No one likes a bully. No one likes an inconsiderate person, or a slacker on the team, or a disrespectful individual. And yet, there are so many of them. Chances are you will run into one of these today… and probably more than one. It is one thing to see a small child that is self-absorbed and treats others poorly. They may not know better. But it is troubling to see an adult act this way. Usually a disrespectful adult is a disrespectful child who was never dealt with, though it could be that they were taught better and are simply rebellious. Regardless, these people are hard to deal with. So, what do you do about them? Well, the same rule they are disregarding is the one you should be following. It is very basic, and almost so simple that you are probably overlooking it. You should treat them in their dysfunctionality the same way you would want someone to treat you if you were acting that way. You see, they are breaking the “Golden Rule”. That is the problem. They are not treating people like they themselves want to be treated. They are disrespectful, but they expect respect. They are bullying, but they don’t want to be bullied. They are behaving inappropriately. The temptation is to treat them in an inappropriate fashion. After all, they’ve earned it, right? You can even justify this by flipping the script on the Golden Rule. “Hey, they are treating others the way they want to be treated… so I am just giving them what they want.” Well… that is actually breaking the Golden Rule. Here’s a refresher on the Golden Rule. Jesus taught, “Whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them—this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) Check that… the Golden Rule isn’t just a ‘Christian principle.’ It is a human principle. The idea that we should treat others in the same way we want to be treated is as old as time. And it is the essence of the Old Testament traditions. Also notice, Jesus was giving an overarching directive. He wasn’t just saying that you should do nice things to nice people because you want nice people to do nice stuff to you. The Golden Rule isn’t just for friends. We should treat difficult people like we want to be treated if we are ever difficult. I could be the jerk some day. In fact, I probably will be. How will I want people to bring me back to a good place? Will I want them to treat me harshly, or with love? How about you? If you want people to treat you right when you go wrong, you need to do the same with the person going wrong in your life today. That is the Golden Rule. True worship is defined by the attitude of the heart more than an action of the hands or lips. This doesn’t mean that you can avoid the activities of the body by claiming that you are ‘worshiping on the inside, and that’s what counts.’ Don’t try to play God or other people. If you are truly worshiping, it will work its way out into the natural elements of singing, shouting, dancing, clapping, the raising of hands, kneeling, crying, smiling, etc. Worship is a funny thing in that it can cause us to have seemingly competing emotional responses in our experience. That’s okay. One expression of worship is not superior to another, as long as both are done in the spirit of honesty. But what about these competing expressions? Sometimes we feel like standing to worship. Other times we feel like sitting or kneeling. And I’ve even worshipped laying down stretched out on the floor. Each of these postures flow from an appreciation of who God is in the moment. They also reflect an understanding of who I am. I want to break it down a little bit and hopefully this will resonate with you, and encourage you in your worship time. Sometimes you may feel like standing while you worship. This can reflect the idea that you are a victorious child coming in to show your gratitude and praise for your magnificent warrior Father. We stand when someone important enters a room, like a judge, or a person being honored. We stand when our favorite team rushes onto the field. We stand when our nation’s flag is presented. Standing is a posture of celebration and honor. There are occasions when you may feel like worshiping while seated or kneeling. This can reflect the idea that you are waiting for God to speak. There is nothing wrong with sitting quietly in anticipation. In a hospital waiting room, some people will be pacing the floor while others will be reservedly sitting in contemplation, awaiting news from the doctor. Just as we are directed by Scripture to celebrate our King, we are also instructed to wait upon Him. If a king is going to bestow an honor on an individual, it is customary for that person to take a knee and await the blessing. Sitting and kneeling are postures of contentment and expectation. And still other times you may stretch out on the floor in a posture that often reflects desperation. When I can’t stand, and I don’t even have the strength to sit up or kneel, I can lie down before my Creator. The first human was stretched out on the ground right before God breathed life into his body. This incredibly humble gesture may be the result of being crushed, or it may reflect the idea that you wish to be reformed by God. Lying down is a posture of brokenness and surrender. Whatever your posture, remember that the subject of your worship is the One who made you, loves you, and wants fellowship with you. Don’t assume the posture of another worshiper simply to fit in. Rather, let the presence of God and the position of your heart determine the posture of your worship. One writer who was overcome with the wonder of God put it this way... “Come, let us shout joyfully to the Lord, shout triumphantly to the rock of our salvation! Let us enter His presence with thanksgiving; let us shout triumphantly to Him in song. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. The depths of the earth are in His hand, and the mountain peaks are His. The sea is His; He made it. His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep under His care.” (Psalm 95:1-7) “Today is a new day.” How many times have you heard or said that? It is one of the more obvious things we recognize in our lives. And even though sometimes the ‘days run together’, we do understand that life is in cycles. But it isn’t just true for the 24-hour periods we call days. We also have new weeks, months, and years… and even seasons within those times. Each is an opportunity for a fresh start, and new obstacles. One of the things God did during the Creation was incorporated seasons. He even designed the heavenly bodies to help us recognize the seasons. We enjoy aspects of each season of the year, and at the same time, there are things we loathe about each. The same is true in the rhythm of your life. When we are growing up, we can’t wait to be grown up. Then when we grow up, we feel a little bit differently about the whole thing. Sometimes we long for the days of our youth. But we also admit that we wouldn’t want to have to relive those turbulent times. Many single people long to be married. But once married, you realize some advantages of singleness. The wisest among us are able to navigate the seasons with less turmoil. They have learned to enjoy wherever they are, even with the challenges. They ride out the cycles of life like a surfer rides the waves of the ocean, patiently enjoying the difficult but rewarding process. You may be in a season of planting in your life, wondering about the future. Or maybe in a season of waiting, watching the seeds grow into produce, hoping that a hail storm doesn’t wipe out your crop. You may be in a time of harvest, enjoying the fruits of your labor, but carefully realizing that the plenty has an end. Maybe you are in a transitional season where you are looking for a field to work. It is easy to forget that new seasons are coming. But remember seasons come and go. And if you aren’t careful, you can miss the beauty of this season by focusing on the one you wish you were in. Don’t miss today on your way to tomorrow. One wise writer put it this way, “There is an occasion for everything, and a time for every activity under heaven… I have seen the task that God has given people to keep them occupied. He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also put eternity in their hearts, but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the good life.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1; 10-12) It is Friday the 13th. Are you scared? Are you nervous? Are you knocking on wood? Are you superstitious? Do you believe in luck? Do you want me to quit bringing you bad vibes? We joke about certain numbers and specific days being unlucky, or dangerous. But many people do carry some unfounded fear about such things. In fact, fear in general is not of God. Fear is not just a feeling, but also an attitude that can become an action, based on what we do not know. Fear is the idea that something we do not see can make our life horrible. The Christian knows that God is in control and that He causes all things to work together for our good. So there is no reason to be frightful of the future because it is in His hands and He is more than capable and willing to do what needs to be done. Just because God knows the future does not mean we aren’t faced with a lot of question marks, including some very big ones. We can be nervous about the future of our health, relationships, job situations, car issues, finances, etc. It is easy to think that these things are in some big hopper randomly shooting out results like lottery numbers. We cross our fingers, wear the right outfit, close our eyes, make a wish, and hope that things will go our way. Superstition is not of God any more than fear is of God. There is no such thing as luck, or ‘ju-ju’, or ‘vibes’. There is hard work, opportunity, passion, failure and success. But a black cat walking under a ladder on Friday the 13th is no cause for alarm. And knocking on wood won’t do anything but give you a splinter. Instead of believing in luck, and curbing your fears by doing silly things, why don’t you act in faith? Hope is the idea that things will be alright. Faith is action that causes you to live like your hope is real. We get to choose whether to live in fear that the worst will happen, or in faith, believing the worst already happened… to Jesus. The unseen is only unseen to us. When a pilot is flying in the dark, he isn’t flying blind. He isn’t worried about what may be out there in front of him. He trusts the instruments that can ‘see’ in the dark. In the life of the Christian, faith is not about believing in what isn’t there. Faith is about believing in what is there, but can’t be seen. It is funny to joke about Friday the 13th’, but it is not funny to live in fear. Your life is not random, nor are the things that come your way. These things are not based on numbers, or cats, or when you were born. The number one deciding factor on the purposes in your life is not the sign under which you were born, but whether or not you were born again. If you have been born under the sign of the Lamb, your life is in His hands. No need to worry. He’s got this… even on this Friday the 13th. King David had some fearful things happen in his life. He prayed, “I trust in You, Lord; I say, “You are my God.” The course of my life is in Your power; deliver me from the power of my enemies and from my persecutors. Show Your favor to Your servant; save me by Your faithful love.” (Psalm 31:14-16) Our relationship with God is the most important element of our life. It is what will determine our eternity. It is easy to breeze through life thinking things are cool simply because God hasn't struck us dead. But that's not how it works. If you are reading this, I'm fairly certain that you want your relationship with the Lord to be authentic. But do you ever wonder if it is true? Do you ever get in that place where you think, "Am I just going through the motions? Am I a true believer, or am I only playing a part?" I think it is natural to have doubts at times. It may even be important. These doubts could come from Satan. He is your enemy... even when you are not a Christian. But if you are a believer, he really wants to attack you. In fact, he is regularly accusing God's people of untrue things. He manipulates reality to make us doubt our relationship with God. Do not buy the lie of the Devil. If you are in Christ, Christ is in you, and your fellowship is true. But it is good to question your own heart from time to time. It is better to challenge your own motives than to slip into a fake walk with Jesus. Your heart is a tricky thing. The Bible says that our heart is deceitful above all else, and desperately wicked. We can fool ourselves into hypocrisy, or not being who we want or claim to be. So you should invite God to bring His holy searchlight into your life and reveal your true heart and motives. This is a way of keeping things right between you and God. Perhaps today is a good day to pray this prayer that King David prayed when he wanted to be sure of his authentic and clear relationship with God, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way." (Psalms 139:23-24) |
AuthorMy name is David, and I want to know God more, and help other people find Him. Archives
March 2019
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