I Think I Am

What do you think about? As you go through your day, what fires your imagination? Today my friend Steve reminded me of Brennan Manning’s point that even a poor person can be obsessed with money if getting money is all he thinks about. Who do you think about? I tend to think about what I want to eat, what I want to buy, where I want to go, what I want to do or who I want to talk with. I want to think more about who doesn’t have something to eat, who I can buy something for, who doesn’t have the freedom to move where they want, who I could do something for and who needs someone to listen. What I think about – Who I think about – doesn’t fall in line with the person I want to be – or maybe it really does.

2009 or 1984?

George Orwell, the author of 1984, said, “In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Such a universe is hard to imagine until we think about the number of answers we give to please someone for a moment – instead of honoring them with the truth. Such a world would be somewhere where promises are effortlessly broken – promises like “until death do us part” or “I will always….” It would be a place where people would argue that stealing is not theft nor is cheating dishonest. A time of universal deceit is the realm of the sociopath; a universe where lying is not dishonesty, image is reality, gossip is not malicious, sex is casual, cheating is not deceitful, indifference is called boundary, self-centeredness is not selfish, the momentary is dubbed permanent and stealing is not theft. George Orwell said, “In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” Such a universe is hard to imagine until we open our eyes and realize that following Jesus today - speaking truth, loving mercy, walking in relationship and seeking justice - transforms us into revolutionaries in the eyes of most. Perhaps we are living in an age of universal deceit.

Trust

Trust is the foundation of a relationship. We cannot have a relationship with Jesus if we are prone to second-guessing his character or his motives. The same is true with our friendships. Once the foundation of trust is fractured or eroded, it is difficult in the extreme to return the relationship to a sure footing. (Difficult, but not impossible.) The real problem with trust is that few of us trust anyone. We are careful to limit our exposure to others. After all, if we are not vulnerable, then our trust cannot be betrayed. By living in a constant state of motion, we never stay still long enough to establish a relationship that would ever require any trust. This unwillingness to trust is true with Jesus as well. We are willing to trust him with the nonessentials...finding a parking space, finding our lost keys, making sure we get enough "stuff", but we are unwilling to really trust him by loving those who hate us or any number of the other "hard" things he asks of us. By avoiding a deepening relationship with him, we can avoid the rootedness that drawing close to him would cause. But, it is in trust that relationships flourish. Trust is the foundation of genuine relationship.

Outside/Inside

"Ninety percent of the world's woe comes from people not knowing themselves, their abilities, their frailties, and even their real virtues. Most of us go almost all the way through life as complete strangers to ourselves.” - Sydney J. Harris

The outside is what everyone sees. They see the way our house is painted, how clean our car is maintained and what clothes we are wearing. Some may see the inside, but only a select few. We do not allow strangers into our homes, we do not give rides to those we do not know and we will not disclose the contents of our hearts to just anyone - if anyone. The inside is protected because that is where we are most vulnerable. The inside is guarded because that is where the treasure is buried. We keep our valuables within our homes, we lock our cars and we keep our secrets to ourselves. So, if the inside is where we keep what is most precious, why do we spend so much time maintaining the outside? Our outside is temporary. Our inside is eternal.

Throwing Out the Worms

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “A proper sermon should be like holding out to a child a shining red apple and asking: ‘Wouldn’t you like it?’” When people look at our lives – specifically our lives as we follow Jesus – do they see something they would want? Do we allow the forgiveness, love, grace, truth and peace of Jesus to overwhelm us? Are we shining apples – or are there a few worms we need to evict?