A while back I heard a sermonette on the radio about the three 'C's. Like old bubble gum stuck under my desk, I kept finding this message to be waiting there when I least expected or when it was quiet enough that I reached for it. I think it has value, and I hope you'll appreciate it.
THE THREE 'C's are three words beginning with the letter 'C' that define behaviors we are to avoid... for our own good, of course.
COMPARE - Why do we insist on comparing ourselves with other people? We are each made unique, individual, special, important, and worthy of love. Nothing that we have done or could do can change these core truths. We needn't compare to others who appear more "successful" or more "wealthy" - true success and wealth are measured inside the heart.
When we compare ourselves to others, judgement always results. In the comparison of two similar entities, the goal is to label one good / one bad, one better / one lesser, one right / one wrong, one acceptable / one not so. Although our human nature leads us down the path of comparison, we must constantly resist the temptation to judge ourselves or others against any standard at all. LIVE AND LET LIVE.
COMPETE - Human nature also leads us into competition. We strive to win, to come out ahead, to prove ourselves better than others, to feel good about ourselves and our talents or skills. I submit that this is the ego talking, the part of us at the core that seeks approval and acceptance from our peers. Are we winners? Are we worthy of attention and accolade? Are we among the best? From childhood into adulthood we seek to prove our worth by elevating ourselves over others in various arenas of competition - athletics, arts, intelligence, labor, materialism. I submit that our worth lies simply in our creation, nothing more or less. God thought to make us, and thus we are worthwhile. We can rest in that truth, no competition needed. "The evil ego and the vice of pride... is there ever anything else that makes us take our different sides?"
COVET - When we want something that another person has for our own self-gratification, we are engaged in coveting. Coveting is not far from 'lusting after'. The definition of 'lust' is "wanting for one's self". I submit that anytime the word SELF is involved, we're on the wrong path. We are to constantly consider the needs of others before our own, and constantly seek to bless. It is in blessing others that we are blessed in return - not because we expected it or manipulated cirumstance to make it happen, just because it is the fruit of selflessness. Coveting someone else's possessions or blessings or talents implies that we feel we deserve what they have. We covet something simply because we want it and think we deserve to have it, in a selfish and jealous kind of way. In our materialistic, competitive (see above), selfish, corporate-based society and culture it is normal to behave this way. The world tells us to get what we can while we can, and hoard it before someone else steals it. We see evidence of covetous behavior in infidelity, theft, embezzlement, kidnapping, jealous anger, and copyright infringement. I want what is yours, and I am going to take it. I deserve it. I can't live without it. I will make it mine.
Ultimately, we are each responsible for ourselves and only ourselves. We can only affect and control our own behavior, not that of another. We are charged with striving on a daily basis to live out a life of love, considering God above all else and considering others before ourselves. The fact that this is contrary to human nature is not a surprise to God! We live in the midst of a great spiritual battle, and the enemy's goal is to keep us focused on ME.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
REMINISCENT REGRET
I’m reminded of the things I take for granted
All of the time
As I fight for balance
Prioritizing moments
Missing the most important
Then regretting choices,
Knowing there’s no going back
Or taking back either
Such a bitter pill to consume
When nothing can be done
In reversing or in changing
Things already done
KDC 10/08
All of the time
As I fight for balance
Prioritizing moments
Missing the most important
Then regretting choices,
Knowing there’s no going back
Or taking back either
Such a bitter pill to consume
When nothing can be done
In reversing or in changing
Things already done
KDC 10/08
FARTHER
The farther we dig
The more roots are found
In the silence under ground
Where nothing speaks
The farther we go
In the down direction
The tighter the roots are held
In darkest place
The farther the fruit
That falls from the tree
The more rotten and sour,
Distasteful it is
The farther we push
The buttons depressed
The less we hear the sound
Of insistent alarm
The farther we build
The wall up high still
The harder it is to tear down
And destroy forever
KDC 10/08
The more roots are found
In the silence under ground
Where nothing speaks
The farther we go
In the down direction
The tighter the roots are held
In darkest place
The farther the fruit
That falls from the tree
The more rotten and sour,
Distasteful it is
The farther we push
The buttons depressed
The less we hear the sound
Of insistent alarm
The farther we build
The wall up high still
The harder it is to tear down
And destroy forever
KDC 10/08
Saturday, October 11, 2008
HELP
Lord, please help me let them go,
These notions I’ve in mind,
To fly away upon the wind
And leave me here to find
That I need not be tied to them
As long as you are mine,
For though I cry upon their loss,
Your love runs deep and wide.
Lord, please help me look to you
When troubled to forget,
For though I know you’ve made me new
The past will hold me yet
To rote, involuntary thoughts
That turn my willing head
From seeking first to find you
In the trust that you know best.
Lord, please help me to accept
The need I have for you,
Assist me never to lament
Dependence on your truth
And if I start to think that I
Deserve the peace you won,
I pray you put me in my place
Before your throne, undone.
These notions I’ve in mind,
To fly away upon the wind
And leave me here to find
That I need not be tied to them
As long as you are mine,
For though I cry upon their loss,
Your love runs deep and wide.
Lord, please help me look to you
When troubled to forget,
For though I know you’ve made me new
The past will hold me yet
To rote, involuntary thoughts
That turn my willing head
From seeking first to find you
In the trust that you know best.
Lord, please help me to accept
The need I have for you,
Assist me never to lament
Dependence on your truth
And if I start to think that I
Deserve the peace you won,
I pray you put me in my place
Before your throne, undone.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
C.S. Lewis QUOTES
Did you know that the C.S. stands for Clive Staples?
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil.
You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
C. S. Lewis
A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell.
Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival.
The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil.
You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
C. S. Lewis
VICTIMS
Sometimes it’s a circumstance,
A change in life resembling chance,
Sometimes it’s a consequence,
Decisions made with no defense,
Sometimes it’s a hurtful word
Leaving scars once we’ve been burned,
Sometimes it’s a lie that’s heard,
Believed too long before we learned.
Other times we’re singled out,
Or so it seems to those in doubt,
While other times a violent act
Can leave us where we can’t relax,
Still other times we’re stricken down
By sickness as it makes its rounds,
Or other times wrong place, wrong time
We witnessed things now stuck in mind.
The truth is that some time or other
All of us are victimized,
Not one escapes this world unharmed
By pain and hurt and sin and lies.
We all could claim the reasons why,
Excuse behavior, rationalize
Behavior that does not become
The children of the Holy one.
KDC 10/08
A change in life resembling chance,
Sometimes it’s a consequence,
Decisions made with no defense,
Sometimes it’s a hurtful word
Leaving scars once we’ve been burned,
Sometimes it’s a lie that’s heard,
Believed too long before we learned.
Other times we’re singled out,
Or so it seems to those in doubt,
While other times a violent act
Can leave us where we can’t relax,
Still other times we’re stricken down
By sickness as it makes its rounds,
Or other times wrong place, wrong time
We witnessed things now stuck in mind.
The truth is that some time or other
All of us are victimized,
Not one escapes this world unharmed
By pain and hurt and sin and lies.
We all could claim the reasons why,
Excuse behavior, rationalize
Behavior that does not become
The children of the Holy one.
KDC 10/08
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The Danger of Over-Protection
We live in a fearful world. The media and the entertainment industry feed that fear by focusing on crime, injustice, and pain more than on any goodness that might remain in the chaos of our shrinking world. Those of us who are "in the world but not of it" must struggle to maintain a positive and hopeful outlook in the midst of what occurs around us.
The response of many to the pervasive fear in our world today is often to become protective, and I dare say over-protective. We wish to protect our children, our property, our careers, our beliefs, and even ourselves from other people and their bad intentions. In an effort to protect what we perceive as "ours", we can isolate ourselves and our children from the outside world and thus maintain a false feeling of safety at least within our own families, our own homes, our controlled environment.
I submit that this is quite a dangerous prospect, and is ultimately not the healthiest way for humans to live. The fact is that we need other humans, both for social interaction and for support in times of trial and need. We also need to feel needed by others. Studies have shown that people with a wide base of support and involvement in society are happier and live longer.
Even apart from the need for sharing our lives with others, there is inherent danger in isolation due to the risk of misplacing our trust. This is perhaps the biggest issue with a fear-based outlook leading to over-protectiveness. Are we trusting in our government to protect us? Are we trusting law enforcement to protect us? Are we trusting our families or parents to protect us? Are we trusting in ourselves? In our weapons? In our escape tactics? In our knowledge and intellect? In our money? (I can not help but want to laugh out loud at these prospects...)
NONE of the entities listed above are trustworthy. I pray that this does not come as a shock to anyone reading this. Every single person, organization, tactic, and physical quality WILL let us down. It has been proven over the ages too many times to require mention. There is ONE trustworthy being in all of the universe, and ONE only. That is God, the Almighty, the Creator of everything, and He who knows the future. Only He is trustworthy and we must learn to put all of our trust in Him alone, for ONLY HE can protect us! He is above all...
Does putting our trust in God alone mean that we will no longer experience any suffering? Certainly not. He himself has told us that we will suffer in this world, especially if we openly confess our faith in Him. But ultimately, in the end, in the long run and in the only world that matters - we'll be with Him, we'll be safe, and we'll be happy. On that we can depend.
The response of many to the pervasive fear in our world today is often to become protective, and I dare say over-protective. We wish to protect our children, our property, our careers, our beliefs, and even ourselves from other people and their bad intentions. In an effort to protect what we perceive as "ours", we can isolate ourselves and our children from the outside world and thus maintain a false feeling of safety at least within our own families, our own homes, our controlled environment.
I submit that this is quite a dangerous prospect, and is ultimately not the healthiest way for humans to live. The fact is that we need other humans, both for social interaction and for support in times of trial and need. We also need to feel needed by others. Studies have shown that people with a wide base of support and involvement in society are happier and live longer.
Even apart from the need for sharing our lives with others, there is inherent danger in isolation due to the risk of misplacing our trust. This is perhaps the biggest issue with a fear-based outlook leading to over-protectiveness. Are we trusting in our government to protect us? Are we trusting law enforcement to protect us? Are we trusting our families or parents to protect us? Are we trusting in ourselves? In our weapons? In our escape tactics? In our knowledge and intellect? In our money? (I can not help but want to laugh out loud at these prospects...)
NONE of the entities listed above are trustworthy. I pray that this does not come as a shock to anyone reading this. Every single person, organization, tactic, and physical quality WILL let us down. It has been proven over the ages too many times to require mention. There is ONE trustworthy being in all of the universe, and ONE only. That is God, the Almighty, the Creator of everything, and He who knows the future. Only He is trustworthy and we must learn to put all of our trust in Him alone, for ONLY HE can protect us! He is above all...
Does putting our trust in God alone mean that we will no longer experience any suffering? Certainly not. He himself has told us that we will suffer in this world, especially if we openly confess our faith in Him. But ultimately, in the end, in the long run and in the only world that matters - we'll be with Him, we'll be safe, and we'll be happy. On that we can depend.
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