Open

We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth . . . 

 - From 2 Corinthians 4

"Practice cunning."

I plead guilty, and I hope anyone else reading this, does the same.

Of course we practice cunning, all the time. Human societies encourage and celebrate the playing of games, manipulation of people and events, being good deal-makers and bluffers; we admire someone's poker face.

You have to practice cunning, if you want to climb the corporate ladder, beginning with your resume and job interview. People work with consultants to help them get a job, or even, to get a date!

There are uncountable best-sellers that teach us how to have our way in the world. And yes . . . in most cases it comes down to being nice to others - but even in this case, there are ulterior motives to your kindness.

Even the redoubtable Stephen Covey, master of sincerity and The Golden Rule, frames his approach with such a phrase as "win-win," or a calculation intended to read others with caution.

But as Jay Leno said during Hillary Clinton's Whitewater problem in the 1990s, when she had "no recollection" of the events: "If you just tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."

Or as Jesus said, "Let you yea be yea, and your nay be nay." God's way is the simple way - just tell the truth. Don't hide things. Sincerely seek the best for others, not thinking about what you can get in return.

People need to be open. Open and Candid. Candid and vulnerable. We need to be honest. We need not to jump to conclusions about others. But we find it so hard to do these things. And I said at the start of this blog - as a society we do not encourage openness and honesty. We just don't. Too many of our heroes are known and admired for how they use others. To me, it's almost proverbial that the solution to bullying, for too many people, is to become a bully yourself, and to be an even bigger bully than the one that was a problem, in the first place.

Humans were made to thrive in openness, but in the present time we're faced with a crisis that has everyone scurrying off into their own corner - away from others. We are a social species with a built-in need to be around others like us. And yet, in a trial that has been defined as the worst in a century, our solution is to block ourselves off from others, and even, to cover our faces if we find ourselves around others.

That is not facing a problem head on. It most literally . . . isn't.

I met a person this week, that I can only characterize as a breath of fresh air; a wonderful and delightful person. Our first meeting was "blind." We took a social distancing walk together, on the B2B trail between Dexter and Hudson Mills Metropark. She expressed the most important thing she's looking for in new friends: "I just want to have honesty between us."

I think that's what we all want. We know we want it. We know we crave it. But it's so hard to do. We fear that the more honest we are, the more we are likely to push the other person away. And let's face it, there is an element of fun, in revealing yourself slowly, carefully, to others.

And yet, here we are. The solution to every problem, from interpersonal relations to how a society of 330 Million people deals with a problem labeled a "pandemic," is to be open and honest.

And to give others enough space, and respect, to do the same.

Worthless

Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless.

 - From Psalm 119

Future HHS Secretary, Dr. Ben Carson, was asked, during the 2016 campaign, to explain the appeal of Donald Trump, as a Presidential candidate. He said "People are drawn to a shiny object." And Mr. Trump does indeed draw attention to himself. He always has, almost effortlessly. And it isn't just because he is rich and famous. He was able to leverage whatever gifts or advantages he has, to keep himself in a well-balanced center of our culture, for decades.

I found the comment by Dr. Carson to be very curious, indeed. For, I have always attributed the idea of a "shiny object," or "shining person," with some suspicion, or even, alarm. The Serpent, in the Garden of Eden, is elsewhere called "The Shining One." There was a great appeal, perhaps physical beauty, in the Serpent. If you can look only at the skin of a snake, or almost any reptile, apart from the rest of the creature, you see patterns, and a finish, that does draw your gaze. The stare of a snake can have a hypnotic effect.

We love celebrities. There's a reason that magazines like "People" are positioned at the check-out line at a grocery store. While waiting, you might glance at the cover . . . begin reading about some rich and famous person, run out of time, and decide that you could easily part with another couple of dollars (some of the "collectible" magazines run upwards of $15!)

I wonder . . . if there weren't so many worthless, but appealing, things to look at, would we instead look at things of true value?

We seem to know, intellectually, that we spend an awful lot of time on the Internet, or on Cable TV, just watching things that are not good for us, at all. In most cases, it's probably bad for us. But we do it anyway.

We need to pray that God makes us look away from such material. Because otherwise, we know that we would not have the self-discipline to turn away.

The world if full of worthless content that we read and watch. And . . . in my mind, this is not the same as "fake" material. Something may be accurate, and even true - but it's dissemination serves to divide people and make them angry. This makes it worthless. Even facts can be things we should avoid.

But instead, we should be drawn to things that build up, and inspire us . . . stuff that encourages us to love others.

Just yesterday, I met a person that shared with me, that she has learned not to be impressed by a person's image. She said, "I just want to relax, have fun, and be happy." That sounds like a good choice, and a good place to start.

Corrupt

Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.

 - From the Second Chapter of Acts

I was a member of the Pleasant Hill Advent Christian Church, in Southlake, Texas, between 1982 and 1985. In fact, I probably still am on the membership rolls! I was there when the pastorate of Donald B. Wrigley ended, and they commenced on a search for a new pastor.

One of the first candidates that came in, to fill the pastoral opening, was the one that received the call: Glenn Fell. They had a series of special services and meetings over the course of the weekend, where they could hear Glenn preach two or three times. The final sermon that he delivered was on Sunday morning. It was a lively, energetic, and forceful sermon, in which he came down hard on the attitudes and practices of the congregation he had only known briefly.

There was one line that everybody talked about later . . . that I still remember, clearly, forty years later. At the peak of his delivery and text, he raised his voice and shouted "We have to be bold in telling others about Christ, and ministering to the world. . . . No! I'm not going to say 'We'! I already do all of that! YOU have to be bold!"

This sounds like something that a person's friends, or family, would push back: "No, don't say that."

But it was the point that put him over the top. I was talking to John Harper about it, the pastor of the Riverside Advent Christian Church in Fort Worth, Texas. He said "Texans like having their feet stepped on. They would have liked that."

When's the last time you heard about Christians that actually wanted to be scolded? (Or judged, or adjured, or admonished).

Peter was like that. There probably was no on like him, for the remainder of Scripture . . . that would go right up to a crowd and say "You" are missing the mark. Paul had a little more subtlety, and worked on connecting with people. Peter just put it out there.

He talked about "this corrupt generation." Interesting that, even two thousand years ago, people ascribed characteristics to generations. Peter did just that . . . and probably rubbed some young people . . . or maybe some old people . . . the wrong way. He even put an exclamation point on all of it, by referring to Christ . . . "whom you crucified."

It's not at all like that, today. Pastors go out of their way to be whimsical, funny, buoyant, approachable, accessible. They may make some mention of "sin," but they won't define it. They don't call attention to "death," and why it is such a metaphysical problem for humanity. We are overly careful about not offending, or hurting feelings.

It makes the pastor's job a lot easier, when the people are actually eager to be corrected, re-directed, or even . . . judged.

Tempted

 . . . He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted . . . 

 - From Mark 1

Not enough is made, of the parallels between Adam and Christ. Jesus is called "The Second Adam," which should set off volumes of Bible and Sunday School studies, for all ages, to compare and contrast the two.

Adam represented us. But, so did Jesus. They both had equivalent roles to play, both in world history, and in the lives of every individual man or woman, that ever lived.

They both were tempted. When we read of the temptation of Christ, in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights, we can imagine the conversation between Him and the Adversary, being the same as the conversation between Adam and the Serpent.

The Tempter offers us things that we would like. His goods look good. They would make us feel better. We would be successful . . . we'd have more money . . . more food . . . a bigger house.

We would have our needs fulfilled. We would have the best health care; a livable wage . . . we wouldn't have to work . . . we wouldn't have to worry about money.

We would be safe.

But as we would find . . . we would also be alone. We would be marginalized. We would not know how sad we are because we have learned to live without highs and lows.

Satan flattens life's "normal curve":  the peaks and valleys, the sadness and joy, the ups and downs . . . these all go away. 

We'd be so good at cheating death, that we would forget how to live. We would forget that life is a wonderful thing, to be lived at its fullest.

We would turn away from what God offers: to have abundant, and buoyant experiences, to thumb our noses at Death.

We are tempted to take Satan's option, of no feelings . . . because people that can feel, can feel pain. The Tempter lures us into a trap, where pain is gone. But so is joy.

Pastor Matt Hook once described eternity, for the lost, as "never-ending loneliness."

Humanity was made for community. No matter how bad things get . . . at least we would always have each other. The biggest temptation of all . . . the biggest feather in Satan's cap, is how to get us away from each other; how to hide us away; how to get us to run away, as Adam and Eve did; how to turn isolation away from being a curse, to being our only option.

You gotta give Satan some credit. He really is a crafty fellow.

Unity

. . . until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity . . . 
 - From Ephesians 4

Today's reading is chock full of hard wisdom for people in 2020. 

Paul, the writer, asserts that the mature Christian is one that enjoys unity with other Christians. But you have to want to be unified. I've found that people do not want unity. They take it as a badge of honor, or of courage or integrity, to insert great wedges between them and others. If they can knock off a large swath of fellow believers with their righteous indignation, all the better. Because, in that way, perhaps they can find favor not only with God, but also with the world.

You have to want unity. 

That is an important point to ponder. When I suggest to others, that we must have loyalty to one another, and build up the Body of Christ . . . become One with each other . . . I marvel at the resistance to the idea. Most of the time, they act as if I have said nothing at all. 

It is such an inaccessible idea. Yet we know it to be true. There are ample studies validating the powerful concept: unity creates effectiveness that is greater than the sum of its parts. Unity makes magic happen. 

Yet we still crave our walls between ourselves. 

We have heard it said, that great people "Speak truth to power," whatever that means. 

But Paul says that we must "speak the truth in love."

Your affirmation of Truth must be conducted in a loving way. It must bring people together. It must lift them up. It must not drive wedges between you and others (with whom you should be aligned). 

Now . . . this is not a milquetoast attitude. It's not spineless. It does not back down from bullies. It still stands up to the crowd. 

The funny thing is . . . when you emphasize love and unity, you'll get people mad at you, all right. You'll get more people angry with you, than the most prolific bully can muster. And you'll find fewer people willing to take your side. 

The end result of Truth, and Love . . . the evidence of spiritual maturity is this:

Unity. 

So let's have a little, in the spring of 2020 . . . and forever. 

Why?

Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt . . .  against the Lord and against his Anointed?

 - From Psalm 2

The question is asked: "How can a loving God permit such evil?"

But God has a question, too:

Why are the nations in an uproar?

It's late April, 2020. It can be said, today, that the nations are in an uproar. Today, for the first time in a half century, there are serious taunts be hurled, from one powerful nation, against another. The coronovirus has everyone on edge. Everybody's looking for someone to blame.

Even if the Holy Spirit were not involved, humanity could easily conquer Covid-19, if it dropped it's divisions and worked together. The Holy Spirit, of course, would just speed things along and get to a better solution.

Why are the nations in an uproar? God asks us: You have my grace, my power, at your disposal. Why are you wasting it on violent threats against each other?

Imagine a frustrated God. Humanity is always creating harm (usually in the name of "progress"). We keep wanting some harmony, some peaceful co-existence with the Universe. But we try to do that without partnering with the Creator of the Universe. God first laughs, and then He acts, to show us why it is foolish to pursue life, without involving the Giver of Life.

I've read plenty of well-meaning articles through the years, urging Christians not to try to make a parallel of The Force of Star Wars, and Holy Spirit. But I think it's a good parallel that is accessible to people in the 21st Century. The Force is power and purpose, from the fundamental reality of time and space. Isn't that pretty much what we mean by "Spirit"? One difference being that "force" evokes blunt and overwhelming divine action; while "Spirit" is a gentle and subtle phenomenon.

We all want things to be right. We want things to get back to normal. We'll flail about with this religion or that . . . we even connect with fictional ideas made up in Hollywood. But we resist the Real Source of Power of Grace - - - (which probably proves that God is Real).

Why do the Nations revolt?

Yes, what is our problem?

Presence

 . . . you will make me full of gladness with your presence.

From the Second Chapter of Acts

I've always loved the homophones: "presence," and "presents."

We give presents at birthdays, and at Christmastime. We share gifts on other days, like Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Valentines Day, wedding days and anniversaries, graduations, and other various special days along the way.

Some years, I try to give mid-year birthday presents to my daughters, if it has been a particularly rough year financially.

When you think about it, we enjoy giving presents to people whose presence we enjoy.

Sometimes, we may not particularly enjoy that person's presence (we don't let them know that), but we give them presents anyway. This is the practice of godly love and grace. If you want to love someone as God does, pretend as though you do . . . and over time, you will.

If God were just present with us, in a full, material, bodily form that we can relate to, it would solve any of our problems. In that very moment that God is with us . . . we have no problems. None at all. The moment is perfect. You do not worry about illness or death, because we know that God isn't going to just be standing there fellowshipping with us, and stand by as misfortune befalls us.

This is how it was when the Apostles were with Jesus. No worries, no concerns. If they expressed fear or doubt, He quickly addressed it with a word, or even, a miracle. Jesus' friends and followers learned not to worry or fret, at all, when they were with Him. For three years, perhaps for the only time in history, a group of humans lived totally worry and guilt-free.

This is why the horrible events in Jerusalem were so devastating to them.

The Presence of God - His accessible, touchable, relatable Presence right there before us, or of His Son, gives us peace, confidence, and joy. It gives us life. It's all we need. And all we ever have needed.

He is the Source of Life, and the Source of everything. We were made to thrive in His Presence, and to wither away when we draw away from Him.

Our presence with one another has a similar effect. It is good for us to be in proximity to others. Good things happen when humans get together, when they agree, when they dialogue. If we practice the Golden Rule when we congregate, there isn't a single problem we cannot solve. If we ask God's blessings upon our unity, we can accomplish more than anything.

But we're in a season now, of absence, and not of presence. To keep us safe, or that is . . . "healthy" . . . we must stay away from each other.

If you wanted to foil God's plan for humanity, wouldn't you want us separated? If we separate long enough, we form into tribes, adversaries, rivals. We cannot brainstorm, or create, or thrive.

Patrick Henry said "Give me liberty, or give me death." This is the attitude of a person with great faith.

His words seem, to most people in 2020, to be the grumblings of a privileged and selfish fool.

Now, continued

Now the Son of Man has been glorified . . . 

 - From John 13

The concept of "Now" has been revisited several times, in this blog. It holds the key to understanding some of the more difficult concepts of God's Plan.

We wonder, how could Jesus leave the Apostles with the impression that His kingdom would come very soon? . . . i.e., in their lifetimes - and yet, two centuries have passed, and it hasn't happened yet!

More than one of my friends, heretofore rock-solid purveyors of Scriptural truth, have fallen away, because of this problem.

But here, at one of the most nondescript moments in all of Scripture, Christ makes a declaration that is earth-shattering in its implications.

Nondescript, that is, to the people gathered with Him, at that time. Jesus had just told Judas to go do what he had to do, and to do it at once. The other Apostles thought that he had sent Judas out for some groceries. It was a sublime, peaceful, quiet, but powerful moment. It was reflective. It may have seemed like an anticlimactic high-point of their years with Jesus. It was like, finally, we can take a break from everything! Jesus finally is relaxing and we can regenerate!

They did not realize that the most terrible forty-eight hours in human history were about to launch.

In that quiet moment, Jesus proclaims: "Now, the Son of Man is glorified."

Really? Now? We're just hanging out after supper!

And the event that kicked it into gear, was Judas' departure from the place . . . to go fetch the Roman soldiers that would make Jesus seem anything but glorified.

Cause and effect. One thing leads to another.

Judas's exit from the scene put into motion the next critical moment: One where Jesus could say that NOW . . . He is glorified.

Betrayal in a quiet, reflective moment.

This has the makings of the consummation of the eternal plan, that would bring eternal life to all of God's creatures. The pinnacle of human ugliness ushers in the vanquishing of sin, itself.

God's plan was completed long ago. It is finished today. It will come to pass tomorrow.

With God, everything is always Right Here, Right Now.

Purify

 . . . how much more will the blood of Christ . . .  purify our conscience from dead works . . . !

 - from Hebrews 9

I wonder how many people struggle with controlling their own thoughts.

Do all people wish they could think only good things? Surely, people of faith (who live a philosophy that emphasizes this) aren't the only ones that realize they have a thinking problem.

There's a current fad called "mindfulness." It's just the latest renaming of something that goes back to ancient times. Every ten years, we re-brand the idea of the Golden Rule, as though no one had thought of it before. You can go purchase "Mindfulness Journals" at Barnes & Noble. 

The idea is to be fully aware of yourself, your thoughts, your surroundings. You pretend your on the outside, looking in, to your own behavior towards others.

This is very good advice. But again, it's not new. 

The writer of Hebrews, probably the Apostle Paul, suggested that a root cause of our evil and impure thoughts is our own "dead works." We feed our mind with what we do. If we read trash, we think trash. If we go to trash, we think trash. If we do trash, we think trash. 

You can even say things that are impure . . . . and this permeates your mind, and your thinking. 

Our conscience is troubled because of what we think. And we think troubling things, because of what we do. 

If you want to control the lousy stuff coming into and out of your mind, consider doing different things. Drop what's not helpful. And add what's good. 

Anguish

 . . . my cry of anguish came to his ears. . . . 

 - From Psalm 18

The world is embroiled in fighting a common foe. When has this ever happened before?

Usually, we fight against each other. But this time, the way out of our predicament, is to cooperate.

Now, think about that for a minute. Personally, I believe, as do millions of others, that there is a metaphysical component to this notion, that there is power in unity. When Christians are united, as one, (as our Lord prayed we would be), nothing can stop us. There are spiritual forces that we do not understand; God's mastery of Nature; His Word that creates worlds; His breath that gives life, become ours to use - - - if we simply come together, in unity, in agreement, in humility, and in faith.

But there is power in unity, even if God's Holy Spirit is not in the mix. Scientific research has demonstrated the great leverage in groups, even small groups, with a carefully-honed team ethic. The result is greater than the sum of its parts. We all know that. We know it's true. We've seen it.

Organizational behavior psychologists know it to be true as well. They consult with corporations and governments, charging exorbitant fees, to help them develop high-performance teams.

Now, in our times, with the capability for everyone on the planet to connect, wee are tested with an enemy that is sweeping across every continent. A small margin of people will develop horrible symptoms, and succumb to it. What could be more terrible than a slow suffocation?

But the great majority, the remainder of those that will live, do not know whether or not they are carriers. We have had to shut the world down, in order to fight this enemy.

And yet . . . unity is our way out.

People persist in attacking each other, bitterly, mockingly, in social media. Every personal attack against each other empowers our enemy.

With such an existential threat to us, we can't even cool it, on-line. We've even started blaming each other for the virus.

Who started it?

He did!

They did!

Why isn't it defeated yet? 

Because of his mismanagement!

Because of their concealment of the facts!

...

If we get over ourselves, we will win, sooner rather than later.

If this doesn't get us respecting each other, what will?

God hears the voice of one of us. He hears my anguish. He hears yours.

Imagine the effect, if we all come together, as one, and ask God's intervention. What if we all stood up, a great number of humans, as one, and said "God . . . we don't know what to do. Please take over."

...

On Wednesday nights, until Covid is gone, we are meeting at 10pm, EDT, in prayer, unified, from all over the world, together before God's throne of grace.

It is the Global Moment of Prayer. Find details here.

And please be a leader . . . make the ire, the bitterness, the mindless hate, just, stop.

No Defense

. . . we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter.

 - From Daniel 3

Let your yea be yea, and your nay be nay.

This famous statement from Jesus, suggests that we should let our words be few. An eastern philosophy, quoted in one of George Harrison's songs, says "He who speaks doesn't know. He who knows doesn't speak." Also, compelling advice.

I remember reading a quote by some famous person, about "I never explain anything to anybody."

And then, Calvin Coolidge, the American President known for being the quietest, said "If I never say anything, I will never be called upon to explain myself."

So much great advice, and wisdom. Let your words be few.

In K-12 writing classes, kids are taught to "Show, don't tell" in their writing. Use descriptive words. Don't say "He was scary." Rather, describe what he looked like, how he spoke, the words he used, and his gestures. Describe the reaction of others to him.

Same thing in the spiritual life. Don't just talk about it - do something. Act.

Don't just complain about politicians not solving problems! You do something about it!

Shadrach, Mesech, and Abednego chose not to play the legal game with Nebuchadnezzar. They could have mounted a compelling legal case; appealed to the King's sense of history, and of wanting to matter. He was a great reformer, and this would have been a great opportunity. The three young men were very likely gifted orators. They could have impressed the kind with their silver tongues.

But they chose not to do all that. They would speak through their actions, and their faith.

They would not explain.

When you start explaining, you can dig yourself into a hole. Either people get it, or they don't. When you start explaining, tempers can flare.

In the Covid Era, I work in solitude a lot. I speak less. I act more. I take breaks . . . . for I do not need permission or approval to do it.

I am very productive.

Act much . . . speak little.

Advice for the ages.