God, Jesus, and...

The more we see in the world, the less we want to be in it, yet the more we see we need to be.  

I started a new position a month ago and have since been whirling around the business world on a three-day trip for training, conference calls, and meetings with the client and accounts.  Even in this short period of time, it is quite apparent to me how many in this world define themselves by their jobs.  I watch and listen as they stress about deadlines and goals, beating the competitor, and impressing senior managers.  I observe them puff up when they themselves feel a sense of superiority.  I see the non-stop, always on-call lifestyles of people trying to make a name and a buck for themselves, and I am saddened.  And as I realize just how badly people out there are completely missing the meaning of this life, the light on their darkness is shined brighter.  No more denying.

The big game is next weekend, so I have been told more than once by more than one person that the “big dogs” are going to be in town.    I’m not really sure who the big dogs are actually and what I am supposed to do differently while they are here.  Since I always put forth my best, I don’t see the need to have a warning that “Well, someone’s going to be watching next week, so, you should do your job now.”  Weird, as to me I always work for an audience of One, but this isn’t even the depressing part.  Being advised yet again of this apparently epic event, I was given a further description of this traveling trio: God, Jesus, and…(wait for it)…Moses.  OK. OK.  Before I let it sink in how tragic this really was, I admit, I laughed at first hearing.  I mean, really, if you’re going to quote the Trinity, at least get it right!  But then I looked at that man in his eyes and it hit me.  He was serious.  To him, these men are God.  And if things aren’t just right– this could be the end of his world.  No more laughing. 

In case I still didn’t see the light, I came home to dial-in to a conference call.  We went through the agenda line by line, receiving our updates and weekly instructions.  I listened as I always do, contributed here and there as necessary.  And then we got to it on the topic of budgets.  Here it came again, this time, in the form of an excel spreadsheet that tracks expenses.  Enter this in this cell, it creates a running tab, it populates here...  What’s that?  A squirrel in the tree outside?  “Bible.”  Huh?  Bringing my attention back to the call, she repeated.  “Treat this as your Bible.”  An excel spreadsheet.  My Bible?  No.  I’ll stick with what I have.  No more daydreaming.

As I ended my day at home, I thought of how I just wanted to shut myself in my house, away from the chaos, unrest, greed, and self-importance illuminated in the world.  As I thought further, my heart broke for them as I realized that in their day-to-day lives they continually feel inferior with something to prove, someone to always impress.  Even when they do have confidence, it is short-lived because it’s placed in temporary things in a fallen world and some bigger dog always comes along with more power, more money, and more fame.  There is no peace for them.  In that moment, I knew that though I didn’t want to be in their world any longer, I needed to be.  They were ignorant to the Truth, and if I closed myself in, who would show them?  The light that had shone upon their darkness was coming out through me!  They need to know what God gives me everyday – pure confidence in who I am because of Who He is.  No need to measure up or impress another man.  One Lord to serve and a multitude of blessings that come forth that money and titles can’t buy—Peace, joy, rest, hope, purpose and on and on to eternity.  It's dark out there and they need to see.  

The more we see in the world, the less we want to be in it, yet the more we see we need to be.  

Go let your light shine!

Clarity

I am fascinated by the stars, especially this time of year.  The seasons are beginning to change and a crisp, coolness is in the breeze.  The air is welcomed by my lungs.  The night skies are cloudless and the moon shines bright.  If spring is to new beginnings then fall is to reflection.  And, gazing up to that sky, I am doing just that.

Earlier this year, after being unable to answer the question in the New Year’s message “What did you do with 2010,” I determined to climb out of the pity-hole I had dug for myself.   I wasn’t going to let life pass me by.  Shortly after, I found myself at a decision point in a series of circumstances I had labeled “From God” merely because they were what I wanted to do and I had justified it was all for a good purpose.  Yet, when it came to making the decision to move forward, I heard a distinct “No.”  Instead of following that instruction, I pushed the mute button and talked over it, rationalizing how it was good for me to do and also good for God, claiming that obviously all of the events leading to it weren’t just strange coincidences.  I enjoyed what I would be saying yes to do, I would be serving, and I would be getting involved in a group with others--the reasons I told myself yes were as good as they were limitless.

As I went forward with my decision, I faced tough consequences.  I found myself in situations I hadn’t encountered in years.  When put to the test repeatedly, repeatedly I failed.  When I had the chance to show strength, my witness was weak.  I desperately wanted the friends and family feeling I had been coveting, but even while in their presence, still I felt like an outsider.  Though I tried so badly outwardly to fit in, I was still inwardly different.  Labeled as quiet, I would watch and listen, seeing what I thought I needed to be but knowing that it didn’t match who I was or what God had brought me up to be.  I shed tears.  I had my heart crushed…But, God.

Back to present, staring in this starry expanse, I see His glory.  I see the face in the moon, understanding and not critical, and I hear the words “All this I tried to keep from you.”  And letting the night breeze blow across my face, I have clarity.  How one simple “Yes” took my life down a series of steps I wasn’t supposed to have taken--pain that could have been avoided, character that could have remained in-tact.  Where I had seen only one small choice, a Yes or No to one simple thing, He had seen the downward spiral that would eventually unwind.  Yet, right here standing in His majesty, I smile, realizing He also knew I would come now to this very moment, closer to Him than ever before.   

True to His Word, He works all things out for the good of those whom believe in Him.  Although disobedient, He took that Yes that should have been a No and my subsequent repentance and has put me back on His path.  Through this experience, I was able to get to know more of those whom I was serving and have since filled other needed roles.  He has placed me in positions where I can be true to myself and not compromising.  Faces now have names.  I am greeted with hugs.  I now have younger brothers and sisters, mothers, fathers, and friends.  I laugh with them.  I talk serious with them.  I teach.  I learn.  I grow.  And with God, I go on.  I’m back to where I started six months ago, but further down the road, equipped with yet another testament to His unlimited supply of grace and mercy which He continues to pour out on a wretch like me.  I once was blind, but now I see.

Make 'Em Want It

An astute business leader commented to me not long ago that it was his mission to find what each of his laborers had studied and to put this knowledge to good use in the workplace.  The math major would assist with bookkeeping, naturally, an English major would assist with editing publications, and I, as a marketing major, would assist with creating ideas to publicize and popularize our ventures.  

Though he admitted he didn’t study marketing and didn’t know its fundamentals, to his credit, he nailed the basic principle when he said “Find a way to make this thing exciting to people.  Make 'em want it!”  Isn’t that it?  Isn’t that what marketers do – take what they have and make it exciting?  Don’t they make the product or service look like something that someone can’t live one more day without?  It’s the buzz, the excitement, the passion.  “I want that!  I need to have that!”  It’s the energy, the flair, the authenticity.  We can tell when we’re being sold, when the message isn’t genuine. Surely, no one will ever buy a product with a tagline “Try this and you’ll definitely be disappointed.”  Doubtfully would one buy from someone whose expression is more of woe than the “Whoa!” they proclaim.

Yet, sometimes, is this not how the world may see some Christians today?  We talk of this salvation we have, this hope in us, our church, our songs, and on and on.  But what do they see along with that?  Is there a genuine passion behind the message or just some sales pitch?  Do we sing “How great is our God,” yet walk around deflated and defeated?  Do our expressions speak woe is me at the same time our mouths say “Jesus loves me?”  How are we marketing Christ to others?  Do we endure situations in a manner that people take notice?   Do they see our joy and our peace even in the midst of chaos and go “I want that?”  This is the one thing they can’t live one more day without and today might be the only day.  Fortunately, supplies aren’t limited and the phone lines are never busy.  

Would you buy what you’ve been selling these days?