…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.                                                 Luke 12:48

I think about this verse often. It is a simple bit of wisdom, perhaps even a statement of justice. When we are given an abundance of anything- wealth, health, resources, intelligence, safety- you name it- we are required to use it wisely, and in the service of those who are not as blessed.

I think of this in the area of power. Those who have been given a great deal of power, such as elected officials, leaders of organizations, leaders of countries, etc. are required to use it wisely and beneficently for those whom they lead.

I think how one uses power is a mark of character. If the one(s) in power use their power mostly for their own benefit or desires, that is a serious character flaw.  Those who strive to share that power, or to empower others, would have, in my opinion, high character.

Power and gifts have been ordained by God for the common good. Yes, we live in a fallen world, where our own desires crowd out, and can even drown out the need to benefit others with our gifts and talents.

So, we need to keep in mind that we are just stewards of those benefits and gifts, and much is required of those who possess them.

Prayer: Lord, we are grateful for the gifts you give us. Help us to use them wisely, Amen

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, Philippians 2:3

I was recently talking with a client who struggles with feeling lovable. This has been a long-standing issue with her, and it was complicated by a traumatic sexual assault many years ago. She still struggles with her self-acceptance, and she has trouble seeing herself as a person of value. She felt unlovable.

She is, of course, a person of great value and worth. I pointed out to her one of the characteristics of her value in this way. She has a great desire to serve others and to give them joy. She works in various volunteer activities, and she serves home-cooked meals to families who are food insufficient. I pointed out that she performs behaviors of service, which are really good things. But beyond that, she has the desire to give others joy. That is character.

Doing good things for people is good behavior. Wanting to do good things for others is good character. I pointed out to her that she has good character, not just benevolent behaviors. She gradually saw that these are characteristics of a good and valuable person- one who is indeed lovable.

Many people struggle with feeling lovable and of value. We are of value because we are made in the image of our Creator. We display character when we desire to serve others in order for them to have joy and a sense of being loved.

Prayer: Lord, help us to love others as you us, Amen

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me                                                                                                                                                II Corinthians 12:9

Sometimes it’s hard, isn’t it? You know, keeping the faith in spite of things that we see around us. During the government shutdown here in the United States, some government programs have been, well, shut down. One of those programs is the SNAP Program, formerly known as Food Stamps. This has caused real and palpable suffering for many Americans who rely upon this to supplement nutrition to their family.

However, we never should let a crisis go to waste. This has served as a catalyst for many people and organizations to mobilize like never before to refill food pantries, and promote extra generosity among many churches and civic groups.

Let’s never confuse the intransigence and shortsightedness of many elected leaders, on both sides of the political aisle, with the good will of the American people writ large. The virtues of care and compassion are still alive and well. The shutdown, while painful, is also an opportunity for people to show resilience and strength.

Sometimes, we need to lead from the rank and file of our country, to show the elected leadership who is still in charge of the democracy we cherish.

Prayer: Help us to see that strength is shown in compassion, Amen

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.                                                                      Matthew 5:17

But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying,“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”  Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.                                          Matthew 22:34-40

When it came to the law, the Hebrew teachers had it down. They memorized it, interpreted it, and wrote books about how to enforce it. If God said it, you better comply! They were strict enforcers of the law, believing that it was what God wanted. They were, I believe, motivated by right desires. They wanted to please God. The problem, of course here is pride. No one can completely fulfil the law simply by our own heroic efforts of adhering to the strictest standards. The point is, we are unable, in our own power to comply with those laws.  

Jesus said that he did not come to abolish that law, but to fulfill it. He came to explain, by modeling in the flesh, how such laws were to be fulfilled. He explained very clearly what compliance is- “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.   

What the Lord of the Universe wants is for us to love him, and to love our fellow travelers on earth like ourselves. In the words of the recovery community, this is simple- but it isn’t easy. We can only truly fulfill these commandments to the extent that we are submitted to the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to do those simple (but not easy) commandments.

Prayer: Lord, help us to do the simple commands that you gave us, Amen

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.                                                                            Jeremiah 29:11

I recently spoke with a client who was looking back over his life, and thinking of what he had missed. He was childless, and he was questioning if he and his wife should have made the decision to have children. He wondered if he had even made the right choice in marrying.

He was not necessarily unhappy in life, but more like unfulfilled. He is not yet 50 years old, and in my economy, that is young. He is a thoughtful, gifted, and caring man- bright, articulate, and self-aware. Yet, he thinks about what might have been in his life.

As we talked, I asked him to reframe the questions he was asking. I suggested that the questions might better be framed, “What is it that I still need to do?”

Instead of looking backwards and wondering “What if?”, he would be better served looking to the future and asking “What’s next?” This stopped him in his tracks, and he immediately saw the possibilities. He has no control over past decisions, but he certainly has control over future ones.

So, my friends, consider what God has next for you to do- no matter your age. He has a future for you.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the opportunities before us, Amen

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.

 Psalm 31:9

I have had occasions, in recent years, to discuss the idea of “anticipatory grief” with a number of my clients. This is a common, but often unexpressed phenomenon whereby we are witnessing the decline of a loved one and having uneasy and sometimes inexplicable feelings associated with such decline. It is a form of grieving, but it is often not labeled as such.  

Clients may feel anger toward their loved one, and sadness, but may feel guilty for such thoughts. I explain to them that they are grieving a loss. They are experiencing all those feelings of loss before their loved one passes away. They are, sometimes unwittingly, preparing themselves for a devastating loss. They begin to understand that this is a protective feature, preparing them for the eventual, inevitable actual loss of the one they love.

Once we can explain and reframe this idea, they can see that such grieving is really a measure of how much they love their friend/relative/partner. The anger that they may feel of losing such a dear person is actually a form of grief. Grief almost always includes anger of some type, sometimes an inexplicable feeling, but anger nonetheless.   

Being able to label such feelings can be very helpful in accepting them. We feel loss, even before our loved one actually passes from this earth.

Anticipatory grief.

Prayer: Lord, you have made us to love deeply, and that involves all of our range of emotions. We are fearfully and wonderfully made, Amen

contentment [noun] 

happiness and satisfaction, often because you have everything you need:

Cambridge Dictionary

 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.  I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all this through him who gives me strength.                                                                                     Philippians 4:10-13

We are always looking for contentment. The Cambridge Dictionary includes in this definition  “having everything you need”. So often, we define contentment as “having everything we want. Funny how needs and wants change over the years, based upon the wealth and expectations that our culture sets forth.

In the industrialized world, our expectations have, ironically, crowded out our sense of contentment. What is it that we really need to be content? Certainly, the basic needs of shelter, safety, food and clothing are essential. Yet there are some people who are content who do not even have all of those basic needs.

Contentment is perhaps more of a mindset than a storehouse of wealth and financial security. Wealth can vanish pretty quickly in some cases- witness the 1929 Depression, or even the more recent 2008 financial crisis. Having a true foundation, security, does not lie in wealth, of course, but in the pursuit of meaning, gratitude for what we do have, and a trust that Jesus is the one who gives us security.

Prayer: Lord, in you we have contentment, Amen

You know, there is always that verse that strikes you about the nature and character of God. When Jesus spoke these words, he was explaining to his followers about how, at the end of our lives, God will look at us and will review our actions on earth. In the simplest way possible, God will look at how we treated others, especially those who were poor, hungry, destitute, hopeless.

We see that he is not interested in monuments, movements, or organizations. He wants to know how we loved him by loving others. If we care for others, we care for Him. This may have been a revelation to those early followers of Jesus. In fact, it may be a revelation to some followers of Jesus today.

Think of people who are starving in war-torn parts of the world. Think of those in prison, or those living under repressive government regimes. Think of your neighbor who may need your help. This visual reminder in my office reminds me that we are in the hands of a loving Father. People may only feel that hand through our response to those in pain.

As we start the Thanksgiving season, and then Christmas, we see that star in the distance of the picture. The hope of the world was announced by that star. We too can be the hope of a needy and suffering world.

Whatever you did for one of the least of these… you did for me.

 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.  In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish

Matthew 18:12-14

I bought this print the other day because- I had to. This picture just jumped out at me. It is a depiction of Jesus coming after that lost little sheep (I mean how cute is he?!) He is you and me. Jesus is literally running after this lost little guy who is vulnerable and helpless. So, enjoy the thought today. Jesus is running after his helpless creation because he loves us.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for pursuing this lost sheep, Amen

November 3^rd Edition

We are now leaving the “spooky/scary” part of the calendar and we are entering the Thanksgiving/Christmas period. Funny how that works isn’t it? Our cultural rhythms have tended to go that way these past several decades. The “scary/spooky” part carried much less weight many years ago. However, these days, we seem to be enamored with Halloween shenanigans. Maybe the Halloween and Freddie Kruger type movie series played a part, or maybe Stephen King novels captured our imagination- who knows?  What we do know is that we are now full-on into the Thanksgiving and Christmas season. So, let the fun begin!

But before that, let me speculate on why we are so enamored with the horror genres. I mean, why do people want to expose themselves to horror, fear and nightmares? I think that it is a matter of control. Remember my theorem that control is the antidote to anxiety? Horror movies, ironically, might fit right into that.

In a movie theater, we can simulate terror cinematically, and often realistically and even effectively. But in the end, it is just a movie. In fact, years ago, an effective movie trailer subtext was “it’s only just a movie…” So, we get to experience thrills and horror and fear from the comfort of a theater seat. We have control over the environment, except to the extent we choose to get lost in the movie. But again, in the end, we know that we will walk out of that theater intact, and not the meal of some monster, or the victim of brain seeking zombies. We have control of the ending.

So, my friends, for those of you who enjoy such movies, by all means, enjoy the vicarious anxiety and dread, because in the end, you can go home and be in control of your own situation!

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving/Christmas!