February 24, 2018

Help One Another

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2

I am blessed to find myself surrounded by a tribe of good and wonderful people. Most are not related by blood but they are the truest of true when it comes to being faithful.

Do you have your own tribe? Everyone needs people who will drop everything and come when they are needed. Everyone needs people who will love them no matter what. Everyone needs people who will speak truth and kindness into their lives. And everyone needs people who know when all we really need is a listening ear and an open heart.

Some people try to do life alone. It’s a hard journey.  We allow our pride or self-reliance to dictate our steps. Can you imagine the loneliness?

Others allow fear to hold them back. What if they are rejected for their failings? What if others condemn their insecurities, their past, their mistakes? It could happen. Maybe it has happened.

Building a tribe isn’t an easy road. That probably isn’t what you want to hear. Sometimes we make the mistake of trusting the wrong person. That doesn’t mean we should give up. We need each other.

How do we help each other? Sometimes it’s simply listening to the cries of a broken heart. Sometimes it is offering practical assistance with a task at hand. Other times it is by offering godly counsel.

We probably all know someone who thinks he’s got it together. He’s quick to tell you what to do. He’s determined to live your life right along with his own life. He would never make the mistakes you’ve made.

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load. – Galatians 6:3-5

Don’t let anyone’s grandiose boasts make you think they’ve never made mistakes and never needed help. They have. Each of us is responsible for our own journey. Failing to understand that comes from pride and arrogance.

So does this notion that we must live up to the standards of other people. The thing about standards and expectations others hold up for us is that they are impossible for anyone, including the person looking down on us. Life is messy and wrought with traps that will trip us up. We need people who will help us, not weigh us down with their rules and regulations.

“They (the Pharisees) tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” – Matthew 23:4

We all go through different seasons of life. Some of those seasons are awesome and we feel a strength that can only come from God. Other seasons are filled with stress and worry, when we struggle to remember God’s promises over our lives. It is then when we most need someone to speak truth into our midst. We need to be reminded that we are not alone, we do have worth, this season will pass.

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

– Romans 15:1

I hope you have a group of supporters who love and cherish you. And I hope you are that for others. It is truly a blessing beyond words.

February 6, 2018

Do What's Inconvenient

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2

It was an ordinary outpatient procedure, albeit in a different hospital than the one we were accustomed to. After all that had happened, this was just so very minor.

We had found our way to the right place. We’d done the paperwork (There is always paperwork!) and waited our turn. We followed a nurse down a long hallway, my parents and I. Mother was readied for the procedure and there we sat. And sat. And sat.

My Dad was never one to miss a meal so he headed across the street to a fast food restaurant, promising to bring something back for me. We were still sitting there when he returned. Mother got more aggravated with each passing moment. We’d been in that shabby room for hours.

Finally! A nurse came to collect her. And another nurse informed my Dad and I that we would need to move to the appropriate waiting room, some distance away. I gathered up all our things: Mother’s purse and mine, another bag with snacks, medicine and paperwork, two jackets, her walking stick, yet another bag with her clothes and my Diet Coke. I looked over at my Dad. He carried his Diet Coke in one hand and tightly clutched a bag carrying a second burger in the other hand. Away we went.

This was quite normal in my world, me laden down with everyone’s things. I sure wish I’d had a camera ready, though, to take a photo of the volunteer’s face when we finally entered the correct waiting room. Her eyes opened wide and her mouth fell open as I entered, balancing everything so I could hold the door open for my Dad.

I just shrugged. She shook her head. Welcome to my world.

The other day I drove my cousin to see her daughter who was in a hospital ICU some distance away. People told me I was kind. What a good thing, someone said. It was my turn to shake my head. Of course, I’d driven her. I didn’t need praise for doing it. She wasn’t able to drive herself and she needed to go.

The real question for me was why no one else had offered to drive her. I wasn’t the only one who could have done so. I wasn’t the only relative or friend or church member. There were plenty who could have helped. They chose not to.

We’re always ready to do our part so long as it doesn’t inconvenience us. We’re happy to help by writing a check or doing something fun. But, honestly, there’s nothing fun about a long drive and a day in the hospital.

The Bible has numerous accounts of Jesus being inconvenienced by others. He didn’t seem to mind. He never pushed his obligations off on someone else. He never dismissed someone in need with the obligatory “I’ll pray for you.” Jesus did what He could where He was. How can we do anything less?

I’m not saying we should all do everything someone else asks us to do. I’m not suggesting that we should attempt to meet every need in this fallen world around us. But neither is it okay to stay in our insulated little world and let someone else always step up to do what we can but won’t.

We are to carry each other’s burdens. Anybody can be there for the celebratory meal or the grand event. Be there during the tough times. Make the sacrifices. Roll your sleeves up and work. That’s when your true faith emerges. That’s when your blessings abound.

February 1, 2018

End The Comparisons

Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else. – Galatians 6:4

Why do we always want what someone else has? Why are we never content to be the person God created us to be? Why are we needlessly comparing ourselves to others, finding either ourselves or the other person to be lacking?

Life is not a competition. God created each of us to be unique and to offer our gifts up to His service and for His glory. It doesn’t matter what someone else is or isn’t doing. That really isn’t what it’s all about.

This constant comparison drives a wedge where friendship should be. It shifts our focus from Jesus and on to things of the world. We were meant to build each other up not tear each other down.

We want to be thin like our co-worker. We want to throw awesome birthday parties like the mom down the street. We want to have a house as large as our sibling. We want to teach others about Jesus like the man who sits on the pew in front of us.

It doesn’t matter that our body shape is different from our co-worker. It doesn’t matter that the other mom loves to craft while our gift is more about gardening. What difference does a house size matter when you have to work 80 hours each week just to pay the mortgage? And praise the man called to teach. Maybe your gift is working with the nursery or the elderly.

That’s the thing. We all have different gifts. What if everyone had the gift of teaching adult Sunday school? Who would rock the babies in the nursery? Who would teach the children? Who would guide the youth? Who would help the elderly get safely to where they needed to be?

It’s no different in other areas of our lives. Some people are athletic and can run for miles. Others get more done through walking. Some people are born to lead and direct the multitudes. Others are happier and more productive being worker bees. One is not greater than the other. All are necessary.

What’s worse is that we allow all these comparisons to draw a wedge between people we should love and support. We’re so busy comparing our lives to theirs – either for the good or the bad – that we forget to be the cheerleaders. We forget to do our part. We forget that it’s not about them. And it’s not about us. It’s about Jesus. It’s always been about Jesus.

So don’t worry if the person next to you in gym can do more sit-ups than you can. And don’t worry that your co-worker got a promotion. Just focus on being the very best you possible. Walk humbly with God on the path He set before you. Focus your eyes on Jesus and do your part when God has placed you.

March 15, 2016

Pride Makes Us Blind

If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.

-- Galatians 6:3

Many years ago a co-worker spent his mornings sipping coffee and pondering his wife’s unhappiness. He considered PMS. He considered her job. He considered everything but himself.

One day he came in with what could only be described as a shell-shocked look on his wife. He refused to talk. It eventually came out. His wife wanted a divorce.

He was a good man. Really. What he wanted most in life was to care for and provide for his wife and child. What he never considered was what she might want. He assumed he knew what she wanted. Even when she grew increasingly unhappy, he assumed he could figure it out and fix it. Fix her.

That should have been a tip off. It wasn’t. Whenever we feel the need to fix someone else, we should start looking in the mirror and seeing where we need to fix ourselves. Because it is pride looking down on someone else.

I remembered this recently when I witnessed yet another situation. Someone trying to fix someone else. You can’t. Only God can. And who says that we know best? We do. And who are we to judge? It’s not my job and it’s not your job.

Let me ask you another question: When something goes wrong, who do you blame? Yourself of the other person? How many people squabble over insignificant things just so they can be right? Who cares?! It’s pride, plain and simple.

Whatever happened to considering the other person first? What ever became of compromise and trying to look at things from the other person’s perspective? We don’t do that anymore. We’re too self-focused. We’re too filled with pride in ourselves to think about anyone else -- even when we really love them. Because we love ourselves more.

That dear man eventually recovered. So do we. But do we ever learn?

A man’s pride will bring him low,
But the humble in spirit will retain honor.

-- Proverbs 29:23

Every time.

January 27, 2016

Sow Kindness

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. -- Galatians 6:9

There’s a scene in the movie War Room where one man stops and changes the tire on another car. Simple enough. Except, not really. Earlier in the movie the man with the flat tire and had hatefully argued that the other man should be prosecuted for his wrongs. And the other man, well, he had turned his life around and recommitted himself to God.

So he did the right thing.

It shocked the man with the flat tire. Maybe it even touched his hard heart. He wasn’t used to somebody doing something good, somebody he’d condemned, somebody who wasn’t going to benefit from the good deed.

We’re a little like that, aren’t we? We always look for the ulterior motive. We justify our own lack of kindness with the excuse that nobody would do it for us. Somehow we think that makes it alright. It doesn’t.

As God’s people, we’re to do good where we can, anyway that we can. Not because we expect to get anything out of it. Not because we think the other person deserves it. Not because it’s convenient or we’ll look good or we feel like it. We’re to do good because it is what He has called us to do.

We grow weary sometimes. We are condemned. Criticized. Judged. And yet we are to do good anyway.

The man in the movie did something wrong. He did. He admitted it -- belatedly I might add. But he admitted what he had done even though he knew that jail was a possibility. He did what was right. Fortunately, another man offered him grace that could only come from God.

Do good. Treat others as you want to be treated. Sow kindness. Lend a helping hand. Live your life so that others see Jesus in you.

January 10, 2016

Choose To Do Good

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. -- Galatians 6:7-10

“A man reaps what he sows.” How many times have you heard that phrase thrown out? It usually comes when someone (maybe us?) is judging someone else and that person is getting what we believe he deserves. We forget that others could say the same of us.

It’s what happens when we lose focus on what’s really important in life. It’s what happens when we forget about mercy and kindness and love.

Who has never made a mistake? No one. Just Jesus. That’s it. But we like to categorize things. We value ourselves more than others and we show that by cutting them down in a vain effort to build ourselves up.

We become that proud couple bragging on their new son-in-law. They go on and on about his money as though it’s really important. Does he know Jesus? Does he attend church? Volunteer? Is he kind? Compassionate? None of that seems to matter. It’s his bank account they look at. They are not alone.

“God cannot be mocked.” That phrase keeps echoing in my mind. It always seems to come back to the heart. What does your heart tell you? Do you choose to gossip and spread lies and put others down? Or do you choose to do good despite the costs? God knows. You can’t hide your heart from Him.

We all reap what we sow. Choose to sow kindness and compassion. Choose to sow God’s love in this dark, dark, world. Choose to do good despite the costs.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Do Good Despite Fatigue

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. -- Galatians 6:9

Fatigue slowed my steps and colored my words. I was overwhelmed by needs and was ready to just give up. Who could possibly do it all? And why should I? Others vowed they would help and, yet, where were they?

It was one of those times when I would have sat down and cried if I hadn’t been so tired. Know what I mean? I think most of us have seasons like that. We know they won’t last but that doesn’t make the journey any easier.

I’ve no one to blame but myself. It was my idea. Well, no, actually it wasn’t. It was God’s idea. And it’s a good one. This ministry aimed at helping those who are older or really sick was needed. People were falling through the cracks. It was becoming more a matter of who you knew as to whether you received help from your church family or not. And that is never a good thing.

It started slowly. We had a list of names and a few volunteers. Then a few more names and a few more volunteers. The needs were simple. Organize yard work. Send out cards. Host a small birthday party. Make a few phone calls.

And then they weren’t. Because people who are sick sometimes get sicker. And people who are older sometimes get less mobile. And word gets out that you’ll help, and you will. And then there are more needs than people and there you are, trying to juggle it all and knowing deep inside that whatever you do just isn’t enough.

That’s where I was at. I sat down with my pastor and told him someone else needs to take over. Someone who can devote far more time than me but someone who also has a heart for people in need. Because that’s what it’s all about. Helping people when they need it most.

But first you have to see the needs. It’s amazing to me that so many people simply don’t. One man is an almost full-time caregiver to a wife that is battling lung and brain cancer. The “almost” is because he has to continue working to provide insurance and support them both. And yet their Sunday school class didn’t consider the need for food deliveries. They were quick to help when I mentioned it, but they hadn’t thought of it before.

And then there’s the older gentleman lovingly caring for his wife as she slips further and further behind the curtain of Alzheimer’s. People had offered to sit with his wife but he’d always said no. “How do you know if people really mean it,” he asked me. So I gathered a list of names and phone numbers of people who really meant it and gave it to him. Something simple that will make all the difference in the world to him.

We are not to get tired of doing good. We are to cast our cares onto Jesus, knowing He is strong enough for both of us. But we are also meant to share the burdens and tragedies and trials of those around us. All of us. Love our neighbors. Do good where we can. Even when we’re tired and weary.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Avoid Bad Influences

Dear brothers and sisters, if another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. -- Galatians 6:1

Some people are best avoided. I know. It’s just plain and simple advice. All of us have people in our lives who bring out the worst in us and the best way to deal with it is to just avoid being around them as much as we can.

The reasons they are a bad influence are varied. Maybe they aren’t honest. Maybe they have a drug or alcohol problem. Maybe they don’t share your values. Whatever the reason, they seem determined to take you down with them.

You’ve heard the comments. “Oh, what’s one more drink?” or “Surely, you can afford to buy that for yourself?” or “It’s okay. Nobody will ever know who took it.” Yeah. They’ve got a lot of excuses.

And if you don’t go along, they’ve got plenty to say about that too. “What are you, a goody two-shoes?” “Surely you don’t need to check with your spouse about every thing you buy?” or “Are you afraid you can’t handle it?” They’d like to force you into doing what they want by turning it into an issue of pride or respect.

If you’re wise, you resist. But sometimes it’s hard. It really is. Because you want that new pair of shoes you really don’t need and can’t afford. Or you figure who’ll notice those office supplies missing. Or you tell yourself that one more drink can’t possibly make that much difference in your ability to drive home. Temptation is everywhere.

There’s another group of people that’s best to avoid as well. Those are the ones who really get on your nerves. They call you incessantly. They ask the same questions again and again. They’re slow. They’re clumsy. They’re, well, they just can’t help being who they are anymore than you can help being who you are.

But they make it really hard to control that evil tongue of yours. You find yourself wanting to lash out in the worst way. You dislike yourself for disliking them. You even think bad thoughts about them. You know it’s all sin. We’re supposed to love everyone, especially the people we really don’t like.

So, sometimes the best course of action is to stay away from people who lead you to sin. I know sometimes it’s not easy. Family members are some of the worst when it come to this. But the more you limit your time with them, the easier it will be to resist the temptations. And the more you resist the temptations, the better influence you’ll be for them.

And that’s how it should be. Paul tells us to help people return to the right path but he also warned us about not falling into that temptation ourselves. Sometimes that means keeping those who tempt us with their sin at a healthy distance from our lives.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Welcome God With Open Arms

Don’t be misled. Remember that you can’t ignore God and get away with it. You will always reap what you sow!

-- Galatians 6:7 (NLT)

Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. -- Galatians 6:7 (NIV)

It’s good to read different versions of the Bible. Contrary to what some folks believe, the King James Bible wasn’t the first translation. While I own several of those, along with the New King James Version, I’ve spent most of my study time with the New International Version. This year I’m reading the New Living Translation. I still go back to the NIV sometimes. I like to compare versions. I’ve come to really appreciate the plainness of the NLT.

Like in Galatians. It just tells the truth. You can’t ignore God. Best not to even try. Ever. Bad things happen when you try to ignore what God wants you to do. That’s one of those been there, done that, don’t ever want to go back things. Know what I’m talking about? Yeah, most people have been there once or twice.

I was talking earlier with a young man who has turned his life around. He laughingly told me he really didn’t understand how he’d survived his past. His life is different now, focused on God and his child and rebuilding a life that had hit bottom. Now he chooses God and that has made all the difference.

Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful desires will harvest the consequences of decay and death. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. -- Galatians 6:8

When we focus our lives on ourselves, we miss the point. Or, to be blunt, we miss the Spirit. How can we love others and not consider them? How can we do good to others and always put our own needs first? How can we follow Jesus and ignore everything He taught us?

Life changes when you start living out in the open. A light shines on your path and the way seems clear for the first time. You’re no longer ignoring God. Your arms are wide-open and you’re embracing Him. It feels really good, doesn’t it?

Friday, May 6, 2011

Each Person Is Unique

Be sure to do what you should, for then you will enjoy the personal satisfaction of having done your work well, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else. -- Galatians 6:4

Have you ever had someone else's jealous eyes focused on you? Have you ever been put down and condemned because someone else needed to make you less in order to try and make themselves better? It's not a lot of fun. In fact, it's downright uncomfortable.

Yet, here we are. Always wanting something someone else has, whether it's a promotion or a new dress or a house with a swimmng pool. Or maybe it's someone else's spouse, children or life. We think that if we have what someone else has, then we'll be happier, more fulfilled, accepted by the right people. It never works, of course.

I still remember the first time I felt the dagger of jealousy. It was over something stupid. Really. My lipstick stayed on all day and hers didn't. I shared the tip and the jealousy calmed itself. Until next time. Because there is always a next time. Unhappy people always seem to be looking elsewhere to change themselves.

I've learned to just get on with my life and try to follow the path God has laid out for me. I can't change how other people feel or how they react. I've also tried to quell my own jealousies. Because we all have them for time to time. The key is to recognize them and dismiss them as the foolishness they are.

God has gifted us all with different personalities, different skills and talents. We should use our unique abilities to do what God has called us to do. And let others do the same.

Monday, February 28, 2011

Show Kindness

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." -- Galatians 6:9

 A college professor once said that she never returned a paper without at least finding one good thing about it. Sometimes it was difficult but she kept at it until she found something she could genuinely compliment the student on. The reason? She wanted every student to have hope that the next paper could be better.

It's difficult to see the good in some people. They just seem to rub us the wrong way. They make mistake after mistake, tripping themselves up in self-destruction. They build themselves up by tearing other people -- including you -- down. They're negative and angry and just hard to like. Like them anyway.

We aren't called to judge others. We are called to love those around us. We don't know the heart of that angry person. We don't see the brokenness that comes with self-destruction. We don't feel the insecurity that urges a person to put others down so they can feel better about themselves. Only God sees our hearts. And loves us anyway.

Maybe we should take a bit of advice from that college professor and determine that we will find something good in each and every person we encounter. We'll strive to view everyone through the eyes of Jesus, looking past the outward struggles and looking inward toward the scarred and broken heart that lies within. We'll look for something unique and wonderful to sincerely compliment. We'll show kindness instead of rejection. We'll offer compassion rather than criticism. We'll radiate Jesus' light instead of wallowing in Satan's darkness.

We may not see anything good come in that moment. We may not see it while we walk this earth. But one day we'll see the harvest that comes when we let others see Jesus living inside of us.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Compare Yourself to Yourself

"If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else." -- Galatians 6:3-4

My Mother received a call from someone she knows today. The woman -- a good woman, I might add -- had called to brag about her latest piece of diamond jewelry. Mother was so angry by the end of the conversation. Apparently, the woman bragged on and on about all the jewelry she has and plans to get. She specifically mentioned shopping for a necklace like the one my Mother wears. Fortunately, she didn't find one.

This isn't the first time she's called to brag about something. As I tried to douse the fires of anger, I reminded Mother that only really sad people try to fill a hole in themselves with things. Even sadder are those who try to copy what other people have.

Now, I need to be clear about something. I'm not talking about a friend calling to share wonderful news of a job promotion, a new grandchild or even a new car. I'm talking about someone who endlessly needs to buy things and call others to gloat in the manner of  "look what I've got and you don't have."

We all know people like that. If we get a new outfit, they get a new outfit. If our child makes straight A's, their child makes straight A+'s. It's a constant one-upmanship because they can never be enough for themselves.

It's difficult not to get angry. It's even harder not to lash out or, worse, to be drawn into that same old game. What's the point? All that matters is that we be the best people we can be. We should follow God's plan for us and not worry about all the stuff that tends to cloud the way. None of those things matter anyway. Those things are going with us when we die. And, you know, we won't even care when we get there.