Apples and Catsup

Apples and catsup.  I’ve run across a four year old boy who thinks they would be good together.  His Happy Meal had come with apples instead of fries.  All of his previous meals must have come with fries – which, of course, necessitates having catsup.  So, why let apples put an end to such a tradition?

The Israelites were “zealous for God, but their zeal (was) not based in knowledge” (Romans 10:1-3).  They could only see how to approach God through the Law, so they struggled to change how they thought with the arrival of the Messiah.  Apples and catsup.

Sometimes my habitual way of thinking gets in the way of seeing the truth God has revealed in Christ.  Instead of changing I try to combine one with the other.  It doesn’t work very well.  What do I need?  Open eyes to see what God has in mind, open ears willing to listen to His word, and an open heart willing to be changed by what He says.  I don’t imagine apples and catsup go together very well.

Memories

We may not understand why many in Serbia are protesting the declaration of independence by Kosovo, but it all revolves around an issue that affects every one of us – history. Kosovo is seen as the cradle of Serbian culture by those in Serbia. A declaration of separation by those in Kosovo would feel like some as ripping out Serbia’s heart.

How does this have any place in our lives? All of us have a history – as individuals, in families, in communities. So, when we talk to someone about spiritual matters their history comes into play. Every past wrong – real or perceived – becomes a barrier. Expectations can trip up someone as they walk toward God. Their history forms their view of Christ, of the church and of Christians.

What can we do about someone’s history? We can’t change it. We can listen – not to dispute their recollection, but to acknowledge what they carry. Many times an apology would be appropriate (even if we weren’t the one to commit the wrong). Most of all, we can pray. God can make a difference no matter what someone’s history might be.

Did You Know…?

Why do we believe urban legends and rumors? Does it come from trying to reinforce what we already believe or is it from poor thinking and logic? I’ve been forced to ponder over this because of some misinformation that has made the rounds in the past and present. My first inclination is that we believe messages that affirm what we already believe.

Some of the rumors that have gone around that are easy to check out, but seem to have legs and won’t quit. In past years (at least I hope it’s finally died away) one rumor that continued to make the rounds was that Procter and Gamble was associated with Satanism (based upon the makeup of their symbol). Even after lawsuits being filed and won by the company this rumor just kept on and on. Maybe it’s because those who kept pushing it were involved in their own business as a competitor.

Some newer rumors include that Barack Obama is or has been Muslim. Easy to check out and verify that it is not true. Generally, I’ve heard this one from those who are confirmed Republicans. They’re not interested in what is true. What they are looking for is ammunition to shoot him down. Here in Texas we have “yellow dog democrats” (folks who’d only vote for a democrat even if their candidate was a yellow dog). We need a phrase for the same mindset from the Republican side.

Finally, on an event closer to home, students from Prairie View A&M University marched from their campus to the Waller County courthouse in Hempstead to take part in early voting and make a statement about the right of students to vote and to be involved. One rumor of upset locals - students were bussed in from Texas Southern University to pump up the numbers and even register to vote in Waller County. Easy to find out if it’s true, but the truth is not what is sought. It is an effort to “confirm” what one already thinks.

Is this what we all do in general? One part of urban legends and rumors as a problem is that I need to check my own thinking and willingness to believe what confirms my side - without checking it out. It is frightening to consider how easily I might believe a lie.  The other part is to ask questions of others to help them think through their own statements. Also, I need to not let others perpetuate rumors that are clearly untrue. For the good of all of us we need to seek what is true.

By This Motley Crew?

Simply amazing.  Maybe we are too aware of our sins and weaknesses to realize the possibility.  Despite the imperfections of every one of us, God is glorified in us.  In us.  Our flaws may be the very reason others can look at us and praise God.  Isn’t it amazing what God is able to accomplish through His church, through us?  As we live for Him, He is praised (Matthew 5:16). God receives glory as He transforms us by His power (Ephesians 3:20-21).  People look at us and say, “Isn’t God amazing?  Look at what He’s done in them.”  I’d agree.  It is simply amazing.

How Did We Get Here?

Over the last few years it seems there has been a change in the church community to which I belong. Years ago an emphasis was placed on seeking and following what was given through Scripture. This was good and kept the focus upon God and what He desired. As an example, the question was asked, “What name should we give a body of believers?” The answer was, “What does God call His people in Scripture? Any of those would be good.” In all things the Bible was brought to bear on every question.

Sometime this emphasis has been changing. I don’t know when it happened - probably because it’s been gradual. Now I hear people talking about teaching “what the church of Christ believes” instead of Scripture. Going back to the name to describe ourselves, it’s no longer “what does God say,” but now “the name has to be and can only be ‘church of Christ.’” Somewhere along the way Scripture was abandoned for a list of specified beliefs.

Maybe this is a result of what has been taught from Scripture over the years. Now we are seeing fruit borne of the methods of the past. I overheard a conversation between two men who teach Bible classes for teens. They were aghast that the teens didn’t hold to a certain belief. What was the solution offered? A special class or classes focusing on this one topic. What was wrong with this? This topic was not one that came directly out of Scripture - it was a belief that came out of an inference from two verses. Wouldn’t it have been better for the teens to help them learn how to study Scripture so they can come to understand what God desires instead of focusing on a specific list of conclusions they should believe? If the point is true and right they will come to the same conclusion from studying Scripture (if they know how to study Scripture). Unless we begin to emphasize Scripture over lists the future looks cloudy.

Churches and Christlikeness

I’d like to share a quote from Dallas Willard in his book Renovation of the Heart (pages 238-239, Navpress, 2002):

“A fundamental mistake of the conservative side of the American church today, and much of the Western church, is that it takes as its basic goal to get as many people as possible ready to die and go to heaven.  It aims to get people into heaven rather than to get heaven into people.  This of course requires that these people, who are doing to be “in,” must be right on what is basic.  You can’t really quarrel with that.  But it turns out that to be right on “what is basic” is to be right in terms of the particular church vessel or or tradition in question, not in terms of Christlikeness.

Now, the project thus understood and practiced is self-defeating. It implodes upon itself because it creates groups of people who may be ready to die, but clearly are not ready to live. They rarely can get along with one another, much less those “outside.”  Often  their most intimate relations are tangles of reciprocal harm, coldness, and resentment.  They have found  ways of being “Christian” without being Christlike.”

Changing A Community

About 18 months ago we moved from a good sized city (130,000) into a rural county.  One difference I’ve noticed is that there is a general disregard for traffic laws here.  A stop sign doesn’t mean the other person will stop.  In fact, the person driving up behind you as you approach a stop sign is likely to assume that you will not stop - which means that they just might rear-end you.  Speed limits are ignored.  No passing zones don’t have much meaning.  It seems that a culture of disregarding the law has developed.

After another blatant example today I started thinking about how that tendency might be changed.  It’s one thing to change  the thinking of one person, but how do you change the thinking of several thousand?  Increased traffic enforcement might have some impact, though it would probably be temporary.  Advertisements might cause a few to change their habits.  A tragic accident that claimed lives might impact even more (not something you could plan).  In the end I’m still left with my original question.  How can you change a culture?

The solution may be found deeper within each individual.  Why do they drive as they do?  Since this is a rural county and traffic is light, many may believe that stopping at a stop sign when no one else is around is simply foolish. There is no meaning to actually stopping other than just because “it’s the law.”  Drives aren’t measured in blocks, but in miles.  Speeding makes you feel like you’re covering all that ground a bit quicker.  Overall it seems that it is more meaningful, beneficial to break the law than it is to keep the law.  A long term solution would have to address meaning.  Observing the law would have to become more meaningful than not.  Whether it is “something we do” or “following the law makes a real difference” a framework has to develop that can provide meaning.

Driving and Faith, Part 2

Is the question “Is speeding a sin?” the wrong way to begin?  A better question might be “What is good and right as I drive?”  The first seeks to find a line and see if I can drive right up to it (”I can do it because it’s not wrong.”).  The second focuses on the bigger picture of how my driving habits can fit with my faith.  So, let’s consider some principles that might have an impact on driving.

One thing a lot of us do is not use wisdom as we drive.  We will say we are, but we really aren’t doing it well.  We tend to overestimate the benefit of speeding - thinking we’ll make better time (going 65 instead of 60 only makes a 5 minute difference after an hour of driving).  We also underestimate the potential harm - thinking we’re in control and nothing could happen we couldn’t handle, but we don’t know all circumstances or realize the energy contained within this vehicle as it flies down the road.  Although we claim to make an informed decision, most of us tend to speed out of habit rather than out of a conscious choice.  If we think about it we might make different choices.

As I drive I want to be able to do it in such a way that anyone who sees me will believe that I’m a Christian.  If I tailgate, speed through traffic and otherwise drive aggressively, it will be hard for me to convince anyone else on the road that I follow Christ.  Some verses that fit into this include I Corinthians 9:12, 10:31-33; II Corinthians 6:3; and Romans 14:19-21.

Another aspect of driving is that we tend to act and react out of self-centeredness.  We’ll get upset because “they” got in our way and kept us from getting where we intend to go (and getting there smoothly and quickly).  For us all to travel safely we have to work together.  That means we have to think about others and not focus exclusively on our own “rights. (Philippians 2)

Above all, if faith is to guide us in driving (as in all of life), the ultimate question is whether what we do is honoring to God (Colossians 3:17 and I Corinthians 10:31).  We tend to drive more as an economic decision (how much a ticket would cost and what are the odds we’ll get caught) rather than letting our choice be guided by our desire to please and honor God in all we do.

Is it a sin  to speed?   How will I drive when I live by faith?

Driving and Faith

Is speeding a sin?  An interesting discussion arose in a class about this very subject.  Some time ago a church leader told one of the men in the class that it was indeed a sin because it was a violation of the laws of the land (from Romans 13:1-5).  The discussion that followed was interesting, but we didn’t really settle it.  How does God view our driving habits?

Why do we speed?  There are various reasons - sometimes it is unintentionally (we weren’t paying attention to our speed and discovered we had crept up a bit), other times it is out of ignorance (we weren’t aware of the posted limit), it could be because of a lack of patience (driving the speed limit feels  too slow and we can’t wait it out), for some it may be anger (aggressive driving seems to reflect what is going on inside the driver), for others it may be pride (we can’t bear to have someone pass us), and there may be more.  The choice to speed in many ways boils down to an economic decision - we drive as quick as we think we can get away with, watch for law enforcement so we can slow down and not get caught, and gamble that we probably won’t be caught against the price of a ticket (and increased insurance, etc.).  The economic side of this is seen in the sale of items to help elude detection (radar detectors and the like).

I do think we have to distinguish between traffic laws and criminal  laws as we consider faith’s response.  What is the purpose of traffic laws?  I’ve always been told they are primarily concerned with safety.  As an illustration, one urban legend (at least I’ve never heard it verified in fact) is that if you are driving the speed limit in the midst of Houston traffic while every one else is speeding around you, a police officer may come by and order you to speed up so that you will  not be a hindrance and hazard to traffic. It serves as an illustration that safety matters more than the letter of the law.

So, how does faith fit into this picture?  I don’t think Romans 13:1-5 provides a good picture of how God sees our driving habits.  Submitting to the governing authorities deals with matters that result in punishment.  (I think  our discussion should consider “regular” speeding rather than extreme speeding that is way past what normal folks do.)  Going 65 or 70 in a 60 mph zone normally results in a fine - a monetary transaction between the driver and the area authorities.  That doesn’t seem to fit the idea of a criminal  matter and the resulting punishment.

If Romans 13 doesn’t apply, does our faith have any influence on our driving habits?  There are other verses that can contribute to this discussion and possibly shed some light on this matter.  Let’s explore these in the next post.

Willing to Learn

Going from hair to bald has been a learning process.  I never thought about what would be the best way to shave my head, how often it would have to be done and how to take care of my scalp until I was actually doing it.  It has been a learning process.  What kind of razor works best?  (I’ve been using a disposable triple blade that has some flex along its length.)  How often do I need to shave? (I’ve been on a schedule of every other day.  As I’ve gotten used to the process it takes less time, so I could conceivably shave every day.  The growth hasn’t been enough to make me think about needing to shave my head daily, though my face does need a daily shave.)  What do I need to do to take care of my scalp? (It’s been dry, so I’ve needed lotion to add moisture.  I’ve experimented with two.  My wife didn’t like the smell of the first, so it was out.  The second has worked pretty well.  I might try another when I run out of this one.)  I’ve discovered dangers in shaving my head - nicks and cuts.  I’ve even cut my ears.  Don’t ask me how I did.  I haven’t figured out how it happened, but ears can bleed something fierce.  When I first started I had a problem with my skin breaking out.  As I’ve continued this isn’t a problem as much.  It seems to have taken the skin some time to adjust to the process.

Over the next few months I may have discovered a better method, a better razor, or something else that will make it easier.  The key has been a willingness to try.  That’s what led me to shave my head.  I thought I could at least try it to see what I thought.  If I didn’t like it, what little hair I have can grow back.  Really, that’s what life is all about - just try.  I can look back over my life and see those times when I didn’t do something because I didn’t know “enough” about it.  If I’d been more willing to try, more willing to learn what could I have accomplished?  What could I have discovered about life and myself?  What adventures could have come my way?  Sure, I would have had some times when it just didn’t work out, but I wouldn’t know it until I tried.

The lessons  I’ve learned from a bald head - don’t worry what others might think or say (they’ll eventually get to other things and people to talk about), if you’re not sure whether you’d look alright bald, try it and you might be surprised,  you never wake up with “bed hair” or have to worry about the wind messing up your ‘do, always keep a hat close for cold days, and you start to notice there are quite a few others in this world who have done the same thing.  Most importantly, in all things be willing to learn.