Wednesday 30 October 2013

What was Jesus thinking?

As Christians, we are called.  Called to follow Jesus, the Son of God.

What does this mean, "to follow?"

I read it as a call to imitate his way of life - his love, his compassion, his mercy, his inclusiveness, his deep relationship with God the Father, his sacrificial love.

To me, this means we are called into an intimate relationship with God.  Many of us don't really appreciate what an intimate relationship is all about.  It means getting to know and allowing to be known.  As a human, this means the honesty of allowing God to see the real me, warts and all.

It means turning to God for advice on all kinds of issues, small and large.  It means reflecting on events, it means praying for loved ones (and we're called to love everyone).

It's wonderfully simple isn't it?

Or would be, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm a human being.  You see, as a human being, I do some daft things.  I burn korans.  I burn Bibles that are not the King James.  I picket funerals with anti-gay slogans.  I write hateful blog posts about other believers.  I preach from the pulpit about purity while returning home to my pornography addiction.  I proudly support some causes while using that as an excuse to walk away from those who need my love.  I always have my gun ready to shoot down any opposing views.  I abuse others over the centuries and claim it to be biblically justified.  I wrap up my anger and hate in the phrase "in Christian love".  I destroy my environment.  I try to denounce science.  I block safety measures that save thousands of lives.  I encourage suffering.  I... cannot believe what I am writing, and yet I see it everywhere in every form.

What was Jesus thinking in asking us to represent Him on this earth?

And yet as a human, I also show love.  I give of my time, talents and possessions to reach out to the needy in the world.  I open my home to the homeless.  I give a listening ear to the lonely.  I touch the leper.  I walk with the vulnerable through danger zones, knowing (praying) that they will not harm me, a white western woman.  I am the man who stands before the innocent to take their unjust pain.  I pause and listen and turn to see the child that no-one else sees.

And when I see this, I understand why Jesus calls us to follow Him.  We are called to fill our lives with Jesus, so that our lives will shine a light in dark places and show people there is hope.  And some of these dark places are within my own soul.

The temptation we as Christians face the most I believe is to retaliate against other Christians.  We do so in anger at what we believe to be a misrepresentation of our Lord.  Ironically, we are often attacked by others for the same.

And yet we wrestle with these words from Jesus:

"A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

There is no if, there is no but. It includes all our brothers and sisters. It isn't easy, but neither was going to the cross, and yet we follow Him.

Friday 25 October 2013

Be encouraged in your gifts, be mindful of your weakness

"6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully" [Romans 12:6-8]

To my friends with the gift of prophesy, I encourage you to spend time in prayer to seek out the heart and mind of God. And then speak. Share with those to whom you are directed, and speak. Your words do not need to be long and flowing, you do not need to be in a pulpit. You have a gift of speaking forth the words of God and should touch the lives of others with them. But also, I encourage you to be mindful. Words can build up and they can tear down. Out of the same mouth can come blessing and curse. At times you will have words for others but will add your own, perhaps unintentionally. You should also ask God for a discerning heart to know how to give a message, when to give a message, what message to give (sometimes less is more) and if to give it at all. There are times when God reveals things to you so that you can pray for others.

To my friends with the gift of serving, I encourage you to give all your strength as if serving our Lord Jesus himself. When you work , do not seek the praise of man, but look for the pleasure of God upon you. Your service might go unnoticed by some, but it will be appreciated by God. Your gift frees up others to use theirs and you must never devalue what God has given you. But also, I encourage you to be mindful. Take care that your wonderful gift of serving does not subtly shift into a salvation by works. Hard work is a good thing, but it should not be a goal or a measure of faith. Take care not to judge others who do not see things the same way as you. Yours is a gift to be appreciated in others but never demanded.

To my friends with the gift of teaching, I give thanks for your faithfulness to God's Word. I encourage you to persevere in your own learning so that you have more bounty to share with others. Thank you for helping us understand more about the complexities of the Bible and for your dedication towards truth. But also, I encourage you to be mindful. Take care that you do not place truth above love, or try to rationalise harsh words that express your own anger and claim that these are only true words spoken in love. We all hurt at the misrepresentation of God, but we must love one another into a better place. Your gift is one to treasure and nurture, but take care that you do not lose sight of the wood for the trees.

To my friends with the gift of encouragement, how we need to hear your voice this day. Your words, spoken, written and unspoken are a lifeblood to us in our walk with God. The strength you give is more than just praise, it is courage in our hearts and strength to our bones. Other gifts can be worshipped or devalued. Yours is often invisible. But know today that you are appreciated and loved more than you will ever know in this life. But also, I encourage you to be mindful. Just as you see the needs of others and find a way to give them courage and strength, so you must nurture your own need of encouragement. It is not possible to love others if we do not also love ourselves. And when the pain and stress come, take special care that you do not turn your words to cause pain, as a cry of help to let others know you are wounded. Instead, turn to the ear that is always willing to listen and to the arms that are always there to comfort.

To my friends with the gift of giving, I pray that you will continue to contribute generously to the needs of others. Your giving is a light in a dark place and through your gift, the work of God can move with power in the Church. Many will not appreciate the spiritual nature of your gift, but know that yours is a gift of life to many. You do not give for reward, but you will see the fruits of your giving in the transformed lives of many. But also, I encourage you to be mindful. Take care of the temptation to give with ulterior motive. Your wealth or contribution is a gift from Christ to his bride and you are a channel for this love. Do not let others give you power that corrupts or praise that deflects from other areas that merit those words if encouragement. Know that in your giving you are giving from and into the love of Christ.

To my friends with a gift of leadership, I pray a blessing on you as you help steer the ship on its journey. Your gifts of planning, motivation, vision casting and organisation help us in ways that many take for granted and some even oppose. We all need to remind ourselves that your gift of looking ahead and guiding is as spiritual as any other and is equally spirit led. The work you do behind the scenes is a blessing to us all and know that God sees what goes on behind closed doors, in your studies and places if inspiration. But also, I encourage you to be mindful. Yours is a gift that can lead to an abuse of power. Remember that a gift is not the same as a role or position. Some will put you on a pedestal and will start to follow you, not the Lord you follow. Do not forget to develop and encourage the gifts of others and take care to avoid shining the spotlight on yourself. Just as you lead others, allow yourself to be led. Then God can use you in powerful ways to grow the Kingdom.

To my friends with the gift of showing mercy, I rejoice that you are the hands and feet of Christ. You are the reminder to the world that ours is not a faith of rules, judgement and condemnation, but one of mercy, love and compassion. Through your actions, the world can touch and feel the love of Christ. You exemplify the great commands of Christ, his old and new. But also, I encourage you to be mindful. Take care that your remember to show yourself the mercy and love you show others. And as you show mercy, do it cheerfully, not with sombre face or bitterness in your heart. Show your mercy with the same giving spirit of the woman and the jar of expensive perfume. Then the world will taste and see that the Lord is good.

And together, my dear brother and sister, we are the body of Christ on earth. Only together can we be complete, not lacking in any gift. Lord, bind us together in love. Give us strength to not only tolerate one another but to deeply love and value one another.

Amen.

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Is the Bible simple and straightforward to understand?

I was reading a debate recently where some people were describing the Bible as being clear.

Over the months, many have also used the expressions "the plain reading of Scripture" or "the Bible is unambiguously clear".  These are usually in the context of sin and homosexuality.

We do need to acknowledge the incredible hard work that Bible translators over the centuries have put into translating the original texts.  Anyone with a knowledge of translation will know that this is no easy task.   There is no such thing as a literal translation, as words and language have meaning that is bound up with their context and culture.  To give a simple example, take the French expression "je t'aime".  What does this mean?

In one context, it means "I love you".  In another context it means "I like you".  These different understandings could have profound implications in certain situations!  Some words do not translate at all into other languages.  Some have many words for snow or types of cloud or weather.

And then, there is historical context.  A word can change its meaning over time.  Take for example the word "gay".  Decades ago, this meant happy or bright.  Now it means homosexual.  In some contexts it is a fashion statement.

Bible translators have a very tricky job of not only finding the original meaning of a word in its original context, but they must then choose a word that conveys a similar meaning in the new context.  This is why we have countless Bible translations on our shelves and why there is no single "best translation".  You might be interested to know that the word "homosexual" does not feature in the Bible for example, but translators used that word to convey different meanings into a context where they felt it was the best word (do a word search online in the old King James Bible if you don't believe me!).

But another thing we must remember about the Bible is that it is not a single book, but a collection of 66 books, which include poetry, song, stories, historical documentation, biography, prophetic vision, pastoral letters and more.

When someone says "the Bible says..." they usually mean "my understanding of what God teaches us through the Bible is..."  At least, I hope they do.  Sometimes it feels like the Bible is a glove puppet that pops up and starts speaking to people from behind a pulpit.

We must also remember that the early Church did not have the Bible we know today.  They created much of the New Testament themselves, yet God clearly spoke to them in different ways.

In light of all these facts, we should be cautious when we hear the words "the Bible clearly says..."  Really, we are trying to discern the will of God through the Bible.  I personally believe that God inspired the writers and that God speaks to us today through the Bible and that the Bible translators take great care in their work.    However, it is clear that throughout the centuries, different understandings of what God says through the Bible have resulted in countless denominations, religious orders, divisions and even war.

This is not to say we should discard the Bible.  I have had profoundly moving spiritual experiences through devotional Bible studies.  The Bible is the first place I turn to after prayer when looking for guidance in life.  We can learn so much about God, Jesus, the Church and how to live lives as Christians through the amazing words of these sacred texts.

However, we worship a living God, not a book about a living God.  God speaks to us through the Bible, yes.  He also speaks to us in different ways and through different people.  The key is that each time we think we know what God would say, to return to God in prayer and ask him directly!  We need to check our initial interpretations for the consistency with the message, example and life of Jesus.  We need to discern through the Holy Spirit residing in us if we are on the right track.  We need to check things out with the community of believers.  These are all important safeguards in our walk as Christians.

The Bible is the most amazing book in the world.  Through it, God transformed my life and I love it dearly and I would fight for it to be freely available to all.   It is most certainly not simple and straightforward (and at times can be very unclear), but then neither is God and neither are we.  If the Bible were a simple textbook with all the answers, then we wouldn't need the gifts of teaching or preaching.  We would just need to hand everyone a copy and say "just do what it says".

Monday 14 October 2013

In God's image

I am currently reading a book by Timothy Keller - "Every Good Endeavour".  It is a fascinating look at the place of work in our lives.

However, a thought early on in the book has inspired another musing.  In the early creation story, God created the earth and cared for it and rested.  He made mankind and gave us the responsibility to do likewise - create, care and rest.

When Jesus (God incarnate) came, he called disciples to follow him.  This was more than just a giant conga line through Jerusalem.  It was learning from him and imitating him in his way of life and most importantly, in showing the same love to others that God shows to us.

I find it incredibly liberating and refreshing to remind myself that as a Christian, I am in God's image and I show the world what it means to be Christ-like.  Of course, I am a flawed human being, but even in my weakness God can use me to share love with others.

So, remembering that you are in God's image, I pray that today you will remember that Christian life is not about rules, failings, hard work or always being right.  Instead, it is about reflecting the love of God into the lives of others.

Go forth and love well.

Monday 7 October 2013

Understanding Attribution

Psychologists have long known about the concept of Attribution.  There is something deep in human nature that makes us want to attribute cause to things.

Have you ever stubbed your toe on some object and felt angry for a fleeting moment, wondering what you had ever done to hurt IT?

When thinking about cause, we tend to attribute things internally or externally.  By this, we mean, where was the control?  For example, if you see someone walking along the street and a piece of rubbish falls out of their pocket, do we think they just threw it down because they don't care about litter (internal cause) or do we assume they dropped it by accident or a gust of wind blew it away without their knowledge (external cause)?

Psychologically, we will use many clues to help us come to a quick judgement.  If it's a smiling, friendly elderly lady, we will probably assume it was an accident.  If it was a teenage Goth who was smoking and carrying a can of lager, we're more likely to assume it was an internal cause.  We could be wrong on both counts, but as humans, we instinctively try and attribute cause to our understanding of the world.  In part, it is because that feeling of control helps us feel safer - we like to understand the rules.

Another aspect of causality is whether something is perceived to be stable or temporary and specific or global.  For example, if someone drives aggressively behind you, we have a tendency to think that it is a bad driver (a stable, global statement).  However, it could be that they are in a hurry to get to their mother's funeral, and therefore it is a temporary situation.  It could also be that they misjudged their speed on that last stretch of road and it was only an isolated incident.

Interestingly though, it feels more comforting for us to think of them as a bad driver (we can understand that), whereas temporary glitches in normal behaviour are quite scary for us.  If going for surgery or sitting in the dentist chair, we don't like the idea that human beings might be occasionally irrational, inconsistent and subject to environmental factors.

So how does this affect matters of faith?

There are two areas I'd like to explore.  The first is about the Christian vs non-Christian dynamic, the second is between disagreeing Christians.

1.  As Christians, we can easily treat nonbelievers as a single, homogenous category.  However, there is huge diversity in each of us, and if we rely on too many assumptions, we might make significant mistakes.  Over the last few months I have been wrestling with my fear of telling people I am a Christian.  The reason?  I like them, and worry if they know I have a Christian faith then they will not want to know me any more.  I worry they will think I am a judgemental, irrational, homophobic hypocrite.  But who is they?  Nonbelievers are not one person.  There is a spectrum of belief and if I am embarrassed, might not some of my friends likewise be keeping their beliefs private?

There is also a risk that we mistakenly assume nonbelievers do not have a sense or morality or that they might try to act out of love or the best interests of others.  We need to remind ourselves that we are all created in God's image and many of our human motivations are wonderful ones.  This can easily be lost with a message the church sometimes gives that says "you are all sinners and need to repent and accept God's mercy".  For a start, it is "we" not "you".  Secondly, many people don't even know who God is or anything about his unfailing, boundless love.  His mercy is about experiencing that love so that we might be filled by that love and be in relationship with the God who loves us beyond all measure.

When relating to nonbelievers, I believe we need to take each person as an individual and pray for wisdom to know how to show God's love to that person.  There are no stock solutions or one off sermons and we cannot presume to judge their hearts or their spiritual journey.

2.  But the area that interests me more in terms of attribution errors is when I witness arguments among believers.  More conservative minded folk appear to love to argue and debate.  I find them argumentative and at times they forget the love they need to show or they rationalise love to be some kind of truth telling exercise.  You will notice perhaps that I have made some attributional statements there?  Often when I see a debate between believers, it can get quite ugly.  Often someone will say something, which another will disagree with strongly.  The first person nearly always defends their position and counters with a comment.  It will not be long before attacks become personal, and hurt people will start to make more global, stable and internal attributions about the other.  Instead of saying "I found that comment quite hurtful and disagree with..." we are more likely to witness something along the lines of "you are being judgemental and harsh and you are a poor witness to Christianity etc".  It won't be long before labels like liberal, judgemental, hypocritical, nasty etc. get banded about.

In the recent issue I blogged about in my previous post, 2 Christians are arguing and their blog titles are using words like "a public reply to the lies and slander being spread by...". Both bloggers are calling the other to repent.  What is most interesting however, is the comments of others.  Many are moving from disagreeing about details and facts to calling people liars.  This is a shift in attribution from temporary to stable, internal and global.  Telling something inaccurately does not make someone a liar... But as humans, we prefer that it does (at least, if it is someone else).  It's easy to back up a view we hold - all we need to do is hunt around for more evidence (and unwittingly ignore any examples of truth telling).

This I think is at the core of so many interpersonal conflicts.  Rather than take something in isolation and only focus on the issue at hand, we like to broaden to scope to fundamentally shift our attribution.  It is easier to dislike someone who says things we strongly disagree with than to accept that someone we like has views that might be abhorrent to us.  It is easier to categorise people into groups (liberals, traditionalists etc) than to wrestle with individually expressed views.  In other blogs I have at times challenged a more conservative view only to be told that I am probably not even a Christian.

We all have a desperate human need to understand the world.  Some of us will attribute good things in our lives as God's blessing on us, whereas bad things are a satanic attack or a punishment from God.  Yet in our quest to attribute cause (and blame) for things around us, we can be at risk of forgetting the greatest instruction Jesus gave us.  Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (regardless of our circumstances) and love our neighbour as ourselves (if we allow ourselves off the hook for being tired, mistaken, having a bad day, meaning well etc., then do we forgive others in the same way?).

Next time you witness some bad driving, an action that offends you or read a Facebook comment or email that hurts, pause a moment, pray, and ask God to help see this situation through His eyes, not your own ones (that will desperately and in all likelihood inaccurately, be trying to attribute cause).

Saturday 5 October 2013

Crticising the person or criticising the method?

There has been a lot posted recently on a certain preacher who was arrested in a city in Scotland while preaching at people.

Depending on who you read, it is either a preacher arrested FOR preaching the gospel, or a preacher arrested for breach of the peace.

It has divided opinion and bloggers have taken to their computers in large numbers, as clearly I am moved to do.

But my area of interest today is not so much this incident but rather how we deal with such incidents.

For the record, I agree with much of the first 3/4 of the following blogger's article: http://theweeflea.wordpress.com/2013/10/04/persecuting-preachers-in-perth/ (the writer of the wee flea is much more conservative in his theology than I am on other issues).

The part where I have to pause is at the end of the post, where there is a personal (genuine and heartfelt I believe) plea to this preacher to repent.

It reminds me somewhat of the other news grabbing (but on a much wider scale) open letter to Miley Cyrus from Sinead O'Connor. A well meant open letter was written, which I actually believe has done a lot of good. However, when I read it, I knew immediately that the intended recipient would be one of the only people to not take it well, and so it proved to be the case.

The reason is that when things are public and personal, our response is usually one of defensive behaviour, and usually this becomes counteroffensive. Our pride prevents most of us from taking these things on board. The exception is perhaps in cases of extremely low self esteem where we automatically take on all negative comments (and filter out the positive ones).

Going back to our street preacher, the blogger above asks him to repent. Straight away, this is going to get his back up (and a few of his supporters and others have clearly responded in the comments section).

There is in fact a small unintentional irony in that the blogger rightly points out "you can’t preach if no one is listening!" However, a public posting like this has some similarities to public preaching. The intended recipient is not listening, because he is not there.

I believe these kinds of personal requests are best done face to face and in private, rather than in what can be a humiliating (and less effective) public call.

This is not to say it is wrong to highlight the flaws in the method. When Jesus spoke to people he was often interested in the details and gave constructive comments. However, to condemn a person is very different from constructively critiquing a method. The problem is that our constructive comments can easily be taken as condemnation if we are not very careful in how we express ourselves.

If we are seeking a change in someone's behaviour, I think we need to try and build relationship with that person first and inspire people from a position of love and trust. This is where I feel the street preacher failed to engage properly.

While the blogger of the wee flea was actually criticising the method (in a detailed and helpful manner), I don't feel the call to repentance will have the desired effect.

One thing that helps me greatly is to ask myself the question "how would I respond to a criticism of something dear to me?" By what method would I receive the feedback best and from whom? When giving critical feedback we need to ask ourselves how to give it, when to give it, where to give it and what exactly needs to be said and left unsaid.

To be clear, I am not (ironically) having a go at the wee flea blogger. We actually agree on most of what he is saying. Nor do I have a personal grudge against the street preacher (or Miley or Sinead!). But these events do give plenty pause for musing! 

God bless.

Wednesday 2 October 2013

Do we ever change our views when someone tells us we're wrong?

I occasionally visit a fairly conservative blog.  On occasion I feel moved to contribute to the conversation, but I find that as my views are typically more moderate and inclusive (particularly on issues regarding homosexuality), my posts are frequently shot down in flames. I recently posted the following comment: "The world has many needs and is calling out for the love of God, which we carry within our hearts to share." 

I was fairly flabbergasted to read a response that this was a "liberal statement" and that I was probably not even a Christian!

But it got me thinking.  On this other blog, people seem to be doing the text equivalent of shouting their views at one another.  I would genuinely be interested to know if this has ever resulted in someone changing their views?

Usually, when someone challenges us, our first instinct is to go on the defensive (or counter offensive).  Rarely does this seem to result in a change of view.  The exceptions are when there is a relationship already in existence, and the giver gives the message with a clearly positive tone, in love.  And no, I don't mean the harsh words that are often spoken "in Christian love" (but that are far from it!).

There is one blogger I read, and I am frequently willing to engage with his views and take points on board and I am surprisingly willing to adapt my own views after reading what he posts.  I think that it his style and genuine willingness to wrestle with issues and doubts and take points on board that make this so.

God bless