about and long for is a better future, we miss golden opportunities today. Appreciate the journey, letting the beauty inspire you while not allowing the sadness to overcome you. And if you're ever near Greensburg, go see their big well.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
What Will We Do?
There are some who long to return to the days of the kind of government which prevailed under the reign of our founding fathers, with few regulations and no income tax. If you are an adult, white male of at least average intelligence, that might work out for you, but for anyone who doesn't fit into that entire description, it might not be so enjoyable.
Let's consider the good old days: Women could not only not vote, but had most other rights sharply curtailed. Anyone who was poor, down on their luck, mentally incapacitated or either too old or too young to take care of themselves and had no relatives, had few options and usually become little more than indentured servants, or, slightly later in our history, were at the mercy of supposedly charitable organizations who answered to no one and were quite often less about charity than about abuse of those in their care.
Children were treated as property and were used as their parents (and others) saw fit. There were no child labor laws, no mechanisms in place to prevent the abuse of children, and the results were tragic. If you were a person of color, any color that would not match the skin tone of someone from a socially-acceptable European country, of course your plight was worst of all.
I am fairly certain most of us believe government regulations and tax codes have gotten out of hand. But do we believe it is possible and practical to return to the days when government intervention in the lives of individual Americans barely existed?
There is a solution, but it requires those who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus to unite and become serious and creative in our approach to those living in sorrow and poverty around us. There are certainly enough resources in the hands of churches and individuals to address the ills of society (and the world) in spectacular fashion.
But the question is: Christians, are we ready to mobilize to take care of all of the children currently in foster care, the elderly in nursing homes with Medicaid paying the bill, those who are struggling with mental illness, living with domestic violence, with addiction issues, with poverty and pain? If we are, then let's not ask corporations and billionaires to contribute to government coffers, and let's cut social programs.
The Church has been at the forefront of social change throughout our nation's history. Now may be the time for our generation to answer the call. If the current political course continues, we'll find out if we're ready.
Let's consider the good old days: Women could not only not vote, but had most other rights sharply curtailed. Anyone who was poor, down on their luck, mentally incapacitated or either too old or too young to take care of themselves and had no relatives, had few options and usually become little more than indentured servants, or, slightly later in our history, were at the mercy of supposedly charitable organizations who answered to no one and were quite often less about charity than about abuse of those in their care.
Children were treated as property and were used as their parents (and others) saw fit. There were no child labor laws, no mechanisms in place to prevent the abuse of children, and the results were tragic. If you were a person of color, any color that would not match the skin tone of someone from a socially-acceptable European country, of course your plight was worst of all.
I am fairly certain most of us believe government regulations and tax codes have gotten out of hand. But do we believe it is possible and practical to return to the days when government intervention in the lives of individual Americans barely existed?
There is a solution, but it requires those who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus to unite and become serious and creative in our approach to those living in sorrow and poverty around us. There are certainly enough resources in the hands of churches and individuals to address the ills of society (and the world) in spectacular fashion.
But the question is: Christians, are we ready to mobilize to take care of all of the children currently in foster care, the elderly in nursing homes with Medicaid paying the bill, those who are struggling with mental illness, living with domestic violence, with addiction issues, with poverty and pain? If we are, then let's not ask corporations and billionaires to contribute to government coffers, and let's cut social programs.
The Church has been at the forefront of social change throughout our nation's history. Now may be the time for our generation to answer the call. If the current political course continues, we'll find out if we're ready.
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