THAT’S NOT MY JOB

EVERY TIME I RUN into people who tell me I won’t get to heaven unless I believe what they believe, I know how Christians get a bad reputation. I think they’re probably trying to scare me into that section of heaven they believe is reserved for their denomination. As if they’d been there, scoped out the territory, and determined that their section was not only the best, it was the only one.

FOR ME, THEY HAVE TOO MANY PAT ANSWERS to questions I find far too complex for simple dot-connection. Can any of us be that certain? They are, and, given the opportunity, they are eager to debate with those who are not.

THIS IS WHEN I RESORT TO MARK 9. Jesus, Peter, James, and John descended the mountain after the transfiguration and found the disciples who had been left behind debating with scribes after a failed attempt at exorcising a possessed boy. Jesus asked, “What are you arguing about with them?” There is no answer.

IT NEEDED NONE. Arguing with those who already know they’re right—like scribes or Pharisees—is a waste of time. Dale Carnegie said it so well: “Those convinced against their will are of the same opinion still.”

HE ALSO SAID, “The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.” But, for me, it’s more than just avoidance. As a person of faith, it’s not my job to determine what only God has the authority to decide. And God, being God, is free to decide whatever He wishes and to change His mind as it pleases Him.

IF I DIDN’T BELIEVE THAT, I wouldn’t pray for others, asking that their burdens be eased, that their hearts be lightened, and that their health be restored. I wouldn’t believe the promises. I wouldn’t believe God.

BUT I DO.

I CANNOT KNOW HIS MIND. I can only look to his Son for a hint of what He’s like—after that, I’m pretty limited. The more I study, the more I pray, the more I’m convinced that those who claim more might be looking for assurances that prove that they are right.

THEY MAY HAVE MISSED THE POINT. Jesus told us to love one another; He didn’t tell us to scare one another. As Christians our job is to plant the seeds of faith . . . God will do the rest. That’s another of His promises.

You’re blessed. Be a blessing!

COUNTING IS THE WAY TO JOY

DO I SOUND LIKE A GRATITUDE JUNKIE? I probably am one. So much of the misery I see and experience is rooted in a lack of gratitude.

OF COURSE, THE WORLD IS IN A MESS. It’s been that way since shortly after man and woman showed up. But, the world isn’t entirely awful. Good leaks out and shows itself every time I look for it. Of course, it’s up to me to practice looking.

I’M NOT BLIND. I take note of what’s wrong, but I don’t concentrate on it. I believe that I bring into my life what I give the most attention to.

LET ME EXPLAIN what I mean with an example. Suppose I need a new raincoat. I find myself noticing what kind of raincoats others are wearing. I go into stores that sell them. Raincoats are everywhere! I try several on. Before long, I find one I like that fits me and my budget. I bring that raincoat home.

GRATITUDE IS LIKE THAT. If I look for good—for things to be grateful for—before long I find them. Maybe they were there all along. Maybe like a woman who doesn’t need a new raincoat, I never noticed what I passed by every time I entered the mall.

SO, WHAT’S THE POINT? Why do I choose to look for things to be grateful for? Why don’t I concentrate on what is wrong?

BECAUSE I WANT JOY IN MY LIFE. I want to be the kind of person for whom a kind word becomes the most spontaneous thing to say. For whom a smile seems the most natural way to greet a stranger. I want to finish my day knowing that I’ve been blessed many more times than I can count.

MOST OF ALL, I want to know the Source of all these blessings, and I am confident I will know Him by His generosity. All I have to do is cooperate by counting.

SO, IF YOU, LIKE ME, are looking for a joy beyond mere happiness, join me in learning to count.

You are blessed. Be a blessing!

GIVE ME THAT GRATITUDE ATTITUDE

MOST OF MY UNHAPPINESS is really dissatisfaction with the world. I don’t have what I want when I want it, and to paraphrase the words of George Bernard Shaw in MAN AND SUPERMAN, because of that I sometimes choose to be a “feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making me happy.”

FREQUENTLY DISAPPOINTMENT DRAGS me back to this type of thinking. Shaw, who was an in-your-face doubter, recommended being a force of Nature to overcome this, but I believe he was wrong. I need to succumb to the force of the Supernatural—the Holy Spirit—instead. I need to put my face into the wind of faith if I want to change.

AND HOW IS THAT DONE? By putting my feet on the path of thankfulness. Good old gratitude. I need to open my eyes. I need to be glad of where I am right now and for what I’m doing right now . . . not because I’m afraid that things will worsen. No. I need to be glad just because they are what they are. Right now.

GRATITUDE IS ABOUT NOW. It’s not about what was—that will lead to thoughts of what could have been or should have been. It’s not about the future. That leads to unrealistic expectations. No. It’s about THIS day, THIS hour, THIS moment. It’s about living even more fully than I ever expected I could.

I MAY NEED A CHANGE in my approach. I may need to rethink my attitude. I may need to change my spots—and that can only be done with the help of God . . . on the path that is paved with counted blessings.

OH, LORD, I’VE GOT IT SO GOOD. Right now! Thank you and amen.

You’re blessed. Be a blessing!

GUILTY PLEASURES?

THE OTHER MORNING I heard a radio minister call guilt a sin. What a startling idea.

GUILT IS OFTEN MY NORMAL STATE. Guilt, that mixture of shame and remorse, is the way I normally deal with all the things I’ve done I wish I hadn’t and all the things I haven’t done that I wish I had.

I THINK OF REMORSE as regret tinged with sadness. That feeling I get when I’ve done something that hurts someone else. Guilt brings shame to remorse, and it’s the shame that eats me up. It won’t leave me alone. It can drive me to self-loathing. It convinces me I’m unworthy and unforgivable.

AND IF I TRULY BELIEVE I AM UNFORGIVABLE, there is little reason to look for grace. I can trick myself into believing that my suffering—whatever its source—is deserved, and I am to blame after all.

CLEARLY I NEED TO GO BACK to the story of David and Bathsheba (2 Sam 11 and 12), because if anyone has cause to feel guilt, that would be David.

AFTER A NAP, while standing on his rooftop, David sees Bathsheba bathing. Today he’d be considered a peeping Tom, but he was a king, so I suppose no one would have thought about calling the police.

HE SENDS MESSENGERS to bring Bathsheba to him. Suffice it to say that she couldn’t say, “no,” to the most powerful man in Jerusalem who also happened to be in charge of her husband’s career. We don’t know her degree of willingness, so perhaps what followed could be considered no worse than adultery (by both of them, not just her). I leave the “r” word out of the discussion.

IN THE NEXT VERSE she sends someone to tell David she’s pregnant. What now? David tries to trick her husband. But, Uriah is a dedicated officer, and he won’t leave the troops under his command who are living rough to go home and “wash his feet,” as David suggests. (It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to know what that refers to.)

THINGS MIGHT GET NASTY if David doesn’t come up with a solution, so he positions Uriah in an upcoming battle where he’ll be killed. Bathsheba mourns as quickly as possible. David marries her. Problem solved.

HOW’S DAVID FEELING about all this? The Bible doesn’t say, but it does take Nathan the prophet to point out David’s shortcomings to him. The Lord isn’t pleased. The child will die.

DOES DAVID GO INTO AGONIES of guilt? Not at all. He admits his sin. He fasts. He lays on the ground. All this in hopes the Lord will spare the child. But, after the child actually dies, David cleans up, goes into the house of the Lord and worships then heads home for a meal.

HE’S BEEN FORGIVEN. There will be no more Uriah-events in his future. What’s done is done. The past can’t be undone. There is only the future—a new start and an opportunity to do better.

THAT IS HOW HE AND BATHSHEBA treat their second son, Solomon, whom the prophet Nathan renames Jedidiah, “Beloved of the Lord”, the symbol of God’s forgiveness. Solomon is their opportunity to make a second start.

GIVEN ALL THAT, if David did not feel guilt, doesn’t allow his sins to separate him from God, how can I possibly think my sins, which thus far haven’t amounted to anything approaching David’s, are worthy of it?

THE RADIO PREACHER was right. Guilt is a sin—the sin of underestimating God and His ability to forgive. In this new year, I’m going to stop indulging myself in guilty pleasures.

You’re blessed. Be a blessing.

Who me? Worry?

ANOTHER TUMOR—this one in new territory—is reminding me how powerless I am against melanoma. Every step I choose in the direction of health seems, on days like these, not to matter. I am like the front grille of a Hummer trying to convince a train to jump the tracks. If I’m alone on this project, the outcome is obvious.

THERE’S PLENTY to be disheartened over, plenty to worry about . . . That is, if it were in my job description to worry. It’s not, of course. Matthew 6:34 makes that very clear. “So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (NRSV)

IN OTHER WORDS, my job is to deal with only this day. I am to attack the problems that present themselves NOW and trust that my cares—all of them—are important to our loving God. He will bring my problems (Are you listening, tumors?) to a worthy conclusion. I must let God, who is unconstrained by time, deal with the past and the future. I can’t. My troubles are for His doorstep. After all, what can I possibly do about them?

I WIN WHEN I STOP indulging in my worrying ways. Shucking them gives me a greater appetite for the challenges of TODAY. I’m ready. Even if it means I go to bat with one more tumor. Bring on the NOW.

AM I SOMETIMES DISAPPOINTED in God? Of course! Many, many times He doesn’t do what I want done—or do it when I think it should be done.

BUT THAT BRINGS UP ANOTHER QUESTION. Is God ever disappointed in me? Oh, I don’t even want to think about this. When I stop and count those times I have disappointed Him, this tendency of mine to worry, which shows a decided lack of trust, is merely one in a list too long to count. Without question, God is much, much better to me than I am to Him.

AND NO TUMORS—new or old—can ever rob me of that.

You’re blessed. Be a blessing!