Our Job Description

Many of us have jobs which have a written outline of what our day-to-day duties should encompass. For those who are fellow workers with Christ, have you ever thought about the description of that job? The teachings of Jesus, as described in the New Testament, contain the details, but what about a more condensed version? How can we sum up our job as believers?

I invite us all to study the gospels -- the Sermon on the Mount, in particular, would be a good place to start -- and think about this concept. Don't even necessarily think about what you've been taught in church over the years, don't think about what you've read or heard from other sources, merely consider the character and nature of Jesus and what he asks of us. What it really comes down to is very simple, recorded in several places in scripture, including I John 3:23, "This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us." Love and belief are at the very heart of our job and anything else we do must fall in line.

That basic job description can and should be filled out a bit to include: going the extra mile to help others who are in need, being kind and merciful, making peace, providing comfort where we can, not being attached to material possessions, etc. And don't forget an important one: treat people the same way you want them to treat you.

Let us consider for a moment what is NOT included in our job description. Two things which come immediately to mind are "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them..." (Matt. 6:1) and do not judge others (mentioned multiple times in scripture). In other words, the job description of Christianity, as proclaimed by the vast majority of politicians and pundits and many others who are jumping into the fray, doesn't line up with the teachings of Jesus.

Every day there are millions of believers and thousands of church organizations quietly doing the work which Jesus called us to do. And there are others, who are quite vocal and getting considerable attention, who claim to be called by God and/or doing his work. However, based on their attitudes and actions, compared to the example of Jesus, it seems some of the loudest have, perhaps, been reading the wrong job description.

Overcoming Fear - Part 2

For those who did not read my blog last week, here's a brief re-cap of the basic situation: Our cat recently allowed himself to become stuck in a tree because he was afraid to climb down, and my husband rescued him (overcoming his own fear of heights, by the way). This week, our helpful cat has provided me with more fodder.

A couple of days ago, Allen once again went out in the morning, as he does every day, to feed our outside furnace. Max, our now-notorious cat, was high up in a tree, a different tree than he was stuck in last week and about 20 feet further up than in his previous predicament. Allen reports he looked up and said to Max, "I am NOT climbing up that far to get you down." After putting wood in the furnace, Allen noticed Max slowly backing his way down the tree. Coincidence? Maybe. But sometimes I think that cat knows exactly what we're saying.

My observation last week was that often we keep ourselves trapped in circumstances due to our fears. I offer a further observation this week. Sometimes we aid others in staying trapped in their fears, usually without meaning to do so. Our words of caution, while said with good intentions, often squelch a spirit of adventure. I think of children, in particular. When fed a steady stream of 'don't run too fast, you'll fall down' and 'don't jump around so much, you might get hurt,' eventually, what they will hear is 'don't, don't, don't or something bad might happen' which can lead to being locked up in a prison of caution. We should all want to display a good measure of common sense -- wouldn't it be nice if more people did? -- but common sense, taken to an extreme, can overtake freedom. I believe a life of faith should be filled with spontaneous compassion, love and mercy, taking chances along the way, not being constantly worried about being hurt.

Back to Max. Sometimes the right course of action might be to rescue someone, but more often than not, the best that can happen is to help the person who is stuck realize they can usually get unstuck when they let go of fear. Last week, we rescued Max. This week, it was time to say, 'you're on your own, buddy.' He knew it was possible to get down. He overcame his fear and did it.

Getting Unstuck, Overcoming Fear

On a recent morning, about 6:30, when my husband Allen went to put wood in our outside furnace, he noticed our cat, Max, up in a tree, sitting on a limb, probably twenty feet off the ground. When we left for work, Max was still there, not making an attempt to get down. We assumed he would eventually get hungry, overcome his apprehensions and escape his predicament, as he has done on at least one other occasion. However, when we got home, he was still there. Not frantic, anxious I would say, and not making progress in leaving the tree. We figured after at least ten hours up there, he might like a little help, even though eventually he would have found the gumption to free himself.

Allen pulled our flatbed truck along side the tree, put a ladder on it and climbed up a couple of limbs to be within reach of the cat. Allen is not a fan of heights, especially when convoluted combinations of truck beds, wooden ladders and negotiating tree limbs are part of the deal. One would think Max might show some appreciation by immediately allowing himself to be rescued. But no. He wanted to hang on a while longer. Freedom was near, but fear kept him trapped. After being coaxed and with fairly gentle man-handling, Max was off the limb. Man and cat returned safely to the ground.

From time to time, most of us get stuck in situations because of fear. Without delving into the amount of fear which might be healthy (for example, we should be afraid enough of bears to know not to share a sandwich with one) and what is irrational, we can at least observe that many are needlessly imprisoned, in one way or another, by their fears -- both large and, more often, small -- for years or even a lifetime. Encouraging us to be set free from fear is a continuous thread in the teachings of Jesus, because he knew how pointless it is to be paralyzed by fear, how easily life is wasted by worry.

Max missed an entire day of roaming the countryside, enjoying life (plus, I'm pretty sure birds taunted him all day long) because he couldn't bring himself to grab on to that tree and inch his way back down to the ground. What are you missing out on because of your fears? What are your unfulfilled hopes and dreams? Even if you're not ready to take a big leap of faith, take a step toward your goals. You might be scared when you first decide to go forward, but try doing it afraid. It's better than the alternative of being stuck where you don't want to be, wondering what it would be like to be free.

Balance and Unity - Part 2

In continuing with thoughts of balance in our spiritual lives, there is another area which also needs to be considered, and that is biblical balance. For Christians, the Bible is holy scripture, sacred text. The New Testament records the teachings of Jesus about the Way he proclaimed, along with the teachings of others about what he said. For those wishing to be disciples of Jesus, we start with the Bible to discover his character and nature, how he lived in the world and his desires for how his followers should treat others.

Aside from its holiness for believers, the Bible is filled with practical advice. It warns of excesses and selfish indulgences which bring trouble and unhappiness. It encourages generosity, compassion and love which bring joy and contentment not only to those who practice such things, but to society, as a whole.

What has also become true of the Bible, through no fault of its own and with no encouragement from Jesus, is it has become a weapon, a tool for dividing Christians, communities and even our country. I recently had a conversation on Facebook with an acquaintance of mine who is a native German, living in Germany. His blunt assessment of the political process in the U.S. was a stinging indictment, and quite to the point. He holds in particular contempt any politician who says God is exclusively on his or her side, supporting one individual's claims over another's. How, he wonders, can we support and encourage such behavior? American Christianity has lost much of its credibility, not just for my friend, but for many others.

When I hear politicians bandying about their views on God and their interpretations of scripture, I usually cringe. Believers should let the teachings of Jesus guide us in every area, including how we choose to vote. Politicians (along with the rest of us) would often do well to let moral behavior speak more loudly than words, especially 'God-talk.' Rather than telling us how God has endorsed him or her, I would much rather a candidate show us the evidence of God's love and grace in his or life and actions. The Bible should be extensively studied and used for personal growth. However, taking it into the public arena to wave it around for personal gain doesn't seem to fit the Way Jesus proclaimed.