OUR

I've been kinda quiet for the last several weeks.  Nothing has stirred my writing juices...until yesterday.

I don't know if you saw it but there was an article in the papers recently about $16 cupcakes for a Department of Justice conference.  I didn't hear the newscast but apparently Fox News picked up on it until the mistake was corrected.  It was $16 per person and that included several other things than just cupcakes for each person.  That gave my left wing liberal friends an opportunity to blast the Republicans and Fox News, et al for their coverage of it.  That got my juices to flowing.

First off, its not too far fetched to think of $16 cupcakes for the government.  It's common to pay $20 a dozen or $3.25 each for cupcakes in DC.  After reading the GAO Guide on Estimating it's not uncommon in the government to blow a budget of any kind by billions.  Poor estimating.  Couldn't have done that for very long when I was working in home building.  And our government can't afford to do it for very much longer.

So the point is not whether the government can do things better, watch their money more closely and stop expecting that taxing the wage earners will help them with their addiction for spending.  The point is its not whether we have a Republican or Democratic government in place.  It happens on both watches.

I am a registered...does it really matter?  I have right wing conservative friends and relatives who live by Fox News, Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck.  I have left wing liberal tree hugger friends and relatives who listen to NPR, believe in global warming and wouldn't think of using a plastic bag to bring their groceries home.  It really doesn't matter.

What lights my fire is all the postings on FB and other emails that devote time to blasting the other side as if that will solve the problem.  Folks...that is a waste of time and a pseudo appearance of doing something that matters.  Let's make things straight.  None of the politicians of either party can get the job done.  They're spending all their energy shooting at each other rather than addressing the problems that need cures.

If case you have forgotten, regardless of your favorite news media, political persuasion or punching bag, we are all Americans, citizens of the same country.  When the government spends ridiculous amounts of money to send to a dictator who pockets it instead of helping his countrymen, when the Defense Department overshoots their budget for a new weapons system by billions, when unscrupulous doctors bill Medicare for unfounded charges in the millions of dollars, they are wasting OUR money.  It is the tax dollars that WE working persons have sent to our government.

They have a fiduciary responsibility to us to spend it wisely and to care for those who deserve to have the help of all the rest of us.  It is not the Republicans' money or the Democrats' money.  It is OUR money.  When it is spent unwisely, just plain wasted or fraudulently used they are wasting money that you and I and thousands of other hard working Americans gave to them for safekeeping.

By the way, Rick Perry was right.  The Social Security system is a Ponzi scheme not a guaranteed investment that we are sure to reap the benefits of.  By the way, Hillary Clinton was right.  It takes a village to raise a child and no government, Christian school or educational system is going to be able to do that for us.

We must let our voices be heard...by both parties and all aspects of government.  We as tax payers need to become angry about the whole mess and ask for accountability in getting the government straightened out.  It is going to take bold leadership--and it doesn't matter which party it comes from--to help us change the culture of taxing and spending and wasting precious resources on things that don't work.  And the blame game doesn't work either.

We need to become people of action.  I'm now a government employee.  I'm a long way from the workings of our legislature except they fund the department I am a part of.  What can I do?  I can push back to those other employees I am working with when they ask me to spend unnecessary money on a project.  I can personally not walk up to the end of the budget year trough and order supplies that I don't need.  I can be conservative in my spending when I am on government paid travel.

What can you do?  Write your Congressmen and Senators, regardless of your party affiliation and theirs, and demand that they use fiscal responsibility in their spending.  We can waste money on a social welfare program just as quickly as we can waste it on a weapons system.  Write the President and tell him you want to stop the addiction the government has to money.  And most important of all, stop wasting time criticizing the other "side" for their politics.  It's OUR government, yours and mine.  It's OUR money.  It's OUR future and the future of our children.  Take action that really matters.

Me first

Stressful situations always bring out the real person behind the façade.  That is if it has been hidden.  In today’s world people just let it all hang out most of the time anyway.

Last Tuesday, DC suffered an earthquake.  Several persons on my floor are assigned the task of floor monitors to make sure everyone got out safely.  When the building started rocking and rolling…they all left.  It was survival of the fittest or “I’m taking care of me first!”

The days since the earthquake have seen several persons expressing their fears and inability to face the possibility of a catastrophe.  They are vowing to abandon the building more quickly the next time and not to hesitate as long as they did.  They don’t expect anyone else to watch out for them.  It’s me who has to protect me.

The afternoon of the quake the Metro was loaded.  The platform of the station was packed.  More kept coming in and jamming the already tight space even tighter.  It was more telling when the trains arrived.  There was no thought of stepping aside for others or letting those who have been waiting the longest go first.  It was whomever could force their way to the front could get on.  The rest of you can wait.

I was with a colleague from my office.  In the course of the conversation I suggested in jest to him that he could make a hole for me and I would rush on the train.  (He was quite a bit bigger than me)  But we both soon realized that we weren’t aggressive enough to force others, men and women alike, to the side so we could get to the front.  The results were that we waited for 90 minutes and didn’t get on a train until the third one came.

We finally made our way to the front of the platform and, without knocking someone down, boarded a train.  It was tight to say the least.  The windows were fogged up from the heat of all the passengers.  There were no seats and very little room to stand in.  I had to hold my lunchbox over my head to make as much room as I could.  We were definitely up close and personal with total strangers.

Every station we approached had a full platform with many others who wanted to join us on the train.  Here’s where it gets interesting.  When the doors opened they forced their way on the train and it really didn’t matter if there was room for them or not.

At one station several persons (can’t say ladies and gentlemen; they were more like cows) got on pressing others out of their way.  Well, really they were just mashing in more tightly with all the rest of us occupying the space.  One young lady complained that she was being crushed and it was hurting.  The other young woman she spoke to said “sorry” like “too bad so sad”.  The first young lady responded that she could have waited for another train.  Her thoughtful reply, “Tell that to the other 20 who just got on.”

So much for civility.  It’s back to the Garden of Eden.  If you are being hurt it isn’t my fault…it’s them.  I’m not responsible for my behavior when others are doing just as bad or worse.

Mob mentality.  Blame it on someone else.  It’s not my fault.  I have no personal responsibility for your discomfort.

Check that, followers of Christ.  We are each held accountable for our behavior.  We can’t take a “Get out of Jail” card from another player.  We are responsible for our actions and can’t blame the government, society or any body else for our behavioral issues.

I almost got off the train so that others could get on.  I didn’t want to be a part of that behavior.  Only problem…I don’t think I could have gotten to the door.

We each need to step up to the plate, accept our responsibility, repent of our sins and allow the Holy Spirit to work through us to be change-agents in the world we are in.  If we continue to step back and take a passive position we are going to go down with the rest of our culture into the abyss of abject selfishness.  It will truly be “every man/woman/child for themselves.”  I don’t think I want to be around when it gets to that.

Watch today for opportunities to come in the opposite spirit of the world.  Become others-centered.  Model a Christ-like attitude in all you do.  The world is watching for someone to show them the way.

Offended

I’m not good at being politically correct…at least based on what I know of it.  When you are politically correct you don’t say something that will offend someone.  For instance, you don’t call a person who has a same-sex partner a derogatory name.  You call them a homosexual or a lesbian.  You don’t ask a woman who may just be overweight if she is pregnant.

Politically correct behavior has seemed to morph into something even broader than what you call someone.  For instance, kids are being taught in many places that there are no winners and no losers.  It doesn’t matter if that doesn’t square with the real world.

In the real world your behavior is going to be judged and your value to the organization where you are employed is going be evaluated.  You will most likely have to perform in a manner measured against some standards if you want to keep your job.

But in spite of that I still hear “politically correct” talks that seem to be aimed at making sure someone isn’t offended by what is said.  I heard the other day in a presentation about a new initiative that just because the initiative has been introduced doesn’t mean that the employees haven’t been doing a great job so far.

If that’s true, what’s the point of the new initiative?  If the old way of doing things is working across the board and producing the results you want why do you need a new initiative?  If it isn’t working, aren’t you allowed to say so and expect that the behaviors of those you employ to change?

While not politically correct, it seems that it would be more truthful to say that the customer service of our organization (put in the name of your company, church or organization) isn’t up to par and we need to change how we are relating to our customers.  We are failing to meet their expectations of good service.  In fact, they are rating us as offering poor service.

That might offend someone who thinks from their own perspective that they are doing a great job even if they aren’t.  So whose perspective prevails?  The person who is leading the organization who feels that the performance of his employees isn’t up to par or the employee who isn’t in touch with reality and feels that he/she is doing a great job when they are falling short of the goal?

And tell me something, would you change your behavior if someone didn’t “offend” you occasionally to let you know that you weren’t measuring up or that some behavior of yours was not producing the results you want?

What is the root of the offense people take at things?  It’s an indication of your woundedness.  If someone says something that trips your trigger it probably has something to do with a past wound, some way in which another person spoke cutting words to you that wounded your soul.  If you haven’t had the opportunity to know God in that place in your life the wound can still be painfully touched by unsuspecting others.

That’s the point.  If I say something unsuspecting to another with no intent to offend and they get offended have I committed a sin?  Is there anything I can do to change that person’s response? 

All we can do is ask forgiveness for any way that we have offended someone.  This opens the door for the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to that person.  It isn’t our responsibility.  We might, if they ask, have the opportunity to speak truthfully to them in love about their sensitivity.

Confronting them about their woundedness probably won’t result in a positive outcome.  It will just trigger defensiveness.  Most of us don’t realize when we are reacting in offense to something someone else has said we aren’t responding to them but to the original person who caused the offense wound in our hearts.

I’m very experienced in offending people.  I believe that is because the Father wants me to be quick to repent and provide the atmosphere for Him to work in the hearts of those I offend.  It also has to do with the fact my gifting is in the direction of the prophetic.  Do I particularly like this calling?  Not really but my Father has so worked in my life that I am willing to lay down my “life” and not make excuses for why I have offended someone so that they may experience real life as well.

What if?

Surprisingly, being in Washington doesn't involve much conversation about what is going on in government...at least from a budget standpoint.  We just keep moving forward even though the government doesn't have money and we aren't sure we are going to get a paycheck.

But as I sat in traffic this week I thought about something.  What if...

Part of the struggles of government is how to fund all the entitlements that people expect.  The government is just a big cash cow, right?  Who is the government by the way?  It's us.  We the taxpayers.  Those of us who make X dollars but only bring home Y dollars after every entity gets their share.  By the way, although I don't live in DC I realized this week they are taking out DC taxes from my pay.  I learned it is the default when they don't have a specific tax authority specified.  Funny, nobody told me that and now I have to try to recover over $700 because PA is going to want that money.

Anyway, back to my thoughts.  How did the government end up with this burden that requires all of us to fund it?  When I go back to writings about the early church I see that the widows and orphans were to be taken care of by the body of Christ.  The poor were to be provided for by the local assembly as they could.  All things we in common in the church of Acts.  If someone, even another gathering of believers had needs they just sought help from another local assembly.

So what happened?  Why are we so far from that today?  What if...all those who profess to follow Christ would contribute their tithe to helping those in need?  Let's just start in the body of Christ.  Do you know a brother or sister who could use your help?  Do you fail to give because if it isn't to a 501(c)3 organization who can give you a tax write-off you'll miss the tax benefits?  How much wealth could the body of Christ amass to help those in need if we all gave our tithe?

Another element of this ministry by the body is that of accountability.  The scripture says if you don't work you don't eat.  Could we, if we were in a relationship with a brother or sister in Christ, say to them that they need to contribute their labors somewhere even if we have to be helping them with their finances?  I've wondered as I've walked past homeless people in DC...why don't they start giving by picking up the trash in the city rather than just laying under a tree expecting a handout?  I'm not being calloused.  We all have something to give back.  It always makes me feel better about things when I feel that I'm doing something that contributes to the betterment of the world.

Should we just expect the government to be helping people with the needs in their lives?  What about helping those who are wounded emotionally and seek drugs to soothe the pain?  Does a government handout help them with their pain?  Or women who are seeking comfort and love turning to multiple partners and birthing multiple fatherless children?  Can we help them not only financially through the church but also emotionally?  Can we help them to see how much the Father loves them so that they don't need to try to find it in bed with some other man?

What if...the church were being the church rather than just taking up space on street corners with buildings?  What if all the members of local assemblies were contributing their gifts and resources, however meager, to the meeting of needs?  I would think we could make an impact in each of our communities that would make headlines.  The noise might even be heard around the world.  How long are we going to sit back and expect the government to do the loving thing that the church was called to do in the first place?

Want to reduce the deficit we all face?  Start by giving what you can, loving who you see and contributing the power of the Spirit to those without.  Don't just say "bless you" and go away, but become engaged in their lives.  It's messy but I believe it would be exciting to see just what the church could do with the ministry they have given up to the government by default.

What if...

Savin Time

Everyone in the city is in a hurry.  Nosing into traffic if there is the slightest gap.  Pushing to get "there" before anyone else does.  Walking fast.  Elbowing their way through a crowd.

What's all the rush for?  Where are they going that they need to save nano-seconds in their trip?  And when they get there are they going to be able to engage with those they are with or will they have to unwind and relieve the stress, staying focused on how tired they are from the grueling commute?

It doesn't seem worth it to me.  In fact, as I've written before, I'm finding it far less stressful to avoid being in such a rush.  I just let them go on by.  Besides, I'm finding that I get to see things they are missing.  I leave a little earlier, step aside when they are pushing in and, this is the hardest one, go ahead and let them nose in ahead of me in traffic.

Some actions just don't seem worth the effort.  I saw a woman last week going back and forth between two lanes of traffic, neither of which were moving.  She must have been bored just sitting in a straight line.  Or else it was a reaction to the stress.  Can't relax.  Can't miss an opportunity to get three more feet closer to...wherever she is rushing to go.

The one that took the cake happened the other day on the Metro.  During rush hour trains come every 4 minutes or so.  That's not a very long wait but people rush down the stairs to make sure they get down to the platform.  They rush to the end of the train closest to the stairs when they exit at their stop.  They take risks to make sure they get that train and don't have to wait.

The other day a woman actually stuck her arm and leg in the doors of the Metro to keep them from closing.  They aren't like elevator doors.  They don't pop back open when they hit you.  They just clamp shut.  She was stuck in there with her bags out on the platform asking for help to get the doors open...just so she didn't have to wait for 4 more minutes.

I guess the rush is what contributes to the lack of connection in the city.  I pass literally hundreds of people each day and few take the time to look me in the eye and greet me.  I'm making it a habit to do that.  To say hello.  To smile and to give people, even those who push in front of me, a kind expression to ease their day.

Take a minute to greet someone today.  Even those who don't seem to have the time to greet you.  Make eye contact.  Wish them a good day...or better yet...bless them.  Get to know those you see every day.  Call them by name.  They are valuable in the sight of God.  Deeply loved and in need of your smile and greeting today.

Mainstream

The concept of God-fearers has always intrigued me in the scriptures.  It leads us to the fact that there are people who’s hearts are attuned to God but who may not be a part of a faith community.  My guess is that many of them have not ventured into a church because of the lack of conventionality of their faith.  It doesn’t fit the Christian church world.

I’m also reminded of the way in which my faith has been challenged over the years in various settings.  The first of those was college.  I did not drink alcoholic beverages.  As a member of a fraternity I was in the microscopic minority of those who didn’t.  I defended my position until it became apparent to me that my reasoning for not consuming didn’t get two minutes worth of attention from those around me.

My time in the navy was also an eye-opener as I have written before.  I was faced with questions and assertions by Mormons, those practicing voodoo, metaphysicians, radical right wing Christians and others who were embracing the homosexual lifestyle.  My Baptist theology wasn’t deep enough to help me encounter the questions of those I met.

Several things came into my life to impact that.  I have written about the impact of Francis Schaeffer and his philosophic approach to the truth of the Gospel.  It enabled me to be in conversation with those who didn’t adhere to mainstream Christianity.  I’ve also been enabled to dialogue with those in the main stream of our culture as I have found the reality of God in my own emotional life’s healing.  I am convinced in a very experiential way that God is real and He and I are in relationship.

I remember writing once during a goal setting exercise when I was pastoring that I would like to study the unchurched, have more interaction with them and find out what brought them to their place of faith or lack of it.

Now I find myself immersed in that world.  I am no longer working for a self-confessed Christian business.  I am not surrounded with others who have been attracted to their employer by his or her statement of faith.  In fact, I’m in an environment where I have to be somewhat careful of “pushing” my faith on others.  I don’t have a problem with that.  I like the natural way of conversing anyway.  Tracts and confrontive evangelism have never been my style.

What of those who have never been exposed to the Gospel in any kind of organized form?  What of those who have unfortunately had a negative encounter with those of Christian faith?  Who reaches those who would never darken the door of a church to further their faith?  What of those who, if given the chance, say that they are without faith of any kind in God?  Would we ever have occasion to have conversation with them about the Gospel?

We need to be in the world.  We need to be daily interacting with others who may not have a traditional faith.  We need to have communities (notice I didn’t say church—I’m not talking about a building with organized programs) where faith can be questioned.  Where a relationship with God can be sorted out.  Where we can court the Father before we commit our lives to following Him. 

I want to be there.  Right in the middle of the mixing pot.  I want to be on the mount sharing my heavenly Father with those who are searching for truth and seeking for life…and that to the full.  There is a deep hunger in our culture for something of meaning.  Too much of life is being lived by those who are just existing.  Then there is the other extreme of those who are living life by amassing as many toys as they can to flavor life and make it all worthwhile.

I haven’t found either of those in my relationship with the Father.  I have found a richness and fullness of life and joy.  I want others to have the opportunity to experience that.  It’s without cost—at least monetarily. 

Tolerance

Tolerance is a word I have most often heard in relation to mechanical tolerances.  The Japanese have long been known for their close tolerances in their mechanical parts.  That's part of what makes them last so long.  Compare the engine of a Model T to one in a Lexus.  It's hard to believe they are both the same kind of machine.  The closer tolerances of the Lexus make the engine purr rather than rattle and clank like the Model T.

In more recent days I have heard tolerance used as a way to describe my feelings toward those who are not like me.  I am, being politically correct, to be tolerant of those who have a different lifestyle than mine.  Funny how many times those persons aren't tolerant of where I am.

So does God just call us to be tolerant of people?  That seems so negative.  Like I just can't hardly stand to be with someone but I'll suck it up and make the best of it.  Hopefully, it won't last long.  I'm sure when I am being merely "tolerant" that the other person is able to pick that up.  My smile is fake and they know it.  Trust me, God doesn't need us to "act" tolerant.

What I've found as the Father has healed my heart is that I am more genuinely tolerant of others.  I'm even patient with their dysfunction, not just tolerant of it.  I'm even compassionate of the place they find themselves in.

What changed all that?

When I was hurting so badly I couldn't think of any one else but me.  I was in pain so I needed all the attention and sympathy I could get.  My pain was sticking out all over so I didn't have more than a second or two of tolerance for someone else's behavior.  Wow!  Sounds a lot like a 2 year old.

As the Father has healed my wounds I have found that I have more compassion for the misbehaviors, if you will, of others.  I see people in the traffic here in DC with microseconds of patience with the other vehicles and their drivers.  It's hard not to judge them but as I remember and am reminded by the Holy Spirit I pray for them and bless them.  They are hurting and don't have the capacity to give others room in their lives...or room in their lane of traffic.

As I have come to know the Father more intimately I have relaxed a whole bunch.  Talk to those who know me well (my wife).  I'm not the same person...and no, it's not the medication I'm on.

It's because I know I don't have to fight for space in this world.  I am a child of my Father.  He loves me.  He cares for me.  He is with me wherever I go.  He comforts me.  He has great patience with me.  He has tolerated me in my sin for a long time.  As I receive His love, experience His patience with me and know how He feels about me as one of His children I can love others.  I can give them the grace they need.  I can demonstrate the love of the Father for them.  I can have mercy when they are so wounded that they can't think of any one else.

That clanking engine in the Model T reminds me of the scripture in Corinthians that says that without love we are like a clanging bell.  Not a pleasant sound.

Let me suggest you stop trying to "love" or be "tolerant" of others.  Your efforts are going to come across as fake to those who hurt.  Stop long enough to let the Father love you, heal your wounds and pour grace on your wounded soul.  Then your "tolerance" will come across as that Lexus and will purrrrrrrr....right into the heart of the one you are loving.