Repaying Hatred...

Lately, I've been thinking about how to repay hatred. I had a conversation with my little 7 year old girl yesterday. We were talking about what to do when people are mean to you. I told her of a time when I played a joke on one of my good buddies...

It was moments before the OU title game was about to start. I called him and told him my wife needed help because the pipes in our house had broken and there was water all inside the house. I was out of town so I asked him for help. I heard the silence on the other end of the phone...you see, this guy is probably the BIGGEST OU fan ever, so there was, obviously, some hesitation. But a few moments later, he put on his best friend voice and offered help. I told him that I was messing with him. I told Liv, that was not nice...but it was funny.

Then, I told her that what you do comes back around. A few months later, While I was out of town, our washer overflowed and there was water all inside the house. I called him. He thought it was a joke. After several minutes of urging he finally believed me. To top it all off, he actually helped my wife. He's one of the best Guys that I've ever met. "I had that coming to me," I told my daughter.

After explaining the depth of my well-crafted joke and God's equally well-crafted come-uppance, the point was to not repay evil with evil. I told Don't be mean to someone just because they've been mean to you. (or cleverly funny, in my case...of course I can't say that to my daughter...) She may have understood, but it may take a few more conversations for it to stick.

Now, to practical application. http://www.xxxchurch.com/ is a community devoted to sharing God's love with Everyone. Jesus Loves Porn Stars is their motto. You can click on the link and read all about it, but one specific stop on their Jesus Loves You tour was in at the Westboro Baptist Church...you know, the ones who say that God hates America and God hates F*GS? They decided to stop in and repay Hatred with Love. You can watch it here.

http://www.facebook.com/#/video/video.php?v=509946322748

The point is, that Paul Says in Romans 12 verses 14 thru to the end says,

14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.Do not be conceited. 17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"says the Lord. 20On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Some good thoughts. Because, lately, I've been thinking about Repaying hatred...

The Daily Battle

I've just returned from a weekend in the hill country. My wife and I were fortunate enough to be able to facilitate a retreat for 12 married couples. My wife and I have a passion for marriages and the possibilities they embody. If the marriage is solid then, more than likely, the family will be solid. This doesn't mean that the children won't grow up to make poor decisions, but it will mean that those poor decisions will be less likely to be 'poor' on a grand scale.

One thing that we are constantly reminded of is the need that people have for connection. a need to feel that they are not alone. When two people get married, that long-term need for connection doubles. So many of us feel that our issues are somehow different than other's issues. We live under the false assumption that to share in our struggles is to invite criticism and judgement into the relationship. This is what it is like with couples. It is also what it is like with the individuals.

I think Men are worse at internalizing than women are. We tend to feel that we can go it alone when it comes to our biggest struggles. I have learned that going it alone has never worked for anyone other than the 'Marlboro Man.' But even then I wonder, because we've only seen pictures of him in 1/10 second increments. When I think about it, I have an occasional 1/10 of a second where I feel rather indestructable...but then the brief mini-moment passes and I'm right back to where I was, attempting to make it to the next moment without crashing the whole world around me. As much as we hate to say it, Men need the company and encouragement of other men when life is most difficult. (proverbs 27:17) As Iron Sharpens Iron...so one man sharpens another. This isn't an easy process. Iron sharpening iron is painful at times. Sparks will fly and metal is sheared off into tiny bits. Fortunately, this process isn't as painful when it comes to marriages. HA!

What I've realized is that People need each other. God created a community. He instituted the church which is the Body Of Christ...community. Phillipians 4:13, "I can do all things through christ which strengthens me" is followed by "But it was good of you to share in my troubles." We need each other. God is present in suffering.

So...my prayer is for those of us who try again and again to 'go it alone' whether individually or in marriages. May you find godly community who will undertake the 'sharing of your sufferings.'

What Moves You?

I'm spending time today, among several other things, thinking about what moves people?  In today's overload of information at the touch of a button, what interests people?  I'm developing ideas and themes for Sunday Classes that might be helpful to people in their daily life.  So many times we think that once Sunday is over, so the spiritual quota is complete for a week. Tough thing is we have 2 hours on a sunday (of course really it's only 1 hour) to interact with others in a truly spiritual way.  And this 2 hours is supposed to help us cope with the remainder of the week.  Two hours of training and encouragement = 168 hours of Christlikeness. (yeah, I had to use a calculator.)  One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite movies "TRUE LIES" goes like this.

NT. / EXT GIB'S CAR/ STREETS OF WASHINGTON - DAY They are driving through D.C.  Harry is still shocked by his daughter's behavior.   

GIB    Kids.  Ten seconds of joy. Thirty years of misery.

HARRY  She knows not to steal.  I've taught her better than that.

GIB    Yeah, but you're not her parents, anymore, you and Helen.  Her parents are Axl Rose and Madonna. The five minutes you spend a day with her can't compete with that kind of constant bombardment. You're outgunned, amigo.

Gib and Harry turn onto Pennsylvania Avenue, heading toward Lafayette Square. Capital Hill is behind them.

Problem is, how many of us really dig into the word of God throughout the week...honestly. Not trying to promote guilt, just reality.  So, Sunday morning is really the 5 minutes a day that we spend with God...and that's all that most of us have.

The reality though is that certain thoughts and ideas move us to action.  What are those?  I think for the most part we have a good idea, but when it comes to church and learning about how we can be more like Christ and how to share the hope we have with a world that's lost, what does that look like?  What would we be 'really' interested in?  In this information age when knowledge is at the touch of a button, why go anywhere?  I'm interested in your comments.  What moves you?

Starting Over

I don't guess it's really starting over. It's just a continuation of my journey. Here I sit in the middle of my lunch break from my very first class in my pursuit of a Masters of Arts in Religion. I've put it off as long as possible. the runing joke was that I didn't want to pursue seminary or graduate school in theology because I didn't want to be screwed up for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I told that Joke to one of my best friends, Dr. Michael Harbour, during one of our regularly scheduled morning coffees several years ago. He thought it was funny, but also a challenge. So, what he proceeded to do for the next 6 years was to screw me up for the rest of my life. His continuing questions and challenges to those things I thought I knew to be hard and fast fact became a bit more, well, soft and slow. I guess I figured that it couldn't be any worse in grad school, so I decided to take the plunge.

This story may sound a bit negative, but what I've discovered is that when your faith is completely shaken, you discover what really lies at the basis for your belief. I would venture to say that most westernized Christian Americans haven't really faced things that would challenge their belief. Maybe we're getting close, especially with the economy the way it is, but it took me 32 years until I came to that point.

Which brings me back to where I am currently. I'm on a break and my brain hurts. A january short course crams in an entire semester's worth of learning in about 5 days. OUCH! I guess it's not that bad. What I've truly come to understand about this starting point is that I've looked up and I realize that I have a long way to go on this journey. But then again, if I could turn the picture around the opposite direction, I might just see how far I've come. So, I trust that God will bless...not necessarily with things, although that would be nice, but with the realization that I haven't screwed things up too badly yet. My journey is interesting. My family is lovely and my God is completley faithful. And I'm not really staring over...I'm just continuing and the road ahead doesn't look too difficult or depressing. It's actually exciting. I hope my children learn that from me. That you don't necessarily start over, you just find yourself in a place where you ust have to 'continue.'