The Bottom Line on Thankfulness

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose~ Romans 8:28 NIV

I recently revisited a story that I have a serious love-hate relationship with. It’s the story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50. I love it because, well, it’s a really great story. Joseph’s tale reads like a well-written novel from the very first sentence. It’s bursting with deliciously dysfunctional family drama, relational intrigue, betrayal, several unexpected plot twists and, finally, an undeserved act of mercy that leads to family reconciliation and lays the foundation for the birth of a nation.  

Most of you know the story. Joseph was his father’s favorite son and dear old Dad foolishly let that fact be known to his other sons. The brothers (most with different baby-mama’s) give into their baser instincts and decide to kill their brother, but at the very last minute change their minds and sell him off to some Egyptian slave traders.   

Joseph has many depressing adventures in the land of Egypt. These include a good job that goes bad, a trumped-up rape charge, a three-year stint in prison and being all but forgotten by a guy who owed him a huge favor.

Just when you’re certain you can’t deal with the gloomy storyline for one more moment, the story takes a turn and Joseph is THE rags-to-riches success story of antiquity. In the span of eleven verses Joseph is released from prison, accurately interprets a very weird dream, predicts a famine, is given a makeover and a sweet new ride, made Prime Minister of Egypt, married off to the daughter of an important man and becomes the father of two (presumably) adorable little boys.

It’s awesome. 

Then just as you think the story is going to end with “And they all lived happily ever after…”

His good-for-nothing family shows up in Egypt looking for a handout from the very guy they had attempted to destroy years earlier (unbeknownst to them).  Joseph is then confronted with the heart-wrenching choice of whether or not to forgive the unforgivable.

He forgives, and his gracious act of compassion ensures the survival of the line of Abraham and births the Hebrew nation. A scene in Genesis forty-five gives us Joseph’s words of faith concerning both God’s providence and his brother’s treachery.

 “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt”

And then instead of throwing them all into the pit of a very dark prison…

He (Joseph) threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin embraced him, weeping. And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them~ Genesis 45: 8,14,15a

Now for the part of the story I struggle to accept…

Joseph’s life clearly and cleverly teaches that God often does His best work in the dark and ugly places of our lives.

When I read between the lines of this story I see that Joseph did not become a great man in spite of his suffering. On the contrary, it was his circumstances combined with faith and good choices that made him into a great man. The very things that had the power to ruin him wound up contributing to his greatness.

 Joseph chose to see life through the eyes of faith and learn from the negative he encountered. It was the numerous models of poor leadership he witnessed and experienced that made him into a governor with the vision, courage and compassion to lead a nation through a famine that could have been the end of that nation.

 Cruelty at the hands of those closest to him molded him into the type of man who had the discernment to understand the bigger picture of life and the greater will of God. It was the years of being forgotten and marginalized that allowed him to accept and pardon the unpardonable acts of his own flesh and blood.

I think Joseph understood some truths that most of us struggle with. Joseph understood that his suffering was only about him up to a point. As God was molding Joseph he was also working on the hearts of his father, brothers, Joseph’s pagan wife and probably even Pharaoh. Joseph’s thankful and faithful response to the senselessness and cruelty of those around him became a stimulus for their growth. Joseph was willing to put his own pain in perspective and rejoice in what God was doing in others.    

As we enter the Thanksgiving season, I am reminded by Joseph’s story to be thankful not just for the blessings I receive in this life (and there are many) but also for the hardships. It’s the hardships that God uses to shape me and those around me if we allow Him.    

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness~ Colossians 2:6-8

Embrace Some Chaos

Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert~ Isaiah 43:19 NKJV

I am currently sitting in my office and looking out the window. The view is stunning—nearly perfect, really. It’s currently eighty degrees; the clear, cloudless sky is a truly dazzling shade of blue that seems unique to the state of Arizona. The bare, jagged mountains provide a perfect backdrop for the Palo Verde and Palm trees that sway gently in the breeze. Brightly colored flowers bloom everywhere I look and the birds and butterflies are out in droves, taking advantage of the flawless November day.

 Today is just the sort of day that inspires people to pack up all their belongings and move to the desert. It’s a beautiful, sunny, picture-perfect day; the view out my window looks like a post card.

It makes me sick.

 Those of you who live in cold climates will have a hard time understanding this, but I am done with sunny, picture-perfect days.

I feel as if I’m living in an upside-down crazy-town version of the movie Groundhog Day. The only difference is that in Arizona the sun never stops shining and the sky is always blue. I am more than done. For me the never-ending sunshine is like hearing your favorite song a thousand times in a row. Sometime around the hundredth play, it ceases to be your favorite song. It’s like eating your favorite food every day for a year. At some point, no matter how good the food is, you start to hate it and long for something different.

I want a thunderstorm, some snow, or a little sleet. Heck, I would settle for a couple of dark, ominous-looking clouds to bust up the monotony of our never-ending weather pattern.

Before you write me off as some sort of ridiculous sunshine loathing nut-job, hear me out.  Arizona weather reminds me that anything, even a fantastic thing like sunshine, can turn into a bad thing when it becomes routine. The thing itself may not be bad, but the fact that we are not embracing new experiences is.

Human beings are prone to embracing routine. It seems to be a part of our DNA; we tend to gravitate towards the same stuff all the time. We buy the same stuff at the grocery store, travel to the same places on vacation every year and hang out with the same types of people all the time.

We embrace the humdrum of routine because it feels comfortable and comfortable feels, well, comfortable. Interestingly, the Bible does not use the word routine in any translation that I could find. Maybe this is because God is calling us to embrace new experiences and avoid the temptation of settling into a comfortable routine.

Routine is not necessarily sinful but a strict adherence to routine can limit our opportunities for personal and spiritual growth. We grow by being stressed and stretched, not by settling into a status quo. Routine is, by its very nature, designed to prevent pressure and stress. When we remove pressure, we automatically remove the stimuli that cause us to grow and mature.

The story of Esther illustrates this principle in action. Esther was a compliant young woman who had settled into a comfortable (but not particularly godly) routine after becoming the Queen of Persia. It wasn’t until the pressure and stress of having her people threatened with total annihilation that she found the moral strength to risk everything she had for good of her nation.

This week I want to encourage you to step outside the easy routine of life and do something different. Tackle a book of the Bible you are not familiar with, try a new food, reach out someone who makes you uncomfortable, listen to an opinion that differs from your own.  Schedule an opportunity to volunteer at a local non-profit or take on area of ministry in your Church.

Do something that scares you a little bit.

 And if you’re feeling really brave you could do that thing that you know God has been calling you to do. That thing you’ve been avoiding due to fear of the unknown.

The unknown might be exactly what you need right now to become the person God has called you to be.  

    

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness~ Lamentations 3:21-24 

Show Don't Tell~ The Art of Service

Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free~ Ephesians 6:7-8 NLT

Every fall, beginning in late October or early November, I begin a study of the Gospels in an effort to prepare myself spiritually for the upcoming Christmas season. Please don’t misunderstand: I am no spiritual super hero. In fact, I’m just the opposite.

 I put myself through this yearly routine because I have learned that I have a rather carnal tendency to get caught-up in the more secular, “sparkly” side of Christmas. In a usually futile effort to battle my fleshly inclinations, I begin the process of focusing on Jesus long before the gaudy light displays and frosted Christmas cookies have a chance to steal away my attention completely.    

This year I dove into the book of Luke around mid-October. About halfway through I was struck with a realization that had nothing at all to do with Christmas. It slowly dawned on me that Jesus spent a great deal of time doing something I and many others spend a lot of time talking about. Jesus spent a lot of time serving.

 Among many in our culture, serving is a foul word. Serving is for the insignificant and irrelevant, those not worthy to be served. Among this crowd, serving another person is the equivalent of acknowledging that they are superior.   

 If you want to see an illustration of this attitude and an unfettered display of rage, walk up to a random gathering of women and propose that they begin serving their husbands. If you walk away from this little experiment unscathed you should count yourself fortunate. At the very least you will have some very colorful language directed at you.

Among Christians, the whole concept of serving is something we spend a great deal of time debating and discussing. The number of books available on the topic demonstrates this. A quick search on the website Christianbook.com returned a total of 5,215 books that have been written on the subject of serving in recent years.

 Interestingly, Jesus had very little to say about serving. I discovered a grand total of seven unique statements made by Jesus on the subject (Matthew 4:10, 20:28, Luke 12:37, 16:13, 22:27, John 12:26. Rather than talking about serving, Jesus served. He showed us, rather than told us, what faithful service looks like. Jesus’ first recorded miracle was an act of service (John 2:1-11) as was his last (John 21:6). But even with all of our talk and the strong emphasis Jesus so obviously placed on serving, there are still many myths surrounding the subject that Christians have bought into including…

Some people don’t deserve to be served~ 

This is probably the most tenacious, carnal and un-owned myth regarding the subject of service. There is an inclination among many (myself included) to do a quick mental assessment of a person before serving them. We evaluate their level of neediness, attitude, and the likelihood of reciprocation and spiritual conversion before we make a move. If we deem them truly needy, likely to reciprocate and/or convert we do what needs to be done. Conversely, Jesus served people who were ungrateful (Luke 17:17), unlikely to convert (Luke 7:1-10) and those who were incapable of offering Him anything in return (Luke 7:11-17).

Overseas mission trips are the really significant service opportunities~

The number of Christians who will pay enormous sums of money to go to a foreign country to serve strangers never fails to amaze me. Oftentimes these same people will return home and recoil at the notion of serving their spouses, teaching Sunday school, volunteering locally, assisting in the church nursery or preparing a meal for a member of their church. I don’t believe that there is anything inherently wrong with overseas mission trips, as long as they serve a purpose and don’t devolve into field trips to look at poor people. But if we are going to serve like Jesus served it will mean making service a lifestyle rather than one big event.   

Serving should be convenient~ 

There is little in this world I love more than a well thought out plan. I have learned that God has little regard for my agenda and His plans for my service are rarely scheduled in advance. God’s service opportunities always seem to come at the most inconvenient times, like late at night or when I’m in a hurry. They come in the form of lonely teenagers who need to talk, or strangers who need something to eat, or young Mothers who need a break from the stress of parenting. Jesus was always willing to ditch the plan and make time for people (John 3:1, 4:7-19, Luke 5:12). I’m slowly learning that this is the essence of authentic ministry.  

We need to make sure service is more than simply a talking point in our lives because serving others changes us. Service breaks the stranglehold of selfishness that we all struggle with; it opens the door to witness to our friends and neighbors. Service increases our significance and empowers us to leave a lasting mark on this world. Serving people is also the surest way to enter into the presence of God and it makes us look a whole lot more like Jesus.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms~ 1^st Peter 4:10 NIV

Angel Suits and Helping People~

But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish~ Psalm 9:18

My Mother-in- law is an unbelievably talented and creative seamstress. Back in the day, she had a business creating custom wedding gowns and bridesmaid dresses for bridal parties. When she became a Grandmother, she turned her considerable skills to costume making. My kids had some of the cutest, most ingenious dress-up costumes you have ever seen.

Her handiwork included a furry striped tiger suit with a long tail, a knight in shining armor, a ninja, an Indian girl with a feather headdress, and matching his-and-hers private detective outfits with magnifying glasses and trench coats in hot pink and navy blue.

By far the most treasured piece was a dazzling angel costume my Mother-in-law crafted at the request of my then four-year-old daughter Danielle. The costume consisted of a silky white robe made from a soft, sparkly fabric; a golden halo and glittery gold wings completed the outfit.

Danielle dubbed it her “angel suit” and wore it everywhere I would allow. Sometimes she wore it to the grocery store and while we ran errands because I didn’t want to deal with the drama that inevitably ensued anytime I attempted to get her into more appropriate attire. On the rare occasions she allowed me to launder her beloved angel suit, she would stand next to the washing machine anxiously waiting for it so she could put it back on.

And then the unthinkable happened. One evening as I was making dinner, Danielle donned her angel suit and climbed up to the tippy-top of the back of the sofa, held her little arms out as far and as wide as she could, dove up into the air propelling her body towards the (unlit) woodstove.

I dropped what I was doing and sprinted into the living room when I heard the crash and subsequent screams. When I arrived on the scene I found my sweet girl in a sad little heap on the bricks surrounding the woodstove with a nasty gash on her cheek and a badly bruised arm. 

Once I pulled myself together enough to speak calmly I asked her what on earth she had been thinking. She confessed through her tears that she had been certain that the angel costume would allow her to fly. Apparently she believed that all she needed to fly was the right outfit. My sweet girl was heartbroken; her beloved angel suit had tragically failed her.

Unfortunately, magical thinking is not limited to four-year-old girls. Grown-ups can be guilty of it too. Sometimes, as adults, we can believe that if we want something badly enough it will somehow just happen. Christians and non-Christians alike tend to fall into this sort of thinking when it comes to helping people, especially people in need.   

Most Christians passionately want to help those who are hurting or in need. Believers understand that helping the hurting and needy is a command given repeatedly in Scripture (Deuteronomy 15:11, Jeremiah 22:16, Isaiah 58:10, Matthew 6:3, Matthew 25:36-45). Most of us struggle with the how because helping the poor in a wealthy nation is a complex issue.  Many are tempted to leave the helping to the government, but this form of magical thinking is unbiblical and harmful.  Nowhere in Scripture are God’s people called to leave helping people entirely to government agencies. However, God does call His people to roll up their sleeves and work to help those in need.

There are three practical ways that Christians can help the poor and hurting in our culture…

Commit to biblical concepts of justice~ Isaiah 10:3

I could write an entire book on the myriad ways the notion of social justice has been corrupted by the liberal culture. Suffice it to say, biblical social justice is not about everybody having the exact same goods and services. Biblical social justice is about people having opportunities to work and better their situations. Authentic social justice means caring for those who cannot work and providing employment opportunities for those who can (Leviticus 23:22).

Biblical justice is about family helping family and churches filling in the gaps for those without families (1^st Timothy 5:8).  Churches that wish to model biblical justice must teach and preach on the value of family and Christian community, the sanctity of work and provide job opportunities and education for those who are in need rather than just handouts that do little to permently change the circumstances of the needy.       

We can live lives that model biblical standards of truth~ Proverbs 6:32, Proverbs 12:24, Proverbs 13:4, Proverbs 13:11, 1^st Peter 2:12

We live in a time when people want to separate choices from consequences. The Bible is clear that most poverty stems from behavior that God labels as sin and/or bad choices.  Christians have a spiritual and moral obligation to avoid lifestyle choices that can lead to poverty. These choices would include: sexual immorality (as it leads to single parenting), overspending and debt, laziness and a poor work ethic. Our goal as Christians should be to lead lives that model fidelity, honesty, frugality and hard work.

We must hold government accountable to create programs that work~ Proverbs 10:4, Romans 12:8

As believers who are lucky enough to live in a democracy, it is our duty to use the advantages afforded us to better society. Christians should avoid voting for candidates who champion welfare without responsibility. Welfare without responsibility ensnares people in a system that meets their basic needs without giving them opportunities for advancement. This becomes a peculiar form of oppression that looks and feels helpful but leads to entrenched generational impoverishment. We must be willing to research candidates’ voting records rather than relying on thirty-second sound bytes for information. As believers living in a democracy we also have an obligation to use our voices. Using our voices involves communicating with our elected officials, letting them know in a respectful tone that we expect them to vote for programs that promote responsibility and opportunity.

Helping the poor and hurting is no small task; it takes wisdom, creativity and a commitment to the individual. No government agency, no matter how competently run, can provide the kind of help most people need to move up the socio-economic ladder. This is because each person is unique and every situation requires a fresh solution. As Christians we are called to be involved in the lives of our neighbors and help find solutions to the problems that plague our culture. While it’s true that no one person can help everyone, everyone can help someone.  

  Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world~ James 1:27