Recently, I've been thinking more about the divide between the materialistic culture that we live in and the extreme poverty in other countries (and even across town). I know as a Christian, I'm commanded to have compassion and be generous to those in need. But, what does that look like?
It seems insufficient to me to give a small percentage of what I make to missions and relief, when I can afford to live a very nice lifestyle. It has me wondering if I need to be making some sacrifices for the sake of being generous to others and helping to spread Christ to the nations.
I've always raised an eyebrow at Christians who seem to be pursuing monetary gain at the expense of being able to support missions & relief. But, what makes me any different from them? Sure, I may not have as big a house or expensive stuff, but I still have nice stuff, have 2 cars and pretty much am able to have what I want, when I want it. I'm thankful that God has blessed me financially, but I know that it's not just for my own enjoyment, but to ultimately glorify Him through a thankful attitude and a generous heart.
So, I've been thinking lately about what I could do to simplify my consumption and be able to give more away. I'm thinking of ditching the digital cable... hard to spend $40-50 bucks extra a month when you watch TV a grand total of (maybe) 4 hours a week. I've also been toying with the idea of consolidating down to one car. I love my new car and it's a lot of fun, but I can't help but think how much better use I could put that money to... supporting missions/relief, investing, etc. I'm still just trying to think things over and figure out how to best honor God with this area of life, realizing that it's only one part of the bigger picture.
To my blog readers, I certainly welcome suggestions.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Monday, May 22, 2006
God blessed the broken road
Well, if Sam is reading this, I think I'm about to lose some cool points... I'm blogging about a country song. I have heard Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts on the radio several times recently and the lyrics really do have some pretty awesome meaning to them. To see the lyrics, go to this site. This really got me thinking about how true this has been in my life.
I spent years of my life (almost 20 of them) looking around for something that would make me happy or satisfy me- money, success, pleasure, relationships and found these all to be false hopes that only left me still looking. There were some pretty awful times of letdown and depression when I discovered that yet another false hope I had ended up letting me down.
Then, about five and a half years ago, instead of finding what I was looking for, He found me. I discovered that the satisfaction and joy I searched for could only be found in Christ. It was so freeing to realize (as I'm still learning today) that true joy and delight is only found in God Himself and not His blessings, or anything else short of Him.
It's easy looking back to have regrets about things I've done or wish I hadn't gone through some of what I have. But, I can also see the purpose behind them- these things were like northern stars, leading me to God's arms and have played a role in making me who I am. I also would not be nearly as able to relate to others and help them if I hadn't experienced some of what I have.
Life is a broken road... but it's meant to lead to the ultimate Lover who has been there the whole time. I don't understand how it all works, but somehow God set it up so that all my screw-ups, disappointments and sins would serve the purpose of leading me to Him. So, instead of regrets, I can be thankful for how God has used all of these. It really does show His power in such an awesome way to see how He reached to me in the midst of being sidetracked by all these other things... more so than had I not had to go through things like pain and disappointment.
Philippians 3:12 seems to be the words I'm trying to say here:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
I spent years of my life (almost 20 of them) looking around for something that would make me happy or satisfy me- money, success, pleasure, relationships and found these all to be false hopes that only left me still looking. There were some pretty awful times of letdown and depression when I discovered that yet another false hope I had ended up letting me down.
Then, about five and a half years ago, instead of finding what I was looking for, He found me. I discovered that the satisfaction and joy I searched for could only be found in Christ. It was so freeing to realize (as I'm still learning today) that true joy and delight is only found in God Himself and not His blessings, or anything else short of Him.
It's easy looking back to have regrets about things I've done or wish I hadn't gone through some of what I have. But, I can also see the purpose behind them- these things were like northern stars, leading me to God's arms and have played a role in making me who I am. I also would not be nearly as able to relate to others and help them if I hadn't experienced some of what I have.
Life is a broken road... but it's meant to lead to the ultimate Lover who has been there the whole time. I don't understand how it all works, but somehow God set it up so that all my screw-ups, disappointments and sins would serve the purpose of leading me to Him. So, instead of regrets, I can be thankful for how God has used all of these. It really does show His power in such an awesome way to see how He reached to me in the midst of being sidetracked by all these other things... more so than had I not had to go through things like pain and disappointment.
Philippians 3:12 seems to be the words I'm trying to say here:
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Looking for some character
This post is a bit of a follow-up on my last post (It's a Lie). After thinking about the idea of character, I heard a good sermon by Tommy Nelson on Song of Solomon. In Chapter 1, verse 3, Solomon's lover says, "your name is like perfume poured out." As I understand it, speaking of someone's name in this culture was like talking about their character. If you had a good name, you were someone of good character. So, she starts off by talking about his character- we have no idea what he looked like, how much money he had, if he came across as exciting, if he had a good sense of humor- nothing like that. This pretty much takes everything we consider to be important in potential dates and throws it out the window. This raises an interesting question of what someone of good character looks like. After thinking about it for a bit, here's what would seem to describe someone of good character: lives with integrity, honest, knows his/her Bible, applies truth to daily life, has a servant's heart, humble, peaceful, desires to grow spiritually, always there for friends, loves others even when it's hard or no one will know.
Going out with someone who is good-looking, funny and exciting is fun... no question about that. But, years later, those things start to lose their appeal and relationships based on those things start to fall apart (as evidenced by the divorce rate in this country). So, I'm trying to not be lured in by this culture's idea of what makes someone attractive and instead trying to look deeper to see what's inside and not just this external stuff. I guess it starts right here though- examining myself to see how I can be growing in character to be a better person, friend, disciple, employee, son, brother, etc.
So, here's a salute to all the Proverbs 31 women out there... we do notice and appreciate you and I certainly pray that if God wills marriage for me, it'll be with someone like that.
Going out with someone who is good-looking, funny and exciting is fun... no question about that. But, years later, those things start to lose their appeal and relationships based on those things start to fall apart (as evidenced by the divorce rate in this country). So, I'm trying to not be lured in by this culture's idea of what makes someone attractive and instead trying to look deeper to see what's inside and not just this external stuff. I guess it starts right here though- examining myself to see how I can be growing in character to be a better person, friend, disciple, employee, son, brother, etc.
So, here's a salute to all the Proverbs 31 women out there... we do notice and appreciate you and I certainly pray that if God wills marriage for me, it'll be with someone like that.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
It's a lie
That's one of my favorite phrases... "it's a lie." You'll have to ask Shaun, Malcolm, or Gary to tell you the full story on that one. But anyways, to my point... there are a lot of lies that we are told by American culture, the media, other people, etc. that we buy into without ever really questioning them.
For today, I'm just going to tackle the notion that we have of the romantic relationship. Sorry ladies, but I think I'll pick on you today. Now, my disclaimer is this- I know a similar situation exits on the other side of things, but it's easier for me to see it from this perspective, since I am myself a guy. Ladies, feel free to comment on this and give me the other side of the coin.
If you watch any romantic comedy, you see the same picture of the ideal man. He's exciting, charming and good at sweeping women off their feet, yet often unreliable and rarely exhibits true character and integrity. The message seems to be that as long as this excitement is there, then the relationship will work out well and you don't need to worry about things like character. If this is the case, then why does our divorce rate keep growing each year? Why do so many women find themselves married to men with no true character who are really still insecure boys?
My assertion is this: many women (even intelligent ones) seem to be lured by these qualities and on some level buy into the message that this is what is important to look for in a spouse. When they find a guy like this, they are willing to look past more serious things like character and integrity. So, of course, this leads to bad relationships and women ending up with bozos (thanks to Becca for that term).
This has often bothered me to see these bozos dating seemingly normal, well-adjusted women, while I continue in my single world. Not that I don't enjoy being single... it's a pretty good life for right now. What I've come to realize though, is that I value maintaing my character above dating someone. I treasure Christ above all else and want to please Him more than I want to be dating someone. So, even if I could be more of a ladies' man by compromising in some areas, I choose not to, simply because it isn't worth it to me.
It's more important to me to be able to go to bed knowing I've acted with character and integrity than to gain anything... riches, stuff, fame, even women. As Soloman says, " The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out."
Thanks for reading... until next time,
JRO
For today, I'm just going to tackle the notion that we have of the romantic relationship. Sorry ladies, but I think I'll pick on you today. Now, my disclaimer is this- I know a similar situation exits on the other side of things, but it's easier for me to see it from this perspective, since I am myself a guy. Ladies, feel free to comment on this and give me the other side of the coin.
If you watch any romantic comedy, you see the same picture of the ideal man. He's exciting, charming and good at sweeping women off their feet, yet often unreliable and rarely exhibits true character and integrity. The message seems to be that as long as this excitement is there, then the relationship will work out well and you don't need to worry about things like character. If this is the case, then why does our divorce rate keep growing each year? Why do so many women find themselves married to men with no true character who are really still insecure boys?
My assertion is this: many women (even intelligent ones) seem to be lured by these qualities and on some level buy into the message that this is what is important to look for in a spouse. When they find a guy like this, they are willing to look past more serious things like character and integrity. So, of course, this leads to bad relationships and women ending up with bozos (thanks to Becca for that term).
This has often bothered me to see these bozos dating seemingly normal, well-adjusted women, while I continue in my single world. Not that I don't enjoy being single... it's a pretty good life for right now. What I've come to realize though, is that I value maintaing my character above dating someone. I treasure Christ above all else and want to please Him more than I want to be dating someone. So, even if I could be more of a ladies' man by compromising in some areas, I choose not to, simply because it isn't worth it to me.
It's more important to me to be able to go to bed knowing I've acted with character and integrity than to gain anything... riches, stuff, fame, even women. As Soloman says, " The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out."
Thanks for reading... until next time,
JRO
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