Stomp, pout, huff, whine, tantrum, etc.

Ordinarily I try to use this blog for devotions, reflections, or rants of my own, but this morning's "God Pause" devotion from the Luther Seminary was one that really hit me right between the eyes so I thought I'd share it here.

How often do we get to feeling like the brother who stayed home and worked in the story of the prodigal son? It's not that I don't want to do the right thing or work hard and make sacrifices, and I'd like to think that I try to do right either just because it's the right thing to do, or because it will benefit the most people, not just myself, or in gratitude for all God's done for me- not to try to earn His favor or for any kind of material reward. Be that as it may, it still grates on my nerves that it seems like there are so many people who have it so much better, or who really don't care about anyone but themselves or doing what's right- yet it almost seems like they're shallowness and selfishness is rewarded, not punished.

So once again, I end up asking God to help me be content because I know that His grace is sufficient. And again and again, He reveals to me just how blessed and coddled I am. Like the two pairs of missionaries who spoke at our church. One couple in one of the most densely populated, lease Christian, and most impoverished places in the world- Calcutta, India. Another couple inn one of the most dangerous, most plagued with sectarian and tribal tension and violence between Muslims and supposed Christians in Jos, Nigeria. And here I am complaining about not being able to lose weight or not being able to suddenly become a rich and famous, award winning professional writer. Perspective, people, perspective.

Tuesday, 7/20/2010 Psalm 73:[3-14] 23-28

"It's NOT fair!" What parent hasn't heard these words? They are often sputtered with quivering lip, hot tears, crossed arms, and, maybe, a stomped foot. Reading Psalm 73 (particularly vv. 3–14), I almost hear the psalmist, Asaph, lamenting, "It's not fair!" as he looks from a society outside, across the fence into the green grass of affluence, privilege and power. As today's socioeconomic disparity increases, it is understandable that our neighbors and, perhaps, we ourselves, may increasingly cry, "It's NOT fair!" It isn't fair. God is pained and angered when justice and kindness are ignored, when God's children are disregarded.

Guided by God, Asaph resists temptation to act violently and oppress others. He decides the longed-for prosperity is not worth estrangement from God. As the parent might hold the tearful child's hand to comfort them, Asaph feels God "hold [his] right hand." Asaph proclaims, "it is good to be near God." Indeed, it is good. 

Dear Heavenly Parent, thank you for holding our hands and being our refuge. Guide us to hold the hands of our neighbors, share our resources, and include them fully in our communities. Amen.

Mary Simonson Clark, Lutheran Malaria Initiative Coordinator, Minneapolis Area Synod, Master of Arts/Master of Social Work, 2007

Psalm 73:[3-14] 23-28 (NRSV) 3  For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 4  For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. 5  They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people. 6  Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. 7  Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. 8  They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. 9  They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth. 10  Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them. 11  And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?" 12  Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. 13  All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. 14  For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning. 23  Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24  You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor. 25  Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. 26  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength  of my heart and my portion forever. 27  Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you. 28  But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works. return to devotion

Selflessness

I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for you or laid aside for you, exalted for you or brought low for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

- Adapted from John Wesley's Covenant Prayer

This prayer reminds me of what concentration camp survivor Corrie Ten Boom often said, "Hold loosely to the things of this life, so that if God requires them of you, it will be easy to let them go."
It also reminds me that "He must increase, and I must decrease" (John 3:30)
Amazing how unlike Western society Christianity can be. If one didn't know Wesley were British and Christian, would one mistake him for an Eastern mystic or philosopher from this prayer? Emptying of self and letting go of the need for worldly possessions, somewhat Buddah-esque, but don't throw the baby out with the bath water. Just because those aren't American ideas, does not mean that they aren't the ideas taught by Jesus Christ.

A more contemporary interpretation might be "Are you going to love things and use people, or use things and love people?"

Call me a "Socialist" and tell people that I shouldn't be allowed to influence young people by teaching in our schools, but I really believe that this is prayer of Wesley's is just what St. Paul calls us to do in Philippians 2,  "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus (Phil 2:3-5)"


Here are some great verses that talk about holding loosly to the things of this world;
1 John 2:15, Luke 12:15, Hebrews 12:1b-2a, Matthew 13:22, Hebrews 13:5, Philippians 4:11-12, Luke 12:15, Philippians 2:1-11

Black Friday indeed

A Wal-Mart worker died early Friday after an "out-of-control" mob of frenzied shoppers smashed through the Long Island store's front doors and trampled him, police said.
When the madness ended, 34-year-old Jdimytai Damour was dead and four shoppers, including a woman eight months pregnant, were injured.
Roughly 2,000 people gathered outside the Wal-Mart's doors in the predawn darkness.

Chanting "push the doors in," the crowd pressed against the glass as the clock ticked down to the 5 a.m. opening.

Sensing catastrophe, nervous employees formed a human chain inside the entrance to slow down the mass of shoppers.

It didn't work.

The mob barreled in and overwhelmed workers.

When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling, 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,' They kept shopping."

Are culturally sensitive people who say "Happy Holidays" really waging war on Christmas? Maybe... we have met the enemy and he is US.

Where Would Jesus Shop?

Jesus was a simple guy.

SOMETHING FOR YOUR HEART

Jesus was a simple guy. He had just a few close friends, lived on very little money, and owned only one piece of clothing when he died—which, by the way, was the only personal possession of his that the Bible mentions. How does that compare with life in our material culture?

In the United States we rent storage units to hold all the stuff we don't use, but don't want to get rid of. And all the while, our culture tells us we need more and more. So we spend most of our lives trying to get stuff that really isn't all that meaningful.

All of our stuff—and our perceived lack of stuff—causes stress on the soul. Our stuff also serves to distract us from being who God calls us to be. Look around your room. Take a peek at your calendar. Consider your plans for the future. How much of it involves simplifying your life and how much involves complicating it? God desires us to be diligent and to work hard, but he also wants our souls to be uncluttered. His way of living is much less hurried and hectic.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

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Taken from "What Does God Want From Me?" by Mark Matlock, copyright 2006, Zondervan/Youth Specialties. Used by permission. Order the book here: http://www.youthspecialties.com/product/258155