A little humor

Just to lighten things up, here are a few pictures from the Olympic Synchronized Swimming competitions, along with some personal captions my kids and I came up with this afternoon. Enjoy!

Ohai! We know you!

DAH-ling!

 

 

Stop pulling my hair!

OMG! Invisi-burgers!

I gave you THREE chances, and now I'm going to turn you into a GOON!

POP! Goes the weasel!

OMG! Air apples, too?!?

Invisi-burgers for everyone!

Wait - Invisi-burgers have HOW many calories?!?

Oh, no, you di-n't!

I haz a puppet!

Most disturbing picture. Ever.

Okay, I lied. This one's worse.

Braaaaaains..........

You kinda scare me.

Rawr!

You did WHAT with my boyfriend?!?

Oh! Ow! The sequins are tangled!

Photos courtesy of Buzzfeed

Strengthen the Hand of the Poor and Needy

"This was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy." Ezekiel 16:49

I recently read an article regarding welfare, by Pastor Art Kohl.  The above passage really stood out to me, and made me think.  Most translations use the words "help" or "support", but the Amplified, Young's Literal, and King James (used above) all use the phrase "strengthen the hand."  This is a completely different nuance to the idea presented.  It makes all the difference between a hand-out and a hand up.

Our current American system is one of hand-outs.  We have entitlement assistance programs that go a long way to providing for the poor and needy among us - Social Security, Welfare, Food Stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, and so on.  There is neither relationship nor responsibility involved in the assistance.  This may fill the hands of the poor and needy, but does it strengthen them?

Consider a man who recently had extensive surgery on his dominant arm.  For the next several weeks, he will be unable to use that arm at all - he will be destitute of strength in that arm, and will need to rely on his wife for everything from getting dressed in the morning to the cutting of his meat at dinner.  However, after this time he will be expected to start strengthening his arm through physical therapy and will, hopefully, regain full use and independence of that limb.

Consider also a baby, on the cusp of mobility.  How does she strengthen her legs for walking?  Her legs are strengthened by standing, a little at a time, doing as much as she can, while holding on to her mother's or father's hands.  She cannot get strong on her own; she needs a little help.  But after a time, her legs are strong enough to carry her, and soon she will be off and running.


Perhaps this is why my favorite charities to support are Habitat for Humanity and The Heifer Project.  These are organizations which seek to strengthen the hands of those receiving assistance.  In the case of Habitat, the needy family participates in the construction of the house to be donated.  With the Heifer Project, the family that receives animals is shown how to care for that animal, and the animals provide them with a livelihood where they can sell milk, eggs, wool, or other products.

In America, we have families which are third and fourth generation welfare recipients.  Time and again I hear statistics of how difficult it is to break free from the welfare system.  If the American welfare system is strengthening hands, why are so many left so weak and powerless?  But if our system is robbing people of their strength, why do we continue to fight for it?

By providing a livelihood for the able-bodied with no expectation of effort on their part, we enfeeble them.  Muscles left unused atrophy, and this is no different. 

So, what is a Biblical approach to strengthening the hands of the poor and needy?

1.  Allow people to choose to not be helped.

  The Apostle Paul in  2 Thessalonians 3 says,

⁶ In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
¹¹ We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. ¹² Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.

 Note that this says "The one who is unwilling to work."  If you are capable of supporting yourself, you ought to do so, as much as possible.  There is a famous quote by Benjamin Franklin which says, "I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.  In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer."  When we choose to provide fully for those capable, yet unwilling, of helping themselves, we discourage them from feeling capable of sustaining themselves, and we allow their hands to become weak.

2.  Take care of your own family.

Before the Great Society was implemented by President Lyndon Johnson, giving us the entitlement programs we take for granted now, it was assumed that families would support one another in times of need.  Elderly parents would be cared for by adult children, orphans would be cared for by relatives, and so on.  This is actually the Biblical model set forth in 1 Timothy 5:

⁴ But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. ⁵ The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. ⁸ Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

When we take care of our own family, both nuclear and extended, there is no need to burden the government, and, by extension, the rest of society, with their needs.  Only the truly destitute, those with no one to care for them, would need to rely on help from society at large.

3.  Leave room for the needy to find meaningful work.

In the Old Testament, when God was setting forth the rules by which society was to be formed, He made provision for the poor and needy.  Leviticus 19:9-10 says,

⁹ When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰ Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God.

It is because of this provision that Ruth and Naomi were able to survive when the returned to Israel from Moab.  It was not charity that provided for them, but Ruth was able to go and gather enough food to sustain them.  Her hands were strong because the Law provided room for her to sustain herself.

Yes, there is room for that today, too.  I know a couple whose friend has been out of work for some time.  This couple has health issues that keep them from some of the more challenging tasks in maintaining their property.  Rather than hire a lawn service, they have asked their friend to do this work for them, and they intend to pay him what they would have paid a lawn service.  They have made room for their friend to find meaningful work, to keep his hands strong, and so that he can have honor in his wages. 

4. Be generous, and hold your possessions lightly.

 All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Acts 2:44-45. 

 This early church model is not so much one of a socialist system or a commune as one of open-handed generosity.  When we see someone in need, we ought to give to them.  When this is done in relationship, as modeled by this early church description, then all hands are strengthened together. There is no shame in need, no boasting in giving; it is all simply the natural give-and-take of loving relationship.


Now, I'm sure there are some that will say, "But what about Jesus' words in Matthew? What about:

³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me... 40Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Because again, this is a passage that is used to support government-run social welfare programs.  But Jesus never insisted that one person give to another.  He didn't demand that His disciples give to the widow who was offering her last mite to the temple.  He didn't requisition the loaves and fishes from the little boy.  Jesus' model was always one of sacrificial giving in relationship.

So the way I look at this passage from Matthew 25 is that these are those little opportunities that arise each and every day for strengthening the hands of those around us, whether those hands belong to the destitute, or only the weary.  It is up to you, and it is up to me, to strengthen the hands of the poor and needy.  And it doesn't need to be momentous to be meaningful.

What would happen if we stopped telling people, "You can't do it," and started telling them, "You must at least try"?  What would happen if we all left a little room in our dealings, so that those who are struggling could find wages with honor?  What would happen if we were all a little more generous with the stranger in our midst?  If each of us looked not only to our own needs, but also to the needs around us, would we still need the Great Society?

Perhaps we could all start looking at our homes, our extended families, our neighbors, and our towns to see how we can go beyond filling the hands of the needy, and actually making them strong.

² Help each other in troubles and problems. This is the kind of law Christ asks us to obey. ⁴ Everyone should look at himself and see how he does his own work. Then he can be happy in what he has done. He should not compare himself with his neighbor. ⁵ Everyone must do his own work. Galatians 6:2, 4-5

 

 

The Ordinary Rules of Courtesy

"Fascist!"
"Socialist!"

"Greedy pig!"
"Lazy bum!"

"Warmonger!"
"Coward!"

"Hater!"
"Sinner!"

Shall I continue?   For whatever reason, disagreements seem to end with name calling more often than not, both in the media, and in on-line debates.  I keep hearing people say that people just need to be more tolerant of other people.  Personally, I think that what we need instead is a lesson in what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. called "the ordinary rules of courtesy."

In 1963, during the Civil Rights movement, anyone who wanted to march with Dr. King was required to sign a commitment card, which contained the "Ten Commandments of Non-Violence."  I think in our current debates, we would do well to remember in particular numbers 3, 6, and 8, which are:

3. Walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love.

6. Observe with both friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy.

8. Refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.

We have forgotten how to respectfully disagree.  If you do not agree with me you must be stupid, brainwashed, intolerant, judging, or a hater.  We like to claim our First Amendment Right to say and believe whatever we want, but get our knickers in a knot when someone else claims that same right in a point contrary to our own.

When my rather "Christian Conservative" values come out, I am reminded by those who disagree to go back to Matthew 7:1a, which says,  “Do not judge..."  Apparently, this means I am not to say that I think someone or something is wrong.  However, the passage goes on to say:

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

This implies that there is a humble, respectful, right way to point out someone's error - a correct way to judge.  Consider also Galatians 6:1, which says, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently."

This sent me on a bit of a hunt. 

First of all, I decided to look up what "judge" means.  According to Merriam-Webster, to judge is "to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premises," or "to form an estimate or evaluation of."   So, based on that, along with the etymology of the word, that can't be what Jesus is saying in this oft-quoted passage from Matthew.

Next, I turned to the Amplified Bible, to see how that translation would treat the text in question.  It reads, "Do not judge and criticize and condemn others, so that you may not be judged and criticized and condemned yourselves."

The nuance shown in this translation led me to believe that the original word used was not as straight-forward as the English "judge", so I went hunting for an on-line commentary.  BibleTools.org had this insight: "Some cite Matthew 7:1 as proof that we should do no judging whatsoever: "Judge not, that you be not judged." Here, the Greek word for "judge" is krino, meaning to condemn, avenge, damn, sentence, or levy a punishment."

In other words, if you disagree, do so respectfully without condemning or being harshly critical.  And allow others to disagree with you, observing the common rules of courtesy with friend and enemy alike.

Content to be a Blogosfailure

I've come to the conclusion lately that, to be a successful writer of any sort, you either need to have a certain skill at boasting, or hire someone to do your boasting for you.  Whether you are a novelist, a blogger, or the proud owner of a shiny website, you need to be ready to speak glowingly about yourself.  After all, success is measured by how many people read what you have written.  If you are an author, success is measured in book sales.  If you are a blogger, success is measured in how many people "follow" you.  If you are a Twitter....er (Tweeter? Twit?), success is achieved if your comments are re-Tweeted.  If you run a website, success is measured in how many hits your site gets.  Therefore, in order to achieve success, you must constantly self-promote.

Sometimes writers make me laugh.  There is one in particular who cannot seem to refrain from saying, during interviews, "Well, in my last book titled (whatever)", or, "I just wrote an article on my website (insert site name here)".  It's to the point now where my husband and I refer to him by the name of his website.  Bloggers do the same thing, constantly referencing or adding links to previous blogs during conversation, rather than going through the trouble of actually saying it again. 

Now, I understand that this is just how it's done.  After all, what's the point of writing something if nobody reads it?  And sometimes, you have something that came to you as you were writing that really, really fits the current conversation, and it is simply easier to reference what you wrote earlier than to try to re-state it.

But I just can't do it.

Do you know, I have never once looked at my information to see how many people I reach, or from how many countries?  I don't even know if I have any followers!

So here I sit, writing up a blog article, not knowing if anyone beyond my husband will even read it and, quite surprisingly, not even caring.  Why?  Well, because sometimes writing helps me to think.  And because maybe there will be someone interested in hearing what I am thinking about.  But I'm also under no grand delusion that my thoughts or opinions or perspective are particularly unique or profound or important.

I'm simply writing to express what I'm thinking.

And if nobody else ever reads this, that's okay.  I know it's here, and that's enough for me.

Whose Mission Are You On?

My adult years have been spent attending an Anabaptist church with my husband.  This is a denomination that prizes service to those around us.  Over the years I have heard reports from a number of missionaries who have been involved in service projects domestically, as well as from those who have traveled around the world to the most remote and isolated and damaged places in the world.  These reports are filled with stories of interpersonal mediation and reconciliation, community rebuilding following natural disasters or war, and comfort given through medical services, education, blankets, school supplies, and food, just to brush the surface.  These are excellent things, worthwhile, and necessary.  However, maybe I'm missing something and it's simply understood, but I don't really hear much in these reports about God.

The mission reports I have heard over the last few years have dealt with where they are going, what the physical or interpersonal needs were there, and how the denominational mission organization is working with the people there.  When asked, "Why are you going?" I hear a lot of really good philanthropic reasons given, but no mention of God's leading or presence.  When asked, "What did you do there?" I hear a lot of really nice answers about how "we did" x, y, and z, but not much credit given to God for acts of the Spirit.  When asked, "How did the people respond?" I hear encouraging responses of enemies reconciled, or of gratitude to the organization involved, but almost nothing indicating lives changed for Christ.

I have even asked specifically, in smaller discussion-group type settings, how these missionaries have seen God at work, or how their faith was changed.  I am dismayed by the fact that most have not been able to answer these questions.  It all seems to come back to, "It's what we do."

So my question is, Whose mission are we on?  Is it enough as Christians to go out and do good things, to be philanthropic, to be servants, or does there need to be more?

Consider the following from Mark 9:41:

Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

 Or this, from 1 Peter 3:15:

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

Now, in full disclosure, I grew up in a non-denominational church.  I can remember our Mission Weeks, where we would hear reports on the missionaries we supported around the world.  During this week, we would hear remarkable stories of souls saved, and miraculous interventions where missionaries in dangerous places were saved from certain death at the last minute.  Every report was saturated with the spread of the Gospel in far-flung lands, from setting up schools in remote primitive villages to sneaking Bibles into Soviet Russia and Communist China.  However, and maybe it's just because I was a child and the razzamatazz of the supernatural overshadowed the everyday,  I don't really remember hearing a whole lot of the practical in those reports, other than education through missionary schools.  And I don't think this is the right approach either.


I think that the balance is defined in James 2, which says:

¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that —and shudder.
²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

Having the programs, the outreach, the good works without being ready to give a reason for it is not enough.  Anyone can be a philanthropist.  We cannot simply live servant lives without it being a direct outpouring of God's love, because then it is our own deeds and not Christ acting through us. 

At the same time, just "saving souls" isn't enough, and our words about the Good News of God's love for us must be demonstrated through our good works.  We cannot simply preach the Good News of God's love without living servant lives, because a faith devoid of acts of love and grace is meaningless.

As Christians, we have to find the balance.  One without the other becomes our mission, rather than God's.

So, whose mission are you on?

Gifts: A Parable

Several years ago, a girl was gifted with an instrument by a friend. Her friend had found the instrument, which had been unused for several years, and gave it away, knowing how much the girl loved music. The instrument needed a little work, but it was still a fine object. The girl accepted the gift with excitement and gratitude, and took it home with her. Once she got it home, however, she opened the case and stared with dismay at the instrument before her. She didn’t know how to play it, and the last time she had tried she had failed. She didn’t know how to replace the worn pieces, and couldn’t remember even the most basic thing about playing it! The girl tucked the case away in a corner of her room and tried to forget about it. Every now and then, she would look at it, collecting dust, still unused, and feel ashamed for never putting her gift to use. But in the end, her fears that it would be too difficult and she would fail again would get the best of her, and she would end up leaving it where it was.

Not long after, another girl was gifted with an instrument by a friend. This friend had likewise found her instrument, unused for several years, and given it away, knowing how much the girl loved music. This one also needed a little work, but was a fine instrument. Knowing that she didn’t have the power to fix it herself, she handed her instrument over to a master to replace the worn parts. The girl could not wait to try out her new instrument. As soon as she got the repaired instrument home, she opened the case and gazed at the instrument with joy and wonder. Asking for help from someone who knew about these things, she quickly got her instrument assembled and began experimenting with making tones. She dedicated herself to lessons, and practiced every chance she got. Her natural gift for the instrument quickly shone through. Her music lifted the spirits of all who heard her.

Each of us is given gifts by the Spirit, and we have the same choice to make as the girls in the stories had to make. Some of the gifts we are given seem completely beyond our ability. They may be things we have tried to do before, and failed at. They may be difficult, or cause us to have to replace some worn parts in our lives. But we must decide: Will we leave God’s gifts standing in the corner of our hearts, collecting dust, unused and neglected, and clinging to our fears? Or will we receive our gifts with joy, hand the broken parts to our Master to repair, and learn to use our gifts in a way that will lift the spirits of all who come into contact with us?

Greater Love

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."  John 15:13

 The above Bible verse is one that I remember learning as a child.  It is a great example of the kind of selfless, sacrificial love to which God's children are called to show one another.  And it used to be pretty much the cultural norm, that the strong would protect the weak, a man would protect a woman, everyone protected a child.  Those who did so were hailed as heroes, honored, respected, held up as role models.

Lately, though, I have been feeling as though self-sacrificial love, laying down one's life for another, is not only being discouraged, but punished.

Consider, please, the following stories:

1. From San Francisco, June 2011:

Fire crews and police could only watch after a man waded into San Francisco Bay, stood up to his neck and waited. They wanted to do something, but a policy tied to earlier budget cuts strictly forbade them from trying to save the 50-year-old, officials said

A witness finally pulled the apparently suicidal man's lifeless body from the 54-degree water.

The man, later identified as Raymond Zack, spent nearly an hour in the water before he drowned.

The Coast Guard was called to the scene, but the water was too shallow for its boat. A Coast Guard helicopter arrived more than an hour later because it had been on another call and had to refuel.

As for police, they didn't have the gear for the cold water and couldn't risk being pulled under.
"Certainly this was tragic, but police officers are tasked with ensuring public safety, including the safety of personnel who are sent to try to resolve these kinds of situations," Alameda police Lt. Sean Lynch said.

2. From Monterey County, California, May 2012:

 Safeway has suspended an employee at a Monterey County store, despite being called a hero by police for stopping a domestic assault in the store last month.
Ryan Young, a meat clerk at the Safeway in Del Rey Oaks, said he was doing his job when he saw Quyen Van Tran beating his girlfriend, who is six months pregnant.
“Every few seconds he would turn around and push her and then he actually kicked her,” Young said. “I told him to calm down and he was just irate.”
Chief Ron Langford of the Del Ray Oaks Police said if Ryan did not intervene, things could have become much worse for the victim.
But Young said Safeway has suspended him without pay, for supposedly violating company policy. The store has not given word on if or when he will be allowed back.

3. From New Jersey, May 2012:

A dad jumped into action to save his son's life and ended up getting two tickets from a traffic officer because of it, according to a Monday report.
Frank Roder took his son to a park in New Jersey to feed the ducks.
He was inside his Jeep when he noticed his son running toward a steep embankment that plunged down into water.
Frank reacted quickly.
He leapt out of the vehicle, ran after his son, and grabbed him just feet from the edge.
He must have had a sinking feeling in his gut, when he turned around and watched his Jeep roll down the same embankment.
Adding insult to the injury to his vehicle, Frank was ticketed by a police officer, not once but twice.
The first ticket was for failure to use his parking brake, the other was for failure to produce his insurance card, which was in his waterlogged vehicle.

4. From Hampshire, England, February 2012:

A man who fell into a lake drowned after firefighters called to the scene said they could not enter the water if it was higher than ankle deep for health and safety reasons, an inquest has been told.
Simon Burgess, a 41-year-old charity shop worker died at Walpole Park, in Gosport, Hampshire, on 10 March. He is believed to have had an epileptic seizure either before or after falling into the water while feeding swans.
Witnesses raised the alarm, but the hearing was told on Tuesday that members of a fire crew refused to get to him because the water was more than ankle deep. Instead, they waited for a specialist water rescue team and Burgess was only taken out of the lake 28 minutes after the alarm was raised.

So, what does this say about "laying down your life for your friends?"  And what is happening in our culture that Policy is so much more important that saving lives?  How can we have rescue workers who cannot rescue?  Are we so concerned with our Lives and Liabilities that we are afraid to be sacrificial?

The second and third stories have men who were willing to lay down their lives - one to protect a pregnant woman, the other to save his son's life.  They have been punished for doing so, but say they would not have done anything differently.  But in the first and last stories, the rescuers allowed themselves to stand by and watch men drown, in order to save - not their own lives - but their jobs.

Even more disturbing are the stories where people go beyond simply standing idly by, their instinct instead being to record violence on their phones to post later to YouTube.  Probably the most disturbing to me was the story of a young woman beaten in a Maryland McDonald's until she went into a seizure.  Not one person stood up for her.  Not one person tried to stop the attack.  Instead, it was recorded and posted, and the attackers were warned to leave before the police arrived.

"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."