Keep It Simple

When I saw this cover today on http://www.crosscards.com it struck a chord.  We tend to complicate our lives with lots of activity, stress, drama, possessions, etc. and then wonder why we aren’t making a positive impact on those around us.  Is it possible that we forgot the main ingredient?   L-O-V-E

If we operate in our daily lives from a place of love, then I think our priorities will change.  I’m not trying to get all “kumbaya” on you here, but I believe that if we commit to asking ourselves a simple question (“Am I operating from a place of love?”) each time we’re faced with a decision, challenge, choice, etc. – we just might see a decrease in drama and stress in our lives  We might even learn to say “No” to certain activities or possessions and “Yes” to more family time or volunteer efforts.  It’s not magic – it’s LOVE sprinkled with a healthy dose of honesty…but that’s a whole new topic now, isn’t it?

Actions vs. Words

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:17-18 NIV

Whether you chose to believe the Bible is God’s word or just some old historical document is up to you, but the truth of the above passage is a universal one.  Actions speak louder than words.  Know who gets this concept very clearly?  Kids.  Think about it.  How many T.V. shows or movies have we seen where a parent keeps promising that he will be at the next game, next recital, next performance, only to allow work or other priorities to take precedence over his promises to his kid?  What happens next?  Usually the kid feels like he doesn’t matter very much.  Especially when it happens over and over and over again. So when he hears the words “I love you” from dad…do you think he believes it?  I mean really believes it?  Actions speak louder than words.

So let’s take this to a little different place.  You and your daughter have just come out of a fancy restaurant in the city and as you walk down the street to go to a movie, you’re greeted by a disheveled woman leaning against a rusted and dented car asking if you can help her get some gas for her car so she can get to her brother’s house in the next town.  Your response is curt – “No – sorry” and you keep walking, nudging your daughter from behind to keep going.  Your daughter looks at you and says, “We have time before the movie, why didn’t we help that lady?  She looked really sad and kind of scared.”  How do you respond?  Do you say, “People like that just need to get a job – it’s not our problem.” Or maybe, “It was probably a trick to get us to stop so she could rob us – let’s just keep walking.”  So, what does the daughter take away from that?  All people in need are dangerous, running a scam or just plain lazy – right?  Actions speak louder than words.

Here in the U.S., we are so abundantly blessed that we are oblivious to true need.  Sure we see a few homeless people from time to time, or we hear of a family who is losing their home after losing their jobs and might need help with groceries for a time, but tell me – when was that last time you saw a child in your community looking like a walking skeleton but with a distended belly from severe malnutrition – or starvation?  When was the last time you had to go without a meal so that your kids could eat something?  Have you ever had to walk for 2 hours in one direction to collect 50 gallons of dirty water for the day and then carry it on your back and shoulders for the 2 hour walk back home?  Sure “there are programs for those people”, but the need is greater than the programs can handle on their own.  So we throw a little money in a box, or donate a few bucks via text message to feel like we’ve done something.  How is this teaching our kids to be compassionate, caring, action-oriented citizens?

What if our actions sent a different message?  What if we could teach our kids to give of themselves and their resources willingly?  What if we taught our kids to see need and DO something to meet it – instead of throwing a few bucks in a bucket and walking away?  I’m not talking about going out to “save the world” – let’s be real here.  What I am talking about is taking a look around and recognizing the needs around you – whether locally or globally – and finding a way to get involved.  It may be just YOU volunteering every Saturday at the local food pantry, or packaging boxes for the troops every other Tuesday, or joining in a fundraising event to raise money to build a new school in Zimbabwe…whatever you chose, if you do it willingly, without complaining and eventually invite your family to join in…you will have taken a giant step toward re-focusing your kids and helping to mold the next generation into compassionate, caring and action-oriented citizens.

Actions DO speak louder than words – so let your actions tell the people around you that you CARE and are willing to DO something about it.

The Barbarian Way

I just finished reading the book “The Barbarian Way” by Erwin McManus…it was refreshing to read someone else’s thoughts on the very things I have been feeling & thinking for a long time.   I am so tired of people & churches ‘playing church’.  In fact, McManus’ book has gotten me thinking so hard about the fact that my Christian faith has become ‘civilized’,  that I had a very hard time sitting through church today listening to another ‘civilized’ message.   When I am normally caught up in the music & worship at church, I found myself near tears today, pleading with God to use me – to show me the path He has for me – to make me His vessel to reach the unloved, the invisible, the forgotten, the hurting.  I find myself craving some daring, some off-the-beaten-path way of living out my relationship with Jesus…it’s as if a wildfire is burning deep in my soul.  I don’t want to play-it-safe anymore.  I want my kids to grow up knowing that they are the beloved children of the Most High and that they each have a special purpose to fulfill in life and that yes, it may be dangerous, uncomfortable – they may be ridiculed, shunned or even persecuted in some way – but their reward will be eternity with our loving Abba Father.   I can’t wait to see where God will take me – and us as a family.  I know that wherever it is – we will be rooted in the love our Father has for all of His children and that it may very well be uncivilized.

What’s LOVE got to do with it?

L-O-V-E…it’s a 4-letter word that is misused, misunderstood and highly under-rated.  I believe that if more people understood the true meaning of LOVE – this world we live in would be a very different place.  I’m not saying that LOVE will heal all wounds, right all wrongs and make everything peachy – it won’t.  There will always be death, disease, destruction and dishonesty – we are, after all, selfish by nature.  What I am saying, is that if people understood that LOVE is more about commitment than feeling, we might look at the world a little differently.

Webster’s Dictionary defines LOVE in this way:

1a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties  (2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests;

However, a little further down in the definition you’ll find this:

4a : unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2) : brotherly concern for others;

It is the later definition that I believe much of the world has missed.  LOVE is unselfish and loyal…concerned about the good of another.  Is this how we see LOVE lived out today?  Maybe in flashes of compassion after a major disaster, but certainly not in the middle of rush hour traffic in any major city…why not?  Don’t we ALL want to be loved?

Love All Over The World – by Richard Andrew