Job hunting and John the Baptist

  Jobs and work seem to occupy the majority of my thoughts and prayers these days.  I work a lot and long for a change.  I worry about what I'm "supposed" to do. I worry about the financial side of work.   It seems like everyone that I work for says, "We want you!" but no one wants to pay me like they want me.  I worry about the hours that I work and how they affect my upcoming marriage and wife.

    Consequently, when I open the Word, I am drawn to occupations and choices of the individuals in the Biblical narrative. For example, this morning I was struck by John the Baptist's response to the tax collectors and soldiers in Luke 3.  John was preaching repentance:

12 And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” 13 And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” 14 Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

These men wanted to know what to do with their lives since they had repented of their sins.  I can't help but wonder what they thought John would say. The Jews didn't like people with these occupations because they had taken sides with the Roman invaders. Were they expecting John to say, "Stop being tax collectors and soldiers, you filthy traitors!"?  Did they assume that they would need to find different employment to show that they were different? John's response had to do with their jobs, absolutely, but not about leaving them.  John simply told them to be honest and content and to do their jobs correctly!  There was no condemnation for working for the Romans, no counsel to get on board with God's people.  Their repentance didn't have to do with what their occupation was, simply how they were doing it.  I think this is another way that John is foreshadowing Christ.  He wasn't encouraging people to be on "Team Rome" or "Team Israel," he was on a completely different page.  John, like Christ, was much more concerned with the people's hearts.  The political climate was a non-issue because spiritual issues are more important. (I'm not saying that because of the elections yesterday). 


   In conclusion, I think that John would agree with Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:31- "Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all to the Glory of God."  The focus isn't what you're doing.  The deeper issue is why you do what you do.  John's concern was doing your job in a way that is honest and fair and be content with your wages.

The Price of Sin

Monday is my favorite day of the week.  I realize that I am not a normal person for saying this, but I do love Mondays.  The reason being is that Monday is my day off; I do not go to either job, not to mention, I usually hang out with Elizabeth after she gets off of work.
    All that to say, my Monday was going splendidly: I did some work at home, read a book for a while, and watched my TV show.  I was ready to go fishing with Elizabeth and her brothers.
   I was cruising along US 30 towards her house, on the phone with the aforementioned pretty girl when I saw a parked brown squad car that caused my mood to change.  Soon, I was on the side of the road having a friendly conversation with the officer about the rate of speed of my motor vehicle.
   Shocked, and slightly embarrassed at the sight of the ticket in my front seat, I continued my journey to Elizabeth's house.  While the idea of $154 down the drain made my heart sink [no pun intended]*, I began to think about all the other times I had broken the speed limit, or committed any other traffic violation for that matter. I realized that in no way could I ever foot the bill, had I been caught for every single, minor infraction.  If every rolled stop sign or forgotten turn signal had been penalized, I would be in a world of hurt.
   The thought of an insurmountable debt caused me to think of the sin in my life.  Much like the traffic violations, it is positively impossible for me to pay the price of my sin.  No amount of money could ever clean that slate.  But somehow, that price has been paid.  God saw fit to forgive me my sins and redeem me into His kingdom, absolutely freely.  The biggest difference between these two ideas is this: in one case, the offenses were not caught, therefore, not punished.  (I didn't have to pay for speeding last week for example)
In the other, all the offenses were caught and punished. (Jesus' blood was poured out on the cross as a punishment for my wrongdoing and the wrongdoing of the whole world).
   I thank God, Who through His Son, Jesus, paid the price of my sin that I could never afford.

*No seriously, that was on accident.

YOLO

Yes, I did.  I just used an intensely pop culture reference as a blog post title. But there is some truth in that little phrase "You Only Live Once."

   Today, I was reminded of the small impacts that people can have in other's lives.  For me, there is a person that I don't get to speak to regularly, but he consistently brightens my day.  Dave Stafford is our UPS driver at the factory.  He brightens my day with a smile and wave like clockwork.  We can't talk because he is behind the glass, but it is still encouraging.  Granted, I am good friends with his son, and we see each other at church and I go to his house on occasion, so we do have a relationship outside of this daily greeting.  Dave's role in my life is small, especially in regards to my job, but his impact in greater than he realizes.  

   I was contemplating the brevity of life today.  This year, I have been to three unexpected funerals.  Three lives that were ended before I deemed that they should've.  These three men impacted many different people, based on their ages and spheres of influence.  Less than two years ago, my 21-year-old cousin Thor was killed in a car accident.  The list could go on.  None of these people knew that their time here was up. 

  Allow me to meld these two ideas of Dave's UPS stops at the factory and untimely deaths.  There are two things that you don't know: 

1. The Impact you can have on people via the little things.

2.  The Time you have to live on this planet.  

  This is my challenge to myself: live like it is the last day I have and show love to everyone.  Ideally, it means sharing the Gospel with my actions and words.  Am I always good at that? Not at all, but it's the goal.  

 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 

making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:16-17

You Only Live Once (at least in this life).

Cooperation of the Old and New Testaments, Exhibit A

  This weekend I was encouraged to spend some time in Romans 12.  The speaker wanted us to look at the first several verses.  The big themes of the message were living sacrifices and everyone doing their part in the body of Christ.  

Having that in mind, I was reading Psalm 51 this morning and ran into an interesting pair of verses (16 & 17). 

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;

You are not pleased with burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; 

A broken and a 

contrite heart 

O God, You will not despise.

I reread Romans 12:1 

 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

Paul has just demonstrated the kind of sacrifice that God is pleased by: Our Bodies!  This goes hand-in-hand with David's idea in Psalm 51, it is the heart that matters, not the bull on the altar.  (No pun intended)  

  The message of the Bible hasn't changed.  God still looks at the heart.  He longs for man's devotion not his pompous show.  That was a key element to Jesus' message: The Pharisees cleaned the outside of the cup, but not the inside.  Sound familiar? 

   In conclusion, our worship is about doing a church service rightly or a sacrifice.  Our worship is presenting ourselves to the Lord, with a broken heart. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrY1-gPM0KY

Perspectives of Cleanliness

  These days, I am studying a lot about cultural differences, and how they affect morality and evangelism.   Each people group has a certain way to look at the world, and that molds the things that they do.  Jim Storti would say that a person's behaviors are direct results of their values, beliefs, and assumptions about the universe.*
   Naturally, since everyone has differing values, beliefs, and assumptions, everyone's behaviors diverge from everyone else's.  So, two cultures coming together can lead to interesting interactions as quick condemnations can come flying from both sides, especially when morality and religion are mixed in.

   I found an illustration of this today while cleaning a mirror.  I was using Windex to clean my parents bathroom mirror.  I was about done when a thought crossed my mind, "I wonder if Mom and Dad will think that this is clean?"  In my opinion, it was a clean mirror.  But, I figured that I need to see it how my folks would see it.  But, how could I gain their point of view? I can't enter their minds to determine how they interpret the cleanness of a looking glass.  So, I did the best that I could to see through their eyes: I flexed my knees a little, bringing my eye level to about 6 feet above the ground.  Aha! Now, I was seeing the mirror like my Dad does.  I bent my knees a little more, and Tada! I had Mom's perspective too!  As a result, I could see streaks that I could've never seen at my normal height.  The ultimate consequence was that the mirror got cleaner.

  The application to communication is simple (simple not easy): look at the world through the other person's eyes.  Granted, when crossing cultures is involved, the difficulty is exponentially increased, but the principle remains the same.  Keep on bending your knees, and that will lead to a posture of prayer, which is the most important ingredient.  Prayer is closely followed by education. (I knew to make myself shorter to see the the world like my parents, but recognizing the distinctions between cultures can take a lot of bookwork and talking to experts).

   Once your perspective has been changed, then accurate evaluations can be made.*  Only then can effective ministry happen.




Resources:
*Figuring Foreigners Out by Jim Storti
ICS 365 Intercultural Ministry taught by Dr. Tom Stalter
Google images

Call Me Lazy, or Crazy

I have realized that college takes a lot of work.  But I have realized that no matter your intentions, finishing produces the same results: a diploma.
  I will warn you, this blog is going to sound like a lot of complaining. And maybe it is, but bear with me. I feel like I put forth a good amount of work to get through college, and I also pay an arm and a leg for a Christian Liberal Arts College.  I feel like I get hit with a double whammy: lots of work and a ton of college debt.
  In my travels, I have encountered semi-socailist nations that have free college for everyone.  Now, in these countries the workload is very heavy, and I believe it should be.  But why do I have to work so hard for something I am paying for? 
  On the other hand, my mom said, "You don't appreciate what you don't work for."  I completely agree.  I'll appreciate it more everyday I pay back loans, right? (This blog is beginning to feel like buyer's remorse for college.)
  The crux of this post is this: I should be the receiving services if I am the consumer, correct?  Now, I realize that quality education is indeed a service provided.  Homework, however, is not a service.  I feel like a only a fool would say, "Hey, let me pay you a boatload of money, and then I will destroy myself to meet the requirements that you impose upon me."  It's like paying a contractor to build your house, then doing all of the work yourself...
  So, on the I'm-just-joking side, I don't feel like I need to work to receive an education because I am paying for it.
  On the I'm-dead-serious side, colleges (especially private Christian colleges) should be working pretty dang hard to get and keep students.  I don't think that catering to their every want and need is the answer, but from a business perspective, that makes a lot of sense.

In the end, this is just my own stupidity written on the Internet.  But, something is wrong with our system, college is way too expensive.

It's Not Always the Big Deal

 Recently I have been confronted with a cultural trend that I haven't really realized or understood because I have grown up with it.  For now, I'm going to call it the "Quick-Fix-All Cultural Trend."
  I spoke a few weeks ago with some missionaries from France, and we discussed, in part, relational evangelism*.  Loving to give safe, smart-sounding responses, I piped into the conversation saying, "And that's the kind of evangelism that never goes out of style." I was quickly correct as my missionary friends told me, "But oh, it has."  They proceeded to inform/remind me of the Billy Graham crusades and other televangelists who focus on evangelizing the masses.  To say that this is wrong would be silly, but ineffective would be perhaps a better term.
  I was reminded of a small group time in Argentina where our leader took a poll to see how the different members had met the Lord.  Out of about 13 people, one was saved as the result of preaching evangelist.  Everyone else was lead to the Lord by friends or family members.  In case you weren't paying attention, that's relational evangelism.
This topic has been on my mind since beginning college and it sticks out to me that I have seen it exemplified on a couple other continents.

  Obviously, that's just one small part of this whole cultural decay.
I ran across another piece this afternoon while reading Money, Greed, and God by Jay W. Richards.  He was addressing the ineffectiveness of the welfare system in America.  One of the biggest problems with it is the "blanket doctrine."  I made that one up, I'm referring to a type of welfare that is managed by the federal government that needs a magic formula that solves everyone's problems.  It's the only plausible M.O. for a national organization of any type. False. Grass roots government and private charities are better equipped to handle the specific needs of specific areas, simply because they have to first-hand knowledge of the problems and solutions.  

  But, how do they relate?  Helping out poor people and sharing the Gospel are best done by the people closest to the situation.  In general, people who care, do the most effective work.  This is why, in my opinion, big government welfare programs and televangelists are not the answer.  And these are only two out of countless examples of our "Quick-Fix-All" schemes.   


*Will's quick definition: evangelism that focuses on building connections and friendships that after time (sometimes a long time) lead to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ.

  For my more dedicated readers, please excuse the fact that I haven't posted since May.  For everyone else, thanks for reading.