Living Beneath Our Privilege

Yesterday I posted about seeking first the Kingdom of God, and about how often God tries to do for us, and we just get in the way. It occurs to me that we live so far beneath or privilege. God wants us to have so much more than what we end up with. The Bible says that we have not because we ask not, and when we do ask, we ask amiss (James 4:3). Sometimes that’s as simple as not going to God in faith believing that He will give us the desires of our hearts. Sometimes he gave us those desires, to start with. How’s that for a conundrum: God lays something on my heart, but I don’t believe that it’s of God, so, even though it something I want to do, I don’t think it’s something that God wants me to do, so I try to push that out of my mind, and do what God wants me to do, only I’m really avoiding what God wants me to do. Wow. That even sounds confusing to me.
The point is, sometimes we don’t ask God, because we’re sure He’ll say no, before we even ask. Sometimes when we do ask, we feel so guilty, because we know what we’ve done, and we feel that we don’t deserve what we are asking for, even though we know that God has forgiven us, we don’t feel forgiven. Because we don’t feel forgiven, we go to God as if He hadn’t forgiven us. It’s kind of like asking dad for the car keys, when just this afternoon we got into trouble. Even if dad has forgiven us, we still kind of feel bad about asking. If we don’t ask, though, we can’t receive (of course, we may ask, and still not receive, but if we don’t ask, we definitely won’t receive), and if we ask, not expecting to receive, then we mess up our own chances.
One of the times that David got in trouble with God, God sent Nathan to remind David how much God had already given him, and then to say, “If that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.” That always struck me as some kind of awesome. That particular instance, it seemed to me that David was being just a little bit greedy (well, maybe a lot greedy), but you notice God didn’t get angry with David for wanting more, only for not asking God for more, and just going out and taking what he wanted.
In the parable of the prodigal son, the Father tells the other son that he could have had, if he had only asked, “All that I have is thine.” The other son is the one who has been faithful all this time, but then when his brother returns, he gets miffed, as though his Father treats his miscreant brother better. The Father has to remind him that, all along, he has gotten exactly what he has asked for; no more, and no less.
Keep in mind, also, though, that Jesus set the example for us in the garden, when he said, “…not my will, but thine, be done.” He knew what was going to happen, and He understood why. He prayed that prayer to set the example for us. Sometimes we will ask for things, and the answer is just, “no,” because what we are asking for is not God’s will. Remember that Paul prayed three times to have a thorn removed from his flesh, but God told him that Paul needed that thorn. Sometimes, though, the answer will be, “Yes, I’m so glad you asked! I’ve been waiting for you to ask that!”
So how do you pray, in faith believing, if you aren’t sure that what you want is what God wants for you? Start out by asking God to help you to understand His will for your life, and ask Him for direction, even in your prayer life. Then work your way from there, remembering that God wants the best for you, even if sometimes you don’t know what that is.

Gossip

It seems to me that I have posted on this subject before, but I don't see 'gossip' in my list of keywords, so maybe I haven't...

Mark Twain once said, "A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." And that was before the internet. The nice thing about the Internet, though, is that the truth can sometimes get out there pretty quickly, too. Realistically, though, you don't really know who posted what on the Internet. You can find some reputable sites on the Internet, with good information, but even they will get fooled, sometimes. We need to be on our guard.

To be honest, though, on the subject of gossip, I am considerably less concerned about what's on the Internet than I am what we say about each other. It's not unusual for those of us who call ourselves Christians to get caught up when repeating something we've heard, without checking the source, or speculating out loud--giving someone else the opportunity to repeat something that they have heard... Sometimes, too, we paraphrase something that was accurate when we heard it. Remember that game we played in Elementary school, where the teacher lined us up, and whispered something to one of us, and had that person repeat what they heard and so on, and the last person in line repeated to the class what he or she thought they had heard? Most of us laughed when we heard it, because it didn't match what we heard, and then when the teacher told us what the original message was, we had three different versions of the same message. This happens to adults, too. Someone will make a prayer request, and it gets paraphrased, and then repeated, and paraphrased some more, and before long, it bears no relation to the original prayer request. We had a woman at our church last year that requested prayer for her daughter's health, and by the time the prayer request got to the pastors, the request had something to do with this woman being thrown in jail (not that she had been, that's just how badly the message got mangled). That is an extreme example; it is somewhat more likely that a couple requests prayer that God would strengthen their marriage, and within twenty four hours, people are talking about this couple getting a divorce. We owe it to our brothers and sisters in the faith, that if we are passing on information, that we pass it on correctly.

Furthermore, just because something is true, it doesn't necessarily follow that it bears repeating. Let us suppose that our brother Joe goes on a drinking binge. It's only the one time, he managed to get through it without hurting himself or anyone else (he was lucky), and he has repented of it before God. Does it do anyone any good to talk about his past indiscretion? You might make a case that we, as loving, caring brothers and sisters, need to be aware, and stand ready to intervene if he starts heading that way again, but if it's been a year, and he hasn't gone near a bar or a liquor store, then what point would there be in talking about it? What if you were the one who made a mistake a year ago, and even though you have repented, and gone through counseling with your pastor, and you know that God has forgiven you, but your brothers and sisters in Christ are still talking about it? Tell me you wouldn't feel betrayed. You should feel betrayed. You might even pray, asking God to send you to another church (don't just up and leave, but pray about it, and listen to God).

It really comes down to this: Do unto others, and let brotherly love continue.