I was just a bridge for one of our cats to crawl from one desk to the other. He seems happy to have me back after two trips away. One of the goofy parts of my travels was showing an animal loving friend some of my kitty pictures. I at least was entertained. After three full days of work, I am ready for some entertainment or at least some exercise. And just like that, more to do.
For this week, my six phrases are: “Help me understand and be willing”, “All our Troubles”, “Under the Son”, “Who’s tenth”, “Stupid Example”, and “Don’t fear death”.
In a recent conversation, I discussed what a tithe was and as I have experienced in leading financial studies, not everyone has the same opinion of what is a tithe and what is a tenth and what does giving to God look like. My wife and I have aligned on what it means to our finances and take the position that it is all God’s and part of our stewardship is the privilege of giving a tithe to the local church we belong to. My guess is people not aligned to that might not be wrong, but they might want to determine if the issue is greed, being at the wrong church, or some other gap between them and God. We all struggle in these areas but praying for an answer is a good first step.
One of the funny ideas brought up by rereading the “Stupid example” phrase is that some people are doing things to make money and may not be working as for the Lord. I have heard of pod casts, read books, and read studies that are not very good but seem to keep the meter running. My “goal’ to write a blog a day does not override my desire to actually produce something I believe adds value. My “desire for more” does not override my desire to keep the site free from ads that could generate revenue and distract from the desire to help.
“Don’t Fear Death” is a phrase that is fine on a spiritual level, but I nevertheless want to do as much as I can to put off death. The latest issue across our country is the push for people to take the vaccine. Some of the rhetoric includes what I consider shaming and bullying. The concept that taking the vaccine means I am selfish has been the most close to home. The way I understand it, taking the vaccine helps me have less severe symptoms if I catch COVID, but I have never heard anyone say that it keeps me from getting it or spreading it or that it actually helps anyone else in any way. I do not want to catch COVID and die, but I am not afraid to die because I know where I am going. I am confused, but confusion and fear are not the same thing.
In our bible study this morning, we touched on envy and other human failings that impact us in small ways all the time. Just as I pray for the strength to love my neighbor who disagrees with me, I pray for God to help me understand and be willing to take the actions this love requires. I have to assume the many things that I do not undertake are because I fail to pray and ask for the strength to do so.
“All our troubles” “under the Son” is not the exact combination I had in mind when creating those phrases, but I see a sense of fun in them. We are alive; therefore, we have trouble. Trouble is part of life. Living our lives “under the Son” brings great joy and purpose, but it also brings a new level of trouble. The American dream of a house and a white picket fence is marketing that hides the need to pay for, install, and maintain said house and fence. The perfect life fantasy is not achievable, and we need to face the fact that being alive requires work, and that our reward is not in an easy life here, but in an eternal life in heaven.
The series I have been writing about Mastering Life is a good wrap up for these topics. The point is not to live life haphazardly nor to live it super safe, but to dedicate it to God and to follow His direction in tithes, in working or resting, in stretching beyond our comfort, in overcoming our failings, and in being the odd ball. To allow the Master to be lead out lives.