We Are All Leaders

Those who guide this people mislead them,
   and those who are guided are led astray.
Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men,
   nor will he pity the fatherless and widows,
for everyone is ungodly and wicked,
   every mouth speaks folly. – Isaiah 9:16-17

       

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 9-10; Ephesians 3

Being a leader is no joke.

 People aspire to leadership roles for a multitude of reasons. Some folks want to help as many folks as they can in whatever given enterprise they are engaged in. Others simply want to get paid. Others want power. They love the feeling that they get when they can stand before a crowd of folk hanging on their every word.

But leadership is serious business.

The Meaning of Life: Part 2 Don't Get Caught by the Hustle

And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Fools fold their hands
   and ruin themselves.
Better one handful with tranquility
   than two handfuls with toil
   and chasing after the wind. Eccl 4:4-6

Today’s Reading: Ecclesiastes 4-6; 2 Corinthians 12

If you look at media and popular culture there is at least one message that rings abundantly clear.

More is better!

Advertising has taught us that we won’t be happy unless we have more. We always need the next gadget, the big house, the fancy car. There is nothing wrong with nice things. As a matter of fact I happen to like nice things. I like them a lot. But having nice things isn’t the problem. The problem is when we assign personal value to obtaining these things.

Often times it is competitive. We look around at others and see their perceived wealth and think, man… why can’t I have that? And from these salty seeds the weeds of greed sprout, only to be watered all the more by the society that we live in. If only we can be richer than the Joneses then we will be BETTER than them too.

No one comes out and actually says this, but for most of us it is a latent motivation, deep within the parts of ourselves that we least like to face.

Ok don’t believe me? I’ll give you a perfect example. Marriage.

Oh no, I’m not talking about the obvious things like men wanting the most beautiful woman or women wanting the most successful man… I’m talking about the process of getting married.

That’s right… the engagement ring and the wedding.

The engagement is the proving ground of the man. De Beers and the rest of them folks have convinced us over the past several decades that diamonds are a girl’s best friend. They have convinced us that one must purchase a diamond ring as a display of their affection for their soon to be wife. Before it was always the ring that was the symbol right? The ring is the unending circle that signifies a commitment that will never be broken. But nowadays it is the diamond too. The bigger and clearer, the more he loves her. And everyone’s watching. The first mention of a woman being engaged is followed immediately by the question “oh so let’s see the ring…”

And if that ring ain’t up to “par” then it’s all bad. Too much pressure for a situation that should be so beautiful…

Then if you make it past the engagement hurdle, the wedding comes. Who are you going to invite? Where will it be? What dress will she wear? What food will the guests eat? We can’t sit uncle Rufus next to Aunt Maybell. We said we’d only invite 100 people but what about my second cousins on my momma’s side? They’ll be furious if they aren’t invited. Couples take out loans the size of down payments on would be homes so that they can please all of these other people and prove to them the largesse of their love.

And the coldest part of this hustle is that the whole purpose of this expression of love and commitment has vanished into an elaborate and expensive show and tell. There are countless couples who delay engagement because of their expectations for the kind of ring they should buy or how much the wedding will cost. Others assume crippling debt to keep up with the weddings that their friends and family had while still others, who try to do it within their means, get judged for the fiscal modesty of their displays of affection.

All of this for two special events that are supposed to be about love: the day a couple privately agree to commit themselves to each other for life, and the day that they share that commitment with their family and friends.

My point isn’t to expose the obvious hustle behind this whole industry. We all know what’s going on here. And my point is not to trash beautiful rings and weddings. I think it is wonderful when two people can share their love with each other and their loved ones in beautifully creative ways.

But at the end of the day it’s easy to lose focus. The focus should be on enjoying that present moment. It should be about planning every single day to share the best, most loving life together.

Don’t worry about what the next person is doing, or wearing, or driving. Just focus on the life that you live, the choices that you can make, and the joy that you can experience each and every day. Find work that fulfills your purpose, work that you enjoy, work that puts food in your family’s belly.

Everything else is nice and great but it’s not necessary. If you want it then by all means go for it!!! Enjoy the wonderful treasures that life has out there for us.

But do it for you. Do it because it is what YOU want, not because someone else is watching you or telling you how you should live your life.

Your life is yours. Seize the day! The present moment is all we are guaranteed. Never lose sight of that, and your days will be filled with joy. 

A Stroll in the Park

For the LORD takes delight in his people;
   he crowns the humble with victory. Psalm 149:4

Today’s Reading: Psalms 148-150; 1 Corinthians 15:29-58

There was a man who was taking his daily stroll through a park. As he started to head home he came upon a homeless man in tatters sitting by the path with a filthy, wrinkled McDonald’s cup in his hand. Their eyes met and the walker dropped a dollar in the cup.

“Thank you” the homeless man said. “I am an angel of the Lord. For your charity I will grant you a wish. Tell me whatever it is that you would like and it will be yours.”

After a moment’s hesitation the man said, “I wish that you bless the lives of those who don’t stop to help you. Bless them with love so that they will be inspired to help the next person they see that touches their heart.”

The homeless man smiled. “Ok, I will do as you wish. But to do so I must bless you. You have shown the love that you chose to give away as a blessing to others. You will be my blessing to the world. Each time you show love to another you will pass along the blessing that you so humbly gave away. What you give will be given unto you. All that you must do is continue to walk in love.”

“But what if I fail? I am not equal to the task. I do not know if I can handle the responsibility. I try, but I do not always love.”

The homeless man responded by saying “you have already been the blessing that you asked for. Do not be afraid to share the love that you shared with me today. And those that you love will do the same. You don’t have to be perfect; you just have to have the courage to try.”

And with these last words the homeless man vanished, leaving the blessed man to complete his stroll out of the park and into the rest of his life. 

Thanksgiving

 Sing to the LORD with grateful praise;
   make music to our God on the harp.

 He covers the sky with clouds;
   he supplies the earth with rain
   and makes grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle
   and for the young ravens when they call. - Psalm 147:7-9

Today’s Reading: Psalms 146-147; 1 Corinthians 15:1-28

Thanksgiving was always a trying time for me.

I grew up going back and forth between my Mom’s and Dad’s houses each week. But the holidays were different. On Thanksgiving (just like Christmas) I used to switch mid day. Just as I had woken up and gotten settled at one house, soon enough, there was a ring at the doorbell signaling that it was time to go. Me and my sister had to pack up our things and leave one parent for the other, never getting to share the entirety of any holiday in one household.

When I used to look back on what became “normal” for me I used to get frustrated. It bothered me that I never knew the stability of sharing any special day with my whole family at one dinner table. But now I look at it very differently.

Today, as I go on my Thanksgiving journey, I realize just how amazingly blessed I am. I am going to share this wonderful day of thanks twice with two sets of parents that love me unconditionally. Many people in this world cannot say the same for even one set of parents or even a single parent for that matter. When I think about how I used to be frustrated by what I saw as a burden, I just feel an immense sense of gratitude that life has gotten me to a point where I can see the best in life’s situations.

Everyone is dealt different cards in the game of life. What we must never forget is the most important rule to winning this game. We must always keep our minds and hearts focused on what is good. We must search out life’s treasures all around us; because even though it may not seem like it, they are there.

I honestly believe that this type of attitude is a decision that everyone can make. I’m sure that many folks will point to the most extreme situations in life and say that I am wrong and I humbly submit that I can only speak from my perspective. I believe that the more we decide to focus on the glass being half full, the faster that glass starts to fill up until it overflows.

There are many things in life that are out of our control. But one of the things that we do have a measure of control over is our attitude. Several years ago I realized this for myself. I used to be one of those half empty dudes. When I decided to make that shift, when I decided to seek out the treasures and blessings already abundant in my life I was better able to see the new ones that were on the horizon.

So let’s use this Thanksgiving as an opportunity to really give thanks. Take an inventory of your life and really try to find the wonderful blessings that you may have missed. Maybe it is an unappreciated friend or family member. Or perhaps it was a new opportunity this year. No matter who you are I believe that you have at least one thing to be thankful for.

And when you are sitting at your dinner table today; whether it is with family or friends or at a soup kitchen because you had nowhere else to go, try to use this meal as an opportunity to take a new step in the right direction.

Let today be the first of many days that you give thanks for what life has brought you. I know that I will; and I hope that very soon this act of giving thanks will bring abundant joy to your life in ways that you could never have imagined. 

A Convo With Dad

These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:11-13

Today’s Reading: Psalms 123-125; 1 Corinthians 10:1-18

I had an interesting conversation with my Dad today. We hadn’t talked in a while but that was really my bad. I tend to get tunnel vision sometimes; and when I get super focused, I forget to reach out to those around me. The last few months of fasting and meditation have been like that for me and I forgot that I had been out of touch for so long.

It was nice to catch up.

We talked for about an hour about some problems I have been facing and some things that have been on my mind. It was in this conversation that I remembered the value of family, but especially those family members that have come before me. As we discussed things he came with personal anecdotes from his life. Many of the things that I have been experiencing are things that he went through. He shared with me the mistakes that he made and the wisdom that he gained from them in the hopes that I could learn from him rather than learning the hard way.

I don’t know if you are like me but sometimes we have to remember to be open and transparent with our loved ones that we can trust. Our parents and grandparents, aunts, uncles and mentors, cannot fulfill their roles as leaders for us if we do not share our struggles and triumphs. Sure it may be humbling at times but that’s the thing… it is much better to be humbled in the presence of love than to be humbled by the cruel, cold world out there.

So remember this the next time you need advice on something or even just a listening ear. We all have at least one person around us who has been there before. They have made some of the same mistakes we have made. They have learned some of the lessons that we have yet to learn. Reach out to them and receive the blessings that they have to offer. 

Superfriends

My Eyes will be on the faithful in the land, that they may dwell with me; he whose walk is blameless will minister to me. Psalm 101: 6

Today’s Reading: Psalms 100-102; 1 Corinthians 1

We have all heard that old saying that you are the company you keep.

So cliché.

But we also know that the most cliché sayings have become that way for a reason. It’s because they are real as steel.

I was talking with the homie Dez on GChat the other day. Or rather I was working and he hit me up randomly with a link. The link was to this young cat Phillip T. Annand who is doing some real interesting things. Dude has a dope blog, a clothing line, and all kinds of other content all while he is going to college. The freshest thing about what he and his friends are doing is that they seem to be making money doing what they enjoy. They are living life on their own terms.

Not mad at dude… not mad at all. That is really what this blog is all about.

But what struck me most is that I have friends who seek to inspire me and want what is best for me. Sometimes that may mean telling me something that I don’t want to hear. Other times that means inspiring me by sharing stories of other folks who are doing what I aspire to do.

A couple years ago I took inventory of the folks I had in my life and looked to see who the positive influences were? Who was adding to my life? Who was sucking me dry?

I determined that there are three kinds of people in this respect. The first are the folks who use you until you’re all used up. And when you have been sucked dry they just move on; upset that you didn’t have more to give. I call them spiritual vampires.

The next are the folks who seem to give give give without allowing you to give in return. This may seem good on the surface but it is totally out of balance. Relationships are about giving and receiving and often times those who refuse to receive hold their “good” deeds over your head. In a sense it is taking through giving. They take your energy through guilt and obligation. It is sad and unhealthy.

The next are the kind of folk that I strive to surround myself with. They are the folks who give without expectation. They show love the best ways they can but are also open to receiving love back. With these kinds of people there is a healthy flow and exchange, not based on obligation, but based on mutual love and respect.

I strive to be the third kind of person to those around me. I’m not perfect. I’ve been my fair share of the first two at times in my life just like the rest of us. But when we have folks in our lives who genuinely love and care about us, it is much easier for us to achieve a healthy balance. And from that balance we are able to grow much faster, with exceptional richness of love and purpose for our lives.

Think about who those folks are for you. What kind of people have you surrounded yourself with? Are they takers leaving you spiritually exhausted? Are they “givers” leaving you burdened with insurmountable guilt? Or are they balanced folks that love you and love to receive love from you?

I hope that you discover, much like I did, that there are people around you that have done more to help you grow into the person that you are than you might be aware of.

Thank them and remember to give love to them. And don’t forget to receive that same love back with humility and grace.

The Ultimate Teamwork

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Romans 12: 3-5

Today’s Reading: Psalms 84-86; Romans 12

When I was younger I had visions of changing the world.

Even as a child I sensed that there were so many things wrong. As I grew up and learned more about what was happening around me I realized that I had a very privileged childhood. I had parents who loved me and friends who cared for me. I was getting a good, private education in a city with a  public school system that was one of the worst in the nation. I was healthy and I never once wondered where my next meal would come from.

So many people don’t have it so good and I wanted to change that. When I got to college and studied abroad in Brazil I saw that the problem was way bigger than I ever imagined it.

This really troubled me. How was I supposed to fix everything that was wrong in the world? I spent many sleepless nights trying to figure it out.

How foolish was that!?

Ok… foolish may be the wrong word but there is something very arrogant about it. Taking on that burden presupposed that I could possibly be equal to the task. I know now how absurd that is.

No one person can change the world. But there is something that each and every one of us can do. We can do our part. And if we all do our part we can work as a team to change the world.

That’s what I get from the passage above. For some of us, doing our part is going to school and studying so that we have the best chance possible to make a difference in the future. For others it is smiling at the strangers we encounter in life. Perhaps it is that smile that sparks a stranger to do something that really makes a difference. Or perhaps you are that stranger. Perhaps you are the one who has the silver bullet that will tackle one of the major problems of our time.

But regardless of your role, no one is better than anyone else. Every single task is important. Every person is valuable. Sure, if we don’t step up to our specific task then maybe someone else will do it, but that creates a burden that is too heavy for another to carry.

We are each built for our own purpose, not to fulfill our own and the next man’s.

If there is one thing that you remember long after you read these words I want it to be this.  We must all do our part. Whenever you get that feeling inside or that little voice tells you to do the unthinkably loving action that you never would do on your own, do it. When you feel the burning fire of an unrealized dream burning deep within your soul, do it. If you see a stranger on the street and feel moved to smile and say hello, do it.

It is in these moments of spontaneous love that our purpose manifest right before our eyes.

Seize the day! Do it now before the sun sets.

And for everything that is out of your control, don’t worry about it. You can only do what you can do. Leave the rest up to someone else on the team. 

The Power of Meditation

Be still, and know that I am God. Psalms 46:10

Today’s Reading: Psalms 46-48; Acts 28

I had a conversation recently with a friend about meditation. We were talking about how powerful it is, how when we are able to reach that place where we can let go, we are connected to something that is wonderfully powerful, beyond measure.

This brought me back to the time where this blog was born; the ten day fast that I did in September of 2007.

Many years had passed since I had really spoken to God. Sure God was around and maybe I hollered at him every now and then when I thought I needed him, but I was in an utter state of confusion. I couldn’t see anything clearly.

Then I decided to do the master cleanse and unplug from the TV and Internet for 10 days.

The experienced changed my life.

When I look back on it I see that the power of that experience wasn’t in the lemon drink or the salt water flushes. The power was in the silence. When everything was shut off my spirit was able to shake off the burden of the noise in my mind and finally exercise its wings again. In the silence I was able to hear what God wanted me to hear. I was able to listen.

The times that I spent meditating and reconnecting with God were so powerful and so comforting. It was like going back home and realizing that I never left.

For several years prior to this I spent so much time trying to solve all of the spiritual problems of the universe that I had forgotten what my position was. In the attempt to understand God, I gradually started trying to do his work. I tried to answer the questions that only He can answer. I tried to solve the puzzles that only he can solve.

But when I became quiet I was able to see clearly and know without a doubt that He is God. Not me.

Often times we don’t know the next step we are supposed to take in life because we spend too much time talking and not enough time listening. Give listening a chance sometime. Find a quiet place where you will not be interrupted and just close your eyes and sit there. No music. No soothing meditation sounds. Just silence.  If your mind starts racing about random topics, let it race. Listen to what it is saying without trying to control or judge it. Let it talk freely and observe what it has to say. Eventually it will tire itself out and go silent.

This is when the miracle begins.

From this silence the spirit will burst forth. It will sing the songs that God wants to speak into your life. This is what inspiration is for me. It is when we are blessed with ideas and visions and dreams that are bigger than our small minds. They are so big and beautiful for our lives that it is clear that they are not ours.

Then when you open your eyes you will see what I saw and continue to see. What once was foggy is now clear. And in that clarity you will know the next steps to take to make your dreams come true.

The only question is… do you have the courage to take the first step?

If you don’t have some crazy, miraculous epiphany the first time, that’s cool. Keep trying. Having the patience to reach a state of quiet is very difficult. It takes work and patience.

But I promise that if you put in the work, you will reap the fruit one hundred fold. 

An Intimate Relationship

Since you are my rock and my fortress,
       for the sake of your name lead and guide me. - Psalms 31:3

Today’s Reading: Psalms 31-32; Acts 23:16-35

Wow… “for the sake of your name lead and guide me”.

There is something so striking about those words. It is not just their beauty, but also the force, power, love, affection, and faith behind them. What do they say about the relationship that the author had with God? When I read those words I feel like I am being let in on a secret conversation between two best friends, or two life companions. It is just so intimate to me.

The author is pleading for help. He is asking to be heard, listened to, and rescued. He is seeking salvation from life’s woes and has chosen to ask the one that he trusts the most for help in his time of need.

And that one is God.

I have never had faith that strong. In these types of moments I have always searched within myself rather than searching outside of me. And of course when those moments refused to relent I was forced to recognize that I didn’t have enough.

That’s what humility is I guess… a constant recognition that we are not alone, that we need help, and the courage to reach out from the solitude of self to find true power in the community of God and others.

I cannot wait to find out what life is like when I am able to fully let go; fully put my faith in God rather than myself or my fellow man. It’s funny because when my back gets pushed up against the wall and I decide to finally put my trust in God, miracles do happen.

It’s ok though… just like everything else in life, faith is a work in progress. It’s just amazing to see how far along the writer has come; and how far I need to go. 

Humility Gives Us Power

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker…

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. – Excerpt from Acts 14: 11-15

Today’s Reading: Job 32-33; Acts 14

It’s interesting that this comes so quickly after the episode with Herod. When Herod was worshipped by the people he received their praise. As a result he was eaten by worms.

Yuck.

When Paul and Barnabas saw that they were being worshipped for healing a paralytic they were horrified and begged and pleaded with the crowd to see them for what they were.

Regular people just like them…

The juxtaposition here is interesting. The first thing I thought was wow… with great humility comes great power. But how does one stay humble when they possess such power? How did Paul fight off the urge to start feelin’ himself a bit too much?

I’m sure that the occasional stoning helped… but seriously… how does that work.

These were regular dudes with an irregular level of faith. But in the end they were regular folks. They had the same weaknesses that we all have to the human vices.

I imagine that the key to their walk was understanding that they were not the center of their own universe.

Here’s what I mean.

When Paul and Barnabas saw the paralyzed man they “saw that he had faith to be healed”.

It’s really hard to see others when you are looking at yourself.

The gifts that Paul was given to heal and to teach functioned through his humility. If he lost focus on God and others and started focusing on himself he wouldn’t have been able to see these opportunities that he had to work miracles.

When we place ourselves at the center of our worlds, that world has a funny way of collapsing in on us. We aren’t strong enough to support it.

But when we recognize that we don’t have to be that foundation, but rather, that we are standing on infinitely stronger shoulders; then there is no limit to what we can do.

Giving up control gives us power. 

The Fear of the Lord

Today's Reading: Job 28-29; Acts 13: 1-25

Ok peep these verses from Job 28:

 12 "But where can wisdom be found?
       Where does understanding dwell?

 13 Man does not comprehend its worth;
       it cannot be found in the land of the living.

Yeah I feel you Job… where is this wisdom at? Where can it be found… But then later on he says the following:

 23 God understands the way to it
       and he alone knows where it dwells,

 28 And he said to man,
       'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
       and to shun evil is understanding.' "

What is this “fear of the Lord” stuff? What the heck does that mean?

That is something that bothered me my entire life. It didn’t seem to make sense. I thought I was supposed to love God and that God had my back and such things. Why am I supposed to fear Him?

This comes up a lot in the Bible, especially in proverbs. I won’t claim to have complete understanding of this topic… but here is where I’m at with it now.

When I was about five years old I learned how to ride my bike.

That’s right… without training wheels baby! Don’t hate….

My dad and my stepmom used to take me and my sister out riding after school. It was a family thing we did together. We used to ride to the park and all kinds of far distances for my little five year old world.

But when he wasn’t riding with us he told me that I couldn’t ride in the street.

Say what!? Didn’t he know that I’m a bike riding professional? Lance Armstrong didn’t have nothin’ on me! Why couldn’t I ride in the street?

Now when I was three my older sister got hit by a car when riding her bike and broke her leg. So of course besides the common sense rule of not letting a five year old ride in the street there was also that fact to contend with.

But in my mind… shooooot, that wasn’t gonna happen to me! I was indestructible anyway. It’s all good.

So I decided to test him… I rode down the sidewalk between two houses and when I got to the driveway of the bottom house I circled back up to the next drive way in the street. Hey I wasn’t in the street long. It’s all good right?

Wrong.

Yep I got punished for that one.

But the key point was that I didn’t have sense enough on my own to know what was and was not dangerous for me. So Pops had to lay down rules for me to follow. Until I was about eight the main thing that kept me in line was the respect I had for my dad and knowing that he played no games when I crossed the line.

It was not my own understanding.

I never feared my Dad at all. Quite the contrary… I just knew that there were certain rules that he had and that I had to follow them.

I wonder if that’s where the “fear of God” comes in. Maybe a lot of these rules and guidelines that we don’t agree with or don’t understand are really in our best interest. Maybe they will protect us from things that we cannot see and cannot possibly understand.

Who knows? That’s all I’ve got for now.

What do you think it means to “fear the Lord”? Do you agree or disagree with your understanding of it?

Let’s discuss.

At a Loss for Words

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. John 13: 12-17

Today’s Reading: 2 Chronicles 17-18; John 13: 1-20

So I did the reading for this one Monday night with the plans of getting a head start on Tuesday’s post. Now it is Tuesday and I’m still at a loss for words.

Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, one by one. One of which he knew would sell him for some scraps of silver. And another who would publicly deny him three times.

Wow…

All I can say here is read those words above. That is what a true leader looks like. Whether you are the leader of your family, an organization, a company, or a country; if you cannot lead from a place of loving service then your leadership won’t be leadership at all. It will be self serving.

The power in this message just astounds me.

Truthaholics Anonymous

Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. – John 9:39-41

Today’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 28-29; John 9:24-41

I was once like the Pharisees.

I thought that I could see everything, understand all the mysteries of the universe, solve any problem. I was addicted to pursuing truth. I was a truthaholic.

It’s amazing to look back and see how arrogant I was.

I know I have said this in the past but there really is so much we can learn when we accept that we know nothing at all.

Have you ever had to make a brochure, presentation, or document that would be seen by many important people? I’m sure that after your initial design effort you reviewed it over and over again to check for any stupid spelling errors or mistakes.

But what happened when you showed it to someone else?

They were probably able to quickly identify an area of improvement… something that you could not see.

Many times we look at life through stale eyes. Our eyes are made stale by our experiences, hopes, dreams, disappointments and accomplishments. The more we live and rely on what we think we know the more our vision is skewed by the prism of our experience.

We become blinded by subjectivity.

When you think about it, this is where judgment comes from. We look at others through the lens of our own experience and apply our rules and regulations to their conduct.

But this lens has a blind spot. Just like how you couldn’t see the glaring error in the project you were working on, we have a hard time seeing the glaring flaws in the lives we are living.

As Jesus suggested, we point out the splinters in another person’s eye but cannot see the planks in our own.

This is how I understand the passage above. We have a tendency to fall into the trap of worshiping our own minds by thinking that our own perspective is truth.

I believe that truth, like God, is a concept too great to comprehend. I used to seek it out but not any more.

That’s above my pay grade.

My name is Clarence Mitchell and am a truthaholic. Finally, I see that I know nothing.

Twitter Rant: 06-06-10

06-06-10 11:51 pm

I am starting to realize some things.

We tend to look at life through the prism of our own understanding, this is problematic.

Our individual perspectives are mere dots on the surface of single grains of sand on the vast shores of wisdom.

we assume that we know all and in this assumption we become blind to the truth.

it is only when we realize that we know nothing that our vision clears enough to reveal the truth.

and that truth is so impossibly grand that we can't help but to be humble before it.

The Last Straw

"When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.” – 1 Chronicles 17: 11-12

Today’s Reading: 1 Chronicles 16-18; John 7:28-53

When I was in college I had these delusions of grandeur about saving the world. I stayed up countless, sleepless nights wondering what it was that I was going to do to make this huge change that I thought needed to be made.

Of course I still have huge visions… I’ll never grow out of that… sorry Dad!

But one thing that my Dad did teach me was that we are all part of a bigger process.

One day we were talking about life and making a change and he said something like this: “It’s not your job to change the world, God does that. But it’s your job to do your part.”

This is extremely unsatisfying… but I am starting to get the larger point.

I wrote a piece a little while back referencing Martin Luther King’s last speech. In it he invokes the imagery of Moses and talks about how he has been to the mountain top. He has seen the Promised Land and even if he does not get there with us, he knows that we will get there.

He got shot the next day.

At first I used to get really sad thinking about this clip. How could someone speak about their own future with such clairvoyance? It always seemed so eerie to me.

But now I’m starting to see the other side of that coin. He was a man who did the best that he could with the resources that he had at his disposal. Did he succeed in realizing all of the change that he envisioned before he died? No.

But…

Did he fight the good fight hand have a substantive enough impact to be able to see the fruits of his labor?

Yes.

The work wasn’t about him. It was for people that he would never see, people like you and me who may or may not have been born yet.

He was also helped by countless other folk. He didn’t do the work alone.

When we strive to do good for those around us it may be disheartening when we do not see an immediate result. And that’s ok. It’s natural to want to reap an immediate harvest from the seeds that we plant.

But if we remember that it takes a thousands straws to break a camels back it is easier to chill and relax and enjoy being part of the process of those fighting the good fight. Whether we are the first or the last, all thousand of those straws are necessary and important.

Even if history doesn’t remember all of their names…

Question of the Day: Who are the unsung heroes of your life? What did they do for you? How did they make a difference?

Can't Serve Two Masters

"No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight. Luke 16: 13-15

Today’s Reading 2 Samuel 12-13; Luke 16

I had a chat conversation with a good friend of mine today. We were talking about Ethiopia and in the middle of her typing I interjected with some comment about Ethiopia haven’t a gang of Christians.

She was already typing the same thing. Shut up and listen Clarence…

I’ve never been one to worship money like the Pharisees but I definitely have dealt with my own idols. I used to worship at the altar of the mind.

My own mind… How arrogant is that? Or perhaps insecure…

Two sides of the same coin really.

Here’s what I mean by that. Have you ever met someone who always had to be right or always had to come up with the answer to the random questions that invariably come up in casual conversation? Aren’t those people insufferable?

Yep that was me. And you know what. It’s really tiring. It’s impossible to know everything right? So imagine how much energy it would require to seem like you do.

So silly.

But I’m sure you’re thinking how is being a know-it-all anything like what Jesus is talking about above with the two masters stuff.

Well it interfered with my relationship with God.

When I was having doubts and troubles with things related to Christianity several years ago much of it was due to what other “Christians” had done. But another part of it was that there were so many things that I had questions about. There were so many things that I didn’t understand.

That scared the hell out of me.

So I went on this quest to try to answer some unanswerable questions:

What is “sin” and what causes it? How does God “judge” us? How does He determine if we go to heaven or hell? If Jeffrey Dahmer is in heaven where is Gandhi? Is he in hell? Why? That doesn’t seem right.

This troubled me a WHOLE lot until I realized how the passage above applied to me. By trying to answer these questions I was trying to be God.

That job is way above my pay grade.

Once I realized this it became clear that I was totally out of balance. I am not God. That is an arrogance that I hope I don’t fall into again in the future.

So I decided to let God be God. I would listen to Him for guidance as to how I can best do me. After all, doing me is enough work anyway right?

So whatever your vice may be, take a look at it. Be honest with yourself. Maybe the reason why you aren’t moving as fast as you like is because you are getting in your own way.

If you have my problem you might end up like this guy.

How Small Wrongs Become Big Problems

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant." – 2 Samuel 11: 2-5

Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 9-11; Luke 15: 11-32

Don’t do it David! Noooooooooooooo!

Uh oh… She got him. Drats.

We’ll get to David in a minute here but we gotta talk about Bathsheba for a second. You know what my first thought is every time I read this story?

She knew what she was doing…

It looks like folks have been getting trapped for millennia. The game doesn’t change… each generation just adds their own flavor to it.

Ok. If you’re lost… let me recap the play by play here.

David goes for a stroll on his roof. He’s chillin’, looking around the city and low and behold he sees a super bad woman bathing in plain view.

Who does that? Nekked for the whole city to see? Riiiiiight.

Then he has his folks go get her, he sleeps with her, and she gets preggers.

You know what David should have done right? He should have taken a play out of Onan’s handbook!

I kid, I kid.

Ok… David shouldn’t have been up on the roof peeping at folks. Yes I know that the army was away at war and he was probably just chillin in the palace board to tears. But dude… occupy your time in a more responsible manner. Go get a board game, play some backgammon, Uno, dominoes… something else other than the “peeping Tom” move.

What this situation shows is how one little thing can lead to a huge wrong. Later in the chapter David sends Bathsheba’s husband to the front lines of the war to die.

So David went from being a peeping Tom to a murderer at light speed. He made one error that continued to build on itself until he totally acted out of his character.

None of us are above this. We have all been in the position where we have told a “white lie” that snowballed into fictions so great that they could inspire award winning performances.

But when it comes down to it most of our big mistakes can be traced back to the small decisions we make. We cannot avoid all of these mistakes because we are not perfect. But, if we constantly work toward being the best that we can be and stay humble, then hopefully we will have the focus and discipline to admit our smaller wrongs before they become big ones.

Thank You Ruth

The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth."

Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him. The women living there said, "Naomi has a son." And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. - Ruth 4: 14-17

Hey Naomi,

You’re a whole lot nicer than I am. I can’t imagine how tough it must have been to lose your husband at that time. How would you eat? Where would you live? Should you go back home to your family in Moab? I think that’s what I would have done. That makes the most sense.

But instead you saw that Naomi needed help and you stayed with her. You left all that you knew and chose to believe that God would take care of you and your mother in law.

It must have been pretty scary to go into those fields with all of the strange men to harvest the grain. We have seen from the other stories that this represented risking your modesty and your life. Any one of them might have snatched you up and done with you what he desired.

But since you believed, God looked out for you. And as a result of this, David was born.

I love how there is this constant theme in the Bible of the greatest coming from the least. Joseph rose from slavery to lead Egypt. Moses was an orphan who became a liberator of the faith. Gideon was a coward who became a champion of Israel. And you, through faith, became the great grandmother of David… preserving the family line of Jesus.

It’s hard to imagine in my day and time how strong you were. To many of us what you did seems to be stuck in a place in time that doesn’t jive with what a strong woman is today.

But you took a leap of faith, a leap so long that you couldn’t have possibly seen where you would land.

But land you did, safely and securely.

Thanks for having faith where I would have doubted, and persevering where I would have given up.

Peace.

Today’s Reading: Ruth 1-4; Luke 8:1-25