August 31, 2018

Words Reveal the Heart

“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

– Luke 6:45

On the surface, she is a good person. She is a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She volunteers at church. She works hard at her job. She is a go-getter who gets things done.

Then there is the rest of the story. She is an arrogant bully who uses whatever means necessary – gossip, lies, political backstabbing – to get her own way. Even at church, where such things should never be in the equation, she is known as a bully. Ouch.

Do you know someone like her? Are you that person? Do you display an attitude if people don’t agree with your suggestions? Do you get angry and talk bitterly behind someone’s back when they choose something different? Are you a win-at-all-costs kind of person?

It’s as though we’ve developed a disconnect between living as Jesus and living to get what we want. In Jesus’ name, of course. We believe that it doesn’t matter how we reach our end goal. We justify our behavior as being okay because it’s for a worthy cause. It’s not okay.

I recently watched this woman turn to ice and struggle to even speak because she was so angry. The reason? Someone else decided to place a combination lock on a cabinet rather than the key lock she chose. What difference did it make? More people would have access to supplies without having to track down a key. It made sense. But it wasn’t her idea and she was furious.

When we find ourselves getting overly upset about small things, maybe it’s time to do a heart check. When we become furious because someone doesn’t do things exactly the way we think they should be done, maybe it’s time to rethink our motives. Pride comes immediately to mind. So do control issues.

Who’s in charge of your life? Who’s in charge of your heart? If the answer is anyone other than Jesus, then you’ve got a problem that impacts everyone around you. As Christians, we’re called to live for Jesus. Our words and our behavior should reflect that.

The hard truth is that we’re not always going to get our own way. And that’s okay. The hard truth is that not every idea we have is going to be well received by others. And that’s okay. The hard truth is that not everyone is always going to like how we do things. And that’s okay.

Life has taught me to let go of the small things that don’t really matter in the end. I’ve learned to let things roll off my shoulders when they don’t make a difference to Jesus. Consequently, I’ve grown stronger in standing up for things that really do matter. I’ve become someone who won’t back down when it comes to Biblical truths and decency.

We’re on the same team, you and I. We’re Christians trying to live as Jesus’ light in a dark and trying world. It’s when we lose sight of that, when we try to make it about us, that we end up spewing out anger and bitterness that have no place in God’s Kingdom.

So, the next time you get ready to have an attitude with someone else, look in the mirror first. You might find that the real problem lies in your heart.

May 5, 2016

Treat Your Enemies Well

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” -- Luke 6:27-28

Have you ever had to regularly deal with someone who hates you? Maybe a co-worker? Or another church member? (That happens more often than we like to admit.) Or maybe it’s a family member?

It’s hard to love someone who hates you, isn’t it? It’s hard to pray for people who are lying about you and trying to harm you. It’s difficult to do good and be kind to someone who wishes you were dead.

Yet this is exactly what Jesus tells us to do.

Do they deserve it? No. But neither do I deserve His love, forgiveness, and grace. I remind myself of that regularly, as I struggle with these words of Jesus.

Jesus was telling the Jewish people to treat the Romans who oppressed them with respect. He no doubt lost a few followers over that one. We don’t want to be kind to people who wish us harm.

It’s understandable. Our human reflex is to fight, to defend ourselves, to lash out with words that refute their lies. And then it escalates. No one wins. Everyone loses. And you are left more broken than before.

So you remain silent. You walk away from the conflict. You do good where you can. You stay strong, not because you are strong but because God is strong.

This is where you take it all to Him. You get down on your knees and, in the words of one Bible teacher, you tattle on the person who seeks to harm you. That’s right. Tell God all about it. Pour out your hurt and your anger, rant about the unfairness of being blamed for someone else’s mistake. Tell God how upset you are that someone else took credit for your idea.

Then get up and leave it with God. That’s the hardest part. Leaving it with Him and trusting Him to take care of it. Sometimes I think that’s the only way to get through it all is to know that God will always avenge those who belong to Him. Always. His Word is so clear on that. Be patient. Do your part to follow Him and trust God to fight for you.

January 29, 2016

Search Your Heart

"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." -- Luke 6:45

Several of us are participating in a Bible study on prayer. We are spending a lot of time looking inward at motives. How often do we tell ourselves we are doing something for someone else when in reality we are doing it for ourselves?

Let’s look at it another way: Someone at church mentions a prayer request. Prayers are good and powerful, especially when done collectively. But what happens when the questions start? Everyone is curious and pretty soon that prayer request has turned into a gossip session. Did the questions come from true concern or not? Will God bless those prayers? Maybe it all started as a genuine need but when and where did it cross the line?

Let’s consider another case: When you do something good for someone are you doing it because you truly want to do it for them or because you want to be recognized for doing good? It all comes back to motives. Maybe the truth is actually both. You want the recognition and you want to do good. Which do you think will most honor God? Yeah. To God be the glory, not you. Wrong motives are never a good idea.

Most of us want to do the right thing. We want to be good people. But that human part of us also wants recognition. We want to be in control. We are selfish. Arrogant. We “know” that we are right as we pray for others to come to our way of thinking.

Look at your heart. Search it. Be very sure that your motives are pure. Doing the “right thing” is always the wrong thing when your heart is wrong. Don’t try to bluff through it because it will blow up in your face. God knows. He sees. The heart always, always reveals itself.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Do Good To People Who Harm You

“But if you are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Pray for the happiness of those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on the cheek, turn the other cheek. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give what you have to anyone who asks you for it; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do for others as you would have them to do for you.” -- Luke 6:27-31 (NLT)

The other day two friends and I got to talking about people who use other people. You’ve probably got someone like that in your life. They take advantage of your generosity, your good will, your time and talents. And when you finally tell them no, they leave in a snit as though they are the wronged party.

It’s actually kind of funny -- so long as you’re aware of the situation. As one friend said, she knew all along that the person was using her. She let it happen because she was doing something she wanted to do. And when she didn’t, she just said no. And now the person isn’t speaking to her. Oh, well. My friend isn’t shedding any tears.

As God’s people we are called to do good to other people, including those who hate us, hurt us, curse us, and worse. It’s the love we have for those who wrong us that sets us apart from others.

It isn’t always easy. In fact, sometimes it’s absolutely hard. Especially when people get upset and angry with you when you won’t do what they ask.

Another friend has struggled with doing God’s will and not being taken advantage of and used by his neighbor. The man uses people and brags about it. My friend is tired of always being called on to be his driver. I don’t blame him. It sounds like his neighbor has crossed a line and my friend is in danger of being an enabler.

Because as much as we want to help people, as much as we are called to do good, we also want people to help themselves. We want people to take responsibility. And we don’t want people to have an attitude when we have to say no, even if it’s something that we want to do.

Yeah, there is that. Sometimes we have to say no even when it’s something we really wish we could do. And those who are users, as opposed to simply people we love, are the ones getting all upset because they didn’t get what they wanted from us.

And still we do good. We love. We care. We help where we can. We try to treat them as we wish they would treat us. Again and again. Because it’s what Jesus would have us do.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Do Good To All People

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” -- Luke 6:27-28

Nobody was in agreement. There was a bit of polarization. Some heated words. Some of us shaking our heads. It’s just what happens when you put 12 people with diverse backgrounds and views in a room and tell them to make a decision.

One woman -- one of those take charge folks -- brought up the second commandment. She looked at me, no doubt taking in the silver cross I wear most everywhere. I fought back a chuckle. She wanted us to love everyone -- so long as everyone agreed with her.

I let it go. There was no point in a Bible lesson during a jury deliberation. But it was just so typical of how we view love. We want to love those we want to love. And we want to hate, or at least dislike, those we don’t want to like. And we want to pretend that Jesus never told us to love our enemies and to do good to those who hurt you.

I’m not saying it’s easy. It isn’t. Some days are all about forgiving, over and over again. And praying for those who harm you. Again and again and again. Because some hurts never seem to end and some people never seem to change. But it really isn’t about those who harm us. It’s about our relationship with God.

We were an odd assortment of folks. The unemployed man, with the foul mouth and worse attitude. The young girl, barely 20, who was so impressed with herself. I wanted to tell her she didn’t know a fraction of what she thought she did but I figured she’d learn that herself over time. We all do.

The quiet jury foreman seemed intelligent, well-spoken, reasoned. Two women barely said a word. Another bemoaned the state of our sue-happy society. Reasonable damages. Nothing excessive, just because some wanted to reward the underdog. Just the facts.

Another woman had an attitude about the defendant. She didn’t like him and didn’t mind showing it. He was arrogant, she told us all. Cocky, she said. I wondered what, or who, had hurt her so badly. Because her attitude had nothing to do with the case.

Isn’t that how it often is? We have an attitude with someone because of something someone else did to us. We dislike a company because one employee was incompetent. We leave a church because one person hurt our feelings. Or we look down on someone because of their address, the color of their skin, the car they drive or their financial status.

Love your enemies. Love those who are different. Embrace those who disagree with you. See good, even if you have to search for it. Because we all have good in us and we all have bad.

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.” -- Luke 6:31

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Love Your Enemies

"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." -- Luke 6:35-36

This is a hard one, don't you think? It sounds good. It is good. I mean, it's in the Bible. But what exactly does loving your enemies mean? Forgiving them, for sure. Also, doing good things for them, again and again, even when they do bad things to you. It kind of goes against our human nature.

I can handle the outright enemies. Those you easily identify. It's easy to keep your guard up because they don't even try to hide the zingers headed your way. You smile anyway. You fake it when you must. You pray a lot and remind yourself that doing good for your enemies is what God wants. Revenge is His. You repeat this many, many times during and after each encounter.

The other type of enemies aren't so easy to deal with. They are the ones that kiss-kiss and pretend to be your friend. They just love you, so they claim. Their attacks come from out of nowhere, hitting straight for the heart every time. They are people in your family, people in your workplace, people in your church. Maybe, once, they were even friends.

It's so easy to be lured into letting your guard down. They seem so nice. They know you well enough to know exactly what to say and when to say it. You want to believe they've changed. You want to let them back into your heart. You want to love and care for them.

What they can't get past is their own jealousy and greed. They don't want you to succeed. They don't want you to be happy. They don't want to share the spotlight or the affections of those around you both. And the only way they know to cope is to destroy you anyway they can. Those are the people that hurt you again and again even as you forgive them again and again.

Now I'm not advocating letting people abuse you. You have to stand up for yourself and remove violent and verbally abusive people from your presence. God doesn't expect anyone to live that way. I believe that with all my heart.

But I also know that the old saying about killing them with kindness does apply. Your enemies don't know what to do with you when you're nice to them despite their best efforts to destroy you. So be kind. Be nice. Love your enemies. Who knows? Maybe by walking a path the Bible lays out, you'll show someone what it's really like to love Christ.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Build A Strong Foundation

"I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hear's my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment for torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete." -- Luke 6:47-49

Alex is churning in the waters off the coast of Mexico. The oil spill in the Gulf seems to be on a path of never-ending destruction. The waves are getting higher. It seems impossible that we can get through this storm and the almost certainty of another one as the hurricane season and oil spill continue.

These storms are but two in the storms of life. I know. They're pretty massive, especially the one closest to home. Our Gulf has forever been changed by the mistakes of a greedy company. We can either cave in to the pressure and stop fighting or we can stand tall and kneel down in humility before our God.

That's the thing about faith and storms. A person with strong faith can weather any storm. But a person with a weak faith will be battered and tossed around until the storm destroys it. I think that's what Jesus was saying in this passage. It's easy to be faithful, to believe, when the waters around us are calm. But the storm, well, that changes things. It sifts the strong from the weak.

It is so important to build our spiritual foundation on Solid Rock. To read and study. To pray. To listen to God's voice. To do those things each day, whether we think we have time or not. Because when the storm hits, we won't have time to wish for what we didn't do. We will flounder because we didn't sink our foundation in His Word when our lives were calm.

We have a choice each day. A person with active faith builds on their foundation every day. A person with inactive faith doesn't have the time. Which path do you follow? How will you weather the storms of life?