Cool off

This post is directed specifically towards guys. I've been reading one Proverb every morning along with my other bible readings. I figured I would start to take seriously the command to "get wisdom" (Prov 4:5) and since Solomon is called the wisest man who ever lived and Proverbs is his instructions on wisdom it made sense to add this as part of my daily routine.

This morning I was reading in chapter 17 and in verse 27 is says "...and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding". I write this to men because I'm pretty sure having a cool spirit is one of those things men struggle with more than ladies. We tend to get mad quickly, don't we? Is it just me? Are you also one of the people who allow yourself to let the smallest things annoy you? Someone does something you don't like and all of a sudden you're in a rage? Or perhaps someone cuts you off on the road - what's your reaction? What's your wife's reaction? Let's not enter into the arena of sports... one only needs to reference church hockey and the argument would be over.

Men, if we're going to be wise, if we are going to get wisdom and understanding, we need to be of cooler heads. We need the Holy Spirit to work in us to control our tempers and make us into the kinds of leaders in our houses, communities, and churches that he means for us to be. I'll be praying for you as I pray for myself. 

Keep your stick on the ice.

Be quiet...listen

I've been reading through Proverbs lately. This morning I read chapter 15. There was a big, resounding message in there for me, hold your tongue and listen to people wiser than you. It likely doesn't surprise many people this is difficult for me. It however has been a reoccurring message for me this past 6 months. Slowly I'm getting it. Slowly. 

I need Routine

I've been neglecting the natural rhythms of life lately. The things I hold on to as anchors have been missing and I can see the effects. So, I'm going to start blogging again, even though I didn't mean to quite yet, because it's good for me. I hope some people read it but mostly I hope it helps to re-center me.

The silence

I've gone largely silent lately. We've been really busy and there has been little time for blogging. I plan on getting back to it soon... probably later in the week. For now I just wanted to put a place holder up and let people know the silence isn't forever :) 

A little help from our friends...

King David had awesome friends. Second Samuel chapter 19 gives us all a reminder of friends we should aspire to have:

Joab: the kick you in the pants and tell it like it is friend. King David has just defeated Absalom, his son. It's the ultimate bittersweet moment. He gets the kingdom back and wins a great victory and his son dies. David weeps and mourns for Absalom - as he should. But in doing so David disses all of the men who risked and gave their lives on his behalf. Joab sees this and gives David the whatfor for the sake of those men who are now upset and confused by David's behavior. Do you have a friend who has the guts and perceptivity to kick you in the butt when you've wronged someone?

Mephisbosheth: the "I was so worried about you I didn't shower or shave for weeks" friend. Can you imagine having a friend so in love with you that when he or she knows times are bad for you they literally forget about themselves and focus exclusively on you? 

Barzillai: the selfless friend. Barzillai is 80 years old. He wins the right to accompany David back and live in his court. Being so old he realizes that this blessing will be short lived at best - he can't take full advantage of it. He decides to ask David if his friend Chimham can take his place. WOW! In our individualistic society such acts of self denial and blessing are almost unheard of. This would be like a friend of yours getting tickets to game 7 of the Cup finals and realizing he can only go for two periods and instead of wasting the last period he gives the tickets to you - center ice, 3rd row (so the bench doesn't block your view). 

Now comes the tough question: If I don't have people like this in my life, why not? How do I need to change to acquire such valuable relationships? It probably has something to do with becoming this sort of friend first.

That Mountainous Sermon

Just finished reading Matthew 5. You know the chapter, right? The first part of the sermon on the mount. The part of this chapter that gets me starts at verse 21. You know this is where Jesus takes the law that we (people) were unable to keep and then steps it up another level...or 7 (since that's the number of levels God would most likely step something up...that or 40). 

Jesus says "whoever is angry with his brother is liable to judgement". What? Seriously? At this point people are likely to say "but there's grace....God knows we can't live up to that standard. Whew...thank goodness for grace". 

And then I wonder...is that really how God wants us to think about the words of Jesus? Is grace supposed to be a scapegoat for not really trying very hard? Or was he serious about making our standards so high that we'd seem somewhat off kilter to try and achieve them? I tend to think off kilter is where God wants us to be. At least, off of the kilter this messed up world and society is on. I'm pretty sure this is what Paul meant when he called us to be like the aliens and strangers talked about in Hebrews 11. People who, by faith, did the impossible and brought great glory to God. I think sometimes we look on those people and think "but those are the superheros of the faith...I can't be like them". Again I wonder if that's really how God means for us to read those stories or whether they are there to encourage and inspire us to trust that God can do in us the seemingly impossible to bring glory unto himself. 

God's plan for us is to call us to a radically different, off kilter standard and to glorify himself through aliens. It's true, only by grace may we enter into all he has for us, but let's not make grace a scapegoat for living less radically than God means and diminishing the role we can play in bringing glory to his name by taking the easy way out.  

Does anyone have $61,000?

According to a study in 2006 $61,000 USD is what you need to have in personal assets to be counted in the top 10% of the wealthiest people in the world. I'd guess that most of the people I know qualify (this is the value of all the goods you own, your house, car, savings, RRSP's etc). I think I'm one of the worlds 10% wealthiest individuals. That can make me feel pretty good given what most people consider to be success. Then I read 1 John 3:17

"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" - Good question John.

Alan Hirsch says in "The Forgotten Ways" that (paraphrase) the false religion that most needs to be spoken against in the West is that of consumerism.  I agree. Consumerism is killing our churches, families, souls and minds every day. Many people have exchanged God's economy for the world's, myself included. 

It's so difficult to know how to break out of the cycle. I am praying that we all are increasingly made aware of the needs around us and freed from the desire of things so that God might continue to work in us, making us fit for the the calling of his Children and ambassador's to this broken world and consumerist culture.