What's in a name?

I don't know about you, but I sometimes have weird, seemingly random thoughts that run through my head. Sometimes I am amused at these, and in other instances I dwell on the thought and expand on it.

Recently I was reading Richard Dawkins' book "The God Delusion." I think it is safe to say that Dawkins is one of the most recognized opponents of Christianity in the western world. With the release of his book, he made numerous television appearances for publicity's sake. Dawkins attack on those who believe in the existence of God focuses on Christians, because, as he states in the opening part of the book, that is the religion he is most familiar with. For that reason, the book is really not a treatise against the concept of God in general, but of the Christian God. So, being a Christian, I was reasoning through how I would engage in discussion with someone who wanted me to answer Dawkins' arguments. While thinking about some of Dawkins' words, my thoughts became, "If the atheist is right, he will never know it. If the Christian is wrong, what difference does it ultimately make?" This is really not too much of an original thought, just a different perspective of Pascal's wager.

Not long after that, as I was driving to work, I was thinking and praying for wisdom on how to parent my boys (ages 6 and 8). I have been trying to teach them the meaning of respecting their mom, and had tried to illustrate that even as adults, there are people that we are demanded to show respect to, not because of what they do but because of who they are. A simple example was a police officer. It doesn't really matter if you don't feel like stopping your car when the officer pulls behind you with lights and sirens going. You pull over because of the authority he has. As part of my job, I testify in criminal court cases. No matter what is going on in the courtroom, the judge is addressed as "Your Honor." You get my point.

During the drive, I recognized for the first time that while my boys call me Dad, they are not calling me by name. They are calling me by my title. If Dad was my name, everyone would call me that instead of Robert. And there are only two people in this world that I have that kind of authority over and responsibility toward.

Judges earn the title of "Your Honor" because of years of diligence and exemplary work. Physicians earn the title of "Doctor" because of their education and expertise. Instead of calling my neighbors across the street by their first names, I call them Mr. and Mrs. Hill, just out of respect for who they are. Unfortunately, Dad is a title that is given and very often not deservedly so. How many "Dads" have bailed out of life, whether by leaving their families to go live somewhere else (and in many cases with someone else), or by ending their lives altogether? Where does that leave the kids who called this man "Dad"? There are also the Dads that are so caught up in their pursuits that they aren't even aware of what makes their own children tick.

With that, I admonish every dad to live your life in a manner deserving of the title you have been given. Allow yourself to be someone that is worthy of the respect of the position you hold. We would quit going to a doctor that didn't advise us well and give us proper treatment. Judges who do poor jobs don't get appointed to higher office. Some judges can even be removed from the bench by a vote of the people. Congresspeople are removed from office when the constituency is displeased with their work. And I venture to say, if we don't do our jobs as dads, our kids will kick us out of office to, not in a physical sense, but emotionally and mentally.

And we can extend the same type of principle to our title of "husband" as well.

Robert

The gospel's simplicity

This afternoon, when I returned to work from lunch, I was asked a question that I wasn't quite expecting. I was asked this question, then my co-worker filled me in on why she was asking. This coworker (let's call her Amy, not her real name) had gone out to lunch with a few ladies who lead a small group of teenage girls from a local church. Amy's daughter is a part of this Protestant church's youth program, but I am not sure to what extent.

Anyway, Amy wanted to learn a little about these women since they were involved in her daughter's life. During conversation, these women learned that Amy is a Catholic (Amy really is not Catholic, but she says she is. She denies the Virgin Birth, the resurrection of Christ, and the authority of the Pope. Is it safe to say she isn't really a Catholic?) These women then announced that Catholicism is wrong because Catholics believe in Purgatory, and Purgatory is not mentioned in the Bible. Amy was quite put off by these statements.

(Another parenthetical statement here, hence the parentheses. Just because the Bible doesn't specifically say a certain word doesn't necessarily mean that the Bible doesn't teach something. For example, can anyone find the word "Trinity" in any translation of the Bible? I have never seen it. Additionally, how many times does the word "rapture" appear in the Scriptures? Exactly zero, but there are many preachers who have made teaching and writing about the rapture quite profitable, indeed. Just because the Bible doesn't say the word "Purgatory," we are not at liberty to disregard the concept of Purgatory a priori.)

Back to the story, though. Amy then asked me if Christians believe in Purgatory, and what the Bible says about our fates when we die. During my reply, Amy then stated that these women also had told her daughter that if someone performs certain acts, that person is destined for hell.

Now comes the point of the story. I was able to explain to Amy that there is only one thing, and I emphasized one thing, that is the determining factor in whether someone is invited into heaven or cast into hell. I told Amy that the only factor is whether or not someone has accepted the gift of God, his Son Jesus. And I said that there are no strings attached. No small print. And the look on Amy's face was priceless. She actually asked me if that was all there was to it. YES. I briefly explained that in all of the religions I know anything about, they all, except Christianity, require people to earn their salvation by some type of work. In Christianity, salvation is a gift. It is our choice whether we accept it or leave it where it is. And I left her with that thought as I returned to my work.

Christians need to quit thinking of Christianity as a set of rules, of do's and don'ts. What we do need to do is understand that our relationship with Christ is going to be what transforms us, not some set of human-imposed rules that try to force us into someone else's idea of holiness. As we truly draw closer to God, we will want to please him because of our love for him. And when this happens, we will know and do the right things. Not perfectly, of course, but more consistently.

One point on pleasing God. Scripture tells us to always be ready to give an answer to those who ask us about the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15). This pleases God. How do I know. Because it is obedience to his word. I wasn't expecting to have this discussion with Amy today, but I had prayed earlier in the day that I may have a chance to be a light in my workplace. Thank you, God, for giving me the opportunity.

So I ask of the Christians who read this, pray for Amy. Pray that she can see through her cynicism of religion and just see the love of God. Pray also for Amy's daughter, that she too will see the love of God, and then embrace the fact that she is unconditionally, undeniably, loved by her Father.

More Blaise

How many of you watch shows on FoodTV or similar channels that highlight cuisine prepared by master chefs at elite restaurants? From time to time I see some of these shows, and I am amazed at how small a portion of food is served for the amount of money that is spent.

Such expensive food is of high quality and intended to be savored by the one consuming it. The chef has spent time meticulously preparing the entree so as to tantalize the palate of the diner. This meal is not to be swallowed in hurried mouthfuls with no thought to how the flavors complement and contrast one another. This is not a grease-laden, machine-produced circle of ground beef. This is an experience to be treasured. Each bite is to be slowly mascerated in order to absorb all the character present in the morsel. And time is allowed to elapse between each bite in order for it to be savored.

Some writings should be treated in the same way. The richness of the written word can be so grand that, in order to truly appreciate and understand the author, one must only nibble on what has been penned and take time to meditate on the ideas presented. This is the manner in which one should approach Blaise Pascal's Pensees. The profundity of what he says in so few words takes much time (at least for me) to truly comprehend. I encourage you to find a copy of Pensees, and start reading, slowly and intently, and see what you find.

I have been absorbing the following Pascal passage for a few weeks now. Feel free to let me know what you think of it.

"We never live only in the present. We remember the past and look forward to the future. If we find it too slow in coming we try to speed it up; or we recall the past to slow it down if it runs too fast. We are so unwise that we wander through ages which are not our own and never give a thought to the one thing that belongs to us. We are so frivolous that we think of those that are nothing and thoughtlessly overlook the one thing that exists. It is because the present moment is usually a painful one. We repress it because it hurts us. And if we find it pleasurable, we are sorry to see it pass away. We try to prop it up by thinking of the future, and think how we are going to plan things in a context where we have no control, for it is a time we are never sure of reaching.

"So let us examine our thoughts and we will find that we tend to be occupied entirely with the past or the future. We scarcely ever think of the present, and when we do so, it is only to see what light it may cast on our plans for the future. But the present moment is never our objective. The past and the present are our means, while the future alone is our goal. With this way of thinking we can never actually live, but instead live in hope. Since we are always planning how we are going to be happy, it is inevitable that we never are."

Wow. Take some time in the next few days and chew on that.

Something to think about - and seriously

I am convinced that Americans (and likely most of the western world) are consumed by things that, to be blunt, don't matter at all. Think of the things that you obsess about the most - is it your status at work, your golf game, what is on TV tonight, plans for watching the Super Bowl? I don't think there is anything wrong with these things in and of themselves, but what lasting impact, and I mean eternal impact, do these things have on anyone? Does someone get to know Christ when you break 80 at the golf course? Is the next episode of Lost or American Idol going to draw your neighbor nearer to entrusting their life to the one who created them?

This obsession with the temporal is not a new phenomenon. This has been going on since the fall of Adam and Eve. Why do we tend to think that what humanity is currently going through is really any different that what we have experienced since the creation of the first people? I think Christians would be very wise to read and consider works of believers of centuries ago in order to see the human plight is in essence no different today than it ever has been. While Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers, Max Lucado, and Tim LaHaye may consistently be on the bestsellers shelf at the local Christian bookstore (and Wal-Mart, as well), you may find words penned hundreds of years ago to be simultaneously refreshing and truly challenging.

A few weeks ago I began reading Blaise Pascal's Pensees. What an incredible thinker. A quote of his that is both eloquent and sobering describes the mental state of mankind:

"Man's sensitivity to trivia, and his insensitivity to matters of major importance, reveal he has a strange disorder."

What is the cure for this strange disorder? The answer is simple, but making it reality is a lifelong struggle - "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Romans 12:2. Lord, may I be transformed to better see the eternal and not be consumed with the temporal.

Undoubtedly, such a transformation will seem strange to almost everyone, including me. But, am I sensitive to the trivia of other's opinion, or sensitive to submitting and committing to Christ my thoughts, my efforts, and my ambitions?

Ordinary men

Shortly after becoming a believer in Christ, I was certain that God was calling me to full-time ministry. What I didn't understand at the time was that God is calling ALL of his children to full-time ministry. Too often we think that the pastors are the ministers and we are the followers. There are dozens of people I come into contact with each day that I have the opportunity to minister to, and it is up to me to see that they are shown that God loves them.

Just last night I had a discussion with my eight-year-old son Micah about what loving someone is. I think he saw a new perspective on love when I explained to him that love is doing something for someone else for their benefit, not your own. So, how many times a day do we assist someone for their benefit and not our own?

When Jesus called his disciples, he wasn't looking for the best, the brightest, or the most well educated. He selected those that would have a heart for him. After Jesus' death and resurrection, Peter and John were loving other people in Jerusalem by talking to them about Jesus. Peter and John were jailed, and the next morning they were questioned by the high-ranking Jewish leaders. The way that Peter and John responded to them made the Jewish leaders take notice. And we see in Acts 4:13, "When they [the Jewish leaders] saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus."

They were unschooled, ordinary men. No seminary, no doctoral degrees, no public speaking seminars, just ordinary men who had been with Jesus.

I am all for schooling and formal education, but the most important training in being a minister for our Lord Jesus is to be with him. Jesus spent time with the disciples not for his benefit, but for theirs and ours. Only after we have been with him can we really show others love.

Today I will have the opportunity to love the people I work with, my family, and people I will encounter as I go in and out of stores and buildings. Will I be a minister of Jesus, or will I merely minister to myself?

Why do I do this to myself?

Oh, how much damage is caused by "Christian" TV. I just turned off one of the Christian networks because I didn't know if I was going to vomit or become angry by the false teaching being given. The money-maker I was watching told the audience that when God created Adam, the man was empowered with the same creative force that God himself had. And I learned that the same "spiritual force" (his words, not mine) that caused all matter to exist was breathed into Adam. Therefore, the "perfect will of God" was for man to have power over all of the earth and every creature that was upon it. Another thing that was said is that if Adam had never sinned, the Bible would have ended at Genesis 1:28, there was nothing else that God would have needed to say to Adam. Adam could have tithed the fruit from the tree of life to God, and God would have sat around the tree and communed with Adam.

I am offended in many ways. Possibly the most damaging is that there are Christians who are believing that God has empowered them to rule the world. How ludicrous is this? God has empowered NO ONE to rule the world. He is in control, always has been, and always will be. Granted, people do rule parts of the world through government, but they do not rule the world. And none of those leaders is in power without God's allowing it to be. Many people's faiths are damaged and destroyed because of preachers making promises for God that God will not keep. How many have prayed for someone's recovery from disease, only for those prayers to end with the death of the ill?

And my God created the world through a spiritual force? What is this, a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away? Isn't the force Yoda's god?

I go through all of that to say always check out what someone teaches about the Bible. Not only TV preachers, but the pastor of your church, your Sunday school teacher, your parents. No one is infallible. Use the Bible as the basis of your learning, not just what others say. What they say must line up with the CLEAR TEACHING OF SCRIPTURE. And if you don't know what the clear teaching of Scripture is, dive in for yourself. The Bible is not written in code. It is God's letter to us. Since he wants us to understand and follow it, it is not complicated. I know there are parts that may be difficult, but the overall story is quite plain to see.

A truly inspiring man

Last weekend my family traveled to the area around Springfield, Missouri, just to get away from OKC and to do a few fun (and educational, but don't tell the kids) things before the school year gets started. In our whirlwind tour, we visited the Laura Ingalls Wilder house in Mansfield, the Worlds of Wonder Wildlife Museum, Wilson's Creek Battlefield (Civil War battle , August 10, 1861), and finally the George Washington Carver National Monument. I really don't know which I enjoyed more, the battlefield or the GWC Monument.

I had no idea the scope of what GWC did during his life. And, from the displays I saw at his memorial, I would be very hard pressed to find a better example of someone who lived out the Christian faith. I came away from my time learning about Carver wanting to know more. I plan on sharing many of his quotes on this blog, then commenting on how I have been impacted by the quote and the man behind the words.

The quote above makes me really think about the undeserved ways in which I (and still sometimes do) hold bias toward people. There are circumstances in life over which we have no control. And often I am prejudiced against people because of these circumstances.

How many times I have gotten upset at the old man driving slow? That man may not really want to be driving amongst all of the people rushing to make their next dollar, but his ill wife needs him to get a medication for her.

Do we tend to view the successful and strong as just being lucky, without knowing how they toiled to acquire what they have today?

Do we see the weak, whether they be physically ill or debilitated or emotionally distressed, as people in need of love and care, rather than hindrances to the things we want to accomplish?

Are we aiding people who have the courage to dream big and strive for things that are currently out of their reach, or do we deflate their inspirations with what we call "reality?"

I for one am glad that Dr. Carver recognized the need for us to be tender, compassionate, sympathetic and tolerant. Now, if I can only institute the virtue contained within this quote and be what someone else, whether young or old, strong or weak, needs me to be.