July 24, 2001
When was the last time you heard someone (more than twenty) or said yourself, “I am bored”? Not many people complain that they haven’t enough to do. The pace of life accelerates at alarming rates. Why are we going so fast? Why is our day never quite long enough to check off everything on our to-do lists?
Maybe we have too many options. Our modern society offers a plethora of choices. Yesterday I stood in a copy shop amazed at the range of papers, then went to an office supply store and was further amazed at the number and types of gel pens. The proliferation does not stop at goods and services. We have more job descriptions and more activity opportunities than ever before in history.
Besides the options, human beings have a seldom-satisfied hunger for both fulfillment and significance. For some reason, the search never starts internally at an intrinsic level. Instead, the measurements for fulfilment start with externals. People do not feel important unless they achieve mightily and own twice as much.
Whatever drives us, we often crave just a little rest. We complain that we are too busy and want to slow down yet how many actually choose a slower lifestyle? We crave the weekends but in our part of the world, Saturday and Sunday are much like any other day. People work, stores are open. Some still take Sundays off and a few go to church or spend time with family, but their metronome swings just as fast. Our worship often is as filled with action as our recreation.
Occasionally, I meet people who insist on a literal, no-work Sabbath day. For them, Sunday means church, no work, no games, no play, no sports, no travel. Meals are prepared the day before and everyone has a nap in the afternoon. Most Christians may find the ‘do nothing’ part appealing but usually consider such abstinence too radical. They say it’s a throwback from a dead era. Yet many Christians I know yearn to slow down, to get off the merry-go-round at least one day a week.
We miss and long for what God calls Sabbath rest. It began “in the beginning” when God created and then rested. He was not tired but took time to stop working, look at His work and say, “It is good.” He also set a pattern for us. He said we ought to work six days and rest on seventh as He did. We may have lots of energy or really need a physical rest, but that is not all we need.
For one thing, looking back and examining our activities is also important. At first, we might avoid this backward look. We are critical of ourselves, maybe unfairly. We might not be able to pronounce ‘good’ upon our week. Nevertheless, by examining what we have done, we are better able to evaluate our life and think of ways to improve. As we do that, we more readily ask for God’s help and become more prepared to move into the next week. We also gain a certain sense of satisfaction; last week may not have gone well but at least we can label why and put some handles on it, feeling satisfied with our evaluation.
We have heard the “the unexamined life is not worth living.” The Bible agrees. God tells us that only fools hurl headlong into their plans: “It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.”
Scripture also says “there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Folly comes easy, maybe as easy as the sense that “my whole week was a waste.” Our loving God gave us a day of rest to help us change that.
Lord, You alone have insight into the future. Your wisdom sees what is wise and what is foolish. Unless we, your people, slow down and take time to examine our lives in the light of Your Word, we will waste our days. Since You promise rewards for those who commit their way and activities to You, help us to take the time to examine what we are doing. Guide us on the right track so we do more than run around it as fast as we can.
Showing posts with label fulfilled life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fulfilled life. Show all posts
Friday, April 6, 2018
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Pushing the Limits .................. Parables 445
November 1, 1994
Susan’s boy, Jason, is always pushing at the rules. If she tells him to stay on the sidewalk, he drags one foot in the gutter. If she says he needs to drink all his milk, he leaves a centimeter in the bottom of the glass. If she tells him to hurry, he dawdles.
When I watch television, I get the impression writers and producers are something like Jason. Society has certain established norms, rules that are generally accepted and required, but for whatever reasons, television shows push the rules.
For instance, it was once a norm that cursing, nudity and direct camera shots of violence or blood-spilling was not seen on prime time TV; it would not be accepted. But these days, almost anything goes.
Responsibility belongs, in part, to viewers. Because of prevailing discontentment, television audiences flick channels unceasingly, looking for new things to watch. Their entertainment must be unusual or they find it “boring.” Few like too many reruns and no one wants to see the same commercials twice in one evening.
Because of boredom, television sitcoms and talk shows are easily able to present as normal what could be called “fringe elements.” Consequently, the bizarre beliefs and behaviors of a small percent of the population become appealing. If viewers are exposed several times a week, week after week, year after year, fringe elements are soon considered normal.
Further, as viewers become accustomed to even the most bizarre, they begin demanding material that is even farther out. The capacity to be easily bored thus expands the market for everyone in the entertainment industry.
Of course this also pertains to advertising. Companies know if they can create an impression that EVERYONE is buying a new car, or EVERYONE takes a drink when they are upset, or EVERYONE looks like a New York model, consumers will want at least the same and usually more. Most of the time, these impressions are myths. Many people are not weird or even outstanding. Many still drive old cars, are able to handle their problems, and have plain faces and bodies.
How should Christian people respond to “fringe element” programming and marketing? Obviously, being a good steward of the resources entrusted to us means ignoring advertising innuendo and not buying the latest products. Certainly we do not need to abandon our “obsolete” beliefs and behaviors simply because someone pushes the myth that everyone else has rejected Christianity.
Avoiding a pull to the fringe means also taking the offense. Instead of trying to fill up with material goods or pushing the norms of our faith, we need to fully grab hold of what Christ offers. He said, “I came to give you life, and that more abundantly.”
Jesus was not talking about a Leer jet, a cottage at the beach, and wide acclaim for being “different.” He meant that following Him is a rich and meaningful way to live, even exciting and “on the edge.” But Christian living is not pushing rules or living on the fringe.
Actually, all-out living for Christ makes the most tantalizing fringe elements boring. While He does challenge us to be content with where we are and what we have, He also calls us to live beyond our visible resources, both personal and material. If we make a radical commitment to follow Him in implicit obedience, He will take us places and ask of us activity that is above and beyond anything we could hope or even imagine. He invented abundant living; we didn’t!
Susan’s boy, Jason, is always pushing at the rules. If she tells him to stay on the sidewalk, he drags one foot in the gutter. If she says he needs to drink all his milk, he leaves a centimeter in the bottom of the glass. If she tells him to hurry, he dawdles.
When I watch television, I get the impression writers and producers are something like Jason. Society has certain established norms, rules that are generally accepted and required, but for whatever reasons, television shows push the rules.
For instance, it was once a norm that cursing, nudity and direct camera shots of violence or blood-spilling was not seen on prime time TV; it would not be accepted. But these days, almost anything goes.
Responsibility belongs, in part, to viewers. Because of prevailing discontentment, television audiences flick channels unceasingly, looking for new things to watch. Their entertainment must be unusual or they find it “boring.” Few like too many reruns and no one wants to see the same commercials twice in one evening.
Because of boredom, television sitcoms and talk shows are easily able to present as normal what could be called “fringe elements.” Consequently, the bizarre beliefs and behaviors of a small percent of the population become appealing. If viewers are exposed several times a week, week after week, year after year, fringe elements are soon considered normal.
Further, as viewers become accustomed to even the most bizarre, they begin demanding material that is even farther out. The capacity to be easily bored thus expands the market for everyone in the entertainment industry.
Of course this also pertains to advertising. Companies know if they can create an impression that EVERYONE is buying a new car, or EVERYONE takes a drink when they are upset, or EVERYONE looks like a New York model, consumers will want at least the same and usually more. Most of the time, these impressions are myths. Many people are not weird or even outstanding. Many still drive old cars, are able to handle their problems, and have plain faces and bodies.
How should Christian people respond to “fringe element” programming and marketing? Obviously, being a good steward of the resources entrusted to us means ignoring advertising innuendo and not buying the latest products. Certainly we do not need to abandon our “obsolete” beliefs and behaviors simply because someone pushes the myth that everyone else has rejected Christianity.
Avoiding a pull to the fringe means also taking the offense. Instead of trying to fill up with material goods or pushing the norms of our faith, we need to fully grab hold of what Christ offers. He said, “I came to give you life, and that more abundantly.”
Jesus was not talking about a Leer jet, a cottage at the beach, and wide acclaim for being “different.” He meant that following Him is a rich and meaningful way to live, even exciting and “on the edge.” But Christian living is not pushing rules or living on the fringe.
Actually, all-out living for Christ makes the most tantalizing fringe elements boring. While He does challenge us to be content with where we are and what we have, He also calls us to live beyond our visible resources, both personal and material. If we make a radical commitment to follow Him in implicit obedience, He will take us places and ask of us activity that is above and beyond anything we could hope or even imagine. He invented abundant living; we didn’t!
Monday, October 19, 2015
Is it a control thing? ................ Parables 341
October 27, 1992
Ever notice how much easier dreams are than doing? For instance, in making decisions? Compare window shopping to actually going out and buying something. Every time I don’t have money or any intentions of spending what I do have, there are so many nice things in all the store windows. But when it comes to actually buying something, it is much more difficult to find what I want — in the same windows, in the same stores. Maybe it is because the money to be spent now is real money, not the stuff of dreams.
Dream decisions are easier, but so are dream conversations. In my imagination, I can say all the right words to that person I need to apologize to or to the class I want to teach. When it comes time to actually do it, my tongue gets tangled somewhere down around my beating heart and out comes strained stutters and ill-formed sentences.
Dream accomplishments are perhaps the easiest of all. In them, I control all factors including the plot, sub-plot, cast of characters, and every action committed and word said. Doing anything in my imagination is a snap, but when it comes to the real thing, the results are not quite the same.
Because of the gap between dreams and doing, life can be disappointing. Even though some dreamers find that some dreams do come true now and then, most of us know how frustration and failure can so easily shut down our vision. However, if we can bring God into the picture, things just might become very exciting. Think of it. God who sovereignly controls the universe becoming involved in making our dreams come true? Is that possible?
The people I know who have experienced it first had to know for certain that God Himself is not a dream, not a figment of the human imagination. If He is not real, there is no one but ourselves to make those dreams come true. However, Hebrews 11:6 says those who come to God MUST believe that He exists and that He REWARDS all those who seek Him. He is real and He does reward us for believing in Him. Thus, the Bible also describes the reality of living in faith. Genuine faith is not a hope-so, imaginary thing. Those who have it also have tangible peace, real changes in their lives and obvious answers to prayer.
Secondly, because God is able to do anything and make anything happen, and because He loves us and wants the best for us, He invites His children to draw near to Him. He says we can even call Him “daddy” as well as Lord, and invites us to bring our dreams along, explaining to Him the desires of our heart. When Jesus promised abundant life, He wanted us to know we do not have to continue in the narrow confines of “no one ever did that before” or “I can’t.” He wants us to experience a life so remarkable that it can only be explained by faith and by the fact that He is very real.
Obviously, God does not make every dream come true; He knows better. Some of the things we dream about are entirely selfish and destructive, doing little or nothing to glorify God or genuinely benefit us. God knows if all our dreams came true, some would be the nightmare variety.
But to many dreams God gives the nod. One of mine was having opportunity to go to Bible school. For years, it seemed impossible but God moved us to Moose Jaw, within twenty minutes of the largest Christian college in Canada... and here I am, nearly ready to graduate.
So for even the most frustrated dreamers among us, we have a God who says, “I am able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think, according to My riches in Christ Jesus.” Notice He not only listens but is the One who is able to go one step farther — above whatever we can ask and above whatever it is we dream about.
Ever notice how much easier dreams are than doing? For instance, in making decisions? Compare window shopping to actually going out and buying something. Every time I don’t have money or any intentions of spending what I do have, there are so many nice things in all the store windows. But when it comes to actually buying something, it is much more difficult to find what I want — in the same windows, in the same stores. Maybe it is because the money to be spent now is real money, not the stuff of dreams.
Dream decisions are easier, but so are dream conversations. In my imagination, I can say all the right words to that person I need to apologize to or to the class I want to teach. When it comes time to actually do it, my tongue gets tangled somewhere down around my beating heart and out comes strained stutters and ill-formed sentences.
Dream accomplishments are perhaps the easiest of all. In them, I control all factors including the plot, sub-plot, cast of characters, and every action committed and word said. Doing anything in my imagination is a snap, but when it comes to the real thing, the results are not quite the same.
Because of the gap between dreams and doing, life can be disappointing. Even though some dreamers find that some dreams do come true now and then, most of us know how frustration and failure can so easily shut down our vision. However, if we can bring God into the picture, things just might become very exciting. Think of it. God who sovereignly controls the universe becoming involved in making our dreams come true? Is that possible?
The people I know who have experienced it first had to know for certain that God Himself is not a dream, not a figment of the human imagination. If He is not real, there is no one but ourselves to make those dreams come true. However, Hebrews 11:6 says those who come to God MUST believe that He exists and that He REWARDS all those who seek Him. He is real and He does reward us for believing in Him. Thus, the Bible also describes the reality of living in faith. Genuine faith is not a hope-so, imaginary thing. Those who have it also have tangible peace, real changes in their lives and obvious answers to prayer.
Secondly, because God is able to do anything and make anything happen, and because He loves us and wants the best for us, He invites His children to draw near to Him. He says we can even call Him “daddy” as well as Lord, and invites us to bring our dreams along, explaining to Him the desires of our heart. When Jesus promised abundant life, He wanted us to know we do not have to continue in the narrow confines of “no one ever did that before” or “I can’t.” He wants us to experience a life so remarkable that it can only be explained by faith and by the fact that He is very real.
Obviously, God does not make every dream come true; He knows better. Some of the things we dream about are entirely selfish and destructive, doing little or nothing to glorify God or genuinely benefit us. God knows if all our dreams came true, some would be the nightmare variety.
But to many dreams God gives the nod. One of mine was having opportunity to go to Bible school. For years, it seemed impossible but God moved us to Moose Jaw, within twenty minutes of the largest Christian college in Canada... and here I am, nearly ready to graduate.
So for even the most frustrated dreamers among us, we have a God who says, “I am able to do exceeding abundantly above all you can ask or think, according to My riches in Christ Jesus.” Notice He not only listens but is the One who is able to go one step farther — above whatever we can ask and above whatever it is we dream about.
Monday, October 5, 2015
The Purpose of Life ................ Parables 335
September 15, 1992
The question comes to me at the oddest moments. Sometimes I am in the grocery store with my cart nearly full. Other times I am at a wedding, or in a classroom. Sometimes I hear it when my husband and I are planning a trip or playing golf. The question has frightened me, even left me baffled, but most of the time it makes me stop and consider the answer, even adjust my life if it seems necessary. The question? — Why am I here?
Apparently people in the middle of life are not the only ones who hear the question. Younger people wonder why they exist. Many of them consider only a few options, such as an “eat, drink and be merry” philosophy. Or they defer the question — they are only young once — and try to forget it. Others look for answers through achievements in political or social endeavors and try to become the best in their field or make a name for themselves so they somehow leave a mark on humanity. Yet still the question haunts them.
And it haunts me too, not that I am without an answer nor do I doubt my answer is the best option. For me though, it seems that the question serves more than one purpose. It first challenged me to find meaning for life, now it prods me to base life on what I have discovered.
Becoming convinced of God’s purpose for my life has not been painless or quick. Like Solomon explains in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, it is only after trying almost everything else that I am now convinced that all human answers to this question are dismal at best. Should I live for pleasure, money, popularity, awards, my work or human recognition, I would find none of these settling down in the heart for very long — they are not the best answers.
Of course such aspirations are not without value and I would be lying if I said it does not feel good to have fun, make money, gain friends or reach the top of list now and then. It is just that my life, focused on those things, leaves me feeling empty and the question remains without an answer.
Purpose for living is expressed several ways in the Bible. Solomon gives one: “The conclusion of the whole matter is to fear God and keep His commandments, this is the whole duty of man.” In this case, fear does not mean terror but reverence for God. Because of that awe, we ought to obey Him. Micah explains life’s purpose this way: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” The satisfaction everyone wants from life cannot be found apart doing what God requires. According to Micah, honorable living accompanied by a benevolent attitude towards others and an honest recognition of our position before God is beneficial to us.
Some seem to think if we do what God wants we will not be happy, but God is not against us being happy. In fact, I am convinced that He is not against us being wealthy or popular or successful either. The Psalmist even prays, “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire and fulfil all your purpose” (20:4). Because we tend to put our human wants first, before pleasing God, we miss the fullness of what He wants for us.
Don’t misunderstand; I do not subscribe to a “God wants you rich” theology. God wants us to experience His riches and if worldly wealth will stand in the way of that, He does us a favor if He makes money hard to come by or dissatisfying when we do have it. As our Maker, He knows our true purpose and what will make us truly happy — both are found in Him and in doing what He created us to do.
So now the question serves as a reminder to ask myself often if I still fear God and still obey Him — because that is the reason why I am here.
The question comes to me at the oddest moments. Sometimes I am in the grocery store with my cart nearly full. Other times I am at a wedding, or in a classroom. Sometimes I hear it when my husband and I are planning a trip or playing golf. The question has frightened me, even left me baffled, but most of the time it makes me stop and consider the answer, even adjust my life if it seems necessary. The question? — Why am I here?
Apparently people in the middle of life are not the only ones who hear the question. Younger people wonder why they exist. Many of them consider only a few options, such as an “eat, drink and be merry” philosophy. Or they defer the question — they are only young once — and try to forget it. Others look for answers through achievements in political or social endeavors and try to become the best in their field or make a name for themselves so they somehow leave a mark on humanity. Yet still the question haunts them.
And it haunts me too, not that I am without an answer nor do I doubt my answer is the best option. For me though, it seems that the question serves more than one purpose. It first challenged me to find meaning for life, now it prods me to base life on what I have discovered.
Becoming convinced of God’s purpose for my life has not been painless or quick. Like Solomon explains in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, it is only after trying almost everything else that I am now convinced that all human answers to this question are dismal at best. Should I live for pleasure, money, popularity, awards, my work or human recognition, I would find none of these settling down in the heart for very long — they are not the best answers.
Of course such aspirations are not without value and I would be lying if I said it does not feel good to have fun, make money, gain friends or reach the top of list now and then. It is just that my life, focused on those things, leaves me feeling empty and the question remains without an answer.
Purpose for living is expressed several ways in the Bible. Solomon gives one: “The conclusion of the whole matter is to fear God and keep His commandments, this is the whole duty of man.” In this case, fear does not mean terror but reverence for God. Because of that awe, we ought to obey Him. Micah explains life’s purpose this way: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” The satisfaction everyone wants from life cannot be found apart doing what God requires. According to Micah, honorable living accompanied by a benevolent attitude towards others and an honest recognition of our position before God is beneficial to us.
Some seem to think if we do what God wants we will not be happy, but God is not against us being happy. In fact, I am convinced that He is not against us being wealthy or popular or successful either. The Psalmist even prays, “May He grant you according to your heart’s desire and fulfil all your purpose” (20:4). Because we tend to put our human wants first, before pleasing God, we miss the fullness of what He wants for us.
Don’t misunderstand; I do not subscribe to a “God wants you rich” theology. God wants us to experience His riches and if worldly wealth will stand in the way of that, He does us a favor if He makes money hard to come by or dissatisfying when we do have it. As our Maker, He knows our true purpose and what will make us truly happy — both are found in Him and in doing what He created us to do.
So now the question serves as a reminder to ask myself often if I still fear God and still obey Him — because that is the reason why I am here.
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