Making Choices with a Servant's Heart

How much do “eternal concerns” affect your daily decisions? Which areas of your life are least influenced by your faith in God? Which are most? (Serendipity Bible 10^th Anniversary Edition, page 943).

It is clear that one of the essential duties of a parent is to teach their children that life is a test. Not a test of how much money you can make or any like thing, but a test of character; most essentially, therefore, children must be taught that character building is quintessentially a matter of making good choices.

In this light the answer to the above question becomes painfully obvious. Since virtually all of life involves some kind of choice – even that as to attitude – “eternal concerns” are pervasive. At first glance, we may consider routine chores as being inapplicable to considerations of faith in God. But when we consider that the state of mind regnant during our exercise of routine duties is primarily a matter of choice, then even such things as taking out the garbage or filling our gas tank can have eternal significance.

Now in matters of choice it becomes clear that we make those choices within our best lights. We know that many others do the same. Thus a strong faith in God is necessary since we cannot know with assurance the final outcome of our choices. We must act within our best lights and pray that providence proactive within history will make up now or eventually for our inevitable limitations in understanding and actions.

If tomorrow I am injured in an accident and become paraplegic a great choice will confront me – that of attitude. If tomorrow I must take out the trash at work, likewise my principal duty will be the assumption of a grateful servant's attitude. If I am called upon to do or refrain from doing acts of any nature, I must trust God that my choices in the last analysis will be right or at least redeemable by his grace.

Because of its pervasiveness one is tempted to conclude that one's assignment to make countless choices is a curse. Yet we know that choice making gets to the very core of what humanity is all about. When God lovingly gave us free choice, he with a servant's heart shared with us eternal hope and faith. It is up to us not to make him out to be a fool.

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Judgment – The Poisoned Apple

What is the worst [best] investment (of time, money, etc.) you ever made? Why? (Serendipity Bible 10^th Anniversary Edition, page 942).

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5 NIV).

Jesus warns us about judging others. We should be doubly cautious about judging ourselves. As a rule, we should leave any conclusive judgment regarding ourselves or others up to God. This is due primarily not because of our tendencies towards unfairness, but most basically due to our lack of complete knowledge. It is generally true that the more complete our knowledge, the greater our leanings towards mercy.

From this point of view, determining our worst or best investments is problematic. I think of people sitting in jail because of legal infractions. Surely they are rightly to condemn themselves for doing deeds representing bad investments. Certainly some remorse is due. Yet if they are willing to learn from their mistakes, who can say how invaluable this admittedly costly education may be. (Even under ideal conditions, education is never free.) Whenever we make a bad investment, we need to appreciate that good things can come from it and can represent a “wake up call” that simply would not be available by any other means. Conversely, our best investments can be an invitation for the incitement of greed and overweening pride. Thus, best investments can lead to degradations far worse than bad investments.

Those of us who are Americans have great pride in our country's Constitution. Certainly it represents a nearly perfect investment of creative skills. Yet it could prove negative if in times of stress and turmoil we bow down to the letter of the law, and forget its spirit and the Constitution's unabashed confrontation of the truths of human nature. Our focus should emphasize simplicity and humility and leave in abeyance any final judgment as to the uniform rectitude of our investments.

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The Fountain of Age

As you grow older, which do you want to hold on to most: (a) Youthful body? (b) Youthful mind? (c) Youthful heart? What do you imagine you'll be like at age 100? (Serendipity Bible 10^th Anniversary Edition, page 942).

What age is a youthful age – 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30? And when considering whether or not to desire “going back,” I also must consider what I would have to give up by going back. I would love to have the spontaneity that I had as a five-year-old; I would love to have the sense of exhilaration and growth when a 15-year-old; I sometimes yearn for the sense of invincibility I had a 25, and the sense of raw commitment I had a 30. But what I have now is a profound sense of assurance and peace. These I did not have before and I frankly would not want to give them up to acquire youthfulness.

Of course, I would love to have the ease of movement of the 25-year-old. The joints simply don't have the elasticity at age 68 that they had at 25. I would love to be able to climb five flights of stairs and think nothing of it, and to eat pizza every night and not wake with indigestion or gain weight.

The thing I fear most about old age I guess is the progression I have sometimes seen evident into a realm of what can only be called judgmental meanness and ideological ossification—a journey into an early kind of mental death evidenced by a severe lack benevolence and generosity. At its worst manifestation one is reduced to a belligerent old man railing at everything that passes by. I can only pray to God that I would die gracefully before such a fate should be realized. Not, I hasten to add, that this affliction cannot occur at most any age.

At 100 (if I should live so long), I will of course be diminished in many ways. For example, I will have long since lost the skill to drive a car. Yet I yearn for a continued measure of good health and, I can only say, youthful mind. I think the test can be summed up in this question: Will I yet have a sense of humor? Will I be able to laugh at myself and with others? If I can, then life will be good no matter what.

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The Importance of Self-Affirmation

Today I saw the above quote on the desktop of a computer screen while working at a recreation center. The computer user has had a tough go of late. The quotation immediately spoke to my heart. Her life recently has not been the “princess” life, but one full of tough challenges. It seems to me the approach and attitude suggested by this quotation is one that could beneficially apply to most of us—certainly it does to me.

I might not be someone's first choice, but I am a great choice. Has anyone not been sharply hurt by being a second, third, or tenth choice on the playground, in the classroom, at work, or on the street—or not chosen at all? The pain of rejection is very deep and real. It is good to remember that no matter who finally chose us and at what later stage we were at last chosen, we nevertheless are a great choice—in many respects the best choice since we have endured and prevailed over adversity and have developed the resiliency (and compassion) of the outcast and rejected.

I don't pretend to be someone I'm not, because I'm good at being me. The acceptance of one's self brings an inner contentment and peace. The identity crisis spawn from unduly trying to meet the, more often than not, silly expectations of the world is circumvented by solid knowledge of and confident trust in oneself.

I might not be proud of some of the things I've done in the past, but I'm proud of who I am today. This follows from the previous affirmation. It is tremendously freeing to accept ownership of missteps in the past while not letting oneself be defined by them (being enslaved by them) in the present or future. The longer I live the more skeptical I become of those making a show of unrelieved, seamless perfection.

I may not be perfect, but I don't need to be. I am the way God made me. The emphasis here is on the second sentence. It says, in effect, I am acceptable to God, my creator, who knows me completely—unlike anyone else. He knows I am not perfect, but loves me anyway (and favors me with his grace). This frees me to live and to achieve without fear of the inevitable—frequent surfacings of my imperfections.

Take me as I am or watch me as I walk away! This last statement is essential. It signals freedom from indenture to the opinions of others. I am free to walk away—and, likewise, you are free to walk away from me. Neither of us need suffer from codependency [a psychological condition or a relationship in which a person is controlled or manipulated by another who is affected with a pathological condition (as an addiction to alcohol or heroin); broadly : dependence on the needs of or control by another (Merriam-Webster's)]. Most typically, this codependency arises from an addictive need of one person to control another. Being free to walk away (or allow others to walk away) is a key benefit flowing from a sense of self-worth.

(Download PDF or JPG of quotation here)

One of the best inspirational videos ever - Susan Boyle - Britains Got Talent 2009


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The Abundance of Nations

Do you view the person at the top of your organization as getting rich off the others down below? Where are you on the that corporate ladder—getting richer or getting poorer?

What priority does the pursuit of wealth and work have in your life? Is this necessary? What are your expecting your life's work will give you in the end?

(Serendipity Bible 10^th Anniversary Edition, page 936)

My concern is not with the Wealth of Nations but with the Abundance of Nations. Material wealth unless undergirded by spiritual wealth is ephemeral. Equality in the distribution of wealth is not important, but a sense of justice surely is. Despite the strong inertia of the status quo, explanations sooner or later must be tenable both intellectually and emotionally as to why someone has more wealth than another. Human nature is vastly susceptible to greed, envy, and lust. This makes the perception of a state of economic justice hard to come by (by either party) even when justice exists. It is clear that some minimal principles apply. As power must be limited in a well-functioning society, there must also be limitations placed on concentrations of wealth. Power must be limited because of humanity's natural tendencies towards greed, envy, and lust—unrestrained, we can never feel we have enough of it. Since the New Jerusalem will not come until the Lord returns, we must establish legal (rather than purely spiritual) limitations on the accumulation of wealth and power. As over-concentrations of power due to human nature leads to systemic degradation, so does over-concentration of wealth.

As the government of the United States was established with a jaundiced eye towards human nature's ability to handle unwise concentrations of power, it is with the passage of time becoming clearer the physics of human systems does not abide unmetered concentrations of wealth.

A State of Abundance clearly is distinguishable from a State of Wealth. Abundance implies principled limitation—the quite intentional reigning in of greed, envy, and lust. The accumulations implied and incited by a limitless State of Wealth give free reign to all of these.   

(See related blog: http://www.wayneblogs.com/2012/09/help-wanted-goodness-fairness.html)




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One Critical Moment

How does one become part of its solution [an issue caused by poor or evil leadership] instead of the problem. (Serendipity Bible 10^th Anniversary Edition, page 935).

Let us say that a young college student is chosen as president of an on-campus religious group. [This student was actually myself as president of the Wesley Foundation in the mid 1960s. Of course leadership issues apply equally to females as well as males, though for simplicity I refer to “he” in the following.] If he is painfully shy due to profound misgivings about himself and therefore lacks self-confidence and self-assurance; then whatever the official designation of position held, he will not be an effective leader for a leader must be willing “to make the call” time and again in all sorts of ways. He must also be willing to “standout”--to make a statement intended for notice in behavior and manner. Certainly, a young college student heading a religious group on campus can be forgiven for some misgivings. If attending a secular college, there can be a substantial atmosphere of skepticism, even coldness or ridicule directed at religion. Since religion itself is a field of study with tremendous breadth and depth of learning, the young student may sense his own severe limitations even in the area of interest that his group represents. He may also feel “a fish out of water” if from a rural area and now in an intense urban setting. He may feel outclassed and intimated by a sophisticated, intellectual environment. Though the student may like people, he may (being shy) lack the social skills to express it. And if he came to his position almost by default, then he may lack a sense of driving purpose or vision—or (out of a personal blindness due to past familiarity) even an awareness of the vital contribution religious organizations make. In short, if our leader had self-confidence, liked people and the skills to express it, and was energized due to a driving appreciation for the vital role of religion; he would have a major portion of the qualities necessary for leadership in his position as president. If these qualities were combined with a well-wrought temper of character (strength and elasticity drawn from experience) and effectual humility (democratically open to input from various sources), he would be an almost ideal leader.

I think if I were a college chaplain for the group, I would take the student aside and go over in some detail the above mentioned attributes of leadership and the issues involved. I would tell him that since he is the choice of his peers, then there's prima facie evidence that they sense a certain leadership promise in him. I would review the fundamental purposes and vision of the religious organization and remind him he no doubt has shared the same values, purposes, and vision over his development years. I would warn him not to take the blessing of religion for granted. Many on campus were not so fortunate as he to grow up in the faith. Finally I would remind him that his present position in the group is an invaluable learning opportunity and a challenge that he will look back upon as having met or failed to meet. I would play for him “Once to Every Man and Nation” reminding him that he will have other opportunities in the future, but that this is a critical one for the present moment.

Words: Once Every Man and Nation by James R. Lowell, in the Boston Courier, December 11, 1845. Lowell wrote poem protesting America's war with Mexico (source: http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/n/oncetoev.htm)

Music score: Ebenezer, Thomas J. Williams, 1890

Once to every man and nation, comes the moment to decide,

In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side;

Some great cause, some great decision, offering each the bloom or blight,

And the choice goes by forever, ’twixt that darkness and that light.

Then to side with truth is noble, when we share her wretched crust,

Ere her cause bring fame and profit, and ’tis prosperous to be just;

Then it is the brave man chooses while the coward stands aside,

Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they had denied.

By the light of burning martyrs, Christ, Thy bleeding feet we track,

Toiling up new Calv’ries ever with the cross that turns not back;

New occasions teach new duties, time makes ancient good uncouth,

They must upward still and onward, who would keep abreast of truth.

Though the cause of evil prosper, yet the truth alone is strong;

Though her portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong;

Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above His own.

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Conflicted Discomfort

How much does someone's wealth or status affect the way you treat him? (Serendipity Bible, 10^th Anniversary Edition, page 934).

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18 NIV).

Much as I dislike it, I have to admit I have a comfort zone that is intruded upon by unusually high or low status people. On those occasions my antenna and anxiety level perceptibly rise. For example, the church I attend has a diverse congregation. In the church there is a former mayor of our city, as well as professionals of all type. Likewise, there are a number of street people in need of a shower. There is no doubt in my mind what is the Christian thing to do—to treat everyone as entirely equal before God and one another. And not only to treat them so (which I can reasonably manage) but to feel so deep within. I have watched with envy and admiration those in the congregation who embrace (literally) all comers. At these times, I frankly don't like myself very much and regret my behavior which takes on the character of abject enslavement to the base and reflexive. It boils down, I think, to a lack of trust. I'm afraid the poor will want my money and that the those of high status will want my obsequiousness (both of which can bring on conflicted discomfort). This occurs despite my knowledge that virtually everyone appreciates simple respect and appreciation and being treated as an equal. This tendency to distrust others (and myself) is a simple reminder that I have a long way to go on my Christian journey.

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