Some thoughts from my devotions in Ephesians,
~~~
Passage: Ephesians 1:15-16
"For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,"
Thoughts:
Notice the simplicity of what is going on in these two verses -
Paul responds in TWO ways, because of TWO things he sees in the believers.
Because Paul heard of their 1) faith in Christ, and 2) love for the saints; Paul responds with 1) thankfulness for them, and 2) prayers for them.
Application:
There are so many ways to go with this, but for the sake of brevity, let me just leave you with a couple of things to consider.
Isn't it sometimes difficult for us to do what Paul did? Sometimes, when I think of people who have faith in Christ and love for the saints, I'll focus on some minor issue and think to myself, "They're not doing their music right." or "They only use a certain Bible version." or "I can't believe they're SO Calvinistic." or "That would never happen at my church." or "They aren't the same denomination"
Obviously, a complete and healthy Christian experience goes beyond these two things Paul lists here. But, when I see someone who genuinely has 1) faith in Christ, and 2) love for the saints - why can't my initial response be, "God, thank you for this fellow believer, I pray that you would strengthen them in their walk with You."?
Sadly, my first response is sometimes,
"Dear God,
Why do I have to put up with these idiots. Why can't everyone just be perfect like me.
- Amen."
~Jason
Showing posts with label Ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ethics. Show all posts
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Invisible People
Butch from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.
After watching this video (and many others), I'm torn between two responses. One response blames me and rest of society for not doing more. The other response (I'm afraid to actually say it) blames the homeless person. I think to myself, "Why should I be blamed when this all could be the fault of the homeless person?"
Is finger pointing the point? Here's a guy who's lived on the street for 40 years, and I'm debating who's to blame! Is that what Christ would expect of me? I'm glad Christ did something for me when I was in need. By the way, speaking for myself, I was clearly to blame.
Romans 5:8
"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Monday, May 11, 2009
The Standard in All things Human
If I had to pick one thing that bothers me about Christians/the Church/Christendom today, it's our lack of drive to be the absolute best. We ought to strive for nothing less than excellence in all of our endeavours. We are a reflection of the God we serve, and looking around at God's reflectors here in America, God seems pretty, well, lousy.
Jesus asks us to function as lights to society, so that they can "see our good deeds and give honor to our Father in heaven." Furthermore, in I Corinthians Paul said that we should do everything for God's glory.
If God is really so great (not to mention real) why aren't His followers great? Why aren't we producing the most talented music, running the most successful businesses, building the most efficient houses, writing the most brilliant books, developing the most advanced technology, and altogether running circles around the competition?
To make matters worse, we hypocritically condemn the "secular" pursuits of the world, only to capitalize on their developments. We use cell phones, drive cars, shop at stores, watch TV, take medication, live in houses, and enjoy other such "worldly" creations. Basically, we mooch off of society's advancements, all the while touting an I-only-pursue-God-and-I-don't-waste-my-time-on-temporary-pleasures-because-I-am-so-spiritual attitude.
We tell ourselves that anything other than Bible study and prayer is somehow un-spiritual, and so we don't pursue our interests with excellence (i.e. we aren't good "contributors to society"). If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. If you think it would be a waste of time to perform something you do with anything short of excellence, you are wasting your time. God has given us dominion over this world, and has asked us to bring honor and glory to His reputation. We are supposed to be making God famous. People should watch what we do, and see the glory of God. God has saved us from an old life of bondage to sin, and brought us into a new life of bondage to Him. We have been brought from death to life. We should want to please God, by doing our absolute best for Him. Anything else damages the reputation of God.
The problem comes when I look in the mirror. Am I an excellent writer? researcher? assistant manager? citizen? church member? husband? Do I contribute something worthwhile to others, or just leach off of other's accomplishments?
Truth is, I'm a pretty mediocre guy. Maybe the problem isn't other Christians. Maybe the problem is me.
Jesus asks us to function as lights to society, so that they can "see our good deeds and give honor to our Father in heaven." Furthermore, in I Corinthians Paul said that we should do everything for God's glory.
If God is really so great (not to mention real) why aren't His followers great? Why aren't we producing the most talented music, running the most successful businesses, building the most efficient houses, writing the most brilliant books, developing the most advanced technology, and altogether running circles around the competition?
To make matters worse, we hypocritically condemn the "secular" pursuits of the world, only to capitalize on their developments. We use cell phones, drive cars, shop at stores, watch TV, take medication, live in houses, and enjoy other such "worldly" creations. Basically, we mooch off of society's advancements, all the while touting an I-only-pursue-God-and-I-don't-waste-my-time-on-temporary-pleasures-because-I-am-so-spiritual attitude.
We tell ourselves that anything other than Bible study and prayer is somehow un-spiritual, and so we don't pursue our interests with excellence (i.e. we aren't good "contributors to society"). If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. If you think it would be a waste of time to perform something you do with anything short of excellence, you are wasting your time. God has given us dominion over this world, and has asked us to bring honor and glory to His reputation. We are supposed to be making God famous. People should watch what we do, and see the glory of God. God has saved us from an old life of bondage to sin, and brought us into a new life of bondage to Him. We have been brought from death to life. We should want to please God, by doing our absolute best for Him. Anything else damages the reputation of God.
The problem comes when I look in the mirror. Am I an excellent writer? researcher? assistant manager? citizen? church member? husband? Do I contribute something worthwhile to others, or just leach off of other's accomplishments?
Truth is, I'm a pretty mediocre guy. Maybe the problem isn't other Christians. Maybe the problem is me.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
No Harm, No Foul
I think we underestimate the tremendous impact the consequences of an action have on our judgment of the morality of that action. If we do something stupid, we quickly whip out our “Consequence Meter” and begin to gauge just how stupid said action really was in the first place. Let me offer a couple of illustrations in order to try and clarify my point.
Several months ago, I was driving through a section of downtown Chattanooga with which I was fairly unfamiliar. I was busy checking road signs, trying to get into the correct lane, and undoubtedly, (though I don’t completely remember) adjusting the radio. Suddenly, I became under the distinct impression that something wasn’t quite right. It was at this point I realized, while blowing through a busy intersection in broad daylight without a care in the world, the light - my light - was red!
Amazingly, I didn’t get into an accident, or get a ticket (I didn’t even get a ticket in the mail a few weeks later from those intersection camera thingamajigs). The only significant consequence of this bone-headed move on my part was that my heart rate increased for a few minutes. Other than that, it was business as usual for the rest of the day, and I felt very, very little guilt for running the red light. However, can you imagine if I had struck a car, and killed someone? What if I had killed a whole family? I would still be feeling absorbed with guilt, even to this day. I would have forever regretted not paying attention on that could-have-been-fateful day. The odd thing is, in either scenario (getting off scot-free vs. killing a family of five) I made the EXACT SAME MISTAKE - I ran a red-light. My evaluation of the mistake however, boiled down to the significance of the consequences.
Allow me to give a second illustration to complete the point. How many times have you said something to someone, only to wonder if maybe whatever it was you said would have been better left, well, unsaid. Confused? The other day I said something I shouldn’t have. (I’m sure that comes as a shock to all of you) I said something rude/embarrassing/insulting to a friend of mine. When I said it, I was afraid I had hurt his feelings so I asked him, “Are you mad at me? Did I hurt your feelings?” Why did I ask him that? Because I was going to judge the morality of what I said based on his response. If he had laughed it off, I would have been tempted to continue in my rude/embarrassing/insulting ways. If he had become upset or hurt, I would have felt terrible about what I had said, and judged what I had said to be wrong. In other words, I didn’t so much care whether or not I had said something rude, I only cared if HE cared. I was judging my behavior based on the consequences. (I am fully aware that in some instances, other people’s sensitivities/culture should guide what we say, that’s not what I’m talking about here).
So what’s the point? My point is, pay attention to how often you judge morality based on the consequences. There is a good deal of temporary injustice in this sin cursed world. Chances are, you might do something dreadfully bad and (don’t miss this) get away with it. Or, you might do something heroically good, only to draw the short straw.
News Flash: Sometimes good things happen to bad people. Truly mind-blowing. It’s so counter-intuitive to how we think. We think that if you’re doing the right thing, then people will respect you, you’ll have money in the bank, your boss will notice you, your friends will be loyal to you, and you’ll have a massive impact. Being a God-pleaser doesn’t always mean cake and ice-cream. At least not now. But, don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)
Several months ago, I was driving through a section of downtown Chattanooga with which I was fairly unfamiliar. I was busy checking road signs, trying to get into the correct lane, and undoubtedly, (though I don’t completely remember) adjusting the radio. Suddenly, I became under the distinct impression that something wasn’t quite right. It was at this point I realized, while blowing through a busy intersection in broad daylight without a care in the world, the light - my light - was red!
Amazingly, I didn’t get into an accident, or get a ticket (I didn’t even get a ticket in the mail a few weeks later from those intersection camera thingamajigs). The only significant consequence of this bone-headed move on my part was that my heart rate increased for a few minutes. Other than that, it was business as usual for the rest of the day, and I felt very, very little guilt for running the red light. However, can you imagine if I had struck a car, and killed someone? What if I had killed a whole family? I would still be feeling absorbed with guilt, even to this day. I would have forever regretted not paying attention on that could-have-been-fateful day. The odd thing is, in either scenario (getting off scot-free vs. killing a family of five) I made the EXACT SAME MISTAKE - I ran a red-light. My evaluation of the mistake however, boiled down to the significance of the consequences.
Allow me to give a second illustration to complete the point. How many times have you said something to someone, only to wonder if maybe whatever it was you said would have been better left, well, unsaid. Confused? The other day I said something I shouldn’t have. (I’m sure that comes as a shock to all of you) I said something rude/embarrassing/insulting to a friend of mine. When I said it, I was afraid I had hurt his feelings so I asked him, “Are you mad at me? Did I hurt your feelings?” Why did I ask him that? Because I was going to judge the morality of what I said based on his response. If he had laughed it off, I would have been tempted to continue in my rude/embarrassing/insulting ways. If he had become upset or hurt, I would have felt terrible about what I had said, and judged what I had said to be wrong. In other words, I didn’t so much care whether or not I had said something rude, I only cared if HE cared. I was judging my behavior based on the consequences. (I am fully aware that in some instances, other people’s sensitivities/culture should guide what we say, that’s not what I’m talking about here).
So what’s the point? My point is, pay attention to how often you judge morality based on the consequences. There is a good deal of temporary injustice in this sin cursed world. Chances are, you might do something dreadfully bad and (don’t miss this) get away with it. Or, you might do something heroically good, only to draw the short straw.
News Flash: Sometimes good things happen to bad people. Truly mind-blowing. It’s so counter-intuitive to how we think. We think that if you’re doing the right thing, then people will respect you, you’ll have money in the bank, your boss will notice you, your friends will be loyal to you, and you’ll have a massive impact. Being a God-pleaser doesn’t always mean cake and ice-cream. At least not now. But, don’t be deceived. God is not mocked, whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)
Monday, February 16, 2009
Taboo
"Politics and religion, are two topics we don't talk about in this office.", my boss said to me after pulling me into his office. My boss dismissed me from his office, and then pulled everyone else who works in our department into his office, one by one (six of us in all). He gave each of them the same "only-talk-about-non-controversial-stuff-at-work-like-donuts-and-the-weather" speech. Are you kidding me?
Allow me to fill you in on the nitty-gritty details which precipitated this blatant censorship of conversation.
In the south, there is already a slight racial tension in the air. This was enhanced, ironically, on the day President Obama was sworn into office. During the festivities of the day, some of the ladies in my office were discussing the dress worn by Michelle Obama. They were saying things that only make sense to a female mind like, "Oh, it just wasn't that flattering on her." and "I just can't believe she picked that style." and "She looked so much better the night of the election." SNORE.
Anyway, us guys were (smartly) staying out of the whole conversation. That is, until one of the male supervisors (who happens to be Caucasian) blurted out, "Michelle wouldn't look good no matter what she wore." Cue pin drop silence. Needless to say, this did not go over to well with one of the female supervisors (who happens to NOT be Caucasian). The whole situation escalated, with the male supervisor eventually getting accused of "racism". This little episode made it all the way to the plant manager, which prompted my boss to pull us all into his office for the afore mentioned speech.
It's really sad. Grown men and women who are actually banned from entire categories of conversation! Shame on the employees who are unable to have a mature discussion about important topics. Shame on our managers for choosing the easy way out and not allowing dialogue in the workplace. Shame on us all for choosing productivity at work over freedom of thought and discussion.
Is the truth worth fighting for or not? Are there good ideas and bad ideas or not? Will we be judged by God for our views or not? Let's keep the table open, stop this needless censorship. Let's keep the dialogue going, stop ignoring people just because we disagree with them. Let's respectfully and cordially discuss our viewpoints, stop the name-calling and combative attitudes. Let's be more informed and educated, stop being ignorant of others' views.
Allow me to fill you in on the nitty-gritty details which precipitated this blatant censorship of conversation.
In the south, there is already a slight racial tension in the air. This was enhanced, ironically, on the day President Obama was sworn into office. During the festivities of the day, some of the ladies in my office were discussing the dress worn by Michelle Obama. They were saying things that only make sense to a female mind like, "Oh, it just wasn't that flattering on her." and "I just can't believe she picked that style." and "She looked so much better the night of the election." SNORE.
Anyway, us guys were (smartly) staying out of the whole conversation. That is, until one of the male supervisors (who happens to be Caucasian) blurted out, "Michelle wouldn't look good no matter what she wore." Cue pin drop silence. Needless to say, this did not go over to well with one of the female supervisors (who happens to NOT be Caucasian). The whole situation escalated, with the male supervisor eventually getting accused of "racism". This little episode made it all the way to the plant manager, which prompted my boss to pull us all into his office for the afore mentioned speech.
It's really sad. Grown men and women who are actually banned from entire categories of conversation! Shame on the employees who are unable to have a mature discussion about important topics. Shame on our managers for choosing the easy way out and not allowing dialogue in the workplace. Shame on us all for choosing productivity at work over freedom of thought and discussion.
Is the truth worth fighting for or not? Are there good ideas and bad ideas or not? Will we be judged by God for our views or not? Let's keep the table open, stop this needless censorship. Let's keep the dialogue going, stop ignoring people just because we disagree with them. Let's respectfully and cordially discuss our viewpoints, stop the name-calling and combative attitudes. Let's be more informed and educated, stop being ignorant of others' views.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Why You Should Care about Nadya Suleman
Nadya Suleman, 33, had octuplets through fertility treatments, despite already having six children ages seven and under, with no clear source of income. This has caused an outburst of controversy, you can read more about her story here.
If you desire to keep your finger on the pulse of culture, you should care about Nadya Suleman. Here are two reasons why…
Two Words: Case Study
Catch phrase of the day? Selective Reduction. Question of the day? Why didn’t Suleman choose to abort one or more of her babies during the pregnancy, in order to give the others a better chance at survival and\or a better life? If you’re pro-choice, this case should interest you because it is a classic opportunity to further your women's-rights agenda. If you’re pro-life, this case should interest you because it offers you the chance to sharpen your views, and determine if there are ever any exceptions to a no-abortions stance. Many people have taken a keen interest in this case, and it would be foolish to miss this opportunity to strengthen and defend your convictions.
Big Brother and Reproduction
Suleman had six embryos implanted, two of which split, resulting in 8 babies (all 14 of her children were the result of in-vitro fertilization.) This relatively high number of embryos has sparked controversy, prompting some to call for limiting the number of embryos that can be implanted. It doesn't take too much imagination to envision the federal government stepping in and beginning to regulate the number of embryos which can be implanted (there may be regulation already in place - not sure). Either way, this could be the spark needed to propel us down the slippery slope of limiting the number of children per household (or limiting children based on income). Obviously, we are several steps removed from this type of drastic action, but this case at least reminds us of the possibility.
Christians must capitalize on this opportunity for constructive dialogue. We must reinforce our commitment to the sacredness of life inside the womb. We must reinforce our commitment to exercise the rights God has entrusted to us. We must keep the conversation going, and endeavor to build bridges to those who disagree.
If you desire to keep your finger on the pulse of culture, you should care about Nadya Suleman. Here are two reasons why…
Two Words: Case Study
Catch phrase of the day? Selective Reduction. Question of the day? Why didn’t Suleman choose to abort one or more of her babies during the pregnancy, in order to give the others a better chance at survival and\or a better life? If you’re pro-choice, this case should interest you because it is a classic opportunity to further your women's-rights agenda. If you’re pro-life, this case should interest you because it offers you the chance to sharpen your views, and determine if there are ever any exceptions to a no-abortions stance. Many people have taken a keen interest in this case, and it would be foolish to miss this opportunity to strengthen and defend your convictions.
Big Brother and Reproduction
Suleman had six embryos implanted, two of which split, resulting in 8 babies (all 14 of her children were the result of in-vitro fertilization.) This relatively high number of embryos has sparked controversy, prompting some to call for limiting the number of embryos that can be implanted. It doesn't take too much imagination to envision the federal government stepping in and beginning to regulate the number of embryos which can be implanted (there may be regulation already in place - not sure). Either way, this could be the spark needed to propel us down the slippery slope of limiting the number of children per household (or limiting children based on income). Obviously, we are several steps removed from this type of drastic action, but this case at least reminds us of the possibility.
Christians must capitalize on this opportunity for constructive dialogue. We must reinforce our commitment to the sacredness of life inside the womb. We must reinforce our commitment to exercise the rights God has entrusted to us. We must keep the conversation going, and endeavor to build bridges to those who disagree.
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